Whenever a game appears that is based on a movie or television show, more times than not, it is rushed, slapped together, and well... horrible. The Collective's new Buffy-based game is the rare exception to the rule. Read on to find out why.
At it's heart Buffy is a beat-em-up. An adventure brawler with a few unique qualities to make it stand out from the rest. You'll play as Buffy, a teenager who's destiny it is to protect mankind from vampires. Even for those who don't know much or don't care much (myself included) for the popular series of the same name, the story is a good one, and easy to follow. You'll battle various baddies of varying strengths, some of whom are vampires, and others are just monsters. I suppose they could be vampire monsters, but the game doesn't make that all too clear, so we'll just leave it at that. The controls are simple enough, and it's possible to learn new moves along the way to add to your arsenal. Standard punch and kick buttons are there, but there is also a button set aside for driving stakes into your enemies, and a jump button. Buffy can grab onto certain ledges, and shimmy along poles, as well as pull herself up from a ledge if she misses a jump.
You also have the ability to pull off Slayer moves, which essentially are special moves only available if your slayer power is full. You'll gain slayer power as well as health points by defeating enemies and absorbing the eneergy they leave behind. There are also health potions in varying degrees around each level, although many times there didn't seem to be enough. However, finding secrets and collecting gems in the levels will allow you to give them to your friend Willow to perform a spell to make your life and Slayer power meters longer, or able to hold more health and power.
Those of us who read previews extensively will also note that he core gameplay engine has already been adopted for the new Indiana Jones game, and with good reason. It's solid, and a nearly perfect setup for adventure gaming. There is a difficulty setting when you start a new game, which makes the game more accessible for all levels.
The save system is adequate, but having a save-anywhere feature would have been better. As it stands the checkpoints are at times too far apart, and losing a difficult boss battle will send you back to the beginning of a level to try again instead of restarting right before the battle. With the Xbox's hard drive, I really don't see much excuse not to have a save anywhere feature on a game such as Buffy though.
Buffy's roots lie in the days when the Dreamcast was still a viable platform, and as such it was originally being developed for the console, as well as for the PS2. However, in it's current incarnation, the developers chose to focus strictly on an Xbox version (likely partly due to a little extra green from uncle Bill) and the graphics show that to a certain degree. The character animations are excellent, and for the most part, the lighing and textures are great as well. The only glaring mistake was not utilizing the Xbox's anti-aliasing capabilities to smooth out the chracter models and environments. Jaggies are extremely prominent in most of the outlines of the character models and especially in the straight lines of the environments. It's a shame, because other than that, the game looks and plays great. There is minimal clipping, and the framerate stays solid for most of the time. The FMV's are actually done in real-time with the same models and animations as the game itself utilizes, which adds somewhat of a seamless quality to the presentation. Overall a very sharp looking game, but it could have made better use of the Xbox's formidable anti-aliasing abilties.
Buffy really shines in the sound department, as almost all of the show's characters do their own voiceovers, with the notable exception of Sarah Michelle Gellar, who opted out. (Likely because she wanted a crapload of cash to do it) Her replacement, however, does an outstanding job of mimicking Sarah's vocal nuances, and if one didn't know any better, one would never know the difference. The ambiance is great, especially in surround sound, as the music is very moody and changes with the tone of the game perfectly. The game's soundtrack does a exemplary job of creating a creepy and at times scary atmosphere, as you'll hear unseen vampires call out to her and whisper thru the 5.1 surround. The only drawback to the sound is the considerable repetition in the voice tracks. Buffy's tracks in particular repeat too often, and while they may be witty and clever the first time or two, the 10th time she says "I feel like a new Slayer", it gets kinda old. My friends and I did laugh pretty hard the first time she staked a pesky vampire, and followed it up with a perfectly timed "Oops! I.... did it again".
Buffy is a great single player game, and has a good but short length to it. The difficulty levels do help a bit with replayability, but not all too much. The rumor has it that there is a hidden multiplayer mode somewhere in the game given the right code, but since I haven't been able to find it, I can't score Buffy based on that rumor alone. There's not any real good reason to go thru the game again once you've finished it, but it is a solid single-player adventure game nevertheless.
When the Collective stated they would be using their Buffy engine to create their new Indiana Jones game, it was a clue to me that they had a winner of a adventure/action engine in Buffy. Buffy turned out to be a great game with minimal flaws and a great time. It's light hearted for the most part, and doesnt take itself too seriously, which gives it a lot of it's appeal. It is still challenging though, but easy enough for the average joe to pick up and play. Looking forward to Indiana more than ever now.
