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Plan Your Cosmic Blasts in Flash Shoot 'Em Up 'Vector Boom'

by Ben Deitz on November 12, 2010 at 04:20 PM

Vector Boom
Although holiday stress might evoke visions of carpet-bombing all that Thanksgiving traffic rather than dancing sugarplums, try not to go postal! Game designers know that everyone needs to digitally unload a clip with the safety and comfort of their computer, so we've selected a fresh crop of shmups to let you blow off that pre-December steam. Recall these trigger-happy games when dealing with in-laws or making harried gift purchases -- as they just might be the key to saving your sanity.

There is method to the bullets-a-flyin' madness of 'Vector Boom,' which adds a hint of strategy to the explosive, adrenaline-packed shmup genre. The game is atypically stationary, forcing you to defend against waves of enemy units who attack from all angles. You control a powerful, motionless space cannon with a unique firing mechanism, using your mouse to create an area of effect for each blast. Click and drag the mouse anywhere in the game screen to adjust the blast radius of your shots. You'll have to watch your power level, however, which diminishes with repeated firings; wait until large groups of enemies are bunched together to quickly and easily do them away with a single burst. Power-ups, such as the magnets that conveniently suck your foes into one point on the screen, help as well. You'll also have the chance to upgrade your cannon between stages, letting you customize your weapon of destruction to best suit your playing style. It may require more thought than the average gun frenzy, but 'Vector Boom' is an explosively satisfying space shoot 'em up.

Vector Boom


Tags: flashgames, gamesonthego, shmups, TimeWaster, top, VectorBoom, videogames

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