Chaser (2003)

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.

I don’t like the randomly spawned enemies, who pop out of nowhere, the bugs, the somewhat tedious levels that you get stuck on every other minute but there’s something about the gameplay that just works.

Deathmatch, CTF and objective-centered multiplay modes are a nice addition, but Chaser's best grip on any potential player is the massive, sprawling single-player campaign, flaws and all.

Fun despite many of its flaws. The gameplay is straightforward, harking back the the genre's roots while merging elements of other successful FPS games to create something that's very playable.

A run-of-the-mill shooter with just enough to keep it interesting.

It's focused on all the right elements. Shooting fans looking for continual action mixed with a degree of intelligence can't go wrong with Chaser.

Make no mistake, it has the occasional show-stopping bug, it looks a little bit haggard at times, nobody in the known universe is playing the multiplayer modes, and it's a quick-saver's dream, but surprisingly you could do a lot worse.

The one major card it brings to the table is its size - I've never experienced levels as expansive as these. Many of them can take a couple of hours to blast through. [Nov 2003, p.130]

A resoundingly average shooter. It has its flashes of brilliance, flashes of idiocy, but overall, it rounds out to be a run of the mill shooter. It does have a bit going for it in the likes of running smoothly and without much error beyond clipping issues when your bad guy dies a static death, but still a fully average title on the whole.

It combines an interesting plot with nonstop action in a coherent matter. However, the complete absence of innovation, linear levels, tepid multiplayer, irritating vocal effects, and unspectacular artificial intelligence keep this title from reaching its potential.

The final level feels abrupt, not allowing the surprising end to have as much of an impact as it should. However, despite some frustrating moments and the somewhat disappointing later levels, Chaser is an enjoyable shooter with an interesting story that will keep you guessing until the very end.

When you get down to the basics, Chaser doesn't offer any particular innovations in terms of gameplay...Thanks to several technical mishaps, topped with AI flaws, this game won't accomplish much with heavy FPS competition looming right around the corner.

A good-looking shooter that's only fun for the first few hours.

The graphics, aside from being ever so shiny, are entirely unremarkable - they're decent, but nothing more, with rather coarse character design. [Dec 2003, p.95]