Caladrius Blaze

So, throw away the dud story, the awful presentation and the violence-and-shame-based soft porn and haven't we got a great little shoot-em-up here? The fact is that this mechanically competent shooter in a classic style from a proven team comes with all those crummy decorations attached. It's up to you if it's worth overlooking all the ugliness for the sake of a good game that isn't particularly world-changing.

Ridiculous fan-service aside, Caladrius Blaze is a very enjoyable STG. Each action-packed stage is filled with exciting moments, and they are all capped by thrilling boss battles. The eight pilotable ships offer a myriad of strengths and weaknesses, ensuring a high amount of replay value. While the graphics are far from cutting edge, at least they aren't unpleasant to the eyes. Everything from enemy ships to their bullets is clearly visible, so there's no chance that something life threatening will get lost in the chaos. The sound balancing is also a little suspect, so feel free to crank the music up, while turning the sound effects down. All in all, this is a worthwhile pick-up, so give it a shot sometime.

Caladrius Blaze has good core mechanics which offers some classic shmup gameplay. The shame breaks are a disappointing distraction at best and the game's campaign is a little short. However, in terms of action this is a pretty solid shmup and should please most fans of the genre.

Caladrius Blaze is a fantastic shoot 'em up that offers enough solid gameplay to satisfy genre veterans.