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A grade-A beat-em up, and an A+, if you're a fan of the show

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 21 / 21
Date: August 30, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Buffy's a great game, whether you're a fan of the series, or not. Sure, it's more compelling to people who've seen the series, as most of the voices in the game are done by the actual actors from the series (SMG being the sole exception, but her replacement is flawless). The game also manages to capture the feel of the show perfectly, from the snappy dialogue, to the creepy environments and atmosphere.

Honestly, though, all that would be useless without solid gameplay to back it up. Fortunately, Buffy has it in spades. While there is some minor switch-finding involved in some of the levels, the lion's share of gameplay in Buffy involves slaying things, whether they're vampires, zombies, or other random monstrosities. The control in Buffy is fantastically responsive, and great, even for multi-enemy hand-to-hand combat - something most games are horrible at.

The controls are similar to the old Soul Reaver games, where the R-trigger locks on to an enemy. You can jump, kick, punch, or stake your enemies, or execute a variety of moves on them, which will often lead to nifty combo moves. If you let go of the R-trigger, there are moves that will hit people in virtually any direction around you, as well as special moves that'll clear everyone around you for a few moments.

There's a good variety of weapons, from stakes, to crossbows, to hellfire-filled Super Soakers. Each feels right, and the ability to stake vampires from a distance with the crossbow is really well-implemented.

The game's graphics are phenomenal. Neat lighting effects, wide open levels, and beautiful character models abound, but easily the most interesting feature, in my opinion, is the facial animation. The Collective (the game's developers) clearly put a lot of effort into giving Buffy & Co. a wide variety of facial expressions, and lip-synched animation to match their dialogue. The results are astonishing, and seeing Buffy grimace while staking an enemy, or giving a casual shrug when wondering why her Friday nights are spent slaughtering demons adds another level of immersion to an already fantastic game.

It's the best single-player beat-em up I've played in a good long while. The controls are fantastic, the graphics are beautiful, and it's a sharply written and presented game. Excellent stuff, I'd recommend it to both fans of the show, and people who've never heard of it before alike.

The Gang's All Here

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: August 24, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Electronic Arts shows us what a TV or movie franchise game could be and should be.

From the opening credits to the voice acting performances, playing Buffy the Vampire Slayer is just like being put in control of a good episode of a great TV show.

Perhaps the character graphics could be a little sharper -- although I certainly have no complaints about how they rendered Buffy, and Cordeilia looks great, too. My only complaint is that Spike just doesn't look menacing enough.

The scenery looks near-perfect, like it was ripped right off your WB affiliate. The lighting is spooky, and the fog effects are also quite good. There is even some gruesome humor in the graphics. Kick the arm off a zombie, and he might pick it up and beat you with it.

The title music is there, the incidental music is right out of the show -- and nicely synchronized with the action. Altogether spooky.

Other than Sarah Michelle Gellar, the entire TV cast lends their voices to the game. And while I don't know who provides Buffy's voice, I can tell you that you probably won't be able to tell the difference. She even perfectly duplicates Buffy's famous fighting grunts and groans.

Did I mention the action? From quick jabs to roundhouse kicks, all of Buffy's moves are on display and at your disposal. You want weapons? Stakes, rakes, mops, the crossbow, the SuperSoaker -- you get'em all. The controls are easy to learn, but laced with enough combos to keep you challenged.

There are enough hidden secrets to make for decent replay value -- I just wish they'd included a training mode, and maybe a two-player fight arena. Were it not for those two little details, Buffy would easily be a Five Star effort.

About as good as a 3rd person game gets!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: September 06, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Buffy is an amazing action oozing filled romp with stunning visuals (4 out of 5), one of the best fighting engines I've ever seen (4 out of 5), top notch sound design (4 out of 5) and a character (Buffy) that's so incredibly adorable you can't help but fall in love with (5 out of 5). Few games can suck you in like Buffy for wonder machine Xbox (you just knew a vampire pun was coming didn't you?). What's truly amazing to me is that I've never watched the show, don't know anything about the characters or stars but it only took 5 minutes with this game to be helplessly drawn into their creepy, gool infested universe. The visuals are drop dead gorgeous, the character models are absolutely razor sharp, so brilliant in fact that I quite often catch myself stopping mid level to spin the camera back on Buffy to marvel at her brilliant detail and quirky fully animated facial expressions that seem to say with some annoyance 'I know I'm cute but would please in the name of all that's holy, get on with the bloody game already?' And bloody it is, but not to a distracting fault, sure you get to kick the undead stuffing out of a fair share of teenage mutant vampires and crush the bones of zombie skeletons to dust with relish but it's very tasteful and the lighting and graphic effects that follow the evil doers demise only leave you screaming for much, much more and you get it. The environments and lighting are striking, the camera is solid and although it can leave your back uncovered from time to time it's never enough to distract from the over all glory of the visuals and game play. And the attention to detail from school hallways with trashcans ablaze to goose bump-inducing cemeteries is WAY above par.
The action is driven along by great music; the stunning soundtrack taunts your pounding heart with every step you take and corner you turn, with ambient sound used to great effect, filling every hallway and outdoor venue with chirping crickets, distant wailing train horns, creepy creaks, groans
The weapon's are quirky and cool, ranging from the obvious vampire stopping stakes, racks, cross bow and skull crushing shovels (very cool). Buffy's control also offer a buffet of options for throwing, kicking, spinning and my favorite the double kick, spin Matrix bad guy smash!
The play is just difficult enough to keep it fresh and drive you on with making you pull your hair out in frustration, with level bosses offering fair but beatable resistance. And there's just enough save points allow you an occasional and much needed potty break.
Buffy's a blast, Buffy's great silly fun and to top it off a pleasure to look at and play. Matter of fact the only thing that keeps Buffy from earning 5 stars is that she can't cure cancer.

Well worth the purchase!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: September 17, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This is an excellent game. I'm a Buffy fan and I bought this game on Amazon.com before I ever played it since the reviews were so good, but I love the game so much now I needed to write my own. The gameplay is superb and the atmosphere is certainly true to the series. No, Sarah Michelle Gellar's voice is not in the game, but that's only a minor drawback. In fact, you'd almost never know it since the imitation is dead-on. It really feels like you are controlling Buffy.

The game feels a lot like Tomb Raider, to be sure, but you will almost forget that series ever existed once you get into this game. The fighting is just great, and the levels are richly detailed. There's lots of funny dialog as well (especially when Buffy meets with Zander, Cordelia, Willow and the gang), though it does get a little repetitive at times. But overall, the game is awesome. There really is little that I can say negatively about this game.

You'll love honing your skills as you kick the [stuff]out of the baddies, and as you progress the fights only get better. The game gets increasingly more challenging as you progress through the levels, especially towards the end. In fact, you will be frustrated near the end since you'll have to perform several very difficult jumps in which you are CERTAIN to die. But trust me, that's a good thing. You will feel much more proud of your accomplishments once you've dusted the Master and thus have beaten the game.

One final bonus: you MUST get the code off the net to unlock the secret arena mode. This provides an incredible amount of replay value, and you'll love playing against your friends. Buffy vs. Dark Buffy is the best!

OK, you can stop reading reviews now. Believe me, you should buy this game. You will love it!

Fools? Not quite.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: July 31, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I played this game while at Wizard World Chicago A LOT, and let me tell you, this game is ACTION-PACKED. The moves are tight, the graphics superb. The controls handle really well and you can keep adding to Buffy's repetoire of Slayer-moves. The whole game keeps in very well with the Buffy universe. Many of the original actors did their own voices (notable lack: Sarah Michelle Gellar and I think David Boreanaz).

The levels of game play are good and allow the novice on up to the experienced gamer to play at a level comfortable for them.

I've been waiting impatiently for this game to hit the market, and from what I saw at WW, the Xbox people have done a GREAT job at making this game worth the wait.

Great game adaptation of the show

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: September 12, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Whether or not you are a fan of the show "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" you will enjoy playing this game. The graphics are beautiful and the action is great. The dialogue and plot are both creepy and funny at the same time just like the show. (For instance, if you cut off a zombie's legs, it will crawl around and gnaw on your ankle a la Monty Python and the Holy Grail) :-)

The voice talent is wonderful, and to be honest, I thought that Buffy was being voiced by the show's lead, Sarah Michelle Gellar. The actress who is playing Buffy sounds exactly like her. And all the supporting characters are voiced by the show's actors.

The training levels show you everything you need to know, and when you play on the easy setting, it is difficult to kill yourself accidently (a problem I have seen with other adventure games). I had a little trouble learning to distance my jumps, but the other controls are easy to learn and the inventory screens are intuitive. I enjoyed the game for several hours before I gave my thumbs a rest and finally looked at the game booklet.

I've already put about 7 hours into this game on the "easy" setting and am only about 50% finished. And this is not because any of the levels were impossible or frustrating. Just that some were so fun I wanted to do them again before I moved on!

Both I and my son enjoy this game, although I must say some of the monsters are a little creepy and might be a little too scary for a young child.

I would rate this X-Box game second only to Halo...and that only because with certain moves you will hear Buffy make the same comment over and over (something I never got while playing Halo). But, I don't mind hearing "You want a piece of me? I'll give you the whole pie!" a few times as long as Buffy is kicking the stuffing out of those demons!

