Chaos Legion

"Could Capcom Really Make a Game to Rival Devil May Cry? I Think So."

As soon as I saw the commercial for this game I wanted it. The Ads looked so beautiful and the game play looked like so much fun. But can the game meet up with the trailers? I think so.

Graphics
The visuals this game delivers are top-notch. If you liked devil may cry you'll like this as well. The characters and monsters are highly detailed and beautifully rendered with vibrant colors. The explosions and other effects are very crisp and bright (or dark, as the case may be). And lets not forget the sheer amount of monsters you have to fight. There's a reason they're called "legions". You're literally fighting 20+ monsters at a time, and the frame rate never drops, nor is there any lags in the game play. And the cut scenes top all this off. They're beautiful, highly detailed. You can see you're reflection in your enemy's blade.

The levels are beautiful. With crisp colors and detail. Every brick is in its place, and it all has that medieval Gothic feel. Statues are adorned with sharp spires and every gateway is topped with blades. Very well designed and realized.

The graphics get a 10 out of 10.

Game play
OK, the biggest part of any game, especially this one. It is sooooo much fun. This isn't just a button masher..... Well, it is, but its got many little twists which keep the fun factor alive. The RPG elements are apparent here. Your legions give you extra moves and abilities that you can use to plow through those hordes of baddies. Plus you can summon your own personal goon squad in the form of your legions. Each legion has its won special abilities and weapons to help you out of those tight spots. They also level up, giving you even more abilities and moves.

The controls are easy to use most of the time. Again, it's a button masher. So plowing through enemies is as easy as Square, Square, Square, Square, and Square. The combos involve pressing the attack button (square) shortly after moving with the analog stick. This can be frustrating when you're surrounded and need things done quickly. But it works well most of the time.

The camera worked well on most of the game. You can control it with the right analog stick, and most of the levels are wide open spaces, so you can always see anything that could attack you. But there are a few small spaces where you're stuck with the camera angle you went in with. If you're too close to a wall the camera will be limited.

You can lock on to enemies, but you'll find that this is mostly a useless tool. You're legions will mostly attack whatever is closest to them regardless of whether or not you've locked on to it. Its only real use is for finishing off that last big guy after you've killed all his little buds.

The A.I. in the game is pretty basic. The monsters kill you by overpowering you with numbers, not with strategy (button masher). But the difficulty is still high enough to give you a run for your money.

I give the game play an 8 out of 10.

Sound
This game's sound effects are fun. Nothing new here, bombs explode, swords clank against armor, monsters scream, etc... The music however, is excellent. It gives you that "epic fight scene" feel. It did however have that washed out BMG sound to it. The voice acting isn't bad either. The actors did a good job conveying the emotions of their characters. It didn't feel dry like FFX did. And the acting was pretty much in sync with the lip motions of the characters.

I give the sound a 9 out of 10.

Story
Not so bad. You're a knight who has to stop a former ally, who, for some reason that centers on a pretty girl, has gone crazy and whipped out an entire village. He's also stolen an ancient text. And on the way you meet up with a young, attractive gun-toting chick. The rest is well written, with a few twists to keep you on your toes. The bad guy's no Sephiroth, but he aint half bad either.

The story gets a 9 out of 10.

Extras
This game has a few difficulty settings to play on, and at the end of each level you're given a ratting on how well you've completed it. So you can keep playing and playing till you've gotten perfect scores across the board. The game also sports a UN lockable character, and cut scenes to keep you coming back for more. Plus a behind the scenes video on the making of the games theme song. Whether or not you actually try and unlock all this is up to you. Re-playability is really up to the player.

I give the extras an 8 out of 10.

Overall
Not so bad. The people over at Capcom are good at what they do. If you enjoyed devil may cry you'll love this game. Its go t enough game play to keep you busy for a while and a reason to replay it for that perfect score. This game is a welcome addition to your collection.

I give chaos Legion a 9/10.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/15/05