Chaser

The Good
JoWooD's first-person shooter, Chaser, is an impressive game in which you play John Chaser, the man who has no memory of who he is and why he is being hunted. In my opinion, this game is impressive because it is more advanced than any other FPS that was available at the time. The visual effects, audio, and the game mechanics are amazing.

Chaser is divided up into missions, with more than one mission being accomplished In the early levels. Apart from the early missions, I can say that they are satisfyingly long, because you have to accomplish more than one goal during a mission. Although the game is mostly a first-person shooter, shooting enemies that get in your way using your weapon of choice, you have to do other stuff such as protecting your getaway vehicle from snipers, get to a secret meeting without being seen, and navigate a submarine.

There is a tutorial that can be accessed through the main menu, and it is ideal for anyone who is new to first-person shooters before they start the actual game. New users can learn about jumping, swimming, using their flashlight, and shooting. Depending on how well you do, the tutorial takes about ten minutes to complete.

The levels are spread over three different areas: futuristic Earth, Siberia, and Mars. The first level starts on the spaceship Majestic. I enjoyed walking around each room, looking out the window and overlooking the planets as they fly by. The second level, meanwhile, is impressive. You get to explore slums that lead outside with a nice view of giant skyscrapers, and Majestic's debris crashing into them and setting them on fire is amazing and well animated, as are the water that you have to swim in from time to time. The highlight is exploring the airport on Mars and looking at the impressive signs around the terminal.

There are plenty of weapons to take advantage of, from your standard pistol to a more advanced sniper rifle. What's good about it is that that all the weapons are modeled after real-life ones. As you move Chaser through your surroundings, the environment is reflected off whatever weapon you are holding, and that is pretty impressive. Only a small handful of weapons are listed on one of the inside covers.

There at least three types of enemy in the game. The first enemy in the game look exactly like those silencers from Crusader: No Remorse. I like the Russians that you encounter near the middle of the game. When you happen to fire a weapon in their vicinity, they are alerted to your presence and go to where they heard the gunfire.

The game has the occasional cut-scene that details what happens as a result of you accomplishing the mission, and what you need to do next. Every cut-scene features Jay Benedict who voices Chaser, plus several other people who are assisting him. Later on in the game, the cut-scenes get more interesting as we learn that his previous assistants turn against him.

Starting from the music on the main menu, all of Chaser's soundtracks are fantastic. While walking on the Majestic, that mission's soundtrack has a nice beat to it. Following that, the soundtrack is a mix of techno and rock. Each piece of soundtrack also blends in with the overall theme of the mission. The music during the end credits is just amazing.

With the use of cheats, I loaded the multiplayer maps and explored them. My favorite map is chdm03, where you are out in the forest when it is raining, and there are buildings that you can use to take cover. You can even climb on top of them to get a good view of your surroundings. I don't know what it is called, but the other multiplayer maps have you running around the city streets, similar to the second mission. But the only difference is that you can actually look up onto the highways.

The Bad
I can't think of anything bad.

The Bottom Line
In conclusion, Chaser is an excellent first-person shooter from JoWooD, in which you play someone named John Chaser who is trying to recover his identity. Like other FPSes of its time, Chaser is divided up into missions that are well-balanced, and each mission has more than one goal. The cut-scenes in the game are well-scripted and add depth to the story. The graphics and sound are excellent, and both of these blend in with what the mission's theme is. The game is great and it is a pity that there wasn't a sequel.