Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds Xbox

Buffy the Vampire Slayer returns to Xbox in a game written by comic book authors and novelists Christopher Golden and Tom Sniegoski. Using the same engine and perspective introduced in the 2002 original, the title once again emphasizes hand-to-hand combat against a variety of vampires and demonic entities. Being the resourceful lass that she is, Buffy can stake her foes using whatever means are at her disposal, from chairs found at the Magic Box to shovels at the local graveyard. The story line takes place around the time period of the fifth season, which means Spike is now an unofficial member of the Scoobie Gang and Willow is well on her way to becoming a full-fledged witch.

Things take a turn for the worse when Sunnydale undergoes a temporal shift, thanks to the dabbling of one mischievous Ethan Rayne, causing instability between time and space. Ethan has awoken the primordial evil known as The First, and now Buffy and the gang must find a way to prevent the world from plunging into chaos. Not only will players fend off werewolves, vampires, and zombies while trying to prevent the next apocalypse, but they must also deal with villains like Adam and Kakistos. A total of 12 levels will take players through such familiar locales as The Magic Box, Initiative Base, Sunnydale Hospital, and downtown Sunnydale.

Players will confront enemies as Buffy, Willow, Xander, Faith, Spike, and even Sid the Dummy, a character first introduced during the television show's first season. Each character possesses distinct abilities and attributes, such as Willow's power to cast spells, as the gang begins the daunting task of cleaning up Sunnydale's tainted streets. Rather than choosing different characters at the beginning of each stage, players will have to follow each level's story line using whichever character the game requires of them at any given time.

Chaos Bleeds also includes support for up to four players in Multiplayer Mode. Game types include Survival, Bunny Catcher, Slayer Challenge, and Domination. Survival is a deathmatch variant, with various pick-ups available that can help or hinder characters. Bunny Catcher is a race to collect as many bunnies as possible, with different colored rabbits worth a varying amount of points. Slayer Challenge has a character summoning vampires and then trying to dust them, with the other players controlling the enemies. Domination, on the other hand, has characters vying for control over magical pentagrams. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide