Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"A supremely decent brawler for the Xbox"

It is an extremely rare event, when a licensed game turns out to be an endeavor worthwhile. Typically, such games are utter garbage, thrown together with minimal effort, developers know that a number of people will by the game on name alone. I am very, very pleased to say that this is not the case with ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer''. I had heard extremely good things on the internet, and I decided to buy it based on good word of mouth; even non-Buffy fans were advocating the game. How does it measure up? Quite well. Quite well.

Story - Being unfamiliar with the 'Buffy-verse' in which the game inhabits, I am not fully qualified to rate the story. Before playing, I had not seen a single episode of the show, and was unfamiliar with the characters and villains. The story in the game itself is not overly deep; it acts as a skeletal frame to propel the gameplay through varying levels, including Sunnydale Highschool, a Graveyard, a foundry, and a gigantic, gothic church inhabiting a massive cavern beneath the ground. The story unfolds through various short cutscenes, with more an extended break in the school library every few levels. Although simplistic, the story provides adequate motivation, and is written intelligently, with sly wit and humor in perfect doses.

8/10

Gameplay This is where Buffy truly shines. A brawler at levels, puzzles almost insultingly simple, but thankfully almost non-existent. Simply put, Buffy kicks some serious ass. Buffy has at her disposal a number of melee combat moves, including kicks and punches which can become hard-hitting combos. As the game progresses, Buffy will unlock new combos, weapons, and ways to unleash her slayer-powers, which include some awesome moves. A large portion of the game will have Buffy wielding wooden stakes, which are in plentiful supply and will end Vamps once and for all. Various objects, such as shovels, rakes, baseball bats, and sledgehammers also provide short-term use, and become stakes when destroyed completely. Buffy will also make use of a crossbow, somewhat unreliable but good for long-range dispatching. A supersoaker converted to eject holy water and hellfire will also come into play, along with a decapitating blade which replaces the stake later in the game.

Beating up vampires, demons, and the undead is generally very fun, though it can become frustrating when three or more enemies attack at once. Bosses are rather few and far between, never providing too much challenge. A top-notch fighting system. The game is rather lengthy for a brawler, featuring many levels that are all quite large in size.

10/10

Graphics

Fairly impressive. Buffy herself looks stunning, as do most of the character models throughout the game. However, Alyson Hannigan's model verges on the appalling; looking nothing like the lovely Ms. Hannigan at all. Enemy types are somewhat limited in variety, but very sharp looking. The environments are alternately bland and quite detailed, though that can be excused due to the amazing size of most of them.

Throughout the game, Buffy will change outfits, which adds spice to the levels.

9/10

Audio

Somewhat repetitious, though generally very nicely done. I believe many of the television characters did their own voice work, though I know Sarah Michelle Geller did not. I have no complaints regarding the voice-actress that took her place; It was extremely hard for me to tell that she was not in fact SMG herself. Buffy has several funny quips used during fighting sequences throughout the game, as do the vampires. It should be noted these can wear rather thin by the end of the game. All the voice acting is truly well done.

Music, on the other hand, was not so impressive. It is used rather sparingly, and there is virtually no variety of it. Sound effects are very well done.

8/10

Overall, a very nice game, and one well worth playing. Replayability is somewhat enhanced by the ability to choose from and play any level in the game you have previously beaten at anytime. Varying difficulty levels also add some to the replayabilty, though I suspect only fans of the show would go through the game multiple times. It is fun enough to pick up and play when bored, however.

Buy/Rent I myself would suggest the former option. A very fun game that extrudes obvious effort and a love of the source-material on the developers part. It could be beaten during a rent, but the game does offer some reply value, and is fun enough to pick up and play.

On a side-note, I wish to add that upon completing the game, I have begun to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer in syndication.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/23/03, Updated 07/23/03