Chaos Faction 2

You all know about the popular game, Chaos Faction right? If you don't, then where have you been? Chaos Faction is basically Super Smash Bros. with health bars and guns. It even has a level editor similar to Super Smash Bros. However, it's not all the same. The game has a strong emphasis on character customization, allowing you to customize your character in different ways, while earning new character parts through matches. With the wildly popular Chaos Faction jumping into the flash gaming vault in 2006, it's no surprise that the guys at Dissolute Productions would make a sequel. And while it lacks in some areas, it's certainly a HUGE improvement over the first. The old Chaos Faction had you battling a wide variety of opponents, from aliens, to Eskimos, and even the people who made the game! Chaos Faction 2 still has the zany battles found in the first game, but offers so much more. When starting a match, the biggest thing you might notice right away is the new art style. The first game was lacking emotion, and felt strained. The second has a cartoony feel to it, with characters being squashed and stretched with every hit, as well saying "Yeah!" with every kill. The graphics have majorly improved, with no jagged edges or rough design. Hands and feet are now well detailed and actually look like hands and feet, instead of circles. Everything is smooth here - the environments, the characters, even the weapons. A huge upgrade is the character customization. You know how in the original game creating a character was limited to choosing arms, hands, body and eyes? Chaos Faction 2 fixed that. Now a whole array of possibilities are here. Besides choosing the obvious body, hands, legs and eyes, you can now choose the character's hair, hat, and mouth.

One of the many characters that can be made using the character creator.

You also have the new ability to name your character, instead of using a set name defined by your parts. This leads to more unique characters. One of the main things that have been changed is the fighting system. The HUD has been changed to better fit the screen. The battles now use a dynamic camera which follows the action. The screen shakes when someone is knocked out of the arena, and the camera scrolls depending on where you are and how close you are to the player. This works out well, and compliments the BIGGER arenas. That's right, the arenas are bigger than the first game. The arenas have also became more interactive. No longer are they just platforms re-textured to fit in with a theme. Now each arena has its own hazard. For example, Captain Black's (a pirate) level has you fighting him while dodging cannonballs shot by his ship, or the Alien's level may have you dodging the lasers shot by his spaceship while trying to defeat him. Each arena is bursting with personality. New additions to the combat system include the Windup Punch, and the Rage attack. These make the battles a lot more frantic. Characters are actually knocked back when hit, instead of just standing there while a punch sound effect plays. Players can now taunt and drop their weapons. It's all polished here. But what have fans been waiting for in Chaos Faction? Multiplayer. They want it on their plate, and Chaos Faction 2 delivers it. 2 people can play on the same computer against each other. with their own custom characters. Now, getting a buddy and hunching up over a computer may seem weird, so if you're gonna play with somebody, you should get some game controllers for your computer. Sadly, there is no online multiplayer. Offline still works great though, allowing you to play with up to 2 human opponents and 4 computer opponents.

Battles get hectic with a wide variety of attacks and weaponry.

The game runs smoothly, with only a little lag and slowdown. The game has the same gamemodes as the first (Survival, Deathmatch, and Campaign), so nothing new was added in terms of game modes. There's still a level editor, left unchanged from the first game. After beating the campaign and playing survival or deathmatch several times, I slowly lost interest in the game. However, what kept me going was the new achievement feature. This adds to the replay value. Doing certain things in battle gets you achievements, and in turn, new characters, weapons, and game modifiers for use. So if you've beat Campaign and you see a few empty slots in your character parts screen, you'll know why. 

Chaos Faction 2 is a major improvement over the first game, and while it does  have that fresh, new game feeling that makes you ask "Is this really Chaos Faction?", a little more work could be applied in making the game last longer.

Score Card

Gameplay: 8.5/10 The combat system introduces many new attacks.

Sound: 10/10 Catchy tunes are a mix of pop and techno.

Graphics: 9/10 No ugly sprites. Everything is smooth and almost HD.

Polish: 8/10 No glitches, with a nice framerate, along with major button lag.

Replay Value: 7.5/10 After beating the campaign, achievements are next.

Final Score: 8.6

Must Play, Must Avoid, or Try It?

Must Play