Posted on: June 23, 2012

qrl.418

Games: 123 Reviews: 4

Over-extended.

Chaser follows the futuristic exploits of an amnesiac toughguy on his journey to Mars, murdering (or tangentially causing the death of) nearly everyone he meets along the way. If you've watched Total Recall, you'll immediately see a lot of parallels between it and Chaser. While Chaser begins nicely, it's apparent within about three levels that the game design is very limited. The trek to Mars is extremely long and drawn-out, with some levels so dull, confusing and repetitive that I find it hard to believe they're in a commercial game. Compounding this, levels are populated with homogenous enemies that almost all behave in the same way. I wouldn't have a problem with this if the soldiers were interesting. Many just stand around, firing when you enter their line of sight. Others can approach you and do spiffy dodging maneuvers, but they seem incapable of opening doors! The fact that Chaser can't match or exceed the AI in Goldeneye 007, a console shooter from six years earlier, is simply mind-boggling. Player movement is a hassle throughout Chaser. Your jump height is lower than usual for an FPS, and the "crouch-jumping" technique is absolutely vital for climbing various props. I got stuck in the ground several times, forcing me to reload. Loose bricks and other debris on the ground act like obstacles and have to be jumped over. Swinging doors can pass through you and close. The player is especially susceptible to fall damage, made more annoying by there being no sound effect to indicate falling pain. Of course, Chaser is also full of Quake-style ladders that are difficult to engage from the top. Ugh. With the addition of enemies that pilot mechs and wield rocket launchers, the final set of levels on Mars are a real slog to get through. Quickload City, if you will. The very last portion of the game is literally an orthogonal maze with spawn triggers located in the dead-ends. I still have part of it mapped out in a notebook, taunting me from my desk. As noted by others, the ending is completely underwhelming, which just adds insult to injury. Chaser isn't the worst FPS I've played lately, but it clearly suffers from either time constraints or over-ambition, or both. If you're looking for a solid block of FPS cheese, I'd recommend Duke Nukem 3D, Blood (warning: super difficult), and Serious Sam in a heartbeat. For Mars-themed games, Red Faction is acceptable for the most part.

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Posted on: July 15, 2023

Bloodrunsclear

Verified owner

Games: 1219 Reviews: 143

Functional and Stylish FPS

I don't get the hate for this game. It's typical for a first person shooter, yes, but in the most functional of ways. Guns have punch, bad guys are diverse, numerous, and have interesting patterns of behavior, levels are huge but linear enough you won't be lost for long. The story isn't long winded and feels like you're playing Total Recall as an amnesiac agent on the run from criminals and soldiers. A lot of emphasis was put on environment. There's always something exploding, something falling over dramatically, lights flashing, spaceships soaring overhead. There's a tutorial that outlines the major controls which can all be mapped as you please. Graphics aren't half bad for the era either. There's a couple issues that hold this game back I think. One, is that the feedback for guns is a bit off. Without blood or sparks or anything you basically just spray until the enemies cry out and fall over, it's difficult to tell if you're effecting them until they die. Another issue is Field Of View. This is an older game so you are RIGHT up close to the action which can be disorientating to people who prefer a farther FOV. But if it looks nice, sounds nice, is stable, has plenty of content, and is just a fun sci-fi romp I don't understand what more could be asked from a game of this time. Check in if you like the sadly dying genre of full on catered single player experience games with exploration and a story that isn't terrible.

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Posted on: October 10, 2018

bartgesang

Games: 203 Reviews: 2

Don´t do this to yourself

Chaser is a blant, overlong, poorly executed Rip-Off of "Total Recall", streched out into infinity. AI and movement are a pain, the gameplay is repetitive and boring, the story and characters are a joke. The leveldesign is a complete mess. If you are interested in Niche-FPS from Eastern europe developers, try out "Vivisector", "You are empty" or "Hellforces". But avoid Chaser at all costs. And if you wan´t to give Cauldron, the studio behind this attrocity, a second chance, then get a copy of "Gene troopers", which makes up for the pain and dullness of this here title.

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Posted on: May 2, 2012

PCGameGuy

Verified owner

Games: 1093 Reviews: 4

A long slog through generic FPS fare

So, if you read any reviews online you will hear about the poor story, twitchy AI, and clipping glitches. You may also hear how it sucks. If you are looking for a Half-Life, Deus Ex, or Call of Duty here you will be agreeing with them pretty quickly. However, if you just want an FPS experience that satisfies your desire to go places and shoot things this one is just fine. First, it is the second longest FPS I have ever played. Only the original Unreal was longer. I am serious, this is level after level of shooting stuff. They take you from space, to Earth, to Mars and your poor protagonist has to walk everywhere it seems. The graphics are on a par with the original Half-Life, the dialogue has a real European ESL feel to it with some odd translations choices and captions that don't match the audio, and the weapons are modeled on real world equipment. The physics are okay, stunted jump height and occasionally getting stuck on an edge notwithstanding. I did turn to an online guide at a few points, some of the critical pathing is not obvious and can leave you stuck in an empty room wondering where to go next. Still, it was a satisfying trip through old school shooter territory that satisfies the desire to shoot stuff and has enough story to explain why you are there. It ran fine on my Win7 Home Premium box, right from install, and it took my 1920x1080 widescreen settings just fine. Cutscenes at that resolution, however, are stretched so you lose the top and bottom of them. This may annoy if you want to see the on-screen text telling you where you are (you can hear it beeping but it is below the edge).

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Posted on: January 6, 2013

Negatif

Verified owner

Games: 195 Reviews: 4

Achingly Dull

There's simply no heart or much fun to this game. You start the game sitting through a very long cut-scene. And then go from room to room shooting and being shot at by very dumb AI that can't open a door to follow and have no tactics other than 'close the distance'. Haven't they played HalfLife?? The level designers seem to think that having you check dozens of locked doors and empty dead-end corridors would be fun. Also, some things don't even make sense- like why would assassins be trying to kill you on space station that's about to explode? About as much interaction with the environment as an early shooter like Doom or Duke Nukem. Most computers don't do anything, most doors are locked. I don't like games that think it's clever to respawn enemies in areas you just cleared. I finally quit the game when I got stuck behind some crate with enemies shooting at me, no way to move or jump out of it. What better way to tell a player you didn't care enough to completely playtest the levels? This game is a stinker- at least the graphics aren't half bad.

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