Chaos Code in Retrospect: Game Review (Import)
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Asia
Platform(s) Arcade, PlayStation 3
Reviewer: Michael T. Brewer
Preface: An "Anime Fighter" (A dirty term indeed) is a niche genre and has a deep cult following. Such games that would be classified as an "Anime Fighter" would be Persona 4 Arena (recent winner of many prestigious awards) and the BlazBlue series. There are a lot of indie(doujinsoft) "Anime Fighters" notably Melty Blood and Big Bang Beat just to name a couple. FK Digital released Chaos Code to Japanese arcades last summer and receive a pretty good response from fighting game enthusiast. Finally, the game gets a console release (Only in Asia) and arrives just in time for Christmas.
Don't mess with a rabid Otaku!
Story: The "CHAOS CODE" in question grants the user a wish. All the fighters are aiming to claim it for themselves to further their own personal desires.Yep. Gripping isn't it? There are lot of crazy and zany characters in this game including but not limited to a crazed Otaku, cosplaying-cross dresser, insane Androids and a blood-chucking demon guy. It's what gives this game it's charm.
Boob on Boob crime continues...
Mechanics: Chaos Code plays very similar to a lot of 2D Fighters made by Capcom and SNK. It has a very basic 4-Button layout. Characters can be customized prior to the fight, choosing between 4 additions attacks/skills for each character consisting of two Special Moves and two Super Moves. Players can also select between "run" and "step" modes, this gives the player more control over the play-style they wish to use. In essence, no two players would play the same. Also, the game has Chain Combos, Special Cancels, Counter Hits and an Exceed Chaos mode that pretty much allows for more flexibility and less limitations for combo-ing. One of the more prominent mechanics for "Anime Fighters," Air Dashing isn't as important in this game. I found this game to be incredibly accessible and quite fun. There is quite a substantial amount of depth to the gameplay that can be appreciated by hardcore fighting game players.
Presentation: Along with the puddle deep plot, the game does look a bit dated. The character sprites don't look as polished on the PS3 Hi-Res format. You can see some of the pixels. The same can be said about the Stages/Backgrounds as well. I think some time should have went into enhancing the graphics for the HD format of PS3. Though the particle effects and lighting effects are in great luster and give the game a crisp look.
Cosplay isn't just for fun anymore!
Audio: The music in the game is cliche-yet-appropriate. It ranges from Techno to Pop/Rock. The sound effects are pretty good as well but nothing groundbreaking.
Conclusion: This game is better than expected. It is very addictive and rewarding. It does not take a long time to learn how to play the game. However, I wish they would have included some kind of tutorial for the game. I believe the game could have benefited from having a tutorial for first time players. The game is very accessible yet deep enough for the hardcore fighting game players who want to master the finer points of the game's mechanics. Though the game's story is pretty bleak and graphics leave a lot to be desired, Chaos Code is still a solid fighting game.
