Customer Reviews

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

"Chaos Bleeds" is a very entertaining game, with good graphics, a reasonable level of difficulty (if I say that, it probably means hardcore gamers will find it too easy), and mostly good voice acting.

Several of the original cast members provided the voices for the game, which is awesome. Unfortunately, Sara Michelle Gellar (Buffy), Alyson Hannigan (Willow), and Emma Caulfield (Anya) weren't available. Sound-alikes were used, ranging from good (Buffy) to mediocre and affected (Willow) to downright lame (Anya).

Another problem is that the inventory system is a real pain to use. Instead of being able to pause the game and go to an inventory screen, you have to scroll through every item in your inventory to get to the one you want. There are times when you're carrying ten or more things, so this can get really cumbersome.

One last complaint -- the game's multiplayer mode stinks. You can't play the actual *game* multiplayer; instead, there are lame minigames (for lack of a better word) for two players. If they had been good minigames, that might have been cool; but they're not.

Other than that, it's a really good game that should appeal to anyone who likes horror video games, as well as Buffy fans. The characters look like themselves, the dialogue is well-written, and the cutscenes and overall plot are compelling.

The game also has enough extras to put many DVDs to shame, including unlockable interviews and voice-overs from several cast members.

Bottom line: even if you're not a Buffy fan, this game is worth checking out. And if you are a Buffy fan, it's a must.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds plays, well, much like an episode of the TV show. The scripting is sharp and the characters lovable, but in terms of a video game, the mechanics and progression of this game are just about rock-bottom.

First the good points: With the involvement of Joss Whedon and a large number of cast members from the show (including Eliza Dushku, James Marsters, Nicholas Brendon and Anthony Stewart Head), it's not surprising that the script and acting are substantially more enjoyable than that of most video games. The voice actress standing in for the absent Sarah Michelle Gellar does a fine job, though Alyson Hannigan's replacement just can't nail that elusive Willow charm. Perhaps they should have tried approaching Amy Acker (Fred in the show Angel) for the role instead? However, I agree with a previous reviewer -- the dialogue is very poorly paced. Huge gaps of air permeate the lines, in direct contrast to the brisk and enjoyable comic timing of the show. I suspect this was because of the overly slow subtitles, which are routinely one to two seconds behind the spoken dialogue.

But if I was having fun watching this game, playing it was another matter. Yep, we have another franchise game whose mechanics were underdeveloped. The camera in this game is horrible, whizzing around and around, blasting 180-degree axial shifts so that your controls get completely reversed. The designers don't seem to realize that in a 3rd-person fighting game, you can't have moves that require both analog-stick and button combinations because the game engine becomes constantly confusing. For example, to execute the multi-hit flying kick, you have to hold up and then hit a button. What if you're facing right instead? This practically means you can only execute this move when you're facing an enemy that's "above" you in the 3-D environment, and with the camera firmly out of your control, that's impossible for the player to orchestrate. And your character moves at about half the speed of your enemies. The moves just don't allow for much player control, and since this game always pits you against at least two (sometimes four or five) enemies at the same time, it feels like every character is fighting like Tara. Oh yeah, and there's no way to break blocking enemies short of using a weapon. So if your weapon broke before a certain fight, you're basically screwed, because later enemies will delightfully block you to death while its comrades beat you to a pulp. Most fights also require that you switch between items in your inventory all the time, and this game has one of the most awkward inventory systems I've seen. Items shift in position as you tap the D-pad, so you always have to look desperately for what you want. Inexcusable.

The levels are overlarge, and incredibly repetitive. I'd thought Syphon Filter: The Omega Strain made you run around a lot, but it's no comparison to this game for backtracking. I finally lost my patience during the "Xander High School" level where after playing the level for an hour and a half collecting UV filters, fumigation bombs, "alien gun" ammo, magic hats, keys, key cards, passwords...only to be unable to beat the final boss of the level. And thanks to the lack of true save points ("continue points" only work until you turn the machine off), I know I'll have to replay the entire dreary level the next time I put this game on. And that is just enough to make me send this game to the second-hand bin.

