Kung Fu Chaos is, in essence, a fighting game in the Power Stone mould, with a few Mario Party minigames thrown in for good measure.

Gameplay:
The presentation is hilarious. You are a martial arts actor, fighting your way through hordes of ninjas through a bizarre range of scrolling backgrounds (scenes). I don't know who wrote the script but this is one weird kung fu movie. You can be fighting ninjas on a raft that is being chased by a T-Rex in one scene, while in the next scene you are fighting ninjas on a flying saucer that is zooming through a city. