rRootage is, as stated in the introductory paragraph, one of Kenta Cho's freeware shooters. Unlike his other shooters, though, rRootage is not about a unique concept or wild innovation and refinement of a current formula. No, rRootage is all about practice. Practicing what, you say? The styles of 4 different kinds of shooters. Strap yourselves in, because it's a long ride to completion once you start this beautiful and challenging game.

Let's start it off simple. The basic gameplay functions much like a boss gauntlet. A boss spawns in front of you and starts spraying bullets. You must attack the boss and destroy it completely to win. Each boss has two forms and a health meter that you can observe at the top of the screen. The number on the far right of the meter indicated current health, and the number to the left indicates the point at which the boss enters its second form. You use the arrow keys to move through enemy fire, and Z to fire a laser at the enemy. You'll want to hold down Z as it will continually fire the laser as long as the key is held down. X triggers whatever special ability your ship has, which brings us neatly to the multiple gameplay options.

The game has 4 game modes, and each one mimics a popular mode of game in shmup circles. There's normal, which is your standard 3 bombs, 3 lives approach. There's PSY, which is most similar to Psyreviar, where you must grave bullets to increase your score. There's IKA, which is like the classic Ikaruga, gathering bullets of white and black color. Finally, there's GW, which is most like Gigawing, with your ship having a reflect ability. Each mode has its own strategy and complexities. The only common thing between them is the hitbox of the ship and the bullets. Both hitboxes are represented by the little tiny square in the middle of each, which makes managing the death blossoms that much easier.

The normal mode is the one you will most likely get into first, so keep in mind some of the changes to the default shmup gameplay it makes. First of all, bombs do not damage the boss, instead only absorbing bullets like a shield. The way it does this is by making a circle that creeps forward for a few seconds before fading away. If you stray outside the bomb radius for whatever reason, you are not invincible, so make sure to stay inside. Bullets that are absorbed rapidly add to your score, so it allows players to rapidly increase their score through strategic use of bombs.

The PSY mode is the one that will seem most unfamiliar to the average player, as Psyreviar was never insanely popular. Basically, holding X will cause you to rotate and increase the radius at which you can "graze" a bullet. Grazing increases a meter that, when full, grants temporary invulnerability. That's about it. It forces you to graze lots of bullets during easy patterns for that brief burst of invulnerability during the death blossoms. It's very good, but a lot harder than most players are used to. The grazing and brief invulnerability also skyrockets your score.

The IKA mode will be familiar to any fan of shmups, as it's the mode that made Ikaruga so unique. You absorb bullets of your own color, and die to bullets of an opposing color. However, unlike Ikaruga, bullets absorbed will instantly attack the boss and add to your score. This makes you start to head into large clusters of bullets grouped together just to destroy the boss faster. This is also the only mode that can be completed without firing a single shot, much like Ikaruga itself.

The GW mode is the most interesting thanks to its mimicry of Gigawing and Mars Matrix. Your ship can activate a shield that will reflect all bullets back to the boss. After activation, you must wait about 10 seconds for the shield to completely recharge so you can use it again. In function, this works much like absorbing in IKA mode in that the bullets are instantly converted into lasers that attack the boss. This leads players to furiously dodge before activating the shield and rushing into large clusters of bullets. It must be kept in mind, though, that it takes a good full second of holding X before the shiled activates, and the shield expands as it dies out, leaving you a nice big hole in the wall of bullets.

The graphics themselves are very simple. Each boss is randomly generated into yellow-ish horizontal trees, and everything, from bullets to your ship, has a very vector, computerized feel to it. It's all crisp and clear, however. There is no muddying or unnecessary colors. You can definitely see all bullets, your ship, and the boss at all times. There's no special effects for the abilities or background, but the game doesn't need them.

The sound is equally fitting, comprising of heavily computerized noises blended together to form a nice techno soundtrack. It's nice enough to notice without distracting from the gameplay itself. Beyond that, the sounds are just as simple and effective, with things like losing a life, gaining an extend, or recharging your reflect meter making very distinct noises.

rRootage is one of those games that is good because it rests on the backs of other games that have come before. This isn't a problem, though. With things like an interesting high score mechanics, beautiful bullet patterns, and randomized boss behavior, it innovates enough within its bounds to give experts the challenge they crave. It's comprised of short levels perfect for tackling on the road on a laptop, and it helps you practice for other retail games. In short, it's one of the best freeware shooters you can play, either taken by itself or within the context of the genre as a whole. You can download the game through either our very own downloads section or through Kenta Cho's site.

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