I would actually rate this game as 4.5 stars if I could.

"Let That Be A Lesson To You ..."

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 7
Date: January 05, 2003
Author: Amazon User

When I got an Xbox this past Christmas, the game I wanted most was none other than Buffy The Vampire Slayer. A game which is based on a tv show starring Sarah Michelle Gellar that's based on a movie starring Kristy Swanson. However, when playing the game, YOU become the star. I found myself imediately drawn to this concept and when I began playing the game, it was better than I had imagined!

Easy to use controls let you move around and explore Buffy's world to it's fullest. Whether you're jumping off of a cliff, opening up a door, fighting for your life or interacting with other characters, game play has never been made so simple.

The fighting style of the game is also easy to learn. Unlike many other fighting games where the combos are so intricate and complicated, these combos are made simple just by holding down certain buttons that make Buffy's moves deadly.

The graphics on this game are so amazing, any fan of the tv show will be drooling over them. From the facial expressions of the vampires (squinty eyes, wrinkled face, pointy and blood dripping teeth) to a simple walk in the cemetary (where the moon casts detailed shadows of trees onto the ground), the sights will leave you in awe.

The sound to me is what's most impressive. Granted, I have my Xbox hooked up to some kick ... speakers, but you can tell just how much thought was put into this game just by turning up the volume. Obviously, there's the repetitious, but humorous voice overs provided by the stars of the show (SMG, Nicholas Brenden, Alyson Hannigan, Charisma Carpenter, David Boreanaz, Anthony Stewart Head, James Marsters and more), but what you'll really wanna sink your teeth into are the sound effects.

Such ear candy includes Buffy grunting and panting as she jumps or falls, in some parts you can hear the sound of her flesh sliding against steel as she "shimmies" across poles from one rooftop to another, the deep throated growlings of a vampire/demon continuously give the game it's creepy vibe and listening to the eerie and unsettling sounds of children laughing while your down in the dark underneath the church may give you more than just the wigs.

Basically, this game is a ten star game. I got it about two weeks ago and I've almost got it completed. Not to say this game doesn't have it's challenges, I just love it so much I've been playing non stop.

I really enjoy being in Buffy's world and becoming the slayer. I've been waiting for a Buffy game way back since the Sega Dreamcast was making it. All I can say is thst it is well worth the wait. You won't believe how good it is. All I could ask for after this is a nice sequel. One that takes place in the tv show's present where Buffy is taking on the first evil who can shape shift into anyone that's dead including past baddies such as Drusilla, The Mayor, Adam and Glory. Also, it would be really fun to be able to interact with other characters such as Joyce Summers, Faith, Tara, Anya, Jonathan, Riley, Dawn and those 3 creepy bad guys from the Emmy nominated "Hush" episode.

Simply awesome, played it at Wizard World 2002

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: July 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Very impressive. Incredibly accurate moves on Buffy and the voices are even the orginal ones. Very well done game. I do not own a XBOX, but I will get one now.

The game never skipped once and the vamps in the game have good AI built into them. They can dodge and anticipate moves fairly well.

All in all I was extremely impressed at the gameplay. Very well worth it to buy.

lots of fun, almost like being a part of the TV show

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: August 21, 2002
Author: Amazon User

For all those morons who can't wait to rip every game apart -- I will admit that the water effects could be more DOA3, there are a couple 1/2 second glitches here and there, and some of the cut scenes cut off rather abruptly. Some of the sound bites can also get a bit repetitive.
But...other than that, this game totally rocks. Way more action than Hunter the Reckoning, which I found boring. If you watch and love the TV show like I do, there's no reason why you wouldn't love this game. The fighting moves are going to take me some time to perfect, but I can get by with the usual pushing-all-the-buttons-like-crazy for now.
The staking effects are way cool. The camera also isn't too bad once you get used to the left trigger control.
Go buy this game. You won't regret it.

Buffy for game of the year!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: September 16, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I just completed Buffy the Vampire Slayer for the xbox and I have to declare that this game is easily the best release of 2002! Unlike so many other TV knockoffs Buffy stays true to the plot lines of its TV counterpart from friends to foes. If you're not a fan of the TV show you'll still enjoy taking out your frustrations on the many demons and vampires packed into the 13 levels of gameplay. Buffy isn't loaded with difficult puzzles that need figuring before continuing through a level like Resident Evil and Silent Hill but is more like Max Payne without all the guns and humans to kill. (Plus Buffy is way hotter than Max!) I would recommend this game for anyone in the market for a good action/adventure game:)

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