buffy 2 article from ign

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

June 05, 2003 - Whether or not you love Buffy The Vampire Slayer TV series, the Vivendi-Universal love affair with Fox TV properties has delivered the game upon footsteps of the videogame industry with a relatively large "fwap." Microsoft heralded Buffy as an example of the system's excellent graphics, and the title came to life like few TV shows have ever on a game system. Not a huge feat in itself given the horrible slew of TV merde we've seen in the past, but Buffy, who clearly stands on her own two feet on TV, stood her ground in the videogame world too.

 

With the first game having made its debut on Xbox in August 2002 (after the long-delayed PlayStation game was cancelled), VU Games and Fox Interactive have sought out the fine skills of journeyman UK software developer Eurocom (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, James Bond 007 NightFire) to give us, as Producer Greg Goodrich says, "The key to this game is 'more'."

 

And more ye shall have. Created as a "lost episode" from the TV show, specifically in season five between shows 17-18 (for you super Buffy fans, that means Buffy's mom has died, Dawn is at camp and Faith has just gotten out of jail), Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds commences as the new comic book ends. In the beginning, Buffy must search out the location of Anya and Tara, who have been kidnapped and bound in the lower regions of a Magic shop.

 

The third-person action-adventure broadens out from the first game in the dreamy suburban location of Sunnydale, California. Chaos Bleeds sees Buffy discovering that a dimensional "bleed" has let slip an evil force so devastating it will consume humanity without her and her friends' help. So, what's a skinny blond girl to do? Take those bastard vampires by the throats and gauge them with a healthy set of wooden stakes, that's what. The game follows the comic book, written by Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski and penciled by Cliff Richards, a prequel slated to hit retail outlets in early June.

 

As far as voice acting goes, and resembles to the show, VU Games and Fox have learned from their past ways in the 32-bit generation and have brought on writers and voice actors from the show, aiming to give fans the most authentic Buffy experience possible. What's so generous about the game's design is that gamers take on the role of six characters, four of which are playable right off the bat.

 

Playable voice actors include Spike (James Marsters), Xander (Nicholas Brendan), Faith (Eliza Dushku), and Sid the Dummy (Tom Wyner). Non-player characters from the show include Tara (Amber Benson), Ethan Rayne (Robin Sachs), and Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head). As with the first game, Sarah Michelle Gellar does not perform the voice acting for her character Buffy Summers. Instead, Giselle Loren, the same actor who handled Buffy's lines in the Xbox original, will handle her duties with as much believability as in the first one.

 

Visually, what might just be amazing for non-PlayStation 2 fans is that the PS2 version looks exemplary, even at this pre-beta stage of the game. The first game set a precedent, meaning that Chaos Bleeds HAS to look good. And it does. Volumetric fog and environmental mapping are joined by an impressive array of varying textures. The character models are all well constructed, with apt body proportions (yes, all proportions are accurate), stylish hair and as-good-as-they-get facial re-creations. The animations work well too. Running at a relatively smooth 60 FPS even at this point, each character moves with an instantaneousness and responsiveness that feels right for a fighting or an action game.

 

Yeah, it's a bit of a button masher, but there are soooo many buttons to mash, attacks to pull off and combos to pull. Truly, if the first game made you learn Buffy's moves, Chaos Bleeds has even more (and this time since Buffy carries her Slayer handbook with her), so players have instant access to all her moves. Following the theme of "more," this game delivers twice as many moves as the first. Where the original offered 10-80 moves, Chaos Bleeds will offer 150-180 moves. Spreading the fun out between the six characters, Eurocom fits each character with their proper corresponding attack set.

