Chasm: The Shadow Zone
Preview by Al Giovetti, 02/16/97
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Genre: action adventure (Doom Clone)
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Developer: Action Forms
Publisher: Megamedia
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Web site: http://www.megamed.com/chasm/chasm.html
System Requirements: 486 DX2-66 Mhz CPU, Standard VGA Card, 8 MB of RAM, 6 MB of hard disk space

History:

Company line: Mankind in the process of development is facing the inexplicable phenomenon - the destruction of the normal sequence of time from the past to the future.Time channels are forming in the earth's atmosphere. These channels are leading to different periods of social development. Through these channels the most aggressive creatures start to penetrate from both the past and present and to the future.

You, the game player, is the soldier of the special commando unit with the mission to locate, pin-point and finally destroy the time channels and eliminate all alien living forms.While migrating along time channels all living creatures are undergoing irreversible mutations that are making them wild and aggressive. The game features 14 intriguing and interconnected missions. Each mission begins with the unit commander briefing at which the team leader is setting the target, mission and the goal of this military assignment.

Plot: Time channels let in beasts from other dimensions and times, which you as a special time commando must seek out and kill before they reach your world.

Game play: Separation of parts of monster enabling monster to stay alive continuing to act depending on degree of damage. One of the neatest things about the game is the ability to shoot off arms and legs and even feet to give some rather strange effects. Shooting off an arm could leave an opponent helpless and unable to attack. The game is composed of fourteen interconnected missions all relating to the ultimate goal of cleaning out the time streams. Weapons: A throwing disk will sever arms neatly.

Graphics: The graphics are composed of 3-D Polygon texture-mapped vector models with pre-rendered shadow mapping (static lights).

Animation: Animation is smoother in polygon based three dimensional games like Quake and SkyNET when compared to Duke Nukem and Redneck Rampage.

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Multi-player: Head-to-head, multi-player, network support.

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References:
Steve Bauman, Computer Games, number 74, March, 1997, pg. 32.