Chasm: The Rift

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Chasm: The Rift

Developer(s)	Action Forms, WizardWorks Software
Publisher(s)	GT Interactive Software
Released	1997
Genre	First-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Platform(s)	MS-DOS
System requirements	486DX4/100 mHz processor, 16 MB ram, VGA/SVGA video card
Input methods	Keyboard, Mouse

Chasm: The Rift is a first-person shooter computer game developed by Action Forms and WizardWorks Software and published by GT Interactive Software. The game was released in 1997, one year after Quake, the then-leader of the category. Chasm matched up with Quake in many aspects (graphical level of detail, engine speed, animation), but was generally ignored by the public at the time. One of the most notable features of the game was the ability to remove limbs from enemies. Many of the weapons were created in order to cause these limbs to be cut or blown off while the enemy is still alive. Many of the levels and enemies resemble an Ancient Egyptian theme. All of the levels involve dark corridors like that of catacombs and crypts. For fans of the Quake genre, it was a welcome addition to the (then sparse) first-person-shooter genre. However, in retrospect, the game lacks variety and slickness when compared with Quake itself. The game's official site was chasm3d.com and is now defunct.

1 Weapons
2 Enemies
3 Editing
4 External links

Weapons

Rifle -
The No-Ammo weapon accessed by pressing 1 is a low damage rifle. This is similar to the pistol in Doom and even more so similar to the rifle used in Doom beta tests. It has an unlimited amount of ammunition. This is a very ineffective weapon for severing limbs.

Super Shotgun -
The first weapon you will find is the super shotgun. It is used by pressing the hotkey 2. The model for the gun appears to be a double barrel shotgun however this weapon only uses 1 shell at a time. The bullet spread is very limited therefore the effective range of this gun is not. The fire rate is about 1 shot per second. The shell ammunition is readily available and is dropped by most enemies within the first level set. Boxes of shells (coming in sets of 10 or 20) are also very common throughout the game.

Volcano -
The next weapon is the Volcano. It is a chaingun weapon which can keep enemies at bay, despite the fact that individual bullets shot out are weaker than the rifle's bullets. Ammo isn't very available in the first episode, however it becomes more available on the following episodes. Ammo for the weapon comes in sets of 50 bullets per pickup.

BladeGun -
The BladeGun is a weapon which shoots out blades that can very easily remove enemy limbs, and shoots out at a fast rate. Hotkey 4 will select the weapon. It is useful in close quarters against Werehogs and other enemies like it. Ammo packs for this gun have 20 blades in them.

Laser Crossbow -
The Laser Crossbow is the third additional weapon found in the game, accessed by pressing hotkey 5. It is very powerful and has a nice rate of fire, able to stun and remove limbs of enemies much easier than the BladeGun. Ammo comes in sets of 20 laser arrows per pickup.

Grenader -
The Grenader is a weapon that shoots out rocket propelled grenades. They can very easily sever limbs because of their splash damage radius, and can also be used to harm enemies that are not in the line of sight. The weapon is also very dangerous to use at point blank range, so it's not recommended to be used at such a range. Accessed with hotkey 6.

Land Mines -
The Land Mines have more power than the Grenader, but the Land Mines can only be placed on the ground. The player must place them at some point where the enemies will only run over them, not the player themself. Every mine placed has a few seconds of delay before they activate, in which case anyone that goes near them, even the player, will cause them to detonate. Land Mines come in sets of 4. The hotkey to access this weapon is 7.

Mega Destroyer -
The Mega Destroyer is the most powerful weapon in the game. It's impact and splash damage is far greater than that of the Grenader, however ammunition for the Mega Destroyer is less available than the other weapons in the game, and the projectile is shot out like a long-ranged grenade throw. Each ammo pickup for this weapon is worth 2 points of ammo. The hotkey to access this weapon is 8.

Enemies

The enemies in Chasm are known as Timestrikers. They are monsters that travel through time rifts. This is why they resemble specific time periods.

Scorpion -
The Scorpion is the first enemy encountered in the game. These creatures are very fast and quite a threat in dark corridors while being occupied by stronger enemies. The exoskeleton of the scorpion is a golden color, they appear to be 2 feet long from head to tip, and their stingers consist of 3 barbs, so rather than sting, they try to use these stingers to tear at their victims. Scorpions do not have any limbs that can be severed. They are very weak and most easily dispatched with 2 rifle shots, 1 shotgun blast, or less than 10 bullets from the chaingun.

Mong -
Mongs are mutated soldiers wearing gas masks, and use rifles. Blowing off the arm carrying most of the gun will prevent them from shooting at long range, but they can still attack at close range. They are not much of a threat.

Stratos -
Stratos are flying soldiers which shoot projectiles from the bottom of their legs. Their legs can be blown off, but it is very tricky to do. Also, no matter where the finishing shot is done on them, their death animation will show them having their head blown off.

Faust -
Fausts are highly-armored soldiers that is armed with a bazooka. They are one of the more dangerous enemies, as their rockets hurt as much as the Grenader's projectiles do, so not getting out of the way of their rockets is catastrophe, unless the player has the reflector powerup active. Blowing off the arm holding the bazooka will remove their ability to shoot rockets, but can still get close and cause damage.

Turret -
The Turrets were used by the Platoon, but now they have gone berserk and will shoot anything on sight. However, if the player peeks around the corner and sees it, they can attack it with a weapon. They are defeated when they cannot redirect towards the player.

Gross -
Gross' are monstrous-looking cavemen which attack with a spiked club and throw rocks at the player. The rocks are very hard to dodge as they are very small. It is the first large normal enemy found in the game.

Zombie -
They are the walking undead, and cannot be killed by simply shooting at them. They attack by biting or hitting, or if the player is at a distance from them, make a loud scream which harms players that are in their line of sight. If they scream from a distance, they are left open to gunfire. Enough damage has to be dealt on them before they can be killed through decapitation.

Punisher -
The Punisher is a large beer-bellied and muscled man wearing a red hood over it's head. It attacks with a large axe which it throws at range or uses it as a melee weapon at close range. The Super Shotgun cannot shoot off limbs from this monster, so using a weapon like the Laser Crossbow to blow off the arm holding the axe is better. The Punisher is one of the few enemies in the game which cannot be decapitated by any means.

Lionman -
The Lionman is a humanoid with the body of a warrior and the head of a lion. They run pretty fast and wield a shield and a mace. Using a weapon that can keep them stunned is recommended, as their weapons hurt pretty bad, and also the fact that they are encountered inside small areas most of the time.

Joker -
Jokers are humanoid monsters wearing Jester attire. They attack using their unique Blade Guns, and the blades shot out move side to side slightly before hitting something, either the player, another monster, or the wall. In the Chasm Demo test, the Blades would home in towards the player's current position.

Viking -
These vikings are mutants armed with a shield and an axe, and will attack with either, and also with their spiked helmets on top of their heads. Unlike Lionmen, vikings are more commonly found in open areas, and getting attacked by many is not good. Using the Mega Destroyer against a large amount of them in large areas is recommended.

Werehog -
Werehogs are mutated Warthogs that charge towards the player to gore him/her with their tusks. The best weapons to use against them are the Volcano or the BladeGun. Their rate of attack and the areas which they sometimes spawn in make them one of the most dangerous enemies in the game.