 

Buffy is surely the best character in the game, exhibiting a great balance of all characteristics, but Willow, while not as strong, is a witch and can therefore cast spells. To boot, she's the closest to an RPG character as this game comes. As her character progresses she picks new spells (about eight to 10 in all), which she accumulates and retains throughout the game. These spells range from Fireball, Shockwave, Holy Water, Hellfire, Sunspell, and more. Whereas Xander, a weaker character, happens to find all sorts of weapons to wield, such as crossbows and axes, to put to good use. And he can use two weapons simultaneously. The vampire Spike, who has been aligned (chipped to be specific) with Buffy and the Scooby Gang, is hefty. He wields single-handed weapons as well as double-handed ones, he's stronger than everybody else, given his vampire nature, and he's quick and powerful.

 

Then there's that little Dummy Sid, who's a scream to play. He's tiny, as tall as your knee. But his combo attack will break your knees in a frenzied, fist-hurling attack. It's also just plain hilarious to watch. To make things more funny, he has to jump up twice his height to stab his enemies in the face. Way too silly and way too fun.

 

Buffy's combat system is the stuff of straight-up Golden Axe. Tap-tap-tap a single button; Double tap one button twice followed by another single tap, does a different move, etc. But as you kill the slew of enemies peppered throughout the game (there appear to be a dozen or so classes), you'll build up your Slayer Power Meter, which, when filled, enables several dozen new moves far more than the standard set. Players can block, attack, kick, throw and evade. They can sweep kick or jump kick.

 

The weapon system is relatively sophisticated. Any object created from wood -- tables, chairs, bookcases, etc. -- are breakable, and in the course of breaking, become weapons. Throw a vampire into a table, watch it shatter, and then use the shards to "stabber" (OK, heh, sorry, "stab") them into infinite darkness. Each weapon has a durability factor, too, indicated by a meter in the lower left-hand side of the screen. Once it is depleted of strength, it shatters into various things. If it's a dagger it disappears. If it's a large staff, it'll dwindle to a medium-sized staff, and then later to a dagger, and then finally to a dagger, etc. Shovels and pitch forks do the same. You'll see that the game is filled with wooden objects just for these uses. Even better, many wooden objects break into deadly sharpened spikes and poles, which just happen to be very good at piercing the bodies of evil enemies.

 

Split into a 60%-40% difference between Buffy and the other characters, players also have a 60%-40% between action and puzzle solving. Building from the first game, VU is creating more sophisticated, multi-tier puzzles. Gamers might have to find a key, but the key just doesn't open a door, it might only lead the way to the real door.

 

A better example is this: Willow finds herself in a mine below a lake and she must get to the upper levels to get out. A broken down elevator shaft just happens to be next to some moveable barrels -- and, down the hallway a dangerous dead-end, filled in cave is just begging to have a some dynamite thrown at it. First, move the barrels below the elevator shaft. Run down the hall, and blow the cave. Water from the late billows out, and she must run down to the elevator to avoid it. The water lifts the buoyant barrels, and thus the elevator, upward, providing her with the perfect way up. It's puzzles such as these that should add depth and variety to the onslaught of enemies you'll need to slaughter, and that make simple key-to-door puzzles ever-so-slightly more intelligent than the standard fare.

 

Finally, using a multi-tap for the PS2 and all of the controller outlets for the Xbox and GameCube, players are going to get their fighting gloves on with up to four contestants at once. The generous additional modes of play are set up like a fighting game. You've got Survival -- a fight to the death set of enemies; Bunny Catcher -- a goofy little set of mini-games in which you chase as many bunnies as possible; Slayer Challenge -- head to head fights; and Domination -- a King of the Hill challenge. Each mode has four levels or play, and as players progress through the Story mode, they open up as many as 24 playable characters for these other modes. It's a fatty list of characters and it'll keep you going -- if, and only, if you like the premise in the first place.

 

And that's where the breaking point comes about. Hardcore fans are sure to laugh this off as a stupid TV-show based button masher. Fact is, Chaos Bleeds is already a high-value production, with excellent graphics, sound, and superbly crafted characters, fighting scenarios, et al. The amount of moves, playable characters range of modes, and the story-driven action are genuinely crafted by veteran developers who've made everything from respectable first-person shooters to deep fighting to platformers. It may be a straight-forward action game on the surface, and perhaps even underneath its shining shell as well, but it looks to be one of the better ones we'll see this year, and even if you don't give a hoot about the Buffy universe, rarely does such a capable, well rounded game come round that also retains a firmly established TV series at its core.

