Chaos Legion
A terribly clumsy PC port that nobody asked for. Hooray!
Tags: Chaos Legion Categories: PC Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Ludwig on Feb 6th, 2004
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chaos Legion (title page) | |||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action | No | ||
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Finding a four-leaf clover, winning the lottery, creating a definitive cure for cancer and magically turning lead into gold – these are events which are far more likely to occur than getting the foul PC version of Chaos Legion to run. In some misguided attempt to bring the game to a new audience (after the original PS2 audience fittingly jeered and chucked various rotten fruits and unused shoes in its direction), Capcom has inexplicably released a port that can only be described as a technical travesty. This version’s blatant refusal to take even the slightest advantage of a more powerful platform is bad enough, but shipping a game that doesn’t even run out of the retail box is simply unacceptable. After installation, the first disc is required to be in the CD-ROM drive for the game to launch. Nothing unusual about that… at least until the part where neither of the two discs are recognized and you become mysteriously aware of what it must feel like to frivolously incinerate money. Capcom claims to be working on the problem, but much like a doctor prescribing some aspirin to a corpse, it’s a bit late in the day for that sort of thing. Is it even worth it? No, not really.
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At first glance, Chaos Legion seems awfully similar to Capcom’s 3rd-person gothic action series, Devil May Cry. A sword-wielding guy spectacularly tears up monsters within a setting rich with darkness, mystery and eavesdropping crows. It’s a description that could easily apply to both properties, though one needs to add “with various RPG elements” when referring to Chaos Legion. Having become somewhat of a fad recently, the act of adding experience points and upgradeable abilities to action games is an attempt at giving this genre more depth. One could argue that even Devil May Cry had such aspects in the form of purchasing abilities in-between levels, though training characters through battle is where the line should be drawn. In this case, the enjoyable customization of the title’s legions is sadly and swiftly countered by the hopelessly simplistic combat.
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Assuming the role of the dark knight, Seig Warheit (as in “seeks truth”), your goal throughout the game is to annihilate, quite literally, thousands of menacing monsters. It is made immediately apparent that the unfortunately named hero stands little chance of succeeding in this task alone, which is why the ability to summon demonic legions becomes a vital tool in vanquishing the evil masses. At the single tap of a button, these powerful allies materialize and lend their strength and abilities to the overwhelming battles. With 7 in total, each group of entities boasts a unique form and function. The gliding swordsmen make quick work of organic foes and the accurate archers are most skilled at destroying mechanical contraptions. The shield-bearing legionnaire can protect Seig from the brunt of enemy blows and there’s even an explosive fellow that can be kicked into a crowd like a C4 soccer ball. Being faced with a choice of which legion to utilize for different circumstances would certainly have opened up the gameplay to some interesting challenges, but your options are severely limited by the fact that only two legions can be equipped at any single time. Since legions only become stronger through fighting, it’s likely that you’ll simply pick an all-purpose pair and stick with them until the game’s end.
Following the completion of a level, the experience points obtained during the level (either by killing monsters or picking up experience gems) can be applied to your legions of choice. Undoubtedly the greatest aspect of the game, the process of upgrading your chaotic companions holds a decent helping of options and fun. Apart from the obligatory strength and defense categories, the maximum health, attacks, special abilities and the number of units that constitute a legion can all be raised with wise spending of earned points. Since you’re entirely dependant on them, it’s essential to develop these guys according to their inherent strengths. The manner in which legions improve also directly impact Seig, with his strength, health and defense varying slightly, depending on which legions are equipped. Powering up certain abilities on an equipped legion occasionally results in an extended combo or new move for Seig himself, though it does little to improve his woefully limited repertoire of skills.
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The main problem with Chaos Legion is that you don’t have a whole lot to do during the actual gameplay. The game flow is composed entirely of running into an area, summoning some legions and then promptly mashing away at the attack button until everything that even vaguely resembles a monster is dead. Having already taken away a large degree of control with the essential legions, the game relegates the rest to Seig’s combo system that requires a single button and absolutely no skill or timing whatsoever. Switching between offensive and defensive modes or ordering them to attack a specific target is the extent to which your command of the legions stretches, so the lack of variety in your character’s actions is made all the more dire. The endless monotony is certainly not diluted by the completely pedestrian level design, which basically has you running in a straight line, stopping every few minutes to clear an area. You would think that a guy would learn his lesson after the umpteenth instance of running into a courtyard and being suddenly trapped by the enclosing gates.
The PS2’s simple control system would have translated reasonably well to a keyboard/mouse combo, but it seems that nobody bothered to tell Capcom about the invention of the latter and rather marvelous device. As a result, the keyboard controls feel entirely awkward and make camera control a true nightmare – if you want to adjust the camera, you’re just gonna have to stand still (amongst the snarling monsters, by the way) for a little while. Only a gamepad with dual analog sticks can rescue you from untold keyboard misery.
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Billed as a gothic opera, it should come as no surprise that Chaos Legion is rife with dusty cathedrals and towering castles. The game’s main graphical feat on the PS2 was the utterly huge amount of creatures that pranced around the screen with nary a hint of slowdown. That aspect is still around in the PC version and, quite bizarrely, so is the trade-off. It comes in the form of an impenetrable fog that obscures anything that’s not within the immediate area. Bringing back memories of the frightening pea-soup fog that plagued the original Turok: Dinosaur Hunter (N64), the poor draw distance works against the grandeur the levels attempt to convey. No longer being constrained by the PS2’s comparatively weaker capabilities, there’s absolutely no reason for the fog to still linger. At the very least, Capcom should have included an adjustable draw distance to accommodate more powerful computers. Textures don’t look nearly as good on a monitor as they do on a TV, but they’re decent enough and fare much better than a PS2-to-PC port like Konami’s Shadow of Destiny. The character models for Seig and company aren’t very detailed, but credit should be given to the very fluid animation. Seig’s swordplay and the reaction movements of the enemies as they get hacked and slashed are particularly entertaining to watch.
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The same could be said for the game’s stunning FMV sequences. Having been compressed to fit two CDs, they end up being a little more pixelated than on the PS2 yet still manage to retain the qualities of the original sequences. Featuring ominous lighting, edgy encounters and atmospheric directing, the scenes exude pure aesthetic style. Pity about the hokey story they so tenuously hold together. A tale of rivalry and revenge, the narrative revolves around Seig’s vendetta with a silver-haired (so he has to be evil) swordsman, Victor Delacroix. Blaming Seig for the death of his life’s love, Siela, Delacroix places the entire world in danger as he searches for three magical glyphs that may or may not bring her back. The voice acting is up (or down) to Capcom’s usual cacophony of pain, with the “actors” speeding through their lines so as to return to their seedy karaoke bars sooner. In terms of music, the mixture of upbeat, generic rock and synthesized choir voices works pretty well with the on-screen action and setting, but it too becomes repetitive after a while.
As a juxtaposition of action and RPG elements, Chaos Legion simply doesn’t work. The enjoyable leveling up of legions seems wasted with gameplay that quickly degenerates into mind-numbingly repetitive and shallow combat. As a PC game… Chaos Legion simply doesn’t work. Literally. Several games have had a few issues with copy protection software and it seems that the system meant to deter pirates always ends up stabbing the honest consumer in the back. The bottom line, however, is that a game needs to work after you’ve purchased it. Chaos Legion neatly ignores that rule and steals your money while it’s at it. Shame on you, Capcom.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
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+ Stylish CG cutscenes + Good implementation of RPG character building |
4.0 |
| What Doesn't | |
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- Umm…the game. - Simplistic and repetitive combat - Pathetic draw distance - Weak storyline - Horrible keyboard controls |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
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Question: I’ve just bought Chaos Legion on PC. How do I get it to work? Answer: Don’t even bother. |
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Tags: Chaos Legion
Posted by Ludwig on Feb 6th, 2004 and is filed under PC Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
