From JoWood Productions and Encore comes Chaser, a futuristic FPS with leanings toward story progression similar to Half-Life and Red Faction.  You are Chaser, an amnesiac who wakes up in a lab on an exploding space station where everyone is trying to kill you.  After much carnage, you jettison yourself out of the space station and land on earth and embark on a quest to discover your identity and find out why everyone is after you that will take out from gritty slums to Russia to underground mines on Mars.

Chaser’s storyline is told both through the gameplay and in-game cutscenes.  Chaser will sometimes have memory jolts and flashbacks in the middle of the game, as pieces of his memory will bolt into his mind.

While Chaser does have plenty of action, it has a lot of nice adventure elements as well.  There are certain areas that require you to stealthily infiltrate some areas, often without weapons.  These sequences are carried out pretty well, although they can be a little cumbersome since you do not have the ability to peek around corners or have access to any other kind of stealth related controls. A visibility gauge or something along those lines would be a huge help, but alas, no such thing is available.

The weapon types are nicely varied, and range from currently available equipment like M16 rifles to more advanced futuristic arms.  Each weapon has a secondary fire option, which is par for the course in most FPS games today.

Chaser also makes use of Bullet-Time, a popular device that allows the gamer to slow down time for increased focus and accuracy.  While it comes across quite gimmicky, it can actually be quite useful sometimes when taking on groups of three or more enemies.

Chaser does have its fair share of problems.  I’ve already mentioned some of the problems with the stealth sequences, and the level design is extremely linear.  The game will string you along in one way, giving you only one direction to go and only one way to complete a level.  Also the AI is pretty dull, and will get into predictable fight patterns and can easily be drawn into the line of fire. 

The game is also quite buggy, as well.  It’s easy to get stuck in certain objects, and sometimes enemies will seem to disappear into nothingness for no apparent reason (even if you haven’t shot them).  Some animations are also pretty jarring and artificial as well.

Aside from the occasional jarring animation, Chaser has pretty good graphics.  The character models look great and very realistic, and the lighting effects are done very well.  The levels are very dynamic, constantly moving and changing as explosions, vehicle crashes and other things are constantly occurring.  The levels have a lot of great atmosphere, and the game has a very 80’s gritty sci-fi B-movie feel to it, which is appropriate for the game’s gritty storyline.

The sound effects are also pretty good.  The dialogue in the cut-scenes is fairly well acted and written, and the gun sound is realistic as well without sounding tinny and muted.  Some of the enemy voices can get a bit cheesy and redundant, however.

When it all boils down to it, Chaser is a good shooter with a great storyline and a great sense of atmosphere.  However, the too-linear level design, predictable AI, and bugginess bog the game down.  With a bit more polish, Chaser could’ve been an excellent game.

Gameplay: 7.5
Chaser provides an immersing experience, thanks in part to its adventure elements and great atmosphere.  However, the level design is very linear, the AI is too obvious, and the game has an overall lack of polish.

Graphics: 8.5

Chaser’s graphics are quite good.  The character models look great and are nicely textured (although jerkily animated), and the environments are teeming with gritty atmosphere and great lighting effects.

Sound: 8.5
The game’s sound is good: the voice acting is well done and the gun sounds and explosions sound realistic.  The music is a mix of ambient noise and techno music, which is appropriate for a dark, sci-fi game such as this.  The enemy voices can be a little cheesy and redundant, however.

Difficulty: Medium  

Concept: 8.0
Chaser provides a fascinating storyline and a great sense of atmosphere for a deep and engaging FPS experience.  However, the linear level design leaves a lot to be desired.

Overall: 7.9
Chaser’s immersing storyline and gritty atmosphere help provide a deep experience. However, the linear level design and overall bugginess detract from the overall experience.  Chaser is good, but with a bit more polish, it could’ve been great.