My last gripe is with the graphics. This game looks like it's one or two generations behind the competition. The cut scenes look cheap and pixellated, as if they'd captured the footage using too low a data rate. To give them some rope, they'd included a good amount of video footage from the making of the game into this disc, so maybe they ran low on storage. The bonus materials, consisting of interviews, voice-over sessions and outtakes of the cast of the game, are a blast and essential viewing for Buffy fans, so perhaps it was a reasonable tradeoff.

So this game really plays more like an unusual edition of the show. While there's fun to be had on that level, as a video game, this one really leaves plenty to be desired.

Let's get this right out of the way...there is nothing truly groundbreaking in this game, in terms of graphics, sound, or general gameplay. That said, it's still a solid action/puzzle title that captures much of the postmodern spirit of the fabulous series on which it was based. I'd rate it about an 8.3 out of 10.

I'll get to the gameplay, etc., in a moment, but will first comment on the story. It does have more of a comic-book feel than the series generally does, but by videogame standards, it's well above-average, and really quite entertaining, mostly in the comedic sense (self-referential humour fully intact). Given that the villain is essentially Ethan Rayne, though, don't expect much in the way of emotional resonance...it's BtVS-lite in that regard. Now, onto the gameplay...

The fighting engine is remarkably deep, at least for the Buffy and Faith characters, which you play 65% of the time. The various combos available to you seem endless, though you'll probably do reasonably well with mindless button-mashing, so it's equally suitable for novices and more advanced gamers who like to mix it up. The staking effect is extremely satisfying, especially for fans of the series. Willow's more enjoyable to use later in the game (the Mall stage), with all of her spells firmly intact (though you'll likely fall back on the homing missle most of the time), Xander's relies more on weapons (of which there are an abundance), Spike inflicts the most damage, and Sid (used only in half of the hospital stage) is a riot to behold, with his rapid fists of fury.

Character models are good but not exceptional, and the voice work is generally solid (Anya's voice double being the only one totally off-the mark, and Willow's, though well-intentioned, sounding too much like an affectation). The backgrounds capture the series set design nicely, and the music, though somewhat repetitious (but in a quiet, subtle way), feels entirely appropriate and quite cinematic. Yes, the one-liners (usually about three-to-four for each function, such as commenting on a locked door) grow tiresome, but once you've familiarized yourself with the stages, you'll be able to keep them to a bare minimum.

As per usual with third-person fighting games, the camera is somewhat unwieldly (the only game with a near-perfect camera, IMO, is "Zelda: The Wind Waker"), and the inventory (weapons, health meds) scroll (using the control pad) will be difficult for some players to manage in the heat of battle (there's no perfect way for programmers to deal with this, really). Some puzzles in the game will frustrate upon the initial play-through (you may find yourself wandering around aimlessly on more than a few occasions), but most follow a straightforward logic and usually have precedent earlier in the game (such as in the Zoo reptile area, where you much grab the top of an escalating cage door on TWO occasions). The latter stages of the game are something of a fetch-fest, but a limited number of unlocked doors (hint: in the high school, only the doors with signs beside them and main passageways open) generally give you an indication as to where to proceed...pick up everything in sight before leaving any room.

The Multiplayer mode is well-presented, with 26 characters available (if you can unlock them all, in Story Mode), most notably series creator Joss Whedon himself. There's a definite insane randomness to the pickups in this mode, but it certainly allows for a lot of variety.

And finally, any BtVS fan is gonna love the extras: a series of candid interviews with Joss and cast members, voice-over sessions, and amusing outtakes.

So if you're a huge BtVS fan, buy it. If you're a fan of action/puzzle fighting games, give it a good long rental, and then decide if you'd like to add it to your collection.

Yes! A game to heal my Buffy Blues. Most of the characters are voiced by the original actors and the ones that aren't are not half bad. This game is loaded w/ great extras that any Buffy fan would chew an arm off to see. The game play is smooth, the rendering is actually better than I expected, and the story is as enjoyable as watching an episode of Buffy. Most important for me is the actual ease of game play. I'm not a button-gammer. I don't do very well with games that make you use all of the buttons on the controller. However, I can do this game. Maybe that's because it's Buffy, but I have no frustration utilizing all the commands available. This game is great and you can have up to 4 players! Outstanding is what I say! Buffy lives!

