Chaser. Doesn’t really sound like a name for a game, does it? It’s
more the sort of thing you wash down your throat after three pints
on a Friday night. However, think hard… doesn’t it bring about
images of running around, scared and witless with only the cold,
hard metal of a .44 for company? No? Er… Perhaps I’ll begin again…

Chaser is a first person shooter. An FPS, if you want to use an
acronym. I have to admit, I’d been looking forward to playing this
for a while after having a bash at the demo. It was pure, unashamed
fun – and thankfully, so is the full title. It earns a JA+ review
purely because, shock-horror, it’s got a story – and one which adventure
fans with an itchy trigger-finger would like.

Take a pinch of Total
Recall, add some Bladerunner and a dash of Bruce Willis in The
Fifth Element. Pour in some occasionally hammy
acting, excellent cinematics and bombastic music and what do you
get? A solid story and cutscenes that are WORTH watching. The intro
sets up the mis-én-scene remarkably well, as the eponymous
and oddly-named Chaser wakes up upon a surgeons table on an orbiting
space-station, with no memory and mysterious red-clad soldiers of
death hounding his every move.

The first level is a mad-dash through the station as it crumbles
dramatically around him, chunks flying here and there as the soldiers
give chase. Memories flicker before your eyes, occasionally giving
you a right shock, an effective device which comes into focus the
more you play and to top it off the AI is pretty cunning from the
start. The game sets you up with a basic weapon and it’s a case of
taking your time, checking rooms before entering and keeping a sharp
eye out for their shiny metal asses.

Not giving too much away, Chaser manages to escape the exploding
station leading onto a second level down in the grimy alleys of future
Earth, with the huge shiny skyscrapers towering over you being pelted
by huge flaming chunks of metal from above. Police ships swirl around
in the chaos of the night sky as gang-members try to take you out.
It’s thrilling, Hollywood action-movie stuff.

It’s a certainly impressive start and a stunning indication of what
the CloakNT engine, which is used to power the game, can do – and
only running at 65% too. Frankly, it beats the otherwise dull Unreal
2 down to the ground. And it only gets more exciting. Later levels
have underground earthquakes hounding you, assaults on enemy bases
on Mars and underwater shenanigans. Just when you think the relentless
assault is getting a bit boring, Chaser pulls out a trick or two
to keep you interested, and the story powers you on…

t’s not without it’s faults, however. As amazing some of the tricks
it pulls off are, it requires a pretty meaty PC to pull them off.
And the graphics aren’t without their glitches – witness enemies
falling into and through objects, and the occasional hole in the
scenery. It’s not as bad as Tomb Raider: AOD in this respect, but
it does show that a bit more time could’ve been spent honing the
game into an all-time classic.

So, if you’re looking for a totally solid shooter with a fine storyline
and a completely unexpected ending, then give Chaser a try. Sleepless
nights guaranteed.

Final Grade: B+

You can download a demo,
wallpapers and other assorted goodies at the official Chaser website.

System Requirements:

• 650 MHz, Pentium® III
  or comparable
• Microsoft Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP
• 1.35
  GB of free hard disk space
• 128 MB RAM
• DirectX
  8.1 compatible sound
• 3D graphic card
  (32 MB)