Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds (Xbox)

Ethan Rayne has been offered mass power by The First by helping it open a gateway to hell. As the gateway begins to open Sunnydale is terrorized by even more monsters than usual and it's your job as Buffy Summers to protect the town. Along with friends Xander, Willow, Spike and Faith you're sure to destroy The First.

This game was good just not as good as the first. The surroundings, Sunnydale High Street, The Magic Box, are very realistic and it was nice to have a level going back to the high school from the first game although the school's layout was different from the one in the original game. It was also nice to have Willow's magical element added to the gameplay. Also only a few cast members lended their voices whereas in the first game Sarah Michelle Gellar was the only one who didn't speak. In this game Nicholas Brendon, Amber Benson, James Marsters, Eliza Dushku and Anthony Stewart Head are the only ones who lend their voices. Buffy's stand in is very convincing and sounds just like Sarah Michelle Gellar however Willow's stand in was terrible and sounds NOTHING like Alyson Hannigan! Buffy's stand in also fills in for Anya and you can badly tell that it's just Buffy's stand in speaking quickly! It's a shame Emma Caulfield couldn't do the game because her witty voice is unforgettable.

Also there were not enough save points in this game like the first. So you had to complete each level because if you got to the end and decided to take a rest and turn off your Xbox you'd have to start the level right from the beginning. Also the game is set during the show's fifth season and half of the characters look completely wrong! Willow is wearing season three's clothing and season four's hairstyle, Tara is wearing ALL the wrong clothes because in the show she wears more Wicca orientated clothing, Faith's hair is not convincing as in the show she would be wearing denim and her hair would be free flowing! Giles also hasn't worn a librarian's suit since the third season so why is he wearing one when the show is set in the fifth season?! Finally Buffy would never wear what she's wearing in the game during the fifth season. A bulky leather jacket teamed with hip hugging jeans is not the season five look! You see hardcore fans like me look out for these things and maybe if the game's creators had paid attention to it other hardcore fans would've been happier.

Now that the show has finished I doubt they will make another Buffy game for the Xbox which is sad because Buffy had the potential to become the new Tomb Raider. But despite these factors the game's storyline is good and the fighting is very realistic. If there was a third Buffy game though I would definitely buy it. Hopefully most of the real cast members will return to do their voices this time.

So when Chaos Bleeds hit the shelves, I was excited. I came, I bought, I was disappointed.

So what's wrong with it?

*Graphically*

Very rough. Untidy and gritty, not the smooth finish achieved by the Collective in 2002. The vampires were certainly a flaw - Tomb Raider style blocks of polygons with bizarre fashion sense and choppy textures. Buffy and Spike both look appalling in Chaos Bleeds, and Giles looks very bad. Whatever was said about Willow's appearance in Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the XBox would be complementary for the Slayer in Chaos Bleeds.

Perhaps Fox Interactive should've kept Buffy solely on the XBox - the PS2 brings it down.

*Sound-wise*

Dire. While some of the Scoobie Gang's lines can be offbeat and funny, others are downright lame. 'You can never have too many of these.' and 'Mom always said my natural charisma would open doors - just not this one.' drill into your head after they are used again and again. Buffy's voice-over is reasonable, but Willow does your head in! How bad she is!

The vampire's sound poor, especially the random French and English ones. The game is taken comicly, and it really ruins the Buffy atmosphere.

*Game*

Strange. The characters move very awkwardly and slowly, like turtles. The storyline is poor - no matter what the back of the box says. A Dimensional Bleed - lame-ol'. Think X-Files rather than Vampire Slayer.

*Closing Comments*

All in all, this game was a big disappointment. If you see it gleaming on your computer screen, or shining in a video game store - leave it where it is.

*Score* (for XBox)

Graphics - 5/10
Sound - 3/10
Gameplay - 5/10
Value - 2/10 (even with the shodilly made Multiplayer)