Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds

"Could have been a lot better, just stick with the original Buffy game"

The original Buffy was one of the main factors in me getting a XBOX (the other being Dino Crisis 3, which I own but haven't played). I really enjoyed the original Buffy game, I found it fun, and there were unique factors to it, plus it was fairly long and provided a decent challenge. Now, throw in more than 1 playable character, less linear levels and take away the uniqueness, fun and the good graphics and you'll get Buffy: Chaos Bleeds.

The first game didn't have a great story but it was good enough. The story in Chaos Bleeds just blows. It all boils down to Ethan Raine has made a deal with The First and he has to pick 5 champions to fight the champions of The First. And you find out you need a specific weapon to defeat The First and the only way to get that is to collect the body parts of some chick. The irony of course is that each of guys The First picked out have a piece. That makes no sense but whatever. The story just blows and it doesn't fit with the TV story line. The school looks abandoned, not destroyed by a giant snake like it should. Also, Buffy's sister is nowhere to be seen in the game which is odd, not even in a scene of watching over Giles. Plus there is a scene where Spike hits a human, which at this point in the show that the game is taking place, just can't happen! Anyway, if you're a big Buffy fan you may notice a lot of problems with the plot.

Alright, I played and am reviewing the PS2 version so when I say they graphics aren't on par with the first Buffy game that was on the XBOX, just keep it all in mind. The character models are pretty good, some look a bit off but still good enough. Enemies look good but nothing sucks more than having the same 2 character models (when vampires or humans) at the same time, it sort of ruins it all for me. While the levels don't look as nice as those in the original game, they are larger and less linear so maybe that's why but they aren't horrible. I also wish that almost everything didn't go up in a cloud of dust; it's kind of lame, only vampires should die in dust... One thing though is that the school and stay have the exact layout almost of the show so that's a plus.

The sound in the game is a mixed bag. Now the game uses the actors from the show which is great, except Buffy isn't done by Gellar, what's up with that? The new voice for her is almost spot on, but there is one problem, she constantly pronounces character names wrong. That's just bad... The music seems to only cue up during fights. It's decent, nothing great since it barely registered in my head and I only took notice of it when I was playing and thinking about what to put in this review. The sound effects are good enough, breaking a box sounds like you're breaking a box, well it's a wood crate and sounds like a wood crate, problem is, all wooden things sound the same breaking but oh well, I guess they all would sound sort of a like. I also had problems with the constant reuse of the one liners, I heard the same line almost 5 times within 2 minutes, which just shouldn't happen.

The control in the game is good enough but it is hit or miss at times. Let me state one thing first, everyone plays the same except Willow. Buffy and friends can punch, kick, jump, stab and all that jazz. It's all easy to do, combos are simple but sometimes Buffy and friends don't seem to register that A enemy is dead and that B enemy should be attacked next and they will go off on some wild air kicking spree. Controlling Willow just plain ole sucks. She uses magic and it all requires timed button presses. However, you're given no menu to remember how to do each spell as it's only told to you once and the button combos need to be done at X speed or they just won't work correctly. It's also hard to cast a spell when being attack. I may be nitpicking but controlling Willow could have been easier and cooler.

The game play in Chaos Bleeds is basically the same as the originals. It's a beat'em up. Run around, find X item to open the next area, kill baddies. Most enemies require you to get their health to almost nothing and then stab them with a stake. Some can just be beaten to death. The AI isn't that bad. They like to gang up on you and they tend to block a lot. Buffy and friends have a few moves to use but in the end you just button mash unless you find an unbreakable weapon which takes away a lot from the game but oh well, they are in the game. Oh and if you loved the whole thing where the game used background items and stuff as tools for killing, just forget about it in this game. You are never required to do it that way and the only time I had it happen was when there was an open flame. And to be honest, the background items as death items kicked major butt.

The level layout feels more like a hub with different paths and features a lot of backtracking. Some levels kick butt though, Faith's level is just too good, it reminded me of the one part in Resident Evil 4, and you even end up in almost the same area at the end of this level as you do in Resident Evil 4... It does get tedious at times with all of the backtracking. The levels take between 30 and 45 minutes to complete. There are secrets hidden in each level, 2-4 and sometimes 5 but some are obvious while others aren't. They just unlock new multiplayer characters.

The game has 4 multiplayer modes. I don't remember much about them. I don't play games with friends often but one had you collecting bunnies and whomever had the most won. One has you stepping on pentagrams and unleashing enemies. A random item box appears and it can give you a bonus, or take away all your kills. Which I guess would keep things exciting but it's also the only one player mini game and that sucks to have all kills taken away but it is insanely easy. I don't remember the other two modes, I think one was a flag type one, whoever had X item the longest wins.

The game is sort of long with 12 levels but it was over quickly for me. The bosses are very easy for Buffy and the bosses for the other characters aren't that interesting either. The game does offer those weak mini games so I guess that would boost the replay value a little bit. Buffy fans will get the most out of this game but frankly, there are better titles out there and if you own the original just pass on this one. Actually, rent it but don't buy it. It's a decent game but nothing special but boy that Faith level was really good. So, rent it and get to and beat the Faith level, then just stop. The final level is good also but has way too much backtracking and can get confusing because of that.

Story - 5/10
Graphics - 6/10
Sound - 7/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 6/10
Replay Value - 4/10

Final Score: 6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/22/05