Info about Chaser:

Official game description:
Mars, 2044. The UN establishes MARSCORP (Martian Security and Economics Committee) under the leadership of Samuel Longwood. In the years that follow, the UN gradually loses control of MARSCORP, mainly due to the non-transparent licence policy of its director. Longwood uses his autonomous status to create vassal relations between the corporations and MARSCORP. The unshakable power position of MARSCORP is supported by the companies and thus they acquire additional rights and licenses. Longwood and his consortium become extremely wealthy from this arrangement. However, dissenting voices in MARSCORP begin to challenge Samuel Longwood's authoritarian policy. They demand his dismissal as director and a complete redistribution of the mining rights.  
But Samuel Longwood keeps an ace up his sleeve for occasions like this…  
Chaser awakens on board the spaceship H.M.S. Majestic. He doesn't know who he is, what he's doing here, why he is being sought by men in black uniforms and what they will do to him when they find him…  
The player's goal is to find out who Chaser really is and why he is being hunted. The story leads the player from the H.M.S. Majestic to Montack City on Earth, then on to Siberia and finally to Mars, where the trail ends and hopefully the truth can be found.
Key features:
-------------
*   Based on Cauldron's cloakNT engine. Boasts state of the art graphical features and is perfectly suited for rendering large environments.  
*   Authentic weapons: Nearly all the weapons in the game are modelled on real-life equivalents. The developers placed a great deal of emphasis on building detailed replicas.  
*   Engaging storyline: In the search for his identity, Chaser becomes involved in a plot full of twists and turns.  
*   Highly developed A.I.  
*   Multiplayer support via GameSpy as well as dedicated servers.  
*   Numerous multiplayer modes including teamplay modes in the style of Counter-Strike and Team Fortress as well as deathmatch and capture the flag.

Release date: 16 Jul, 2010

Categories: First-Person Shooter, Single-player Story, Competitive Multiplayer, Linear Progression, Exploration, Puzzle Solving, Stealth Gameplay


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Diverse and Satisfying Gunplay (weight 0.42): The game offers a wide array of weapons, each with distinct characteristics and often secondary fire modes, contributing to varied and engaging combat scenarios. The gunplay is described as solid, crisp, and precise, providing a satisfying shooting experience with good recoil and impact.
- Impressive Graphics and Cutscenes (weight 0.23): The game's graphics and visuals are considered impressive for its release year (2003), with many reviewers noting they still hold up well today. Cutscenes are also highlighted for their quality and cinematic direction, showcasing a strong effort in storytelling and presentation for the era.
- Captivating and Addictive Gameplay (weight 0.18): The game is often described as captivating, addictive, and possessing a unique charm that makes players want to return to it. It offers a good challenge and is considered a good value for its price.
- Varied and Atmospheric Locations (weight 0.17): The game features a wide variety of distinct and visually appealing locations, ranging from space stations and futuristic cities to Siberian landscapes and Mars. This diversity in environments contributes significantly to the game's atmosphere and keeps the player engaged.
- Excellent and Atmospheric Soundtrack (weight 0.15): The game's soundtrack is consistently praised as a strong point, with many tracks described as excellent, memorable, and perfectly fitting the game's futuristic and cyberpunk atmosphere. The music enhances the overall experience, especially during tense moments and sci-fi settings.
- Engaging and Twisty Plot (weight 0.12): The game's story is generally considered decent to good, with many reviewers finding it surprisingly captivating and full of unexpected twists. While some compare it to 'Total Recall', the plot is noted for its engaging premise and ability to hold attention.
- Lengthy Campaign and Large Levels (weight 0.12): The game features a remarkably long campaign for a linear first-person shooter, offering many hours of gameplay. This extended length, combined with large and expansive levels, provides a significant challenge and substantial content for players.
- Classic Old-School FPS (weight 0.06): The game is widely regarded as a classic and memorable old-school first-person shooter, particularly for its era. It's often highlighted as a quality and competitive FPS, especially given it was the developer's first attempt in the genre.
- Diverse Mission Scenarios (weight 0.05): Beyond standard shooting, the game incorporates a variety of unique mission types and gameplay scenarios, including stealth sections, escort missions, underwater exploration, and sniping episodes. This diversity adds depth and variety to the overall gameplay experience.
- Strong Cyberpunk Art Style (weight 0.05): The game's art design and visual style, particularly its cyberpunk and sci-fi elements, are highly appreciated. Reviewers note the aesthetic's resemblance to works like 'Blade Runner' and its effective contribution to the overall atmosphere.
- Immersive Linear Level Design (weight 0.04): The level design is noted for being linear yet immersive, with some levels offering alternative paths and not being confined to simple corridors. The engine's capability to handle large levels is also highlighted.
- Challenging Combat and AI (weight 0.04): The game presents challenging enemy encounters, particularly in the early stages, which encourage tactical play. Boss fights are also noted for their difficulty, contributing to a demanding combat experience.
- Quality Russian Voice Acting (weight 0.03): The Russian voice acting is specifically praised for its quality and the effort put in by the actors, with some reviewers preferring it over the English version.

