Vlad the Impaler can't be praised for too many things. Before the days of DVDs, Xbox and football, the 15th-century Romanian prince amused himself by nailing hats to heads and skewering folk on spikes.

It was such widespread viciousness that not only earned himself a place amongst evil's elite, but also changed the face of modern horror forever. If it weren't for his insatiable bloodlust and Bram Stoker's vivid imagination, the gothic chills of the vampire world would probably never have been crafted and Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar might have ended up washing plates in a rundown café somewhere in New York. For that Vlad, we salute you. In a twisted kinda way, of course... Chaos Bleeds follows Buffy The Vampire Slayer as the second spin-off video game to creep out from the shadows of the cult supernatural TV show. Similar to its predecessor, Chaos's formula is what happens when Silent Hill 2 collides with Dark Angel and Dead Or Alive 3 in a gothic cemetery east of Hollyoaks.

Spooky, atmospheric beat 'em up fodder with a cheekily placed funny bone lurking somewhere beneath its teen drama exterior. Overseen by its writers and partly intended as a 'lost' episode to series five, this is a rip-roaring adventure yamn boosted by a cast sexier (well, almost) than the original Charlie's Angels.

This time you star not only as Buffy, but as her entire Scooby gang. Willow, Xander, Spike, Faith and Sid (the ventriloquist's dummy from series one) are all part of the plot to outwit an ancient demonic force and save civilisation from the brink of darkness once again. This results in a modicum of basic puzzles, some exploration, a bit of Lara-style leaping and a whole load of martial arts action, as you fend off a range of undead beasts including vampires, giant bats, mummies, skeletons and gargoyles.

The general graphical style is an impressive blend of survival horror morbidity and chunky cartoon glamour. The character models are healthily large, shapely and capable of some truly dazzling combat attacks. Buffy, for example, spin-kicks through the air with the devastating panache of a ballet dancer turned kung fu mentalist. The other heroes aren't exactly bereft of a tasty chop or two either. Xander sweep-kicks zombies with effortless guile, while white witch Willow - the most fun to play of the lot - hastily maintains a comfortable distance to unleash combo-activated spells of fireballs and homing missiles. How this originates from the same publishing stable as the atrociously poor Dark Angel and Bruce Lee efforts is a mystery only Vivendi can begin to answer. The fighting combos are many, and while you can mostly get by without knowing what the hell you're pressing, it's considerably more exciting, engaging and playable than the previous Buffy title. That said, it does sway a bit too close to the 'too easy' side...

Unfortunately, a viciously awkward camera maligns what otherwise should be near faultless fighting thrills. Although manual control is operated via the Right directional stick, positioning it exactly where you want, for the most part, is harrowing. No smooth, sweeping pans from the Spielbergian academy of cinematography here. Instead, it's an unintentional digital nightmare recognisable by its claustrophobic camera incapable of swinging in a full 360 degree arc. Viewing freedom is restricted both on the horizontal and vertical axis and, equally troublesome, that most uncompromising of third-person perspectives (you know, the one that stares directly at you) is seemingly preferred as the default option. Little chance of spotting approaching vampires then (you have to rely on unsettling sound effects and gamepad rumble for that).

One of the problematic issues of original Buffy video game stemmed from the hazardous manner in which weapons were swapped during combat. Chaos Bleeds makes a valiant effort to redeem this with a 'quick staking' button, which means stunning a bloodsucker with [ a garden shovel before puncturing his/her heart can be achieved swiftly. The negative aspect of this, of course, is that you're then stuck with the stake, resulting in a messy case of wading through your inventory to revert back to your original weapon of choice. Apply this method to the medikit and the problem is magnified - you'll normally find yourself slaughtered by a Halloween gathering of gothic ghouls by the time you've fumbled upon your health boost in the middle of a ruck.

Aside from its overly sympathetic difficulty setting, wayward camera and occasional glitches in design, Buffy The Vampire Slayer: Chaos Bleeds strikes at the very heart of gaming's most important ingredient - it's fun to play. Whether you subscribe to Gellar's school of high-kicking hi-jinx or not, this remains a sassy, atmospheric chiller that anyone can enjoy. With the bonus of several multiplayer games for up to four players (Bunny Catcher being the best), the package is quite possibly a vampire-lover's wettest nightmare. Who said the beat 'em up was too long in the tooth?

1. Brilliant action
2. Play as six of the show's stars
3. Good storyline

1. Bad manual camera
2. A bit too easy!
3. Frustrating inventory

Power
Large, well-animated character models and decent settings, but lacking polish here and there.

Style
Like a haunting teen horror story with a sweet blend of scares, giggles and action.

Immersion
Great fighting action and cunning 'soap drama' narrative structure will draw you in immediately.

Lifespan
It will hook you to the end, but it's pretty easy, so you won't want to play it again. Multiplayer is good.

Summary
Enjoyable, extremely playable and spookily atmospheric. Even non-Buffy fans should get a kick out of this.