p>Great group party games for everyone are very hard to come buy. They don’t get made all that often to begin with, and when they do they aren’t all that great. For the most part Nintendo has been just about the only company to get it right, while everyone has been trying their luck to create something that captures the fun and spirit of their party games.
Kung Fu Chaos isn’t on the level of Super Smash Bros Melee for the Gamecube, but it’s a game filled with the potential to be a long running series -- and I dare say it’s very close (quality wise) to the original Smash Bros on the Nintendo 64.
Don’t mistake that for me saying Kung Fu Chaos looks, and sound like an N64 game – It’s merely me stating that this game (if given a sequel), could keep everything it did right (and there’s plenty of that), improve upon things that were just a bit off, and turn it into a franchise on par with Super Smash Bros.
The graphics in Kung Fu Chaos are frenetic – that’s just the best way to put. They’re not realistic, they’re not CGI quality; they’re just all encompassing. Every corner of the world is filled with something that moves, sways, or is breakable. The graphics are played up in much the same comedic style that the tone of the game calls for – with the ‘set’ of Titanic, Jurassic Park, Independence Day, and many other close facsimiles to other movies, (not to mention that every one of these worlds moves in some way), the visuals in Kung Fu Chaos, while not the greatest display of graphics on a console, can be quite impressive.
The standout of this game is without a doubt the sound. From the music to the voices, to the funny as hell announcer, you’ll love your audio experience in Kung Fu Chaos. This really is one of the most side splitting games you’ll ever have the chance to play – some of the taunts in the game are beyond funny, and NEVER get old. Listening to one of the combatants scream out ‘I HATE YOU’ in a grating, just gone through PMS, womanly voice, is just about the funniest thing you’ve ever heard in a game. The first time I had a chance to hear that I almost had tears in my eyes because I was laughing so hard.
The taunt voices are merely a small part of the audio experience in Kung Fu Chaos. The true audio joy of the game is the obvious Asian rip-off Director; who gives you instructions, before, during, and after everything you do. Now we’re not talking about ‘press button a, to do this’ -- We’re talking ‘building is on fiyah – run like wind’ kind of instructions.
Just Add Monsters went with a comedic style for the game, and they did everything humanly possible to avoid having it be a one trick pony that fizzled out after 1 long session of gameplay. Even the set-ups to levels can have you laughing openly. The one that springs to mind the most is a mini-game that involves the charging up, and using of special moves. The set up goes a little something like this:
I can't make stuff like that up people -- it's that out there, and that funny!! (The girl in question btw, is also the one who openly yells out "I Hate you" for her taunt -- so go ahead and picture that scene one more time with that knowledge. Ya, you see how it's funny).
The term Chaos used in the title of the game really denotes the only way this game can be enjoyable (in the multiplayer mode). If you’re only planning on going mano-e-mano with one of your buddies, you’ll hate this game in about 30 minutes because it degrades into a block, and timed attack routine that is unbelievably boring. However the second you add in 2 other characters (even if they’re computer controlled), the game turns into an all out free for all, where your static timing will get you nowhere (and fast). If you’re going to play just one on one, the game does pretty much degrade into a pattern of: ‘block – attack – taunt’ -- repeat pattern 3 times – Super. Doesn’t sound very exciting, does it?? Playing with 4 guys on screen at once at least changes that pattern, since you can interrupt ANYONE in the middle of a taunt, or even attack them from behind during their assault on somebody else. As long as you never, EVER play Kung Fu Chaos with 2 characters on screen at once, it’ll be a fun enough party experience.
One area where Kung Fu Chaos is extremely fun (and unexpectedly so, I might add), is in the single player game. There are tons of modes, a lot of things to do, and a difficulty curve that lets you just pass by to move on, but will also require a tremendous amount of skill to unlock the level’s secrets. You can bet you’ll be getting just as much time with the single player mode as you will with the party style multiplayer mode.
The greatest strength of the single player mode is that every level, every mini-game, gives you something in return if you’re willing to invest the time it takes to truly beat that specific part of the game. Weather it’s a new costume, a new level, or even an entirely new mode of play – there IS something to be had by finishing each level as best as it can be done.
Kung Fu Chaos is a fun little game, with enough features, and gameplay spread around to warrant a buy. Weather by yourself or in a group, it is possible to have a great time with this game, so if you’ve got some spare change lying around I’d recommend you pick this up. I'm not a huge overly loving fan of button masher's, but I had a decent enough time with Kung Fu Chaos, while Ryan 'Quass' Maule is loving this game to death, (and let's not forget he hates just about everything he plays), so even though we've got different tastes, we both still got to have some fun with it. While I know this isn’t a perfect game, I’d like to see 'Just add Monsters' and Microsoft get to work on a sequel that expands on everything they did right, and fixes the deficiencies that were there; because Kung Fu Chaos has system selling franchise written all over it.
