Chaser

"Red Faction 3 or the future of JPL?"

Introduction

Overall, Chaser is great first person shooter taking place all over future Earth, Mars, and a space station not too far from Earth (don’t worry, it doesn’t look like the ISS) but as you probably know these themes have been done to death. Does Chaser bring us something new, or is it just Red Faction 3?

Gameplay (Driving Force, Story) (8/10)

Chaser contains one of those wonderful stories where you don't really know what's going on until the very end, and the ending will most likely catch you off guard. Some people may figure it out before the end, but I was presently surprised by the very cool twist. I didn't realize until the end that everything in the beginning of the game was very significant and there were lots of little subtleties in the cutscenes alluding to the story. Most of the game is compelling enough to go on, but there are some stretches where I experienced boredom and just wanted the level to end. This mostly happened during the larger levels when I wasn't sure exactly where to go. Some of the levels are absolutely massive and figuring out where your next objective is can involve running for what seems to be miles. These levels were the largest I have ever seen in any first person shooter before that weren’t just large open terrains. These tremendous levels were mix of indoor and outdoor environments that could have been broken up, but weren't. Even so, loading times are very short for every level.

You will travel all over Earth, Mars, and a Space Station not far from Earth. Many of the locations are pretty atypical i.e. ice levels, a fancy house, factories, warehouses, slums, etc., however, they are kept interesting by the graphic quality and level design. The level design is actually a very mixed bag. Some levels used lots of repeated architecture and have you running through very similar looking hallways, while others are diverse and very, very interesting. This is because the engine supports objects as level pieces. A level can be built using building blocks and some of the levels show this a little too much. You can tell different people had very different skills when making the levels. There are some wonderful scripted scenes though.

Throughout the game there are scattered cut scenes that I have to say are incredibly well directed and aren’t just made up of talking heads. The acting is not always great, but I know it’s hard to get 3D models to animate and act well in an FPS engine. I will leave out details about the really cool levels and scripted scenes so as not to spoil anything, but there was some rampant creativity in a few of the levels.

Enemies (8/10)

The enemies are varied enough in each area and there are enough death animations to keep things interesting. The AI however could be better. Sometimes the AI is brilliant with enemies sneaking around behind you and hiding behind objects and architecture, but other times they run around looking for something to hide behind while you waste them. I have seen enemies often get stuck on corners and jammed in doors too. Once they find something to hide behind, they just jump out, shoot, go back, and repeat. However, this game is full of enemies so there are constant firefights to keep you busy. This is a welcome difference from most first person shooters that through less more powerful enemies in your gun’s direction.

The weapon variety is nothing special at all. All the normal weapons are there including some modeled after current weapons, such as an Uzi and shotgun. A few weapons have zoom lenses, but sniping is only an option in a few places. Otherwise, there are different size machine guns, grenade launchers, pistols, and that is about it. Lots of weapons, but little variation.

Graphics (9/10)

This game used a proprietary engine called CloakNT and is full of buzzwords, but they all work very effectively. I have a mid range system (Geforce4 4600, Athlon 2000+, Audigy2) and I was able to max out the detail at 1280X1024 and they game ran fine. There was a handful of slowdowns in the game bringing me to about 10 fps, but these were rare and usually during cut scenes or scripted sequences.

The game is always beautiful with reflections, high resolution textures, fog, volumetric lighting, ejecting brass, explosions, curves, some of the best water I have seen in a long time, realistically breakable glass, projected shadows, etc. The water actually reflects its surroundings and the lights as it animates.

There were times when I stood still and you could swear that the image you are seeing has been prerendered. This happened on the levels where the shadows and lighting were well thought out and there were lots of little details, such as debris.

Sound (7/10)

The sound seemed a little weak overall and primarily it was just adequate. EAX3 effects are used sparingly and the sounds just didn't seem to have a lot of power. Everything was there, it all just seemed a little thin, especially gunshots and explosions. The voice acting is another mixed bag. Delivery is not quite professional quality, but you can tell its not just some poor programmer in front of a microphone. Once again, some voices are better acted than others.

The music in context sensitive and is sort of a techno-classical mix as you would expect in an action movie. It fits and I actually enjoyed it, however music is on a taste-by-taste basis.

Multiplayer (5/10)

I only joined one little skirmish to check it out on one of the public servers. I connected easily and through my school's T1 I was able to fight with no lag. Basically it worked, that is all I can say. I don’t' like multiplayer games anyway, so I will leave this to someone else. One thing to note is that there weren't many servers and not many people playing.

Replayability (4/10)

Once you know the twist at the end it will be hard to pick up this game again soon after you beat it. Maybe after some time when you are looking for some good mindless action and wonderful graphics, you will pick it up again. With me, I can play certain games a second time after waiting a few months or a year. This is one I will play again if I have the time.

Overall (8/10 – Not an average)

I think this the overall quality of this game warrants a purchase. It kept me entertained almost all the way through and has some very original levels. I wont give away the special levels, but there are a few that don’t involve walking around shooting that are quite original. I am looking forward to a sequel. All the problems in the game are really nitpicky, with no major problems to speak of. I had the game quit on me a few times, but that could be any number of things, so I wont blame it on the game. Just make sure to download the latest update (1.50 as of this review).

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/15/04