A three-night fling that will temporarily quench your thirst for hack ‘n slash action, but won't perform in the long-run.

Capcom has built an empire on sequels and spin-offs. They have no compunction when it comes to churning out me-too formulated games. I will go on record as saying that this is not necessarily a faux-pas.

This type of corporate thinking has given us memorable games, such as Resident Evil and Devil May Cry. Every so often though, a flaw in the design mold is found and we get a substandard offering. Devil May Cry II anyone?

The latest cookie-cutter release from Capcom, Chaos Legion, falls somewhere in-between. The game places you primarily in the role of Seigh Warheit. You’re tasked with stopping Victor Delacroix from collecting the three objects necessary to unleash demons upon the physical world.

In a strange twist, it turns out that Seigh was actually responsible for the death of Delacroix’s lover. The main reason for Delacroix’s desire to collect these three objects and release the demons, is the hope that they will restore life to his lost love. With that, you begin your journey to stop Delacroix from releasing hell on earth.

Graphically speaking, this game is a mixed bag. The levels are nothing extraordinary, and they are not particularly imaginative. Each one seems to be lacking in any vibrant colors and creativity. The best description that I can think of to illustrate this point, is that they appear to be endless masses of gothic cathedrals and castles.

It’s difficult to be certain of this, as most of the action takes place in an outside courtyard type setting. The design flaw that really brings this game down though, is the pea-soup like fog (think of the original Silent Hill) that obscures any type of distant view of the stage.

No doubt this was used to hide the “pop-up” that is occurring as the PS2 struggles to render the backgrounds on the fly. To be perfectly honest, it’s just plain ugly. As a point of reference, Devil May Cry II has better level design and execution.

On the flip side though, the stage bosses are incredibly impressive. Most are of the gigantic variety, and unlike the level design are extremely well crafted. They also animate and react with striking realism.

For all of the graphical shortcomings, the game is rife with adrenaline-pumping action. Seigh’s weapon of choice is the sword, which he uses gracefully to slash the multitude of hideous looking creatures. There are an abundant amount of enemies on the screen at any given time, and the hiccups are few and far between.

This is quite an impressive feat considering how the levels seem to have been coded for the PS One. As you progress through the game, you gain access to six initial Legions, which are spiritual warriors that you can summon when the tide of the battle is turning against you.

In each stage, your goal is to destroy all of the evil minions and collect one of several artifacts that you will need to summon the 7th and most powerful Legion in the game.

The smooth gameplay is on par with the DMC series, and the action (although repetitive) never seems to slow down. Each new stage confronts your warrior with wave after wave of sword-fodder until you reach the stage’s boss. These encounters are as intense and difficult as any you will find in a game today.

Most all have only one weak spot where they can suffer damage, and it generally takes a combination of your skill and the Legions to annihilate these Godzilla-like foes. Suffice to say, the blistering gameplay is what saves this title from total failure.

As you get deeper into the game, you have the opportunity to play as a young female gun-slinger named Arica. She has all of the acrobatic style and dual pistols, which obviously is an homage to our man Dante.

The downfall though, is that trying to aim her pistols while performing all of the tricks is nerve-racking. This becomes more of a chore than anything else and loses its luster quickly.

The sounds effects are pretty much what we have come to expect from Capcom, although the music sounds like a rehash from all of their other action games. The English voice-overs are definitely of the cheddar variety and will make you roll your eyes in disgust.

Chaos Legion could have been much better than it turned out to be. This was one of the titles that I had been looking forward to with anticipation for six months, and I was sorely disappointed by the final product. This game definitely could have benefited from a longer maturation process.

For fans of Devil May Cry and Onimusha, you certainly should at least rent this game to experience the hyper-active blade swinging action. The opportunity to see these humongous level bosses up close is worth the three or four bucks for a weekend romp.

Due to the shortness of the game, and the overall lack of polish, I don’t recommend a purchase here. This is a three-night fling that will give you a diversion from some of the other games you’re currently playing, and will temporarily quench your thirst for hack ‘n slash action.


Review by Michael Harris.