In Retro: "Chaos Legion" Review (PS2)

As I recall, this game was absolutely torn apart like a chicken leg in a cage of rabbid dogs when the gaming press got their hands on it back in 2003. I remember, as the following review (written in 2003) attests, however, that I enjoyed the game more than expected considering the beating it took. Far from being a great game, and only barely rising above mediocrity, it was still worth my while...

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“Chaos Legion” is a game with quite a few good ideas, and some of those ideas work rather well. On the other hand, it’s a game with lots of wasted potential, and a slew of bad design decisions. Most of the time, it seems to be more of a tech demo designed to see just how many enemies can fit on the screen at one time than an actual game. With more time and effort, I think Capcom could have made “Chaos Legion” an excellent action game – but as it stands, it’s just fair.

The game’s storyline is nonsensical and hardly worth describing – let’s just say it’s melodramatic and unintentionally funny more often than not, but at least the cut-scenes are visually appealing and stylish, and therefore quite watchable. At any rate, you play through 90% of the game as Sieg, a knight of some Order or another who has the ability to summon strange monsters to battle alongside him when the going gets rough. He also has a nifty gauntlet that can electrify his opponents, and a long sword to hew them with. The other player character, Arcia, is a bit more agile, and uses two pistols in place of Sieg’s weapons – but she can’t summon allies. Both characters control pretty well, but unfortunately all of the work that went into Arcia seems to be in vain since you, the player, will only guide her through one short level. The rest of your time you will spend as Sieg.

In terms of gameplay, there isn’t anything quite like “Chaos Legion,” for better or worse. The best way to describe this one would be to say it’s like a strange union of “Devil May Cry,” “Dynasty Warriors,” and “Gauntlet,” only not quite as good as that could have been. Sure, summoning monsters to back you up is a cool feature. Sure, there are a lot of moving characters onscreen at once without so much as a hiccup in the frame rate. Sure, the two main characters play very well and provide some visceral action pieces. None of these things can compensate for the game’s lack of variety, though. By the fifth level in the game, you will have encountered virtually every enemy the game provides. Even end-level bosses are not monogamous to their own lairs, and many of them, annoyingly, will take several goes at you during the course of the game. Worst of all, though, are the game’s repetitive textures. You will spend 80% of the game traipsing through bland castle environments that look identical to one another.

Alas, even if you could go in and fix the repetitive monster and level designs, the game’s fundamental design is so flawed that it would still be far from satisfying on every level. Though the game seems to pride itself on how many characters it can display onscreen at any given time, it is all but wasted in a game that generally requires you to slay a target monster (which is usually immobile and semi-helpless) that, when destroyed, will conveniently purge the environment of all ‘lesser’ foes. Kill the one, and you kill the many. Hacking at one monster like your life depends on it and ignoring all the others is the kind of behavior the game encourages – and that’s not a recipe for unbridled fun. Most of the time, it’s just a lesion in tedium.

On the plus side, the action itself works quite well. Sieg’s back-and-forth sword swipes throw his smaller enemies to and fro like rag dolls, sometimes even juggling them through the air. His crimson gauntlet sends coils of electricity snaking around his unfortunate foes, and his summoned creatures wreak havoc like a small, potent army. Sieg will rarely go it completely alone, and that gives the game a very unique feel.

When the game works, it works quite well – but that only happens once in a while, and it ultimately doesn’t last for very long. The rest of the time you’ll be smashing away at repetitive foes who steadfastly refuse to fall for several long, tedious minutes. “Chaos Legion” is worth a look if you’re an action fan, but just now the $49.99 retail price being asked of consumers is way too much. In the future, if you happen by “Chaos Legion” in the bargain bin of your local gaming headquarters, by all means consider it. It’s addictive in short spurts, and not completely devoid of fun. However, in case you can’t tell, that’s not exactly glimmering praise.

FINAL SCORE: 6.9 (Fair)