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A Hip, Fun, and Frightening Trip Through Sunnydale

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 12
Date: August 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

If you're a Buffy watcher, and even a casual gamer, Chaos Bleeds is a must. It's a way to fight vamps in the shoes of all of the Scoobies -- quipping and slaying along with Buffy, trembling a little but doing the right thing as Xander, wandering along in a dreamy magical daze with Willow, or resignedly fighting the bad guys with cool-as-a-cucumber Spike and Faith.

The characters are beautifully rendered and realistically written, and the voice acting is superb across the board. Many of the actors reprise their onscreen roles here, with a few exceptions (the girl who voices Willow is a little more dazed and ditzy than Hannigan, but I thought she was hilarious and wonderfully performed, so I didn't care), and while Buffy isn't played by SMG, the girl who voices her is outstanding -- the voice may not be Sarah, but it's definitely Buffy, if that makes sense. The supporting actors are just as good, with original actor returnees from the show including the characters of Tara, Ethan Rayne, Sid, and Kakistos.

The story is set in what for me were the glory days of Buffy, sometime around Season 5, and is top-notch, on par with any televised Buffy episode. Throughout the course of the game, the player gets to step into the shoes of a different member of the Scooby gang in turn, periodically returning to play as Buffy once again for continuity's sake. The supporting characters, both good and evil, also make for some fun gameplay, especially Sid the Dummy, who's challenging and very funny to play. Each character speaks his or her thoughts aloud, or quips when making a new discovery or kill, and they really bring the characters to life -- Buffy's bright and spunky, Spike is gruff and slyly humorous, Faith is tough and sexy, etc.

In addition to getting the chance to play as Willow, or Buffy, or Faith, etc., my other favorite aspect to this game was the size of its universe. You really get to explore the streets of Sunnydale, the Magic Box, the "Factory," the famous Sunnydale Cemetery, as well as several other terrific locations (all creepy: the hospital, the zoo, an abandoned mall).

Some of the boss battles are TOUGH, but always doable, and each victory unlocks a new fun extra -- an interview, an outtake, etc. (Amber Benson [Tara] is very funny in her voice session, and wonderfully creepy in her unexpected scene as a villain as well.) The camera can be exasperating, and very occasionally will annoyingly block your view just when you need it most, etc., but for the most part the game is graceful and a joy to play. Best of all, from a gameplay point of view, the battles are not just button-mashers -- you have to think, and act, and often specific spells or slayer moves are needed for best effect (Buffy kicks, throws, punches, stakes, and swordfights -- cool!). The enemies are really scary too, with vamps, corpses, weird mummy-types, witches, wolfmen, and more (and of course the vamps are amusingly witty as always -- especially when staked). There is a lot of violence, but it's pretty cartoonish, so I'd recommend it for teens, or mature early teens, and up, or at a parent's discretion. If they watch the show, I'd say they can play the game -- the violence is exactly on par with what was televised.

Chaos Bleeds is a lengthy and really immersive game, so I'd recommend it as a purchase versus a rental for anyone who's a fan of the show or even just an avid gameplayer. It also offers a high replay value not only because it's incredibly fun to play, but because the better your score, the more extras you unlock -- so as you perfect your scores on replay, you can play as different characters in the two-person mini-games, or see different interviews, etc.

Overall, this ia wonderful, witty, and often surprisingly scary game that manages to truly capture the essence of the TV show. Those who don't know the show may find themselves addicted after playing this, and those who already love the show may never put it down. It's a great example of the kind of game that blurs the lines -- while there's a lot of combat, it's an adventure game at heart, and really brings that universe to life.

One of the best games I've ever played on the Gamecube.

This game rocks!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: September 08, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is one of the best i've ever played. A game for any Buffy fan, even fun if your not. Has many extra unlockable features, such as Voice-overs(Amber Bensen, James Marsters, Anthony Stewart Head, Nicolas Brendon, Joss Wedon, and Ethan), a Buffy comic book, interviews, photos and more. Great multiplayer w, 4 different modes including Survival, Bunny Catcher,Domination, and Slayers Challange with many,many multiplayer characters.

In thegame, You can play as 6 different Charecters, Buffy, Spike, Willow, Xander, Faith, and Sid the Dummy. There are ove 12 different levels to play in! Get this game. Its worth it.

