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Given that most North American towns are generally bereft of vampires and unpleasant
creatures of the night, if PSM2 held governorship of Sunnydale we'd have run young Buffy out of town half way through the
first season. Still, everyone's favourite slayer managed to get all the way to a 145 episodes before selflessly casting herself
into that apocalyptic vortex. And now she's been resurrected for her first bite of PS2.
And you'll never believe it
but Chaos Bleeds is actually very respectable. It's an action-adventure title with a strong emphasis on combo-based scrapping
and the game bares more than a passing resemblance to the equally decent Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb (PSM2#39, 80%),
but without the Nazis. Or hat. Essentially you're kicking, punching and staking your way through an interactive episode of
the TV series, with a unique plot penned by the authors of the Buffy comics. It's all about the return of Kakistos, an ancient
vampire who was supposedly destroyed in the third episode of Season 3 after killing Faith's Watcher.
The real hook
for ardent fans is that not only do you get to whoop vampire ass with the leading lady, you'll also be playing as Spike, Willow,
Xander and Sid the ventriloquist's dummy. Each are endowed with their own unique fighting style and weapons. Willow, being
a witch, acquires new and more powerful spells as the game goes on but is a total wuss when it comes to hand-to-hand combat.
Xander is slow but fairly strong and picks up the best weapon of the game - a Super Soaker that fires Holy Water. And the
Britpunk vamp Spike is well 'ard.
But of course it's el Buffo herself that's the star of the show. For most of the
time it's her you'll be controlling and she makes a worthy heroine, delivering endless sassy one-liners as she merrily disposes
of undead in familiar Sunnydale locations such as the high school, the mall, the cinema and, naturally, the cemetery. There's
a handy Slayer's Guide in your inventory that provides all of the button combos for the various Kung Fu moves that our girl
can employ, or if you prefer you can just randomly batter the X and Square buttons and see what happens. It's that kind of
game, dead easy to pick up and play but more complex than first appearances suggest.
We all know that just a good
shoeing isn't going to send a vampire back to the 7th Circle of Hell, so you'll need to arm yourself with a sturdy piece of
sharp wood, too. Stakes are in plentiful supply and after a little practice you can floor a neck-muncher with a few well-timed
moves and stylishly peg them in the chest. For the tougher creatures like demons, gargoyles and nasty little ankle-biting
spiders, you can use swords, axes, spades and throwing items like Holy Water and Hell Fire.
And it's not all fighting.
Each level throws up a puzzle or two that while won't have you tearing your hair out in bewilderment, will at least add another
dimension to a sturdy storyline. While much of the dialogue and quippery is so generally cheesy you could sprinkle it on a
dough base and serve it as pizza, it's all provided by the real actors, so fans have got to be happy.
But that's the
rub. Will gamers who haven't been bitten by the Buffy bug really care about Chaos Bleeds? Graphically it's neat and tidy,
with solid and detailed environments and well executed character animation. It's also a lot of fun, with a healthy balance
of combat, exploration and puzzle-solving. However, if the return of Kakistos and a test of wills between Ethan Rayne and
The First means sweet sod all to you, you're probably better off trying the Indiana Jones game.
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