Common complaints:
- Unfair Enemy Difficulty (weight 0.97): The game's difficulty is often perceived as unfair and inconsistent, largely due to enemy design. Enemies frequently spawn unexpectedly, have instant reaction times, possess high health and damage, and can shoot through walls, leading to frustrating and cheap deaths.
- Confusing Level Design (weight 0.85): The game's level design is consistently criticized for being confusing, repetitive, and illogical. Players frequently get lost due to identical-looking rooms, hidden paths, and a lack of clear guidance or a map, making progression a chore.
- Weak Story & Repetitive Missions (weight 0.75): The game's story is widely considered confusing, underdeveloped, and ultimately unsatisfying. Additionally, many missions, especially those deviating from standard shooting, are described as dull, repetitive, and poorly designed, lacking variety and engaging gameplay.
- Unsatisfying Weapon Mechanics (weight 0.72): Weapon mechanics are criticized for being clunky, lacking impact, and having inconsistent damage. Many weapons feel useless, and explosive weapons are particularly ineffective, contributing to a bland and frustrating combat experience.
- Technical Issues & Bugs (weight 0.72): The game is plagued by numerous technical issues, including frequent bugs, glitches, crashes, and poor optimization. These problems significantly hinder the player experience and make the game feel unpolished and at times unplayable.
- Poor Voice Acting (weight 0.71): The voice acting, particularly the Russian localization, is widely criticized for being unprofessional, stiff, and often out of sync. This poor audio quality detracts from the game's atmosphere and overall presentation.
- Clunky Jumping Mechanic (weight 0.65): The jumping mechanic is poorly implemented, with the character often unable to jump over small obstacles or getting stuck. This makes platforming sections frustrating and limits player movement in levels.
- Outdated Graphics & Animations (weight 0.64): The game's graphics and animations are considered outdated and subpar, even for its release era. Character models and cutscenes are particularly criticized for their stiffness and lack of polish.
- Useless Slow-Motion Feature (weight 0.63): The 'Adrenaline' (slow-motion) mode is largely considered useless and poorly implemented. It often blinds the player, doesn't aid aiming, and has a slow recharge, making it an ineffective gameplay feature.

Gameplay feedback:
- Long and Challenging Playtime (weight 0.17): The game is notably long and challenging, with playtime often exceeding 13-20 hours, even on normal difficulty. Its difficulty can lead to frequent deaths and requires players to think to progress through large levels.
- Amnesiac Protagonist Hunted (weight 0.16): The game's central narrative revolves around the protagonist, John Chaser, who suffers from amnesia and is hunted by various factions, including MarsCorp. His journey involves uncovering his identity and the reasons behind his pursuit.
- Frequent Manual Quicksaves (weight 0.12): The game lacks an auto-save feature, making frequent manual quicksaves essential for progression. Players are advised to save constantly, sometimes even during combat, to avoid replaying long sections.
- Classic Sci-Fi FPS (weight 0.11): The game is a classic, linear first-person shooter with a strong sci-fi and cyberpunk aesthetic. It emphasizes traditional run-and-gun gameplay in a futuristic dystopian setting.
- Varied Mission Types (weight 0.08): The game offers a good variety of mission types beyond standard shooting, including stealth segments, underwater levels, sniper missions, and vehicle piloting sections like mechs and submarines.
- Diverse Futuristic Locations (weight 0.08): The game features diverse and interesting locations, spanning from a space station and Earth (including Russia and its Gulags) to Mars. These environments contribute to the futuristic and global scope of the narrative.
- Challenging Enemy Encounters (weight 0.08): Enemies in the game are generally tough, even on easier difficulties, and can kill the player quickly. The game features a mix of human enemies and automated turrets, with some levels requiring puzzle-solving.
- Extensive Weapon Arsenal (weight 0.05): The game features an extensive arsenal of weapons, many of which are modern-looking or popular firearms from the early 2000s, despite the futuristic setting.
- Unusual Crouch-Jumping Mechanic (weight 0.05): The game features an unusual crouch-jumping mechanic, where players must press crouch mid-jump to reach higher areas. This mechanic is introduced early in a tutorial.
- Lack of Player Guidance (weight 0.04): The game lacks modern player guidance features such as maps, compasses, or objective markers. Players must rely on environmental observation and self-guessing to navigate and progress.
- Total Recall Inspired Plot (weight 0.04): The game's plot is heavily influenced by the movie 'Total Recall' and Philip K. Dick's story 'We Can Remember It for You Wholesale,' particularly regarding themes of memory and identity.

