While certainly not the most advanced engine, Chasm still has what it needs to be a great shooter.
User Rating: 7.5 | Chasm: The Rift PC
Most gamers know Action Forms and WizardWorks best for thier work on the Carnivores Series. WizardWorks is also known for thier controversial releases of several Doom PWADS. What many gamers tend to ignore or don't know, is that Action Forms original shooter went by the name of Chasm: The Rift. Chasm was released in 1996 I believe, right around the time Quake and Quake 2 were making thier debuts, which were both Full 3-D games. While many consider Chasm to be a blatant Quake clone (Even though the first game to use Quakes new engine was actually HeXen II), it is actually a game based on its own engine. But how does it's engine stand up agianst giants like Quake? Well, even though the engine supported things like pixelated blood, monster dismemberment (Probably the games best feature), rain effects, destructable objects, smooth animations, and 3D rendering, the engine could not support things such as floor above floor like quke, and also did not feature any true height variations, something commonly seen through most games. In many ways, the way the maps were layed out mostly, basically layered the game as a 3D Wolfenstein 3D. None the less, Chasm did hvae noticeably smoother animations in thier characters than Quake, and overrall the game can be a ball of fun! However, its probally best that you try it out before buying the game from somewhere, as you might end up not liking it for some reason. However, at the same time, I promote the game as being fun, challenging, and full of action!
MULTIPLAYER:
CHasm: The Rift originally came packaged with an IPX and Serial connection online modes, which were not extremely popular. A later Addon however strengthened the multiplayer option. While the players could choose single player maps to deathmatch on, It was commonly found to be troubling in the matter that all locked doors remained locked, and that someone would need to take time to open everything up. However, there were also six special DM maps, or Deathmatch Arena maps, which had varying styles to them, such as a Tech base, Egyptian Throne Room, or even a medeival castle. However, none of these arenas were spectacular in anyway. Nonetheless, Multiplayer on these maps, especially in large groups, could still prove to be rather fun.
MODDING:
Chasm: The Rift was sold with a Level Editor on board the CD-ROM. However, it has been noted however that the Editor is difficult to use, and that options are very limited in the creation of the maps.
FINAL WORD:
While being fun, the game can sometimes be frustrating. However, the game should provide you with a few hours of entertainment every now and then, and the boss battles should make scratch your heads in thinking, "How the hell do I kill that?". However, the game is extremely limited in what it can do with its rather poor engine.
