Caster for Mac

[singlepic=257,500,,,center]

If I look at my games collection (BioShock, Stalker, the Fallout series, Mass Effect) it’s full of epic, involved titles, marinated in back story, that take countless hours to complete. I revel in their longevity. I look for titles that are thoroughly immersive and escapist. And so, I overlook smaller titles.

But there are times when I just can’t face an eight hour romp in a post apocalyptic world or in the depths of space and I need something lighter, something brighter. Something where your aim is to blow things up, make mountains and dodge all manner of glowing, flowing, energy spell thingys. 

And so, Caster!

Caster is thin on story, heavy on special effects, and while it’s not an epic tale, it certainly ticks the boxes of instant, intuitive and speedy gameplay. 

At first, Caster didn’t grab me. It felt a little thin on content. The story doesn’t really evolve past “aliens have invaded” and levels are the same “collect the energy balls” or “destroy all enemies”, but the gameplay, complete with many levels of upgradable weaponary, make for an entertaining ride, jumping, running and destroying landscapes, all in super high speed, courtesy of your boost powers.

[singlepic=258,500,,,center]

Central to Caster is the deformable landscape, damned unique for a title made by one man. Any weapon you use (or more correctly, cast from your mits) can damage areas of the landscape, making gulleys or trenches to hide or lure enemies into. As you progress through the game you’ll find new weapons that let you more powerfully effect the landscape, hurling great chunks of conjured land at enemies, in no time at all making ridiculously high mountains that you then knock down just for laughs. Caster’s environments are varied too; snow, desert, jungle, lava, lake. The super speed that you can achieve reacts differently to what you’re running over. If you have enough boost, you can run across expanses of water, over enemies heads, propelling yourself high into the air, avoiding the attacks of your enemies.

[singlepic=259,500,,,center]

The lack of story isn’t really an issue as the creator, Mike from Elecorn, has said that Caster will take the form of episodic content. If you buy the game, you get the rest – when released – for free. So while Caster may at times feel like it’s a little thin on content and a tad experimental, Caster’s shining moments – some brilliantly thought out levels and a truly original boss ending – are a sign of great things to come.

[singlepic=260,500,,,center]

With a sprinkling of mystery and a slice of story, Caster may just evolve into a engrossing game.

Head over to Elecorn and download the demo.