Chase Ace 2

"Fly your spaceship around on the level and shoot at everything that shoots at you."

You've just read the entire instruction manual for Chase Ace 2, Space Time Foam's top-down action game that puts a pretty face on old-school arcade gameplay. The actual game isn't quite that simple, considering that there are things like refueling zones where ailing ships can replenish their shields and weapons and safe zones that offer a respite from the relentless action, but there's still very little time to think about anything other than your immediate survival. And with up to eight players fighting just for the sake of fighting, multiplayer matches can generate a lot of trash talk. Chase Ace 2 is all about fast reflexes, as players must constantly nab power-ups and avoid obstacles like mines and gravity wells, all while trying to both shoot enemies and avoid being shot. It's a lot like Combat from the old Atari 2600 days, if Combat was soaked in gasoline, lit on fire, and launched into outer space.

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The "2" in the game's name is there for a reason, as this is the sequel to the popular Chase Ace. New in this edition are AI-controlled enemies, better graphics, and completely customizable gameplay. The only thing that hasn't changed is the high-speed mayhem that takes place during each game. The playable ships have slightly different top speeds and turning radii, but each hurtles around the arenas at blinding speeds and maneuvers with the agility of a housefly. Combat is purely "point and shoot," but drawing a bead on a wildly maneuvering enemy while dodging obstacles and incoming fire is a real challenge.

Aside from the frenetic action, Chase Ace 2 is most famous for its slick graphics engine. Playing the game is like plunging into a cartoon, complete with screen-filling explosions that send debris flying everywhere. Chase Ace 2's arenas are just as deadly as enemy spacecraft, packed with things like automated turrets, acid puddles, and bombs. Despite the game's pseudo-3D look, the entire game is done in 2D and runs smoothly on just about any system without requiring an accelerator card.

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Like most games from independent developers, much of Chase Ace 2's appeal comes from its open-ended nature. Players can customize nearly every aspect of the game, and it comes with a complete level editor that has been put to good use by a loyal fan community. Space Time Foam maintains a page at its site where these levels can be downloaded, and as each is only a few kilobytes in size, it's easy to spend hours exploring other people's creations. The drag-and-drop interface for making levels is about as straightforward as these things get, and we had created our first small arena within an hour of launching the editor.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about Chase Ace 2 is that so few people were involved in its creation. One individual, Tobias Thorsen, was responsible for the bulk of the game, and several of his friends pitched in to create more levels, music, graphics, and sound effects. Thorsen was kind enough to answer some of our questions about the game and being an independent developer.

Next: Dive into our Q&A with Chase Ace 2's Tobias Thorsen