OT: *Game Review* BtVS: Chaos Bleeds

[Squall Leonhart <mcmacladdie@xxxxxxxxx>]

Okay... I said to someone that I'd post a review of
this game on the lists if I played it over the
holidays.  I just managed to finish it, so here's my
review.  I'll put in spoiler space for anyone that may
want to play it, but hasn't yet. 

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Okay, I'm assuming that if you're still reading, you
don't really care about being spoiled.

PLOT: This game takes place somewhere near the end of
Season 5, after the episode "The Body".  Ethan Rayne
has decided to give up worshipping Chaos and start
worshipping the First.  Both Ethan and the First have
chosen 5 champions, and if Ethan's people win, then
he's been promised a butt-load of power.  The plot
doesn't really seem like anything you wouldn't see in
an actual episode of the show, but since I'd finished
Legacy of Kain: Defiance before I beat this, I wasn't
exactly wowed.  7.5/10.

GRAPHICS: Not too shabby.  The character models
actually look like the people they're supposed to be. 
Animation is fairly smooth, except when walking off a
ledge, your character usually tends to float down to
the ground unless it's from a signifigant height.
8.5/10.

GAMEPLAY: Ugh... here's my biggest beef.  When you're
fighting one-on-one, it's pretty easy.  As soon as it
becomes 2-on-1 or 3-on-1, start saying your prayers. 
If you get knocked down, your character tends to get
up v e r y  s l o w l y, giving the vamps ample time
to hit you and keep you from getting back up. 
Selecting items in the heat of battle is a royal pain
as well.  It would have been better if there was a
pause menu that you could pick your items to use or
whatever weapon you want to equip.  Willow's
spellcasting can be a bit of a pain, but is actually
not that bad once you get used to it.  However... the
biggest problem I have is that you can't save your
game in the middle of a level.  You have to wait until
you've finished the level you're on to be able to
save.  Which wouldn't be a problem if the levels only
took about 20-30 minutes to finish.  But my average
completion time per level was around 1 hour.  Gameplay
gets a 6/10.

EXTRAS: Yes, this game has some extras.  It has
interviews with cast members (James Marsters, Amber
Benson, ASH, Robin Sachs, Nick Brendon, and Joss
himself).  It also has highlites from voiceover
sessions with each major cast member, an Outtake reel,
and the entire Chaos Bleeds comic, which sets up the
story of the game.  Some interesting stuff in here,
and pretty cool to check out once you've beaten the
game. 8/10.

In closing, this really isn't that bad a game, but you
will be very frustrated at times (I actually threw my
controller across the room a couple of times).  If
you're a die-hard fan of the series (as I guess 99% of
the people on these lists are), then you might like
this game.  But, having said that, rent before you
buy.  There's nothing worse than spending your
hard-earned cash on a game that you end up hating. I
give this game an overall rating of 7.5/10.

--Squall Leonhart

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