Kung Fu Chaos

UPC: 805529097698

Platform: Xbox

Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios

Developer: Just Add Monsters, Ltd.

Category: Fighting

Style(s): 3D Fighting

Synopsis: A parody on martial arts films from the 1970s, Kung Fu Chaos offers four-player fighting set within six interactive movie sets and an assortment of game modes. Characters can perform exaggerated attacks, blocks, combos, reversals, and finish up with poorly dubbed taunts and dramatic poses. Among the featured cast of oddball characters is roller queen Candi Roll, the samurai duo of Chop & Styx, the determined Ninja Fu Hiya, the vengeful Xui Tan Sour, the immortal Monkey, soulful Lucy Cannon, and costumed wrestler Captain Won Ton. Kung Fu Chaos offers a total of six play modes for eager combatants, with support for up to four simultaneous players in team or individual competitive formats. As characters advance through the movie sets, which poke fun at such blockbusters as Titanic, Jurassic Park, Independence Day, and more, they will have to battle enemies with their moves and special attacks as well as avoid numerous hazards and traps. Complementing the action is the song amp;"Kung-Fu Fighting" as well as the main theme from the 1973 Bruce Lee classic, Enter the Dragon. The main mode of play is the Ninja Challenge, a collection of 26 stages introduced by movie director Shou Ting, who also provides pop-up commentary during the six movie sets. The goal for players is to earn a minimum of three stars in each mini-game or movie set challenge, in addition to completing a series of four tutorial lessons on the art of fighting. Players will confront multiple ninjas during each movie challenge, avoid hazards such as falling debris, and partake in mini-games such as leaping over a pipe that swings around in a circular motion. Other modes of play include Battle Game, a four-player competition against friends or the computer on any of the unlocked stages from the Ninja Challenge; Championship, 12 rounds of kung fu fighting against players or the computer, with each round worth points; Miniseries, a special three-game challenge for each character playable by single players only; Freestyle, which lets players practice fighting for as long as necessary; and Rehearsal, where players can learn specific moves through a series of lessons. Unlockable features such as alternate costumes abound in this chop-socky spoof. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Package Contents: 32-page Instruction Manual

Controls: Joystick/Gamepad

The full-color manual explains each fighting move, game mode, and enemy type you'll confront. No information on the mini-games or movie sets you'll encounter, however. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

