Kung Fu Chaos

Kung Fu Chaos is the perfect antidote to the serious fighting games — it’s ridiculous, it’s slapstick and it’s fun. Inspired by the kung fu films of the 1970s, you are the potential star of a new martial arts film, directed by the legendary Shao Ting. The plot revolves around a blind date with a princess who is subsequently kidnapped and must be rescued.

Choose between characters such as Master Sho-Yu, Ninja Fu Hiya, Monkey, Lucy Cannon, Xui Tan Sour, Chop & Styx (a father-son combo), Candi Roll and Captain Won Ton. Each character has his or her own specific moves, whether it’s Lucy toting her shotgun or Xui Tan Sour’s lethal fans.

There are a few different modes open to players: The Ninja Challenge is a single player game that sees the actor fight his or her way through a number of movie sets; Battle Game is a free-for-all battle for up to four players; Championship pits you against the computer or your friends for a single battle session to be the true Kung Fu Champion; Freestyle is the place to perfect your techniques; and Rehearsal shows you the basic moves. The unlockable Miniseries mode is a single player game that involves completing three unique challenges.

 

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In the Ninja Challenge mode, to pass the levels you must earn at least three stars — fail to reach this point and you’ll find yourself stuck in an action replay of the level over and over until you get it right. How you earn the stars is dependent on the level you are playing — most of the time, defeating enemies will earn you the requisite number. Knock the enemies off their feet and throw them off a building/out of the ring/into the water to defeat them quickly.

Depending on the level, getting a certain number of stars can unlock bonus items, such as new scenes and characters.

Some of the levels are just plain ridiculous — like the one that involves you, a trampoline and some stunt guys that need to be saved from a painful landing. You bound across the screen trying to break their falls with the aid of a trampoline, bouncing them to safety.

When you are done with each level, you can see Shao Ting’s captured footage — grainy and riddled with interference at times, but at least you can see where you went wrong, and more importantly, what you did right.

In between levels in the Ninja Challenge, there are certain challenges that serve almost as training for the scenes to come; you don’t have to master the moves to carry on to the next level, but it will save you some time and effort later on if you do. These include learning the art of the Terrible Taunt, which devastates your opponent with a well-timed insult. Fire off three of the insults in a fight and you can unleash a super attack on your enemies. The training levels will also teach you useful combo moves for taking out the more difficult enemies if you’d rather not go through the rehearsal.

The action is fast-paced — you can find yourself getting left behind in a street fight or impaled on spikes in a swirling fog. Move too far out of shot and you’ll find yourself down a life; likewise if you fall off a bridge or get thrown out of the scene by your opponent. This was one of the more difficult aspects of the game; often, you get stuck fighting enemies, and before you know it, you’ve moved out of shot and you’re down a life. This can be a bit of a pain at crucial moments. Once your lives are gone, you’re out of the scene, although if you survive (and pass) the level you regain all your lives for the next round.

The cartoon-style graphics are slick and well-rendered. There was no noticeable frame-rate slowdown during the actions scenes.

Unlock the levels in the single player mode before moving on to the multiplayer action. The more you unlock in the Ninja Challenge, the more levels you and your friends can bounce around in the multiplayer mode.

The multiplayer option is good group activity; pick your teams, help your partner or line up against them — you decide. The last one standing wins, so it’s dog eat dog out there. Championship mode can also bring out your truly competitive nature.

There isn’t anything serious about this game. In fact, it’s all about fun. If you don’t get offended by stereotypes and can stand the purposely mangled English in the game (‘Ready, Make fighting!’), you should get on fine; if you are looking for a serious fighting game along the lines of Dead Or Alive 3 or Tao Feng: Fist of the Lotus, it’s probably best to bypass this one.

Specs:

• Rating: 85%
• Requirements: Xbox games console
• Price: EUR64.99
• Gamesworld: +353 (0)1-8724305

15/05/2003