Decisions, decisions...I own this one, though I haven't yet had a chance to try it out. Though it swept my circle of friends like a wildfire, I have only seen a single episode of the series -- "Once More, With Feeling", which was presented as the series' high point but which required a few seasons' worth of context to make much sense. So I can't vouch for to what extent the games (this is the fourth of five licensed titles I could find, plus some sleazy fangames) retain the TV show's renowned dynamic interplay between its punchy cast of characters.
Which demon-killer will you be?
Buffy the vampire slayer
CHAOS BLEEDS
Battle as Buffy & 5 other favorite characters
Story based on a lost episode of the television series
Multi-player chaos - with support for up to 4 players on the same screen.
Bonus features: interviews, cast photos, outtakes, and more! ~ In collaboration with series creator Joss Whedon.
Offline multiplayer is a feature I'd like to see in more games -- a good round of Jump 'n Bump can be hard to beat. This is apparently the first Buffy game allowing players to control anyone but Buffy herself. As to the value of the game's script being a lost TV episode, I can't vouch for it -- beyond noting that a game and a TV episode are very different things with very different dramatic and narrative requirements. (Unless you're making a Metal Gear game, amIright?) I know that the game is set within the TV series' continuity, circa season 5, which might be what is meant by the claim.
Just what does "Chaos Bleeds" mean, anyhow? I gather that a "weakening walls between parallel realities" plot device is in effect here so as to permit drawing upon some distinctly defunct characters for gamely fanservice purposes -- perhaps it then alludes to a chaotic "bleeding through" of one reality to the next?
Since you mentioned how many vampire games you had reviewed, I thought it would be a good research project to find out what was the earliest vampire video game. Of course, wikipedia has already done that for us. Although they admit their list is incomplete.
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, it seems like quite a bit of that stuff wouldn't even fit into this blog, since I am assuming that 1981 text adventures did not have advertisements.
I woulda thunk Penguinware's "Transylvania", but it looks like Scott Adams beat them to the punch by one year with "The Count"! You can see the little boy transformed into Vlad Tepes in the ad at http://media-cache-ec3.pinterest.com/upload/206602701626491921_FD8jcw8Z_c.jpg ... too bad I couldn't find THAT ad in a comic book! When I run out of the comic book-sourced ads however I probably will delve into other archives of general computer trade magazines.
ReplyDeleteStill, wow, Scott... first comic book tie-in AND first vampire game? There must be one prior.
(I only suspect this is the one you're alluding to?)
As for your closing question, by 1982 they were bursting out the gate! http://www.flickr.com/photos/textfiles/3886579036/sizes/o/in/set-72157622111007949/ ... I bet we can find some earlier. (I imagine Scott Adams will also figure prominently in them...)
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