Chromadrome 2 Review: Gliding to the Music

Playing this game is very soothing. As you glide along, surrounded by beautiful surrealistic scenery that moves in time to new-agey music, you may find yourself in something close to a meditative state.

When you play, you become a cute little gold ball with big eyes. You glide along a track, and all you have to do is try not to fall off. You steer by moving your mouse from side to side.

When silver-ball creatures show up on the track, you can shoot them with your left mouse button. The game doesn't feel violent, though, because the silver creatures, when shot, just jump out of the way. You can also make them jump away by bumping into them. Though that won't get you any points, it makes a satisfying clicking sound.

Going down the track feels like a combination of riding a roller coaster, ice skating, ski jumping, playing miniature golf, and being inside the trippy light show in the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey."

If you fall off a track, you just start at the beginning again. If you reach the end of a track, the gold ball makes a cute "Whoopee" noise, and then you go up a level to a new track, which will be slightly different from the previous one.

You can adjust your speed. You can choose from various backgrounds, all of them beautiful abstractions which move in time with the music. The music itself is lovely. I was very impressed with the quality of the music and the visuals, which together made me feel as if I were in another world. You could also use your own music. If you do, the backgrounds will move in sync with whatever music you chose.

The game is very intuitive and easy to learn, and everything you need to know is explained as you go along.

I originally played the one-hour free-trial version of the game in order to write a review. I wasn't planning to buy it, because I don't usually buy video games. But for several days after I played the trial version, I kept on feeling that I wanted to play more. Eventually, I broke down and bought it. I guess I'm addicted!

I think this game will appeal both to people who don't play many video games and those who do. The quality of the game and the other-worldliness of the experience of playing it set it apart from many other games. I think it may provide an especially refreshing break for people who work with words, as the music, the motion, and the wordlessness seem to tap into a different part of the brain.

On a scale of one to five, I rate this game a five.

Note: I originally wrote this review in December, 2007, for another site, but the last time I checked (January 10, 2011), the game was still available.

You can download the free demo or buy the game for $9.95 here: Chromadrome 2 download.