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Kung Fu Chaos Review - Xbox

Powerstone fans rejoice, as our prayers have finally been answered! What in the world am I talking about? Well, it all started when Microsoft came up with an idea fo...who cares - KUNG FU CHAOS (KFC)! Yes folks, it is similar to the classic Powerstone games, and yes, it certainly does kick some arse. Though perhaps best of all, it's what the Xbox needs the most - a new, and decent, exclusive. With the combination of zany characters, humour, and Kung-Fu (Bruce Lee eat your heart out), developer 'Just Add Monsters' have ensured us that KFC will stay in your Xbox until Jet Li makes a decent movie.

GamePlay

First and foremost, for those of you that have that 'Fusion Frenzy' or 'Whacked' image in your heads, make sure you scrape it clear and understand this - KFC is unlike anything currently on the Xbox. It's more than a party game and it's more than a carbon copy. With a bit of luck, it's the birth of a new and enjoyable series to the fighting genre.

The general premise behind Kung Fu Chaos is based on a comeback film from self-proclaimed genius director, Shao Ting, in which you play the star! This means that you'll get to choose from an array of characters, ranging from the spectacle of primitive instincts portrayed through 'Monkey', to the Shotgun wielding chick that is 'Lucy Cannon'. The variety here is great, with a total number of 9 playable characters (3 of which are initially locked), each with their own unique style and look.

As you may have guessed, being the star of a new Kung Fu movie would mean that the game plays just like that; a movie! The only exception being that there are no corny love scenes, you are an all out action buff movie star. This means the game will take you from bar room brawls, to exotic jungle-like locales, where you must battle it out against a variety of enemies.

The real beef on the single-player side of things is no doubt the 'Ninja Challenge'. This is kind of like the 'story' mode of KFC, where you must go scene by scene (or level by level), and duke it out amongst a variety of ninja, including Scorpion look-alikes (Yellow Fist Ninja) and Raiden wannabe's (Twin Moon Ninja - notice the Mortal Kombat influence?).

To defeat a ninja, simply beat him down until his health runs out, or throw him out of the fighting area (similar to Smash Brothers). This may sound easy enough, however here comes the twist - due to the variety in the enemies, you will often be swarmed with ninjas of different types. Some may constantly block, and some may go at you with all they have; either way, don't go in expecting a simple fist fight, as you will end up losing.

This is where we must give the developers credit, instead of ... (continued next page)