Chasm: The Rift

Back in the day, making games was a lot different from games now, and in many cases, the story was not always among the most important parts of the game. That's why it was pretty common to see games that were pretty similar to each other. The gameplay was the clearer differentiator among them, of course. However, due to the hardware limitations, there was only so much developers could do to make them different from other titles. That's why games like Chasm: The Rift may end up so seemingly similar to other games of the same time. So, what is this game about? Why is it similar to other games of its time? Well, first we have to check out what is this game all about! So, let's get started

About the game

Chasm: The Rift is a first-person shooter originally released back in 1997, it was developed by Action Forms, and it was distributed by GT Interactive. Made by a small programming team in Russia, this made the game pretty unique already. You'll recognize the idea of this story immediately, a portal to another dimension has opened, and through it come horribly mutated monsters, that came to steal, destroy, and murder. That's where you come into play, as a faceless and nameless soldier -quite literally called the Faceless Soldier- it is your duty to clean up the disaster, eliminating the monsters, sending them back to hell, well, to their dimension.

As you progress the levels different and bigger mazes will appear, and with some common enemies and at these mazes you'll also come across different bosses, us all the big weapons you find through the levels to shoot them up until they die. There are plenty of guns available for you to use, and you can even pick up power-ups along the way. These include things like extra health or ammo, but also items such as grenades, shields, and more. Does any of the things we've mentioned ring a bell already?

Similar yet different

Well, any gamer would know already that this sounds all too similar to games like Doom and Quake, and yes, they are even released within a reasonable timeframe. So it would make it pretty difficult to stand out right? Technically as a 3D shooter, it does fall between Doom and Quake, which isn't even half bad. Especially when you consider that this game was developed by a small developing team in Russia.

Sure, Even though one of the biggest games of all times, Tetris, was created in Russia -Technically the Soviet Union then- the country isn't generally considered a staple for the video game industry. You rarely think of Russia and videogame developing together unless it is to talk about Tetris. But Chasm: The Rift managed to make itself known anyway, and this has something to do with its origin. This affects the art department and world-building and makes it stand out a little too.

Review: 6.5/10

Even though from a technical point of view the game is good, the general game itself isn't all that great. The visuals are not what you'd expect from its time, and the entire gameplay is cool, but it leaves a lot to be desired. The amount of detail is especially stellar when we talk about the enemies and their character design, and the world-building is great. The controls are pretty simple, the shooting mechanics are solid, and the game is fun to play if you don't mind the lack of challenge.

Pros:

• Good graphics and sound effects.
• Easy to understand
• Attention to detail

Cons:

• Short
• No real challenge.
• Not much replay value.

The Developers Of Chasm: The Rift are said to be making claims that their game is better than Quake. It's on that premise then, that I'm going to judge the game, so by the end of this review you'll all know if Chasm is indeed better than Quake. Where shall we start then? Let's check out the graphics, shall we?

Graphics

Considering that Quake already has a patch for OpenGL (and very nice it looks too), it came as a bit of a surprise to discover Chasm currently has no accelerator support whatsoever, although a 3Dfx patch is said to be in the pipeline. I'll just have to imagine what it will look like under 3Dfx then. Er, the graphics aren't quite as dull as Quake's, but they're not far off. Dark and dreary rooms are generally the order of the day, but at least there are some open environments to play around in. So let's call it a draw on the graphics front (assuming the 3Dfx patch shows up).

Level design

The levels in Chasm don't differ too greatly from those in every other Quake clone you may have played in the past. But then you could probably say that about Quake too. The big disappointment here is that there aren't any real surprises (unlike Shadow Warrior, which has them in spades). Let's call it another draw then.

Gameplay

Where Quake has some genuinely scary moments, Chasm has some genuinely snory moments. Think of the first time you were chased around a dark room by a Shambier in Quake. Now think about the heart attack you almost suffered as a result, quivering in your seat afraid to look up again at the screen. It's no secret that single-player Quake will win no awards for exciting gameplay, but at least it has its moments, which is more than can be said for Chasm. One up for Quake, then.

Originality

Don't make me laugh. When was the last time you saw a Quake or Doom clone and thought, 'blimey, this is really different'? It's just not going to happen, is it? Well, Duke Nukem at least tried I suppose. Having said that, while Quake is not the most original take on the genre you're likely to see, Chasm offers absolutely nothing new to a massively over-crowded sector of the games market. Quake triumphs a second time, then.

In summary

There are a few things to take into consideration here. To start with, Quake was released about a year ago and was pretty damn good for its time. If nothing else, Quake's game-engine was generally considered to be revolutionary and, don't forget, it paved the way for games like Daikatana. Chasm, on the other hand, has turned up a year later and won't really impress anyone who's played the hundreds of clones which preceded it. Considering that Daikatana, Half-Life and Quake 2 are almost upon us, do we really need a game like this? I think not.