Performance notes:
- Frequent crashes and bugs (weight 0.06): The game is plagued by numerous bugs, including frequent crashes, freezes, and graphical glitches, particularly in the aquatic phase, making it difficult to progress. These issues significantly hinder the gameplay experience.
- Getting stuck in geometry (weight 0.05): Players and enemies frequently get stuck in the environment, leading to frustrating situations where progression is halted or enemies exploit glitches like shooting through walls or instantly killing players.
- Varying bug experiences (weight 0.02): Some players reported experiencing no significant bugs or only minor, non-critical issues, suggesting that the bug experience might vary among users.
- Cumbersome key input (weight 0.01): The game requires manual input of a product key at every launch due to a code protection system, which is a cumbersome and outdated process.
- Performance workarounds (weight 0.01): Players have found workarounds for performance issues on modern PCs, such as limiting FPS and disabling certain graphical enhancements, to improve stability.
- Noclip command disabled (weight 0.01): The 'noclip' command, a common debugging or exploration tool, has been disabled in the Steam version of the game, limiting player freedom.

Recommendations:
- Mixed Recommendation (weight 0.27): Many reviews express mixed feelings about recommending the game, often suggesting it's only worth playing under specific conditions like nostalgia, a deep discount, or a tolerance for older game mechanics. Some outright advise against it, while others suggest caution or a trial run.
- Nostalgia & Old-School Appeal (weight 0.1): The game is frequently recommended to players who have a nostalgic connection to it from their childhood or who generally enjoy older games from the early 2000s. This suggests its appeal is largely to a specific demographic.
- Varied Numerical Ratings (weight 0.07): Several reviews include specific numerical ratings for the game, ranging from low to high. This cluster primarily reflects subjective scoring without detailed explanations, and some ratings appear to be non-standard or humorous.
- Worth Buying on Sale (weight 0.04): Many reviewers suggest purchasing the game, especially when it is on sale, indicating that its value proposition is significantly improved by a discount. Some believe it's worth it even at full price due to its low cost.
- Comparisons to Other FPS (weight 0.03): The game is compared to other classic FPS titles like Max Payne, Quake 2, Red Faction, and Fear, suggesting it shares similarities in gameplay or style. Some reviewers imply that other games from the era might be superior.
- Localization & Audio Issues (weight 0.02): There are specific recommendations regarding the game's audio, with some suggesting playing in English due to issues with Russian localization, while others prefer the Russian voice acting for nostalgic reasons.
- Requires Perseverance (weight 0.02): Reviewers note that completing the game requires significant perseverance and observation, implying a challenging or potentially frustrating experience. Respect is given to those who manage to finish it without assistance.
- Difficulty & Save Mechanics (weight 0.02): Players recommend playing the game on easier difficulties (Easy or Normal) and utilizing the quick-save function (F5) to mitigate frustration and reduce the need for excessive save-scumming.
- Not for Younger Gamers (weight 0.01): The game is noted as potentially unsuitable for younger gamers who are unfamiliar with classic FPS movement techniques like bunny-hopping and circle-strafing, suggesting a learning curve for modern players.
- Version Consistency Concern (weight 0.01): A reviewer notes that the CD-ROM version might differ from the Steam version, but considers it unlikely due to the game's lack of updates, indicating a concern about version consistency.
- Desire for Sequel (weight 0.01): One reviewer expresses a long-standing desire for a sequel, indicating a strong positive sentiment and a wish for more content in the series.

