Chaser

The Good
Chaser offers a large amount of weapons, divided into good & old stuff on Earth like the M4 assault rifle and some high-tech toys on planet Mars where you can use e.g. the G200. And there is a reason for this plenty of weapons: A lot of bad guys and these bad guys are shared above various levels. You will need some time to win Chaser so this is not the kind of game that you can win accidentally in one evening.

The Bad
Or maybe I only think that Chaser takes that long because this game is boring like hell. There are some missions where you do nothing. If you’re the lucky one, then you have to walk through empty levels with nothing to shoot at. The major problem in most of the levels is to find the right way. Oftentimes you have several places that could be the right way. Then you try way No. 1, missing it several times and continuing to way No. 2 where the game begins again. If you have tested all possible way and don’t find the right way, well then you have to test all ways again. Yeah, that’s entertaining. Can I have a coffee, black with extra coffin? Otherwise I will fall asleep in this Jump’n’Run. The story is not a reason to play this game because it is (yes, you guessed right) boring and unimaginative. The summarize the whole thing: Everyone you meet will betrayal you so you have to kill them all. Various, isn’t it? But this had one good thing: All the characters in the game are so sympathetic that I loved to kill them, only because I won’t see them again. Unfortunately the most unsympathetic character is Chaser itself and I’m not allowed to kill these guy. Another disappointing fact is the AI. The opponents are as intelligent as three meters of a road (without a curve). The bad guys are able to run and to shoot and that’s it. No teamwork, no coverage, no grenades. Even the developer thought “How can we make the game more thrilling?” and of course they choose the simplest way: They betrayal. The enemies get stronger weapons and armour. Not the kinds you will get, that would be fair. No, the enemy equipment is stronger. Let me give a an example: You will find a new kind of grenade launcher on planet Mars. To kill one of the heavy armoured guys, they have your kind of armour, you will need three or four direct hits. Same situation with a little difference: Now the bad guys have the grenade launcher. They fire and, because you are a smart hero and dodge, the grenade impacts several meters behind you. Previously you had 100% armour and 100% health, afterwards just 40% of health. Last point on the bad list: The graphic! Ok, the levels look different, but there is one thing that is overall the same: the levels look like the cleaning lady just walks through it. No garbage, no weed, no debris. Maybe that’s good, because if you found some, you will encounter the problem of “How to move around that thing?” The collision detection is not very good, to say it polite…

The Bottom Line
There is only one reason to play Chaser: You want to develop your own shooter-game and want to determine how you should not do it. Or you have insomnia and want to try something else then sleeping pills. At least the sleeping pills from the drugstore. I guess Chaser: Fight your way through boredom is the better title for the game.