Some games are too clever by half. Today's technology allows game designers so much leeway for creativity that they sometimes get caught up in adding bells and whistles to a game without ever creating a core of fun gameplay first. With the near-future shooter Chaser, Slovakian developer Cauldron has made a game that might not be the flashiest out there, but is one with a whole lot of heart. It doesn't break much new ground, and it's not as polished as it should be, but it offers loads of thrilling, old-school shooter action.

Our hero gets into even more trouble.

Chaser opens with cinematic verve aboard a massive space station orbiting Earth sometime in the near future. As the opening credits roll, two small ships roar toward the station. As soon as they dock, armed troops in body armor and menacing masks pour into the station. Meanwhile, in a medical lab elsewhere aboard the station, the amnesiac hero of the game, John Chaser, suffers through frightening flashbacks as he lies on an examining table. The flood of disturbing images awakens Chaser, who's serving as some sort of test subject in an experiment we can only guess at. Just as Chaser groggily gets to his feet, the troops come barreling around the corner toward the lab. When they spot Chaser, they open fire, missing our hero but setting off a chain reaction that threatens the entire station.

And with that, the chase is on as you try to escape the station with your life. With a nod to Half-Life (and countless sci-fi movies), conduits burst around you, electric arcs from broken relay panels dance across the floor, and huge support beams coming crashing down around your head. As if that weren't enough, there seems to be an enemy soldier at every turn. Fortunately, you grab one of their guns early on, and for the rest of the opening level, you blast your way to freedom in one fast-paced firefight after another.

From there, it's back to Earth, where you get mixed up with the Mafia and the Yakuza, engage in countless fierce firefights in varied locales, do a little infiltration and espionage work, and ultimately head to Mars to uncover the secret behind Chaser's past. The story leads you into political intrigue at the highest levels, with an evil political and business cartel trying to eradicate rebel freedom fighters on Mars.

None of this is particularly original, but developer Cauldron knows how to milk a proven cliché for all it's worth. For instance, the opening sequence aboard the space station sounds--and ultimately is--hackneyed, but it's handled quite nicely. The intro cinematic is crafted with directorial flair, using some exciting camera angles and editing to create a fun action sequence that also shows just how confused the hero is.

Blood flows freely in Chaser.

The gameplay that immediately follows the intro movie is filled with nonstop action. Some shooters try to get fancy with all kinds of clever cutscenes, scripted events, and role-playing elements, and sometimes those work spectacularly. But ultimately, shooters are action games, and without exciting action, you don't have much to build on. Fortunately, you get into one blazing firefight after another during Chaser's first mission--and indeed in almost every mission. Guards pop out of doorways and ambush you from behind crates, and cross fire erupts at intersections. A warehouse shootout during a later mission is so over the top, so outrageously violent, that it would make John Woo proud. In another highlight of the game, you engage in a long, running gun battle in a luxury hotel. Glass shatters as grenades and bullets fly every which way, steam pipes vent with a hiss when they get hit, and blood splatters the walls as the bodies pile up. It feels like a cross between a Quentin Tarantino movie and the famous lobby battle in The Matrix. In fact, Chaser includes an "adrenaline mode" that lets you slow time like in that film or Max Payne. It's not necessary for success, and combat is usually more exciting at full speed, but it's a nice option to have for particularly tough encounters.

Chaser's villains aren't brilliant, but they act smartly enough to provide a real challenge. They'll frequently take cover, and they have aim that's good enough to keep you on your toes--or rather, keep you ducking behind pillars and crates. They're also placed very well throughout the levels to ensure some fun surprises. Between the placement of enemies and the frequency and pacing of the firefights, Chaser at times bears a surprising resemblance to Doom, but with smarter enemies and real-world weapons. That's no small praise.