Caligo Chaser Review

Being a reviewer, I typically have a good sense of what works in a game and what doesn't. Not only do I have a good sense, but I can pretty accurately tell if a game is going to be good after playing for 2 minutes. I'm not harping on having some kind of unique skill, but I'm not usually wrong on this. I freely admit to you today, however, that I was wrong about Caligo Chaser.

After downloading the game from the App Store, I booted it up, stared at it for a few seconds, and then put it away. Maybe I'd was too enamored with Game Center to give the game a deeper look, but I just wasn't interested. After a day or two of staring at the icon, I went back to Caligo Chaser and started playing.

First off, the game really isn't all that pretty. It's just not sharp looking. Not unappealingly dull, but it's not to the level of some of the other games I've been playing. It looks a lot like it belongs on a Super Nintendo, which isn't a terrible thing, just not what my eyes are now used to. The menu system is at best functional, and at worst just plain ugly. The buttons are too small, the letters are a bit fuzzy, and some of the icons are hard to differentiate from others. When you find yourself confused between a skull and a ring, you know you have a problem.

Past the, err, graphical imperfections, though. is a deep game that will keep you entertained for quite some time. The game is set up like many RPG's, with a bunch of side quests on top of an overarching, sinister story. I'll admit, I've played games with better stories, but this one isn't too bad once you get into it. The abundance of side quests also gives the game a much longer shelf life, lasting many many hours. Each side quest is built for the iPhone, meaning that they only take about 5-10 minutes to beat; you can play the game in quick sessions rather than in huge chunks. Many iPhone RPG's miss the boat on this, but I think that it is a great quality for an iPhone game app.

While the game does have a good deal of depth, the individual levels do not. Once you actually get into a level, it's all combat, and it's all fast. Button mash here, special move there, and a few potions later and that level is done. None of them are overly hard, but the further you get along in the game, the more effort you have to put in. I go through phases with the combat, sometimes I love the button mash-fest, sometimes I wish it was a bit more involved. Just don't expect to need a great deal of strategy to move along.

As questionable as things may seem though, Caligo Chaser's individual parts come together to form a great whole. I find myself all the time laying in bed until 2AM, telling myself that I'll only play one more level, or one more quest. Maybe it's the compartmentalized levels or maybe it's the story that is just good enough to suck me in for a bit more. Whatever the reason is, I'd definitely recommend Caligo Chaser to any RPG fan.