Wow, who would've thought that the original Buffy game could be improved upon? Well, me, for starters. This game is a complete improvement over the original in every possible way (and the original was a good game). Improved and more challenging level design, multiple characters to control (most with their own unique combat system), a "level checkpoint" system, so you don't have to play the whole level over if you die, a rating system based on your performance in each level, unlockable extras (interviews and voice over videos), a more inriguing story, and better lighting effects. This game really has everything you'd need to make a great game. There's outstanding voice acting by most members of the original cast (Missing in action are Sarah Michelle Gellar and Allison Hannigan, but their replacements are pretty good), and LOTS and LOTS of vampire dusting goodness. There's also quite a few little inside joke/easter eggs for the Joss Whedon fanatics out there. For example, in one level Buffy must investigate a movie theater, and all of the movie posters on the walls are movies that Joss Whedon wrote (Alien Resurrection, the Fly, etc.). The really took their time developing this game. Some of the cooler levels include: Willow visits Sunnydale mall on what can only be decribed as "Vampire Day," Spike returns to The Initiative and comes face to face with an old enemy, and Faith must face a mysteriously living Kakistos, the only vampire she was ever afraid of. I'm telling you, this game was MADE for Buffy fans. For those of you NOT familiar with the series, it's still a great button-mashing, story driven fighting game. Extremely addictive, and immensely satisfying. Minus one star for a sense of repetition after a few levels.

Buffy fans love the TV series because it was a labor of love. Unfortunately, licensed products like video games too often aren't.

/Chaos Bleeds/, for example, has a great story line and universally interesting settings, and the dialogue and cut scenes are very reminscent of the show. The game play itself, however, ranges from okay at best to abysmal at worst. There are too many cases of "guess what the designer was thinking" in solving levels, making for lots of wandering around, trying to use the action key in overly dark corners, hoping to find something you missed and that it might somehow relate to something else you saw three or four chambers before--all while trying to survive endless vampire attacks.

The Adam section is particularly disappointing. For example, in one room, the only way to progress is to use an EMF grenade on the cyborgs, but several rooms before, an EMF grenade has absolutely no effect on an identical cyborg. (There are several such frustrating contradictions of game logic in other places.) And the battle with Adam himself is the worst: Who could have guessed that his only vulnerability would be dropping barrels on his own head? Shades of Donkey Kong!

Finally, the game's ultimate battle left me swearing I'd never buy another Vivendi-produced game again. There just isn't enough control of the character, nor enough cues to the enemy's spellcasting, to make the battle feel like much more than sheer luck. (By contrast, Willow's final battle is probably too easy, which makes it seem TOO mechanical.)

As for multi-player mode, hah!

Still, much of the game provides a sense of welcome visit to the Buffy-verse. If you can get a copy cheap, and you love Buffy, you'll probably find it worthwhile. But as far as games go, there are certainly better ones out there.

not having an xbox i was waiting for a buffy game that i could play. boy was i relieved when 'chaos bleeds' was released. when i bought it i really didn't care it was buffy-related and i could be spike. that was incentive enough for me. after starting the game, i was sucked in real quick and wrapped myself up in the story like it was an episode of buffy. the writing is superb and as well is the voice acting. at first listening you'll notice that it isn't alyson hannigan voice when willow speaks but within moments you'll completely forget. also, the voice for buffy is dead on with smg except for one second when she says tara wrong...but its all good.

the controls are tight. when you're playing as either buffy or faith, you can bring up a slayer handbook with alott of combos that might take a while to memorize. willow also has a spell guide that you can call up to learn a spell. also, willow learns spells when tara periodically tells what to do. the camera is kinda off but its definitely one of the best for a 3rd person game that you can rotate it around and see any direction you want. but its kinda hard to do that in a tight space.

the surroundings are fantastic and resemble their actual locations in the buffyverse. also, one of the funny things in the game is in the movie theater in the sunnydale level. you'll see posters for fight club, aliens, alien resurrection and so on. the levels are huge and the tasks hard if you don't know what to do and for first time players most of the levels might take well within 90minutes or so. each character has their own strengths as well as weaknesses but the majority of them show no weakness. the only 2 might be xander & willow. xander being the norm of the group but he handles just fine. willow doesn't kick at all. she punches and does magic. as for the magic most of the time you'll call up the fireball, sunspell and homing missile [well i do].

