Buffy the Vampire Slayer Review
Buffy the Vampire Slayer on the GBA has little in common with the popular TV series it's based on, and it's a bad game to boot.
It shouldn't come as much of a surprise that THQ has brought Buffy the Vampire Slayer to the Game Boy Advance as a side-scrolling action game. The fact is, many of the TV and movie licenses that come to the GBA do so as two-dimensional beat-'em-ups. While this sort of design is as old as electronic gaming itself, there's still significant demand for well-made action games that capture the abilities and personalities of characters we're all familiar with. In the case of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, THQ missed the mark entirely. The design is as generic as could be, many of the puzzles and jumping tasks are frustrating or downright unfair, and the only aspects linking the game to the show are the weapons you have access to and the still-frame cutscenes that appear in between each level.
The story centers on Buffy's efforts to stop a group of demons from freeing a creature known as the Darkhul King from his imprisonment inside an old temple. If released, the Darkhul King will have the power to resurrect all the demons and monsters that Buffy has defeated in the past. The events in the game take place during the fourth season of the television show, so you'll encounter fan-favorite villains specific to that time period, in addition to the stock set of demons and vampires that form the heart of the Darkhul King's forces. The gang of voice stealers known as the Gentlemen makes an appearance, as does the mischievous behemoth Adam.
You play throughout the game as Buffy. Even though Giles, Willow, Xander, and the rest of the gang appear during cutscenes, you won't see any of them during the actual gameplay. Willow's spellcasting abilities would have been nice to have had at your disposal, but Buffy's arsenal is more than sufficient for what THQ has set in front of her. Using the GBA's two face buttons, you can execute punches, kicks, and throws. The shoulder buttons allow you to block and jump. Every enemy behaves the same. When a monster sees Buffy, it will run up and try to execute an attack--usually a punch or a head butt. Nine times out of 10, you can defeat an enemy by first kicking it in the shins and then finishing it off with a few more punches or kicks. Sometimes, an enemy will punch through your attack while recovering from a previous hit. You can't do anything about this other than block, so it's just something else to deal with.
Since many of the creatures in the game are vampires, not all the enemies you defeat disappear when you knock them down. In these instances, you can either jump over the enemy and keep going, or bring up the weapons menu and drive a stake through the enemy's heart. This adds a hint of Buffy flavoring to the game, but it becomes quite boring after you drive a stake into an unconscious monster for the umpteenth time. The developers also tried to add a twist to the gameplay by giving you the opportunity to avoid combat altogether by using Buffy's double-jump ability to leap over enemies, but this backfires, since there are so few cases where you need to retrace your steps through previously visited areas. There's no incentive to duke it out with every one of the game's enemies, so most levels are just a boring trek past a few spike pits and enemies on your way to the exit.
In addition to the standard set of attacks, there are weapons hidden within each level that you can collect and use. Many of these weapons--such as stakes, crosses, and holy water--fit in perfectly with the underlying theme of the show. Some of them, namely the throwing axe and flamethrower, are just plain fun to use. In all, there are 16 different weapons, some of which can be combined together to form other weapons. For example, if you put together the torch with the dagger, you can create a flaming dagger. While these weapons are supposed to add variety and excitement to the game, they really don't, for the reasons explained in the previous paragraph--there are few instances where you actually need to use them. At the same time, each weapon has a very limited number of uses or shots, limiting your ability to just cut loose and enjoy yourself.
- GameSpot Score 3.8 bad
Player Reviews
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BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER: WRATH OF THE DARKHAUL KING. YOU SHOULD GET THIS IF YOU ARE A REALLY BIG FAN OF BUFFY! Continue »
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dissapointing from what i was expecting, but a game i still finished. read reveiw to find out more... Continue »
Critic Scores
- IGN 4 / 10
- Worth Playing 4.2 / 10
- Game Chronicles 5.7 / 10
- Game Rankings 65 / 100
- Gaming Age F
- TechTV 2 / 5
- GameZone 5.9 / 10
- AceGamez 7 / 10
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