DS #3479: Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Sacrifice (Europe)

[cutterjohn]

Are you kidding me?! Buffy was one of the best shows on TV at the time, and is still a better show than 99.999% of the crap on TV today. (That said I am and never was a big fan of the show (occult tends to turn me off fast) yet I still found the basis of most of the episode and story arcs to be entertaining compared to the vast majority of drivel that tends to rule the cableways...)

Not into comix so I can't comment on those, other than since they're western style I'd find them very slightly more interesting than anime, which is to say not at all.

As an addenda I believe that there are still books published about the character, although I have no clue if their kiddie books only or adult ones as well. (Although I seriously doubt that it matters since Harry Potter books are kiddie books, but oddly enough I know more adults who have read them than kids.)

(This show isn't old enough yet for it to have been before any reasonable poster's "time" on this board...)

Actually the game doesn't look that bad, as there were frequent "action" scenes in the series. OTOH the "video" was just a slideshow of still screenshots which tends to incline me to believe that the engine is horrible and that was the dev's/publisher's feeble attempt at hiding the fact...

 

[VVoltz]

I love Buffy, she can stab my heart any day. I might try this one, the newest DS game I played was Guitar Hero: Decades

 

[h8uthemost]

I loved the Xbox Buffy's. They were very well made games. Especially the first one since it had the original actors voices.

So I'll definitely give this a try, but I'm not expecting much.

 

[Djay187]

The game's pretty good, there's not enough games like on the DS, it's all Imagine, puzzles or RPG's and then not even action RPG's.
The grahpics are not that bad and you can switch between first or third person, there's a certain amount of exploration that you can do, also quite a nice selection of wepons and even some magic.
Definitely worth a go I'd say.

 

[Djay187]

Sorry it was a double post.

 

[Nevin007]

Buffy is one of my favorite shows of all time! I saw all 7 seasons and am actually in the process of re watching season 2.

That being said this game probably will suck...

 

[shakirmoledina]

idk what to say... maybe or maybe not worth getting
according to the rating yes... (i dont know who is free to cast 3100+ votes)
but according to the game itself... no

 

[Hadrian]

I liked the show though it got real boring after series 6, never read the comics as I had better ones to read.

This game is a typical 3D DS action game as in its pretty meh, nothing of any worth in my opinion. I can see some people liking it but then I know of a person who liked Ninjabread Man, while this isn't as bad as that game I don't recommend anyone to waste their time when there are better games to try.

Buffy fans may wanna check out the Xbox game and the other on PS2/GC/Xbox.

 

[Rayder]

First thing I thought when booting this game is Resident Evil with Vampires. That's not necessarily a bad thing. Pretty nice graphics for a DS game. I only played a little past the tutorial section, but it seems like it could be a decent game for fans of Resident Evil-style games. I also like how it actually gives you some control options and didn't just lock you into one.
I'll have to look into this one further. Don't really care about the whole Buffy thing, but if it's a decent game......

 

[Joey Ravn]

Billy Idol Don't think so it is spike

Duh, thanks for pointing out the obvious... You probably don't remember Spike claiming that Billy Idol stole his look back in the '80s.

PS: Dawn > Buffy, IMO. She's more my type than Buff

 

[Hadrian]

Billy Idol Don't think so it is spike

Duh, thanks for pointing out the obvious... You probably don't remember Spike claiming that Billy Idol stole his look back in the '80s.

PS: Dawn > Buffy, IMO. She's more my type than Buff

Yeah Dawn was way foxier while Buffy was just got too skinny for my liking. Also Buffy moans too much.

 

[GeekyGuy]

...Buffy moans too much.

Teh wuh?! Moans...too much? How is this a bad thing?

 

[CharAznable]

Okay, I've put some time into this game, and here's what I think so far:

Pros:

+ Nice graphics. Backgrounds are pre-rendered, like old Resident Evil games. Character models are nice as well.

+ Tons of different weapons and magic spells to use.

+ While the story isn't up to par with the TV series, or even the comics, there are occasionally funny moments that capture the spirit of the show.

Cons:

- By GOD this game can be infuriatingly hard at times. Enemies attack ceaselessly, making it necessary to block almost all the time. Battles are just block/attack/block/attack. And since you can't even block in first person mode, it gets even harder there.

