When Buffy Summers discovers that an enemy from the past - Ethan Rayne - is at the centre of a great struggle with The First, literally the first incarnation of evil the world has ever known, she and the gang must face an undead army of vampires, zombies and demons to keep these villains from plunging the world into permanent darkness. Buffy has encountered The First before, when it attempted to manipulate Angel's mind, and drive him to suicide. Buffy helped Angel to overcome its influence a ... more >>

When Buffy Summers discovers that an enemy from the past - Ethan Rayne - is at the centre of a great struggle with The First, literally the first incarnation of evil the world has ever known, she and the gang must face an undead army of vampires, zombies and demons to keep these villains from plunging the world into permanent darkness. Buffy has encountered The First before, when it attempted to manipulate Angel's mind, and drive him to suicide. Buffy helped Angel to overcome its influence and thwarted its plans, but The First has not forgotten, and Chaos Bleeds is all about the ultimate confrontation and the build-up to it.

Chaos Bleeds' tale begins in the Magic Box, your one-stop shop for all things supernatural. Buffy, Willow, Xander and Spike pay a visit one evening to find a bunch of vampires running amok, and you take control of the four aforementioned characters in order to vanquish the bad guys. The basic premise of the game is apparent straight away; there's very little scene-setting by contemporary videogame standards, as you're plunged pretty much right into the centre of the action. You simply have to give your enemies a good kicking before sticking a stake where it hurts. After an initial burst of bloodsucker bottom-kicking with Buffy, you move on to control Willow, where you'll learn all about her magic spells such as Shockwave and Sun Spell, before going on to assume control of Xander and Spike for some smarmy dialogue and more fisticuffs. As the game switches between characters, you'll discover that each fighter has a different fighting style, as well as a selection of painfully hip remarks to make on conquering a foe. Weapons are liberally spread throughout the levels - crossbows, torches and axes make things a little easier as far as crushing the enemy is concerned.

This is no videogame-shaped gravestone for the Buffy franchise; something in the eerie atmosphere tells us that Chaos Bleeds is not the last we'll see of the blonde baddie-basher and her coterie of smart-mouthed pals. The TV series may have bitten the dust, but it's a safe bet the gang will be back on a console roughly 12 months after the release of Chaos Bleeds - it's money in the (blood) bank. << less