KUNG FU CHAOS (XBOX)


Beat 'em up action with a twist

By WILL BARKER

Back when the SNES and MegaDrive were kings, one of my all-time favourite games was Final Fight.

Guy, Cody and the suplex-savvy Haggar were digital heroes of the highest calibre, and they boy, did they kick butt.

I mean, the graphics were sweet, there was plenty of kung fu, or wrestling-inspired moves (dependent on character choice), and you could interact with the environment.

Don't like the way that phone booth is looking at you? Then show it who's boss with a deadly schnapp kick to the, err, glass window, err, thing.

When Microsoft's first-party title, Kung Fu Chaos (KFC [hmmm...]) landed on my unusually clean and fragrant desk, my interest was instantly piqued: "Is this Final Fight for the 128-bit generation?" I mused...

In a word, no.

But that's not to say that Kung Fu Chaos and the hard work that developer Just Add Monsters has put into the game is all for nought. While the premise and execution of KFC is vastly different to that of Final Fight, the frenetic fisticuffs and multiplayer aspects that were present in the 16-bit classic have been included, now with up to four players - but more on that later.

While there isn't exactly a plot behind KFC per se, the game takes a rather novel approach to getting players involved. You are essentially a kung fu stunt actor who must help director Shao Ting (snigger) shoot the action sequences of his latest filmic masterpiece, which is filmed on recycled film sets, such as Titanic and Jurassic Park rip-offs, and the Fry Hard spoof is hard to top.

In my book, this is a brilliant and original way to set up a game, and it works marvellously. The movie mode is basically the meat of the game, the 'adventure' or 'quest' mode, and works by simply taking the player through hundreds of varying levels.

Generally speaking, you'll get a largely dynamic and scrolling/evolving level based on a known blockbuster movie, followed by a one-screen minigame-style level, with many of the latter levels inspired by Mario Party ideas.

It's the flowing, often massive and dynamic levels that offer the most fun in single player movie mode, and each usually ends with a boss character, who offers more challenge than the general ninja grunts who desire no mercy from your deadly limbs of justice.

In between missions Shao Ting will also comment on your progress - sometimes his words of wisdom are hilarious, and other times they suck, sometimes even offending.

But at the end of the day, it's a pretty cool inclusion that helps drill home the fact that you are indeed shooting a film, and his overdone accent alone is chuckle-worthy.

One of the more endearing aspects of KFC are the larger-than-life characters - eight in all. Each has a particular martial arts style, including various combos, counters, taunts and special moves. They're all stereotypical B-grade kung fu movie stars with satirical names, including Xui Tan Sour, Master Sho-Yu, Ninja Fu Hiya and Monkey, who rocks the house. You can even unlock Shao Ting by finishing the game, which is a rather cool addition.

Gameplay is fairly straightforward in the single-player movie mode - Shao Ting will instruct you on what the scene entails (usually beating several shades of crap out of 100s of karate-kicking extras), and you must try to achieve his wishes.

You are given a score out of five stars at the end of each stage: Three stars is a pass, anything less is a fail.

Sparring with others and generally laying the smack down is fairly easy to pick up - the learning curve isn't too steep - though there is a very practical tutorial if you need it.

Reeling off combos will become second nature before too long, and together with a 'special move' system that works on taunts (harangue a fallen foe three times to fill your special meter of sorts) the game initially feels too easy. But the fighting engine is quite complex and you realise this when specific types of enemies can only be defeated with certain attacks, or counters, for instance.

There are many moves on offer, and the overall look and feel of the game belies the combat engine's depth.

At the same token, this can make for very one-sided multiplayer bouts: If you mates are not privy to how the specials or counters work, expect to wipe the floor with their broken and bloodied cadavers.

And while we're on the topic of multiplayer bouts, umm, they rock. A lot a parallels can be drawn between this game and Powerstone 2 when it comes to four-player fights, and while I was a huge fan of the Capcom fighter, KFC has more depth, more features, better graphics - though no less wacky specials.

Unlocking the levels in single player movie mode allows you to play on them in multiplayer, and to call them frantic is a gross understatement. Arguably one of the best party games I've ever played - period - KFC is brilliant with four players, particularly in the evolving/dynamic movie set levels.

While the single player mode is very long, you will eventually tire of playing predictable AI opponents, and if you've got no friends, or people who hang out with you just to eat your food/drink your booze, then you may be disappointed. For everyone else - party on, dudes!

While the game is a lot of fun to play, it also looks and sounds like virtually no other game on the market. The graphics are polygon based, yet cartoon-inspired (big heads and stuff), and with a very high level of detail the end result is fantastic.

Thanks to some unique character designs, the game also has a lot of charm, and the supremely high levels of detail, texuring, bump-mapping and the smooth animation of the eight playable characters is really quite astounding. Just Add Monsters has used almost every visual trick in the book too, from volumetric coloured lighting, to focus blur, to semi-transparent particles and skin mapping - and there's also a hint of claymation in there as well.

The scrolling movie set levels are also highly interactive, and you can use weapons, pick up objects to lob at your foes and flick switches to operate deadly traps too.

As for the audio, you'll be well and truly sick of the 'Kung Fu Fighting' theme song, but luckily you can add your own playlists to the game, so fans of Engelbert Humperdinck can now live out their judo dreams.

That said, singular songs repeat during any given level, rather than jumping to next track, which can get a little tiresome.

The sound effects are above par, and I particularly like the way that cheesy 'thwok' sound samples play every time you land a blow. The little remarks that players make during battle get tedious all too quickly, but the quality is such that it doesn't detract from the overall experience.

Kung Fu Chaos has extremely high production values, and with the B-grade movie theme saturating all aspects of the game, it also makes for a nice change from the generic plot-lines of videogames today.

Though the single player movie mode offers long-lasting fun, it will eventually come to an end - which is exactly where the righteous multiplayer mode comes in. With four players going the tonk in interactive levels, there are few games that match this for outright enjoyment and fun.

Kind of like an intense hybrid between Powerstone 2, Mario Party and the Jackie Chan flick Drunken Master, there's a lot to like here. While it ain't Final Fight: The Second Coming, Kung Fu Chaos is one of the greatest party games ever developed, and it's nice to see something a little different - and witty - on the Xbox.

ORIGINALITY 90%
SOUND/GRAPHICS 90%
PLAYABILITY 85%
ENJOYMENT 80%
OVERALL 90%