- On the same note, Buffy's attack animations take WAY too long, and you're completely vulnerable during them. Thus it's very easy to get knocked out of an attack.

- Some of the controls make zero sense. There's puzzles that by all means should use the stylus but don't, and then there's times when you're forced to use the stylus that would work much better with buttons.

- THE CAMERA. ARGH. The game uses a fixed camera, much like classic Resident Evil games. However, it can sometimes be hard to tell which way you're supposed to be going when the angle changes. Also, the game doesn't keep you going in the same direction when the camera angle changes at times. So you could be going left, then when the camera angle changes, you'll suddenly be going right, so you'll have to change which direction you're holding on the D-Pad.

All in all, it's a pretty flawed game. But due to the lack of games like this on the DS, it's still worth playing. Especially if you're a fan of the show. I wouldn't give it higher than maybe a 6.5, but it's not that bad, especially considering some of the other licensed crap that gets pumped out on the DS.

 

[GreenBanana]

Buffy the Vampire Slayer a bit before your time I guess? You dont seem to be familiar with this series thats all. The show was huge back in the days. Well the dood on the left is indeed Boreanaz. He plays a good vampire in Buffy named Angel and then starred in the spin off also called Angel. The Angel character was Boreanaz's first big role I believe. I guess a lot of you guys probably only recognise him as Booth from Bones.

Oh, so this is a seventies show then? That would explain why I only ever heard about it as much as Highlander. Personally I wouldn't be caught dead watching modern crap like Bones or Lost, which is why it's good that shows like Soap and Twin Peaks get released on DVD (though not as much mileage on the latter, truthfully).

As for SeraphCain's review, I'm not really surprised. Thanks for the pro/con list. A lot of the problems sound typical of these sorts of games.

As for the bizarre glitched votes, I'm susprised someone got to make ONE vote. I've NEVER been able to get a vote to register here.

 

[GeekyGuy]

...it seems like it could be a decent game for fans of Resident Evil-style games. I also like how it actually gives you some control options and didn't just lock you into one...

Yeah, I see what you mean. I immediately thought of the original RE, too, when I started going through the tutorial. But man, this game is pretty bad. It's not unplayable or a total disaster by any means, but it's just so utterly lacking polish. That's a shame, too, because many elements of the game are really quite cool, not least of all what appear to be pre-rendered backgrounds.

I'll have to try playing it from the first-person perspective. Maybe I'll change my mind about it.

 

[Cablephish]

C'mon, this game's not gonna have anything on Pokemon Platinum, lol.

Anyway, I thought this game turned out alright, for what it is. The first-person option is great too.

 

[Vague Rant]

That's a shame, too, because many elements of the game are really quite cool, not least of all what appear to be pre-rendered backgrounds.

I'll have to try playing it from the first-person perspective. Maybe I'll change my mind about it.

What. Pre-rendered backgrounds are just that, pre-rendered. You can't view them from another perspective, how can the game have pre-rendered backgrounds and first-person view?

 

[tbgtbg]

They continued the series in a Season 8 comic that is actually one of the top selling books monthly. It's still a lucrative property.

Even the best selling comics don't typically sell more than a few hundred thousand copies. It was HUGE news back in the 90's when issues like (adjectiveless) X-Men #1 sold a million copies and these days sales are way down compared to then.

I don't know Season 8's actual numbers, but compared to the worst rated episode of the series ever, the best selling Season 8 issue would actually have had far less people read it than watched that lowest rated episode.

That's not to say it's not a lucrative property, clearly someone thinks so or they wouldn't have licenced it from Fox to make the game in the first place, but it's hardly a no brainer, and it's easy to see why someone only thinks of Buffy as "that tv show from many years ago" instead of "that comic that sells pretty well".

QUOTE(GreenBanana @ Mar 5 2009, 08:19 PM) Oh, so this is a seventies show then?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
1997 - 2003
It saved me from boredom. A lot.

 

[GeekyGuy]

What. Pre-rendered backgrounds are just that, pre-rendered. You can't view them from another perspective, how can the game have pre-rendered backgrounds and first-person view?

Well, I can pretty much guarantee you that the backgrounds in this game are not polygonal. I can also guarantee you that the game does offer a first-person-play option. I'll put those two things together later and tell you how that works out.

It could simply be that the game is completely 3D when played in the first person. I haven't tried it yet, so I don't know.

 

[EM0rox]

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