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Kung Fu Chaos Review
Chris Leyton
11/04/2003
Everybody was Kung Fu fighting as we take a look at one of the most enjoyable games to appear on Xbox.
Before we begin with the review, let me just say that it is a damn shame that this game doesnât support Xbox Live!, if any one game was perfectly suited to online gaming then itâs Kung-Fu Chaos â“ lets just hope the developers get a chance to make a sequel.
Kung-Fu Chaos is styled heavily after the likes of the Powerstone and Super Smash Bros series, where players fight through multi-staged environments using whatever means possible to emerge the winner. Given the name of the title, its unsurprising influence is the world of Kung Fu, a genre you can tell that the developers obviously love and have paid utmost respect to ensuring Kung Fu Chaos is a delightful spoof of the classic 70's movies.
Whilst the likes of Bruce Lee, Jet Li and Jackie Chan have emerged from the Hong Kong film industry; the majority of films to emerge from the nation were typically filmed on a shoestring budget, featured atrocious English dubbing and was generally just an excuse to include as much Martial Arts action as possible. Kung Fu Chaos perfectly parodies these types of films from the wonderful introduction sequence (complete with grainy film effect) to the actual game, which sees players selecting from a cast of the nine hilariously clichéd characters and acting out action sequences for use in the film.
The single player mode (Ninja Challenge) firstly introduces you to Shoa Ting â“ the director of the film youâre about to begin. Shao Ting will make Kung-Fu fans piss themselves, filled to the brim with clichés, bad dialogue and cringing jokes he perfectly embodies the spirit of Kung-Fu Chaos.
Players can only choose from six of the eight available with the remaining two unlocked with further progress into the game. As youâd expect the characters are heavy stereotypes of Martial Artists, so youâve got the likes of Ninja Fu Hiya (geddit?) and Monkey to choose from.
The Ninja Challenge places the task of performing 27 different scenes for inclusion in the movie, these range from scrolling through multi-staged environments based on hit movies such as âTitanicâ and âIndependence Dayâ, to smaller mini-games that provide a break from the chaotic action.
Surprisingly for a game of this nature the actual combat system is considerably extensive; normal attacks are carried out by pressing the X and Y buttons, whilst A is used to jump, B grabs/throws/trips and the L + R buttons used to taunt, block and activate your super special move. A wide range of moves and combos are possible through a variety of executions on the X,Y and B buttons; thankfully the implementation has been kept blissfully simple and doesnât change between the different characters. Through the excellent training mode youâll also learn how to counter moves and pull off a variety of spin attacks and running attacks. However the most entertaining feature of the combat system must surely be the Taunt system; having knocked down an opponent youâre given a short time to press the L shoulder button, successfully doing so will taunt the fallen opponent with a clichéd taunt and provide your character with one star. Perform three successful taunts and you can activate your characters super special move by pressing the L+R shoulder buttons together; this special move depends on your character but usually results in death to everybody on-screen complete with the only use of gratuitous blood in the game.
As with Powerstone you can pick up practically anything thatâs on-screen to use as a weapon, from tables to ice blocks, people to crabs; this ensures that the pacing remains frantic at all times, and as a very neat touch you have the chance to press B if youâre quick enough to catch the weapon and throw it back at whoever threw it at you.
Full credit has to go to Just Add Monsters for implementing a fighting system that remains wonderfully simple to use yet has a surprising amount of depth; this sole feature makes Kung-Fu Chaos one of the most enjoyable games in this genre to date.
Most of the main stages are themed around hit movies such as Titanic, Independence Day and Jurassic Park to name but a few. These typically involve dispatching as many opponents as possible in the allotted time and hopefully making it to the end of the stage to beat the final boss. Having completed a stage youâll be granted a rating out of five stars depending on how many kills you made, lives remaining, and how many lives you picked up. To open up the new stage and progress further into the game you need to ensure you get three stars at least, however larger scores will open more of the huge amount of unlockable modes and goodies included in the game.
To spice up the action and ensure the game remains fun, a number of mini-games have been included ranging from catching falling stuntmen from a window to knocking opponents from an ice-cube in a similar manner to Bumper Balls on Mario Party. Most of these add substantially to the game and provide some much needed light-entertainment; thankfully they can all be played in the games multiplayer mode, which ensures the longevity of this title.
Like Powerstone this game really comes into its element when youâve got four friends huddled around for some multiplayer fun. The multiplayer mode allows players to choose from thirteen stages lifted from the games single-player mode, these include a balanced range of the big stages and mini-games. As an excellent bonus, youâre treated to an exceptional replay of your actions in the multiplayer mode. Youâre free to alter various options to begin with such as the music volume, Shao Ting commentary and even select from a wide range of classic Kung Fu tunes such as Carl Douglas one-hit-wonder âEverybody Was Kung-Fu Fightingâ â“ sheer genius!!!
The effect of the replay system is unbelievable, using a grainy filter to give the shoestring appearance along with a variety of motion-blur and depth-filtering effects to give a fantastic result. Thankfully it seems a lot of attention has been paid to the replay system as the camera pans in on special moves to capture the look of excruciation on the characters faces, whilst a variety of Kung-Fu trademark screen splits are used to further enhance the quality. Kung Fu Chaos has been an office favourite for the last few months and we still find ourselves watching the replays every single time.
Visually Kung Fu Chaos has a very stylised look that canât help but grab your attention, character models have been created with a loving attention to detail, whilst the use of fancy Xbox effects such as the water, depth filtering and lighting really gives this game a shine. You can clearly see that Kung Fu Chaos has definitely been a labour of love for Just Add Monsters, itâs the little touches such as wires appearing on characters before they make a big jump, which make us very happy indeed. Despite all of the chaotic action Kung Fu Chaos never lets slip in the framerate department, ensuring frantic action throughout.
The progress of the game is geared towards unlocking all of the modes and goodies through the single player mode, which ensures this game will hang around in your Xbox for considerable time. However as a multiplayer game this comes into its own, youâll certainly be playing this for many months with your mates â“ just a shame no Xbox Live! support.