 

-- Doug Perry

[Guest Cavi]

It really sucks that Aly didn't voice Willow I have watched the vids over at GameSpot and the replacement isn't very good.

 

Nowhere is Emma mentioned, so it looks like we might not have the real Anya either.

 

I think it's sort of dumb of the game's writers to place the game right after "Forever". Joyce just died yet Dawn is now suddenly off at camp? Ok...

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Willow did her voice in the first game...so I'm surprised she didn't find time ot do it here.

 

The girl who does Buffy in the first game (and also this one) is fine for her part.

 

I really liked that first game.

[Guest Kagato Otaku]

Non-player characters from the show include... Ethan Rayne (Robin Sachs)

 

Yeah!

 

I'm probably one of the few Ethan marks on the board.

[Guest fazzle]

specifically in season five between shows 17-18 (for you super Buffy fans, that means Buffy's mom has died, Dawn is at camp and Faith has just gotten out of jail

 

 

Uhmm....

 

Er......

 

 

[Guest Cavi]

I really liked that first game.

As did I. I would say it's the best beat 'em up of the past two generations. Of course, the source material really helps out

 

I just hope this new one turns out to be on par or better than the first. It's not the same developer this time around, so I have some doubts.

 

I'm probably one of the few Ethan marks on the board.

Ethan ruled!

 

Giles: "[talking to himself] Nothing is going to happen."

 

*Giles leaves crypt*

 

*Ethan steps out of shadows all supervilliany*

 

Ethan: "I wouldn't say that...I wouldn't say that at all. In fact, Ripper, old mate, I'd say something rather interesting was about to hap-"

 

*interrupted by Giles opening the crypt door*"

 

Giles: "Did someone?"

 

Ethan: "Oh bugger, I thought you'd gone!"

[Guest Kagato Otaku]

fazzle - Yeah, looks like a plothole created for the game.

 

Spoiler (Highlight to Read):

Faith wakes up from her coma in Season Four and uses the honorable Mayor Wilkins III's magic switcheroo gizmo to swap bodies with Buffy. After...u-uh, "unswapping" she heads off to L.A., where she's contracted by Wolfram & Hart to assassinate Angel. They bond and stuff, and she decides to turn herself in to pay pitance for her crimes.   She doesn't even SHOW UP in Season Five, with her only apperance on Angel that year being the first episode, where she was still incarcerated.

 

But then again, why is Sid even *around*?

[Guest fazzle]

Right now, the game looks like it's trying TOO much fan service, and is gonna fall flat on it's face. Then again, I wasn't a fan of the first game either.

[Mecha Mummy 0]

SID? How did Sid come back? Didn't Sid die in Season One?

[Guest LaParkaMarka]

I marked out for seeing Spike and Faith as playable characters, as well as seeing Ethan f'n Rayne as an NPC. He was so great in Band Candy, and amazing in the ep where he turned Giles into a freaking demon. (tangent: the part where Giles chases after Maggie Walsh was GOLD)

 

I think the game itself has a lot of potential, way more than the first game which seemed like it offered nothing beyond the one-player mode. I look very forward to it.

[Guest Lil Naitch]

I'm looking forward to this game. I liked the first, and this sounds even better

[Guest Cavi]

IGN updated with some new videos in their PS2 section. Nothing much of note. It's cool to hear Amber's voice acting. They took some liberties with the layout of the Magic Box though (it is much bigger than it is on the show).

[Guest Youth N Asia]

I have a PS2...so I didn't play the first one. I'll get this one though.

[Garth 0]

I've played the first one on a friends X-Box and thought highly of it, will no doubt be getting this for my PS2 when it comes out.

[Guest Lil Naitch]

does anybody have a release date?