The colorful, cartoon-like graphics fit the theme even if the movie sets don't. Fast frame rates, crisp visuals, attractive special effects, realistic water, and a neat film effect that mirrors the look of martial arts films from the 1970s. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Kung Fu Chaos, designed in the vein of four-player titles such as Fuzion Frenzy, LOONS, and Whacked!, is a game with a number of intriguing ideas that don't gel as well as hoped. The game pokes fun at Kung Fu movies of the 1970s with its characters and theme, but the movie sets aren't entirely based on martial arts films, instead taking the more familiar route of Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Independence Day, Titanic, and so forth. While the core gameplay involves fighting, the environments don't always lend themselves to intense fight scenes, with an emphasis on following the director's scripted commands ? la Stuntman. More confusing is a series of mini-games thrown in that have nothing to do with fighting, but are so entertaining they actually eclipse the movie sequences in terms of fun and playability. This is clearly a game suffering from an identity crisis. With its menu screens displaying visible film grain and specks, the songs amp;"Kung Fu Fighting" and theme from Enter the Dragon, and 3D movie sets filled with movement and detailed animation, Kung Fu Chaos looks and sounds great. The mini-games and side events are better than just about anything offered in other so-called party games, as they are patterned after tried-and-true successes. Like Kaboom! on the Atari VCS, the mini-game "A Few Good Stuntmen" has your character moving left and right, holding a trampoline above his head as cows and ninjas tumble out of a hayloft. The character must catch as many ninjas as possible within the time limit while avoiding the cows. Attain a perfect score to unlock an additional mini-game for a specific character. Another simple yet immediately entertaining mini-game, called "Big Trouble on Little Iceberg," has the character wearing a life preserver around his or her waist while walking on a small ice floe surrounded by breakable walls. Bumping opponents against the wall gradually weakens the ice until it tumbles into the sea, providing players with the opportunity to build momentum and slam their rivals into the drink. Those who enjoyed "Bumper Balls" in the Mario Party series will feel right at home in this slippery game, which is guaranteed to bring smiles to faces whether it's played against the computer or with friends. It doesn't stop there. There's a single-player take on Pac-Man, entitled "Tomb Robber," in which the character scrambles to collect dots in a maze while avoiding pursuing vampires. Still another game has players tossing a princess around in a variant of Hot Potato. The trick is to catch the princess at the right time, which isn't easy since she picks up momentum with every throw and players are teetering atop poles high above the ground. In "Seal of Destiny," players toss out life preservers at drowning ninjas who are periodically blocked by seals. The goal is to hit as many ninjas as possible while avoiding the seals, which knock back the life preserver and temporarily stun the character, taking precious time off the clock. Unfortunately the mini-game fun is interrupted by the movie sequences, filled with mandatory fighting that becomes repetitive and, at times, annoying. While it is always welcome to have some depth in the fighting engine, this type of game isn't well served by it. Each of the six movie sets requires constant movement and well-timed leaps to avoid death, so why include a fighting system with reversals, four-button combos, taunts, and blocks? By the time players take care of one ninja, they will be at risk from a hazard -- or just exhausted from the amount of repetitive button pressing required. The single-player game can feel quite monotonous, with seven types of ninjas all requiring specific techniques to defeat them. Whirlwind ninjas should be avoided, for example, until they tire themselves out and become dizzy. It's a shame the game didn't play up the movie angle a bit more, offering players cash for each project so they could buy new costumes, additional attributes, weapons, and perhaps better moves (there are no individual kicks or punches; just generic attack buttons). The movie sets are well done and are filled with a number of memorable sequences. Players will fight inside a small cage while being dangled from a moving helicopter, plummet down a passageway while avoiding walls of spikes, battle atop a tilting UFO, sail down a river while being pursued by a T-Rex, avoid falling pianos, people, and crates on a sinking ocean liner -- each set is packed with little details you might not notice the first time through. All but two of the game's 26 single-player levels can be completed within a few hours, as each sequence lasts only a few minutes. It's quite easy to get the bare minimum of stars required to advance to the next sequence, since players are never penalized if they die and are given multiple lives to get through the stage. Twelve of the stages are mini-games, six are movie sequences, four are fighting tutorials, and four are backstage brawls, which take place on a fixed platform as players beat as many ninjas as they can within the time limit. Players can revisit past stages to improve their rating, which is the only way to unlock bonuses and the final two levels, but since the scenes play out exactly the same each time, it becomes tedious after awhile. Make no mistake, getting a perfect five-star rating on each movie set is not easy, as players have to engage each and every ninja that pops up on the screen. Kung Fu Chaos has another "feature" that is sure to irritate players. The Ninja Challenge mode is guided by director Shou Ting (put the two words together and groan) who looks and acts like a caricature, yelling out commands and quips in broken English in an attempt to be funny. While it is certainly a good idea to feature a director in a game filled with movie sets, and he will pop his head in the corner of the screen in a manner reminiscent of Yosemite Sam in LOONS: The Fight for Fame, any attempt at humor is misguided unless the character is an obvious parody of a real-life person. Make fun of a film's dubbing, make fun of the sound effects, and make fun of the violence, but don't create caricatures and try to elicit laughs based on the way they talk. It's offensive. Fortunately, someone in the development process realized this director might annoy players so they included a special toggle for his voice. Kung Fu Chaos is not without its bright spots. The mini-games are great, the movie sets are well constructed, and the martial arts theme is rife with possibilities -- few of which, unfortunately, are realized in this title. Taken as pure fighting game, it could use some power-ups, more fixed arenas, more characters, and distinct moves. As a multiplayer game, there's no Xbox Live support and the hazard-filled movie sets get in the way of the fighting. Players will die more from flying monkeys, deadly piranhas, drowning, or falling than from any fist, kick, or combo. Each player also ends up following the same strategy -- hit with taunts, use unblockable special attacks, and repeat. The system gets old quickly. Is it an action game? A board game? A fighting game? Whatever it is, Kung Fu Chaos certainly lives up to its title. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

While the majority of single-player levels can be completed within a night, there are a number of extras that can be unlocked by earning higher star ratings. These include new modes of play, extra costumes, locked characters, and more. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Features great songs and players can import their own using the custom soundtrack feature. An annoying director ruins the experience until you turn off his voice from the options menu. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

The game starts out strong but loses its luster each time its played. Mini-games are highly entertaining, but the scripted movie sequences don't complement the fighting engine. Multiplayer is surprisingly weak, and all characters have the same combos and attacks. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

the game requires Joystick/Gamepad.