Reviewed by Reno
September 30th 2003
Introduction:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds reunites Buffy with an enemy from her past, Ethan Rayne. Ethan has challenged The First, an absolute evil, to a competition between chosen champions for the prize of ultimate power. It’s up to Buffy and the gang to destroy The First and foil Ethan’s evil plot to obtain the power he desires.
The Game: The first thing that really struck me as I began my liberation of Buffy’s base of operations, The Magic Box, was the huge number of moves available. After playing a game with unbelievably repetitive combat sequences (Dynasty Warriors 4), I found this to be very refreshing. There are so many moves/spells available in Chaos Bleeds that only the most hardcore of gamers would ever be able to memorize them all. For the rest of us, there is the Buffy’s Slayer Handbook and Willow’s Spell Book; both of which contain a list of all known spells/moves. Even half way through the game I wasn’t tired of seeing Buffy kick the crap out of smart mouthed hellspawn.
The weapon selection in Chaos Bleeds was equally impressive. Buffy has everything at her disposal from shovels to crossbows. My favourite melee weapons were pitchforks, swords and shovels. Buffy can really kick some ass with a shovel! I have to be honest; I wasn’t a big fan of the ranged weapons. If you want to constantly die, use the ranged weapons.
Probably the most prevalent aspect of the game would be the puzzles. Chaos Bleeds is all about problem solving and puzzles. For the most part, the puzzles are all of the typical cookie-cutter variety. Ex: Find the fuse that activates the switch, which opens the door, which leads to the next area. Rarely, very rarely, you’ll encounter a puzzle that requires some serious thought or is extremely frustrating. The puzzles that require thought are quite rewarding and leave you with a real sense of accomplishment. The puzzles that are frustrating will usually send you online looking for a walkthrough (and 99% of the time the solution is something down-right stupid).
There are 4 different multiplayer modes in Chaos Bleeds: Survival, Bunny Catcher, Slayer Challenge and Domination. Due to the fact that it was only a 3-day rental, my buddies were working and wife is anti-xbox, I was unable to explore any of these modes other than Slayer Challenge. Slayer Challenge involves standing on pentagrams to draw out enemies, with the point of the game being to kill more enemies that your rival before meeting your death.
Without question, the weakest aspect of Chaos Bleeds would have to be the horrible camera control. If anything is near you (walls, enemies, allies, tables), the camera won’t move. While this isn’t much of a problem in early game, in late game it becomes a big headache. I don’t know how many times I died just because I couldn’t rotate the camera. Why can’t developers get the cameras right in 3rd person games?
Graphics & Sound: Buffy: Chaos Bleeds really showcases the power of the Xbox. Everything single object in Chaos Bleeds looks incredibly realistic; the buildings, the chairs, the lamps, the trees and the cars…..everything has been modeled with extreme detail. On top of all of this, there is the background lighting, which really adds to the already incredible ambiance (flickering candles, swinging chandeliers etc). The only real graphical letdown comes in the form of character modeling. While the costume design and character movements were bang on, the facial design on some of the characters (Willow and Buffy) were a little lacking.
The sound in Chaos Bleeds is just as good, if not better, than the graphics. From the howling of wolves to the taunts/grunts of would-be combatants, all of the sounds in Chaos Bleeds are done to near perfection. The punching and kicking sound effects are equally impressive, fully supporting the feeling that you are burying your fist or boot deep within the faces/groins of your vampiric enemies. In addition to all of this is the superb voice acting. Each character has their own distinct one-liners and comments (my favourite comment being “Just what every girl needs, a nice long shaft. Oh wait…that didn’t come out right.”). |
Mojo: Tight jeans, hot chicks, bloodthirsty vampires, incredible atmosphere, tonnes of weapon and senseless violence….what more could a guy want in a game? This game has it all.
Lowdown: If I weren’t so incredibly broke, I would have purchased this game in a heartbeat. After playing this game I found myself wishing that the TV series hadn’t been discontinued. If Universal has released this game a year ago they quite likely would have had a much larger fanbase, possibly saving the show. Oh well, I guess there’s always Angel.
I’m not too sure about the replayability, but all things considered, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds will make a welcome addition to any gamer’s collection.
Gameplay: 7, Graphics/Sound: 9, Innovation: 6, Mojo: 8. Final: 8 |