Other player notes:
- Mediocre, uninspired experience (weight 0.03): The game is described as mediocre, not particularly good or bad, and failing to stand out. This suggests a lack of innovation or compelling features.
- Potential for modern remake (weight 0.02): Reviewers express a desire for a remake, believing the game has potential to be significantly improved and shine with modern updates. This suggests the core concept is strong but execution is lacking due to age.
- CD-Key prompt workaround (weight 0.02): A common technical issue is the game prompting for a CD-Key on first launch. Users found a workaround by ignoring the prompt or confirming an empty window, allowing the game to run.
- Dated early 2000s shooter (weight 0.02): The game is identified as an older title, specifically a passable shooter from the early 2000s. This sets expectations for its age and genre conventions.
- Unusual default reload key (weight 0.01): The default reload key is the scroll wheel, which is an unusual and potentially inconvenient binding. Players can easily change this to the more standard 'R' key.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.24): Players experienced significant frustration primarily due to poor and confusing level design, leading to difficulties with navigation, getting lost, and an inability to progress. This was compounded by unfair difficulty spikes, unbalanced combat, inconsistent AI, and numerous game-breaking bugs, particularly in specific challenging missions like underwater or sniper levels. The combination of these issues made the game feel like a chore for many.
- Disappointment (weight 0.18): Disappointment stemmed from the game not living up to expectations or its perceived potential, often feeling unpolished, outdated, or rushed. Common causes included a decline in quality in the latter half of the game, a confusing or poorly executed story, subpar voice acting, and generic gameplay that failed to innovate. Many felt the game had good ideas but suffered from poor execution, leading to an overall underwhelming experience.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.17): Satisfaction was derived from the game's core gameplay, particularly its gunfights, weapon variety, and overall action, which provided a classic shooter experience. Players also appreciated the game's atmosphere, music, and visuals, especially considering its release era. Completing challenging sections or the entire game, along with finding solutions for technical issues, contributed to a sense of accomplishment and enjoyment.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.07): Nostalgia was a strong emotion for players who experienced the game in their childhood or youth, recalling past experiences and the old-school shooter mechanics. The game served as a reminder of classic gaming eras, often enjoyed today for its historical significance and the memories it evoked.
- Appreciation (weight 0.04): Players appreciated the developers' ambition, the game's unique charm, and its distinct aesthetic, including the art design and soundtrack. The game was valued for its old-school FPS style, challenging design, and its unique place in the genre's history, despite its flaws.
- Anger (weight 0.04): Anger was primarily directed at severe design flaws, particularly in the final level, which was described as extremely difficult and unfair due to bugs and poor implementation. This led to feelings of wasted time and a desire for refunds, indicating a strong negative reaction to specific game elements.
- Amusement (weight 0.03): Amusement arose from the game's perceived brokenness and 
- Admiration (weight 0.03): Admiration was expressed for the game's technical achievements for its time, such as glass physics and water effects, as well as its strong atmosphere and soundtrack. Players also admired the game's ambition, length, and the enduring quality of its mechanics and plot.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.03): Enjoyment stemmed from the overall gameplay experience, particularly the brutal FPS style and certain missions. Many found the game 
- Challenge (weight 0.02): Players found the game to be a difficult but ultimately rewarding experience, appreciating its high difficulty and unusual, unforgiving mechanics. This emotion highlights a positive response to the game's demanding nature.
- Confusion (weight 0.01): Confusion was caused by the game's labyrinthine level design, unclear progression, and inconsistent world-building. Players struggled to understand the game's narrative and navigate its environments effectively.
- Boredom (weight 0.01): Boredom resulted from the game feeling dragged out, with repetitive levels and a story that failed to maintain player interest. The overall gameplay experience became monotonous for some.
- Acceptance (weight 0.01): Acceptance reflected players' acknowledgment of the game's flaws and 
- Joy (weight 0.01): Joy was experienced through an overall positive gameplay experience, the pleasure of replaying the game, and the unique, albeit sometimes 
- Annoyance (weight 0.01): Annoyance was caused by bugs, irritating vocal effects, hidden passages, and the lack of an autosave feature, which collectively detracted from the gameplay experience.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Surprise arose from the game exceeding expectations or having a surprisingly positive reception, indicating that some players anticipated a worse experience than what they encountered.
- Dislike (weight 0.01): Dislike was a general negative sentiment towards the game's overall quality, specifically citing poor game design and graphics as primary reasons.
- Regret (weight 0.01): Regret was expressed either for missing out on the game earlier in its history or for having to abandon the game due to insurmountable issues.
- Desire (weight 0.01): Desire was specifically for a remake of the game, indicating a belief in its potential for improvement with modern updates.
- Ambivalence (weight 0.01): Ambivalence reflected mixed feelings about the overall game experience, suggesting that players found both positive and negative aspects that balanced each other out.}