Chaos Legion

"Coulda Woulda Shoulda.... square button smashin"

Let me begin by stating this... many reviewers are comparing this game to devil may cry. The only similarity in actuality between devil may cry and chaos legion are the graphics. The Environments and the character design graphic-wise are very devil may cry style.
Now with that said and the promise that i wont compare this game to devil may cry again lets move on.

Controls :// [6.0]
Your character Sieg Warhiet is controlled essentially with two buttons. There is the options to dodge using the r1 and jump buttons but basically Sieg is controlled using exclusively the Square and X buttons. Square for slashing and X for jumping.
Pressing the Square button 6 times makes Sieg does the same 6 slash.This is you're one and only combo. if you press the square button 6 times and then realize you need to jump to avoid an attack the only way to break you're current slash combo is to use the dodge control... pretty much the only use for it...it begins to become painful.
Circle button does a counterattack punch type move that stuns enemies for a short period of time. So basically the only button combo for killing is a Bunch of Square and the occasional circle.
by pressing the Y button for a ''special attack'' your legion comes out for a split second to do an assist type move. L1 summons your legion. Sometimes a platoon of magical soldiers having a singular special ability and sometimes one monster or guardian depending on what legion you have equipped.
The bummer comes in when you realize you can only have 2 legions equipped at a times from a much longer list of legions.
Certain legions have certain abilities that may or may not help you complete the level of monster slashing. Oh yea another note Sieg cannot run while a legion is summoned... you are forced too calmly walk about the battlefields of what seems like 100's of monsters. yea great. I wouldn't mind fighting the same enemies over and over if i could at least do some decent looking moves. same enemies..same moves = fun ?
the camera you would think would be ok because you completely control it yourself... but with 50 enemies in a big square it becomes increasingly difficult to get it where you need it.

Battle System :// [5.7]
In Chaos Legion you fight about 50 enemies at a time with no slowdown (well a little a times not so much to make a complaint). Pretty cool right? well it would be if may you weren't playing as the stiffest man in the world. Only have one combination of moves begins to get really repetitious after the first 3 or 4 stages. The only thing that kept me playing was the leveling up system which seemed pretty cool at first. While slicing away at the badies you are gaining experience, the more slicing you do the more exp you gain. Your Legions also gain Exp when they slice or shoot or slam or explode... er whatever. The system is leveling up legions is simple.. there are categories such as assist, force, defense, strength ect ect and it cost a certain amount of exp to add another ''level'' you could say to that category. pretty cut and dry.
When it came down to it though there really is a set number of exp you can get per stage seeing as the enemies don't regenerate. Depending on how you use you're legions and how you combo with you Circle button counterattack this also effect the amount of exp. but when it comes down to it there is a exp cap per stage.
Its pretty cool but to me its only there to break the monotony of the stages and to give you the belief you have more control over your legions then you actually do. The legions are completely AI they just attack whatever is around you.. kind of like body guards. Granted Long Range Weapon legions have an alternate snipe mode which brings you into a cross hair first person type mode which is cool at first but the more you use the snipe mode the less time you're legion is allowed to survive... You didn't think you could have legions summoned infinitely did you? no . They just like anything they can also die either by being slashed or by time itself.
The legions are the main aspect of the game. Using them is key. ad it also helps to break the Square buttons smashing. Cause without them this game would be one of the most boring things i have ever played.

Graphics:// [7.5]
The graphics are the main thing this game has going for it. While the environments are flat and the textures are very ugly the actual characters and enimies look pretty nice. The cut scenes look up to par with PS2 cut scenes nothing to complain about but yet nothing revolutionary either. It deffinetly becomes a bummer to walking into yet another gray box with flat none textured walls. you basically move some on square like batte area to another. the ocassional platform but nothing to get excited about. It would have been really nice to fight in some more interesting areas.

Challenge:// [6.0]
I have read many reviews saying that this game is super easy. Well yea if you are playing on easy mode. heh
On normal mode the first few levels you may be able to breeze through but it begins to become increasingly difficult, espeicially bosses. While not the hardest bosses not exactly the easiest which is why its getting a 6. The bosses are the hardest part of the game. All bosses have armor and one certain weakspot (which doesnt take long to figure out usally the face hehhe) but they are pretty powerful and if you're not careful you'll be using up all of your life restores. The Normal stages become increasingly boring fighting the same enimies over and over using the same combos.

When it comes down to it. this is another release that could have been something great but seems rushed? Deffinetly Rent this one before you buy it. I was expecting greatness from capcom and this time they let me down.
If a little more time would have been invested more in the actual combat and less of worring about how many enimies you could fit on the screen it could be a great game.
save your Money for something a little more original.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 08/11/03