Reviewed: October 29, 2003
Reviewed by: Mark Smith

Publisher
Vivendi Universal Games

Developer
Eurocom

Released: August 26, 2003
Genre: Action
Players: 4
ESRB: Teen

8
8
8
8
8.2

Supported Features:

This year Vivendi Universal and Eurocom get to take a stab at the sequel (poor pun intended). While it would have been easy for them to sit back and deliver more levels and a new story based on EA’s design the developers have put in some substantial work to actually reinvent the game’s concept.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds is the result of their efforts and offers some surprising twists to the gameplay and a great original story. Unlike the first game where you led Buffy on a one-woman crusade against evil, this time you are in control of the entire slaying team, switching between all the stars of the show, each with their own powers and abilities. In some twisted concept of game design you even get to play as the demented little ventriloquist dummy, Sid.

The setup for Chaos Bleeds begins with Buffy learning that Kakistos (a timeless evil enemy) and Ethan Rayne are trying to cast the world into permanent darkness. It’s up to Buffy and her hip and stylish crew to kick some undead butt and save the world yet again. The story was developed in cooperation with the writers from the show, so it merges into the Buffy universe perfectly and won’t disappoint the diehard fans just waiting to nitpick every last detail.

Chaos Bleeds opens up the gameplay by allowing you to play as Buffy or any of the five other characters; Xander, Spike, Willow, Faith, and of course, Sid. Between these characters you will learn to master more than 100 character-specific moves and combos and wield all sorts of crazy-cool weaponry as you face a demonic assortment of undead in real-world and supernatural environments.

During the interactive opening movie you will get to play each of the primary characters, learning a bit about their moves and style of combat. Buffy is the consummate kung-fu queen while the seemingly scatterbrained Willow is in fact a powerful spellcaster. The other characters each have their own specialty whether it is weapons such as the crossbow or just new and exciting karate moves.

Apparently there is some supernatural law that says all undead must go to the Bruce Lee School of Martial Arts because everyone you encounter in this game fights like they just came off the set of the latest Jet Li movie. You’ll engage in more martial arts combat than you can shake a stick (or stake) at and when you have beaten these baddies into a daze you can finish them off with a stunning “finishing move” that will disintegrate their vile forms with all the glowing special effects made popular in the Blade movies.

While there is a respectable amount of weaponry in this game nothing beats a trusty wooden stake. Stakes and other melee weapons have their own health attributes and will wear down and eventually break. You can smash chairs and tables and pick up the remains to poke a vamp in the heart and even though you can decapitate a vampire with a shovel, sooner or later that shovel is going to snap, but then you can pick up the handle and use it as a stake. This is pretty much the same level of interactive environments and combat detail that was found in the first game and I’m glad to see it unchanged.

What has changed is the overall level of difficulty. Many of the puzzles of the original are gone and the combat has been simplified to the point where you can mash the buttons and win 99% of the time. There is never any urgency or real threat of dying in this game unless you are totally careless or just plain suck. The game does get a bit more challenging near the end but everything leading up to that point is a cakewalk.

I did enjoy the fact that the other members of the cast were playable this time around but the game still focuses on Buffy for the most part and you are only given brief and scripted times to play as the other supporting roles. There are some interesting events that have you switching off characters in a single encounter that adds a bit of strategy to the mix.

Chaos Bleeds offers some interesting action for up to four slayers in four original multiplayer games. You can take control over your favorite slayer and go up against three human-controlled monsters in the Slayer Challenge or see who can be the last slayer standing in Survival mode. Domination has you battling for control over key locations on the map and Bunny Catcher has you racing the clock to pick up various colored bunnies, each with a specific reward or penalty.

Special effects come in the form of some wonderful spell effects thanks to Willow and there is nothing more pleasing than watching a dead vamp fizzle out of existence. Lighting and particle effects run rampant. The cutscenes all use the game engine graphics so the narrative blends right into the gameplay for perfect presentation.

Despite having full control over the 3D camera with the right stick there are some issues, mainly when that camera tries (and fails) to pass through a wall or solid object leaving you and your slayer in a precarious position. The camera seems intent on always keeping your character as the center of attention even to the exclusion of showing you the monster that is currently beating on you. Since the levels are fairly complex there are plenty of instances where this happens. None of them were fatal, but they all have the potential to be so if you aren’t careful and quick to get yourself out of a bad camera situation.

Many of the TV cast members reprise their roles for this game including Xander, Giles, and Spike. Sarah Michelle Gellar, who chose not to voice her leading role in last year’s game, is still absent this time around but her voice double is just as capable of delivering her witty and sarcastic lines with equal flair. Alyson Hannigan (Willow) has an unmistakable voice and a style of delivery (“This one time at band camp…”) that apparently cannot be imitated. The girl doing (or rather attempting to do) Willow in this game just can’t pull it off.

I would have enjoyed a cooperative story mode where up to four people could have taken on the game in true slayer tradition but perhaps that will have to wait for the next Buffy game. Maybe they can throw in some Xbox Live support as well and Buffy’s entire crew can be controlled by real gamers. Now that would be cool!

There are a few places that need some work but for the most part Chaos Bleeds will satisfy the cravings of discriminating Buffy fans or anyone just looking to put the smack down on some undead baddies bent on world domination.