Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Originally released on 8/19/2002
An Xbox exclusive that was developed by The Collective, Buffy the Vampire Slayer the game acted as a lost episode from the insanely popular cult TV show of the same name. Now off the air, most gamers have probably at least heard in passing the shenanigans of Buffy and her gang of evil fighting friends. As a quick recap, Buffy Summers is your average 17-year old high school girl with one exception, she’s been bestowed a set of incredibly powerful slayer abilities, with the task of ridding the world of vampires, demons, and other sorts off nasties that live under your bed. Along with managing high school and fighting the undead, Buffy had to balance her love life, a relationship with her mom, and her wacky friends as well. As a Buffy nerd since day one of the series, and even a fan of the less than stellar movie that was released pre-show in 1992, this series truly is worth checking out on DVD for those that haven’t. As stated before, BtVS the game is a lost episode from the show, that sends Buffy out to stop the plans of the Master (think of him as the king of vampires) as he is once again back from the grave and out for blood.
The biggest draw that brought gamers into the world of Sunnydale and Buffy was the combat engine. As the slayer, Buffy had an awesome array of abilities at hand, including super strength, speed, and the ability to spit out one-liners like nobody’s business. The combat engine designed for this game was incredibly intuitive, and was layered in a way that enabled players to continually learn new moves as the game progressed. As Buffy, players had the ability to perform basic punches, kicks, as well as varying jump attacks. Through the use of the Xbox face buttons, players could also string these simple moves into more powerful combos. There were a variety of combos to pull off, each with a distinct purpose. Whether to clear out a pack of demons that were descending at once, or to throw a vampire across the room - each situation had a combo that fit.
Buffy also had a “slayer power” meter, which deplete every time it was used. These slayer powers could be used on regular combos, by holding down the last button of the command. Buffy would glow, and when released, the attack would intensify a great deal. As the game progresses, players add pages to their slayer journal, which are a variety of combo instructions for newly learned moves. In order to replenish Buffy’s power meter, players had to collect orbs that were released from defeated enemies. This wasn’t the most ingenuous system, but it worked nonetheless. One major flaw that constantly plagues superhero games is the conversion of their superpowers over to the pixilated screen. While Buffy may not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, or shoot webbing out of her wrists, her devastating powerful moves were translated over soundly.
On paper, these moves may not seem incredibly exciting, but stringing together a series while in combat was. For instance, if multiple vampires are attacking, the best bet may be to throw one baddy across the room, and then beat the other one to a pulp with a shin breaker combo. Only when an enemy’s health has been depleted can they then be staked. However, hit detection ensures that you must hit the heart with the stake, otherwise the vampire will get back up and continue the fight. These little battles that occur throughout the game are straight out of the show, and are a blast to take part in.....
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