Title: Chaos Break   Developer: Taito   Type: Action Shooter
Click here to find out WHATS NEW
HomeChaos Break - Staff Review - Reader Review - Screens - Cheats - Members
. . .
 
Chaos Break
"Yes, dear gamer, I'm afraid you're about to have that monumental task loaded onto your weary shoulders once again as Chaos Break is a 3D action adventure that owes more than a little to past blockbusters Resident Evil and Dino Crisis."
. . .
  Image Loading...
.
 
. . .
 
. . .

PSone REVIEW:
 
Something strange is going off on an isolated Chilean island. It appears that Fluxus Bioengineering Laboratories were working on some living cells harvested from a meteorite when they began propagating spontaneously. The research facility soon became contaminated by parasitic material and an alien life form had began to breed. Enter big burley ex-SEALS member, or cute Japanese girlie biochemist just in time to save the human race.

Lets begin by telling a few truths here. Before loading up I knew nothing of this title other than it was an English port of a Taito game that was released earlier in the year in Japan, so it would be fair to say that I experienced this game \'stone cold\'. My attention was first aroused by the brief CG intro, which gave the immediate impression of an early R. Evil style game and the option to select from a male, and a female character further confirmed this thought.

These ideas were to momentarily dissolve, as the opening scenes were so poor that I almost didn\'t reach the playing side of the game. They were long and drawn out with lots of on-screen text voiced by some of the worst ham acting I can recall. For example this huge friggin\' worm-like monster explodes out from beneath the sewer floor, squealing and lashing its bloody red teeth at the quivering group. One member of the squad is actually chewed up and swallowed. So what do you get? A monotone voice slowly reading out the words...hey… what is… that? Watch out….. where you go…. because… its dangerous and so it goes on.

When finally gaining control of your chosen character the action has at least subsided to allow a moment to check out the controls. You get to use a standard issue weapon (MG or E-Launcher), a special weapon (gas grenade, missile) and occasionally hand to hand combat. Most of the other controls work similar to other third person perspective action games. At first I found moving the character around the set a bit over-responsive, but as the game progresses this extra speed is actually more advantageous.

The graphical content will be considered by many as being dated. Chaos Break doesn\'t look shabby… more rough around the edges. You see it is plagued by the same faults that have since been corrected by those 3D adventure games reaching their 3rd or 4th in the series. There\'s no way you could say that the scenery was seamless and the contents of some rooms can be viewed long before entering, while gameplay is slightly damaged by some unhelpful and slowly responding camera angles. On the positive side the enemy creatures look good enough shoot and their speed of movement makes targeting them a real challenging experience. Thankfully the options cater for an auto-aim system, which I would advise you leave switched on.

After reading this long list of complaints you would think that Chaos Break is not worth checking out… but it is. I found I quickly adapted my playing strategy to overcome these visual flaws and found the gameplay to my liking. The puzzles are varied and challenging, while the investigative element of play is reminiscent of the first Resident and Dino games. Each playable character tackles the game according to their own storyline and there are multiple endings dependant on whom you rescue and whether you run away from, or face some of the more challenging enemies.

If you enjoy fighting off hoards of beasties, sharpening your brain with some mind-bending puzzles and investigating a large expanding environment then check this game out. I think you\'ll be pleasantly surprised.

FEATURES:
 
· Chaos Break is an adrenaline-pumping 3D-action adventure

· The player takes command of one of two different protagonists in a bid to overthrow an invasion of parasitic creatures.

· Mitsuki is a 22 year old female biochemist who is armed with a lightweight Mews MG

· Rick is an ex-SEAL armed with a heavy duty Mews E-Launcher

· Incredible special effects

· Gruesome enemies

· Intriguing problem solving elements.

OPTIONS:
 
• 1 Disk(s)
• CD Media
• 1 Block required on Memory card per save (min)
• Up to 1 Players (without Multi-tap)
• Uses Dual Shock Pad Buttons
• Uses Dual Shock Pad Analog Sticks
• Uses Dual Shock Pad Vibration facility

. .
Review SUMMARY and SCORE
Martin  "I half-heartedly loaded up Chaos Break and after barely a few minutes play I was prepared to switch it off and do something much more worthwhile… like clean the gutter out with a toothbrush. Graphically there are so many glitches and rough edges that it was hard to believe there could be a game inside worth playing. Furthermore the speech got me about as excited as a mouldy cheese sandwich.

Perseverance and tolerance helped push me through the pain barrier and my reward was a thoroughly enjoyable \'Resident Evil style\' game packed with mind-bending puzzles, awesome Boss monsters and loads of disfigured creepy-crawly beasties that move at lightening pace. You even get the chance to perform a lobotomy on an alien face-hugger. Now there\'s a first!

I guess you shouldn\'t judge a book by its cover!"
Graphics  12/20
Playability  43/50
Sound  5/10
Lastability  12/20
72%
This is a good solid title that should still appeal to those who like this type of game.
. .

REVIEW SCORE GUIDE:

OUR PLEDGE:

We promise that we have fully played 'Chaos Break' before writing this review. The scores given above are our honest opinion and were not influenced in any way by the manufacturer or distributor of the game.

SUMMARY OF FINAL RATING (%)

00 - 59 This makes your console seem like an older machine. It utilises little or none of the PSone power.

60 - 69 This game is little more than average and we advise renting or play-testing before considering a purchase.

70 - 79 This is a good solid title that should still appeal to those who like this type of game.

80 - 89 This is a fantastic game that we think you will enjoy playing for quite some time.

90 - 100 This game either pushes the boundaries of it's genre further than ever before on this system, or creates a completely new gaming experience. Either way, it should not be missed and is an essential purchase in our opinion.

IMPORTANT - PLEASE READ:

It is very important that you are aware that the criteria we use to obtain review scores on the PS2 is very different to that used for games on the original Playstation (PSone). The Processing and Graphical power of the two consoles are vastly different and as our reviews are graded against what we estimate is the achievable potential of each system, it does not mean in any way that a game scoring 80 percent on PS2 is worse than a Playstation (PSone) equivalent which scores 95.

A more detailed breakdown of this guide can be read here.


READERS REVIEWS:


If you have owned 'Chaos Break' long enough to have formed a solid opinion on it, then why not send us your own personalized Game Review using this form.

Alternatively, if you would like to read what other gamers who already own this title think of it, click here.