the multiplayer is sweet. it has about 20 characters or so. you start off with 4 characters and one level to play with. as you progress through the game, you'll find secrets and unlock levels and players. one of the gripes i have is the lack of multiplayer levels and the femal vampire isn't the one wearing plaid pants. but those are all minor gripes here.

the game is solid. it'll suck you in if you're a hardcore buffy fan. all in all, its one of the best games i've ever played. i hope they can continue this tradition and make another.

I just started watching Buffy a few months ago, but have managed to watch every single episode. I then heard that a Buffy game was to be released on X-Box, Gamecube, and Playstation 2. After buying the game on Gamecube, I was not disappointed. The graphics are amazing, the controls are very easy to use, the storyline's great, and for fans of the show there are interviews with the cast. You can play as Buffy (slayer), Faith (evil slayer), Willow (witch), Xander (he's funny), Sid (he's a dummy), and Spike (vampire). Some weapons in the game are holy water, hellfire, shovels, stakes, swords, battle axes, crossbows, and water guns filled with holy water. I'm not a very huge fan of fighting games, but this game really grabbed me. Some levels contain bosses, and you'll notice some villains (and ex-librarians/watchers) were made into bosses. This game is definitely a must-have for all fans of the action genre, as well as fans of Buffy.

I bought this game September 14th and I was completely amazed by it. The game has very good graphics and the voiceovers are very well done. Improvements in this game from the first one are the fighting engine and the fighting style. In the first game, you would have to have a vampire near death to finally stake him, but in this game, all you have to do is kick him until he is on the ground and stake him, he or she could even have full life. The staking effect is much more cool in this game. It looks exactly like it would in the real TV show. Ok, yeah the camera is a little frustrating, but is not enough to bring the rating down a star! This game has one more level than the first game and the levels are much more longer, and there are a higher quantity of puzzles in the game that are NOT difficult! I am 13 years old and I was able to figure out all the puzzles without looking for a walkthrough on the net! Also, it helps if you played the first game because some of the puzzles are taken from the first game, like taking a fire candle holder and placing it in another room to unlock a door!

On the voice-overs: actors and actresses from the TV show that portray their voices in this game include: Amber Benson as Tara, Nicholas Brendon as Xander, Anthony Stewart Head as Giles, James Marsters as Spike, Robin Sachs as Ethan Rayne (from Buffy episodes: "Halloween" "The Dark Age" "Band Candy" and "A New Man") and the lovely Eliza Dushku as Faith! You get to play as all of them except Ethan. All of the actor's voice-overs are very good, and the Buffy double Giselle Loren (also in the first game as Buffy) sounds decent as Buffy, but not as good as the first game. The voice double for Willow has good intentions to imitate Alyson but falls short and sounds poor (but a + is that Willow looks much better than she did in the first game) the only voice that is not up to par and extremely unsatisfying is the Anya voice-double (who sounds nothing like Emma Caulfield) Anyone could have done the voice better.

The last 6 levels of the game present boss battles, where you have to face a villain at the end of the level, and they are very difficult, but not impossible. You just have to figure out their weaknesses. (Also, it is irritating how this game doesn't present an inventory screen like the first one) Sometimes you die because you are getting pummeled and you cannot get a medi-pack with the D-pad.

From all this, I think the game deserves a four star rating, but I gave it 5 because all of the problems I encountered are things that are being compared to the first game, and this game shouldn't be compared, it's wrong how this game is being billed as a sequel to part 1 because it is not a sequel, it's a stand-alone adventure, and both part 1 and 2 games should stand on their own , because they both have little problems but are still incredible games!!

Overall rating of this game: 9/10
from Robert Gaeta. email address: ba4ever97@msn.com

My new faveorite game (although I may be biased). It really does put you into the show, and the gameplay is fun! The moves are awsome, and the variation from character to character is exciting. The story is really great! The extra DVD content and multiplayer are very delicious icing on the cake! Only bad thing is there isn't enough save points, but it's too fun to get away from anyway!