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PS2 Game Review: Chaos Legion; Hack and Slash that's better than DMC3?
Topic Started: Jan 3 2006, 08:15 PM (227 Views)
Banzo803
Tangela
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CHAOS LEGION
Genre: Hack and Slash
Distributor: Capcom
Rating: M15+
Players: 1

Chaos Legion has a popular genre to compete in, so for it to sell, it must have something better than popular Hack and Slash titles like the Devil May Cry series (DMC) Chaos Legion would have indeed had something to compete with if it was implememnted correctly, add to that some of the basic gameplay is faulted and Chaos Legion is walking on thin ice.

The main gameplay fault and problem in the game is, unlike the DMC series, there are upto and in excess of 30 monsters on the screen. This detracts from most of the strategy in the game, not against a few monsters where you must combine certain combos, stunning powers and the correct use of legions (I'll get to that later), but yoiu're up against a screen load of easy weak monsters that die in on hit, essentially making, most parts atleast, a mash the square button (attack) game and as a result, it gets very repetative.

The game also has quite a bit of inteface problems. This can be expected as most Hack and Slash games have this problem to some degree, even heavyweights like the Devil may Cry series. Most notable is somehow getting stuck in a corner where the enemies just claw at you while you take no damage but still can hit them making it very difficult to get out of said corner at the end of the battle.

The game also lacks puzzles and the sort of things that make you think of where you have to go next. This isn't a problem unto its own, but when you're forced to mash the square button to get to the boss or next area every single damn time, it gets very annoying and repetative. The hardest puzzles I can recall are deciding whether to go left or right, which ends up with one path progressing you, and the other ending in a few steps, rewarding you with an item for seven seconds hard work. Yeah, not good.

However, to end the review at that would be wrong of me. This game has certainly got some fine points. The graphics are nothing short of amazing. The scenery is so beautifully detailed. You can actually see each individual tree leaf, you can see every single scratch mark on the wall, you can see every small dent in buildings. It is fantastically detailed. The characters in the cutscenes also look beautiful, speaking graphic wise ofcourse because naturally they're pretty damn ugly, seeing their long hair sway and each strand move on its own. Excellent graphics.

The story is also quite excellent. Whilst it's no Final Fantasy VII or Xenosaga, it is enough to make you come back and to find out more (assuming you're not completely put off by the gameplay aspects). There are some little quirks, like little cliches about a bunch of old priest type guys called the Order and the main villain wanting you to atone for all your sins but other than those minor quirks, the game story is quite well designed.

Then there is the battle system, giving some fresh air towards the game. See, the main idea is that you have a power to control these mystical guys named (named after something similar to the seven sins + extra) which are summoned from chips. These guys help you in battle once summoned and fight against enemies. Some are long range, some are short, some are fast and some are slow and they each have their advanatage and disadvantages. When they aren;'t summoned, they give you new combos to use and special attacks or powers, like high jump. these guys also have quite a bit of relevance to the story and by using certain legions in certain boss fights, you will acquire pieces of a broken chip, the Thanatos chip. Thanatos is the ultimate legion you use at the start of the game which gets broken at the end of the prologue.

Then there are the boss fights, these is probably my favourite part of the game. These said fights are fantastically designed, with quite abit of strategy that refreshes you from most of the stage. There are special weak spots, certain ways to kill them and other things that make the boss battles are winner in this game.

In conclusion, this game could have easily been better than the Devil May Cry series with strategic use of legions, the story, the boss battles and the amazing graphics, but in the end the seemingly minor points like the lack of puzzles and a small quirk in basic gameplay really took alot out from this game for me. Thirty+ monsters on screen DOES NOT work, and with capacity of a great strategic Hack and Slash, it really disapointed me with this mistake. This game will last you 15 or so hours on easy, so i suggest you give it a rent instead of a buy.

The Final Verdict
Upsides: Story, graphics and boss battles.
Downsides: Amoun of monsters on screen detracts alot from the gameplay.

Graphics: A+
Sound: B+
Gameplay: C

Overall: C+
A very average game, get it if you like Hack and Slash games alot, otherwise, you might want to give it a miss and get Devil May Cry 3 instead.
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+Y2JosHBK
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Bananated
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I dont think an A+ added with a B+ added with a C gives a final grade of C+
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+bearzly
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Tangela
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Gameplay is probably the most important aspect though....

M15+ is a strange rating though. What kind of rating system do you/Spanky have???
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Banzo803
Tangela
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Y2JosHBK
Jan 4 2006, 08:52 PM
I dont think an A+ added with a B+ added with a C gives a final grade of C+

doesn't quite work like that Josh :)

Bearzly: theres G for General which anyone can watch, G8 which you have to be over eight, PG which is Parental Guidance, PG13 which you have to be over 13, M which is Mature, M15 whoch you have to be 15 and R which is for adults. Nobody gives a stuff about them though.
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+Y2JosHBK
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Bananated
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doesn't quite work like that Josh

Most places it does >_>
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Banzo803
Tangela
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I do it like this:

Step1: Idividual ratings
Step2: Calculate approximate average
Step3: Adjust average to accurately determine score of how it plays overall.

Obviously a game with perfect graphics and sound (A+) but horrible gameplay (D-) doesn't deserve a B+ ish, it deserves a C- or something close to that give or take.

EDIT: Anyway, that's not the point. Did you like the review? was it helpful? Should i do more reviews?
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