Played it and LOVED IT.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 13
Date: September 02, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game yesterday and have played it for several hours. I couldn't make myself put it down (and I am not really into video-gaming)(i.e., I am a 33 year old lawyer). I have only played single-player mode; so, my comments only apply to that portion of the game. Here they are: 1) You do not choose your character; rather, you play all of the characters of the Buffy cast, including Willow, Spike, and Xander. I personally liked this because I get to be everyone in the game and it keeps it exciting and fun. 2) The controls and moves are very very easy to use. Buffy has over 100 attacks, for example, but you don't need to learn them. You can access a screen to look at them and use them if you want to practice something new. 3) You don't have to wander all around to find needed items like keys. They are easily visible and the game gives you hints on where to find items you need for each "objective." 4) There are all kinds of monsters and demons, not just vampires. 5) The moves and the graphics are phenomenol. 6) The characters make whitty commentary just like on the show, which makes it even more fun. I laughed several times. 7) There's always something to fight or to find...no wandering around trying to find secret passages just to get "extras" that don't really wow you. (An example of this would be Metroid Prime. I got so tired of trying to find stupid stuff, I gave up. Hated it). Overall, I really really hope that this is not the last Buffy videogame from these makers. They have done an excellent job. The only thing I would change about the game in the future would be to make it a 4 player "Gauntlet"-type game, but still in 3-D, so that a group of friends can all play in story mode and choose what characters they want to be, including 2 willows if you wanted that, etc. (just like you can have 2 wizards on Gauntlet).

Great game! Perfect for fans and still fun for non-fans.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: September 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Welcome to this review of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds for the Nintendo GameCube. Let's dive in, shall we?

Story: 8/10
The game's story is good. It takes place in the fifth season (though, oddly enough Joyce is already dead but Dawn is nowhere to be seen. Maybe she's staying at a friend's?). A portal connecting the dimensions is opened by The First Evil, causing dead friends and foes to return in the fight of good versus evil. After Buffy slays a large group of vampires at the beginning of the game, one survivor says that Kakistos (the evil vampire who killed Faith's Watcher) will kill them all. Giles receives a phone call from Wesley Wyndham-Price in Los Angeles, saying that Faith has escaped from her jail cell. Willow, Tara, and Xander go to the old factory to perform a spell to see if Kakistos is really back, but Tara is kidnapped by Ethan Rayne. Meanwhile, Buffy encounters Sid the Dummy in a graveyard, who promptly runs off. Later, after everyone's back at the Magic Box, they talk a while, go to an alternate reality, and eventually everyone goes on a scavenger hunt to find the body parts of champion Cassandra Rayne.

Graphics: 9/10
The game's graphics are excellent. Environments are detailed, and most of the character models are accurate. Ethan, Tara, Spike, Xander, and Sid the Dummy look almost exactly like they do in the show. However, the models for Buffy and Willow look nothing like Sarah Michelle Gellar and Alyson Hannigan (which is ironic, as they did not voice the characters in the game). Overall, great graphics but lousy character models for Buffy and Willow.

Gameplay: 8/10
The gameplay is very good, but the controls are a little clunky, with A as punch, B as kick, X as jump, Y as use, Z as quick-stake, and R for guard. There are combo moves in the game, but most of the time you can get by with hitting A over and over. The game's puzzles are almost identical, almost all invlolving "take item from Point A to Point B," with a few "hit the item"s. Oh, did I also mention that the game has a dreaded escort mission? Never mind, there are TWO! The first involves protecting Giles from vamps, and the second one has you beating up vamps to protect Sid the dummy. There are six playable characters in the single-player mode, and they are (in order of how much you play as them) Buffy, Willow, Xander, Spike, Faith, and Sid the Dummy (from the episode "The Puppet Show"). Buffy, Faith, Xander, and Spike are relatively the same when it comes to playing as them, but Willow can use magic and Sid has some other moves. Also, sadly, the game isn't that hard (except for the Kakistos boss fight).

Music/Sound: 7/10

This game's music is great. Every level has a great score, and you may find yourself pausing just to listen to the music. Also, Anthony Stewart Head, James Marsters, Nicholas Brendan, Amber Benson, Eliza Dushku, and Robin Sachs have all contributed voice-over. Why did I give this a seven, then? There is just one "Enemy attack!" score, so whenever you are attacked by a non-boss enemy, you hear the darn battle music again. It then gets stuck in your head and kills your brain, just like the Pokemon trainer battle theme, and some of the music on the last level gets a little irratating. Also, Giselle Loren (the Sarah Michelle Gellar and Emma Caulfield replacement) sounds like Sarah, but after you hear her say Tahr-ah (on the show, Sarah always calls Tara Tare-ah) very early in the game, it's obvious it isn't her. She does do a decent Emma Caulfield impression at least. Oh, and as soon as you hear Willow speak, the first thing you'll think will probably be "That's not Alyson Hannigan." And also, sometimes the dusting sound effects in the game sound far-off and distant.

Extras/Multi-Player: 10/10

The game shines in this aspect. Interviews with all of the voice actors from the game (with the exception of James Marsters and Eliza Dushku, as well as the people who did not play the character on TV) are here. If you want to know why Marsters does not have an interview, my theory is that he mentioned that he favored the PS2 over the XBOX and GCN, and Nintendo and Microsoft didn't want the interview because of that. Then Sony did the polite thing and removed the interview from the PS2 version of the game, but that's just my theory.

The game also features an excellent Multi-Player mode. It supports up to four players, with excellent modes:

Survival: Fight to the death or cooperate to kill the monsters!
Bunny Catcher: Get the bunnies!!!
Slayer Challenge: Player 1 fights for their life while the other players take control of monsters to destroy Player 1!

The multi-player mode features 20 playable characters, from the storyline characters like Buffy and Spike, to enemies like vamps and werewolves, to the downright silly cameos (series creator Joss Whedon and some guy named Chris are unlockable
secret characters).

Score: 42/50
Overall: 8/10
Review Score: 4/5
Buy or Rent: Buy if you like the show. Rent if you don't. Play it either way.

A Solid Action Title That Captures Much of the Series Spirit

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: September 04, 2003
Author: Amazon User

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 quite, 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.

Much better than Wrath of the Darkhul King!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: September 25, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is a must have for any Buffy fan. The levels ("arenas") as so spot on to the television show that it's creepy. The Magic Box is so cool! The characters are great to play, the only problem being the camera not letting you see in front of yourself sometimes when you are in small spaces or corners. Another thing missing (for me anyways, unless I'm doing something wrong) is the ability to lock on to an enemy while fighting. It seems to automatically do it which can be a bit of a pain in the butt. The dialogue by Anber (Tara), Alex (Xander), James (Spike) and Tony (Giles) is great, but it leaves me wishing that Sarah, Emma and Alyson would have been able to do the voices for their characters.. too bad other projects kept them too busy :( The Buffy voice is "ok", the Willow one sounds like Alyson Hannigan having a nervous breakdown, and Anya sounds nothing like Emma. But hearing the other four makes me laugh - it's like you're taking part in a Buffy episode. There's a lot of dialogue between and during levels which i think is just great! It's an awesome adventure game and I'm so glad that the game turned out so well.. although I can bet it's going to be underrated just like the show was :( They even have Buffy quipping while fighting.. my favourite one has to be.. "A long shaft, just what every girl needs.. wait.. that didn't come out right" after she picked up a stake :)

Super game - and highly addictive!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: September 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

My wife and I have played this game virtually non-stop since we bought it last week, spending a whole weekend in Sunnydale with the Scooby Gang. What a rush! This is a really great game that seems very faithful to the TV series, with great "arenas" (like downtown Sunnydale and the old high school), interesting cameos from guest stars and rock 'em, sock 'em combat. Two thumbs up!

Worth Your Money

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: June 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I am a fan of the show, so i was really excited to pick up the game. I was glad the developers added some puzzle solving in with the fighting.
The environments and levels are very detailed and for me, this was one of the best features. The voices are also terrific(sometimes i forget its not Sarah Michelle Gellar talking). You also play as six characters, all with a variety of moves. The only reason i gave it four stars is that some of the levels are very frustrating and confusing. the first time through it took me nearly an hour to beat the second level. if you forget to pick up an item at the beginning, youll find yourself backtracking, because youll need it later. for example in the 7th level(Sunnydale High) youll need to go upstairs, downstairs, up etc. then go to another building, then back to the beginning, and thats just the first part. Aside from that the levels are straightforward (all doors are locked except for the ones you need to go through). I would recommend this game whether you are a fan of the show or not. it is worth the money

Sequals are never as good as the original!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 8
Date: January 26, 2004
Author: Amazon User

When i herd that they were comming out with another Buffy game I was thrilled espically after how much fun the 1st one was. Then it came out. While it is not at all a horrible game, it certainlly isn't a good one. The voice acting can get a little irritating, the gameplay can get very long because you can only save after each level and some levels can take up to an hour to complete. The pu zzles are so hard and confusing that by the middle of the game you give up trying and just go online and read the walkthrough. Then they had to put all those characters in the game. Buffy is a good character and she is pretty much the same as she was in the first game, Faith is almost like buffy so she is also a good character. Spike isn't as good as Buffy or Faith but he is strong so I can see the creators wanting to put spike in the game. Then there is Willow and Xander, why were they put in the game. First off Xander is way too strong, in the show he can maybe dust one vamp tops and in the game he is slaying them left and right (without the use of wepons). Willow on the other hand is just fustrating to use mainly on the mall level. While it can be fun to cast spells (esp. the boss battle at the end of the mall level) it mostly gets fustrating, because if a vampire hits you while you are casting it, the spell wont work. Another complaint I have is the story, the story in the 1st game was very indept and was a great sequal to the 1st and 2nd seasons. This story is a video game story, its the same plot as about 100 other games the only difference is that there are Buffy characters in it. The story starts off decent but after the first couple of stages the story takes a turn for the worst.
If you can get the first game then get it, whis one just doesnt have the "umph" that the other game did.

Buffy Madness!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: October 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The show may be over but the franchise lives on! This video game is a perfect example of that. It features a wonderful single player mode where you can be all your favorite characters including Sid the dummy! This game isn't only a beat 'em up game but also requires a lot of thinking. Solving puzzles and finding hidden areas in this game is not as easy as you think. The multiplayer feature is superb. I love playing it with my friends, slaying a few demons and kicking their you know what. There are 4 different scenerios in multiplayer so you will never get bored. Get this one its a treasure.

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