More Articles on Chaos League: Sudden Death
Chaos League: Sudden DeathChaos League: Sudden Death Q&ASudden Death For Chaos LeagueLatest Mini Reviews
Guitar Hero: On TourSecret Agent ClankWe Love Golf!Ferrari Challenge Buzz! Quiz TVUser Reviews
There are currently 0 User Reviews for Chaos League: Sudden DeathWrite your own review for this game today and you will receive 100 Gamer Points.
Click here to register
Chaos League: Sudden Death Mini Review
Chris Leyton
05/08/2005
DJ and Cyanide return with an expansion to its confusing sports/rts hybrid...
Cyanide and Digital Jesters returns to the PC with an expansion to its somewhat muddled amalgamation of Rugby Union, NFL and Command & Conquer in Chaos League: Sudden Death. Those that missed out on the first title will be pleased to learn that the pack comes equipped with it; more importantly it makes a number of enhancements that improves its accessibility, but then again a coupling of the sport and RTS genres is never going to be an easy experience to get used to.
Much like its predecessor thereās a lot to like when first beginning with Sudden Death, most notably its highly unique experience and its highly distinctive style. New management options in the Championship mode increases the sense of immersion in the experience, however youāre going to need the perseverance by the bucketload if you hope to gain the most enjoyment from the game. Thereās simply so much happening on-screen, so many things to consider when playing that games to begin with initially bog down to mindless scraps with little consideration of tactics/strategy that are common elements with a sports game. Sudden Death bills itself strongly as an RTS over being a Sports game; however the ill-advised combination will at times leave you contemplating whoever came up with such as idea.
Coming across as a complex version of Speedball at times, control on the field mimics closely that of an RTS, with the assorted versions of mouse clicks, groups and waypoints common to the likes of Command & Conquer, Dawn of War, etcā¦ Each individual unit has an assortment of special techniques to consider, alongside generic ones plus the ability to get the crowd involved and bribe the referee; all at the same time as worrying about each unit on the pitch and trying to come up with the tactics necessary to win. Its predecessor suffered from a lack of AI on behalf of units not currently under the playerās control; in some ways this has improved with Sudden Death which goes along way to making the experience more accessible and less frustrating, however it does still seem that you need to be thinking of eight different things at once. To counter this the game features three different modes, Turn-Based, Active Pause and Real-Time, which are designed to ease you into the game with constant pauses in the former, moving to pausing with a Spacebar tap and finally playing all in real-time. This can help and is most certainly the way to play for newcomers; however itās a blatant indication that even the developers know how complex the game can be.
Those that enjoyed the original will be happy to note a number of enhancements and new content, such as new stadiums, new races, a new magic system, the aforementioned management aspects and a rather nifty close-up camera that focuses in on the action in all its gruesome brutality. Thereās more than enough to get your teeth stuck into and it could last considerably longer then similarly priced titles, but only if youāre willing to struggle past the barrier of āuser-unfriendlinessā that surrounds the entire experience.
Improved AI that maintains control over units not currently under your control and a less cluttered, more intuitive interface would streamline the experience and make it accessible to anyone but the most ardent of RTS fanatics ā“ but then again itās questionable as to whether RTS vets would truly appreciate the comical sports theme. Cyanide should however be applauded for sticking with it and pushing forward such a unique experience, however it can definitely continue improving.
Sudden Death much like its predecessor is a confusing experience; if you have fond memories of unique Amiga titles then itās likely youāll find a yearning desire to struggle through the game, however even then itās likely to cause more frustrations then moments of enjoyment.
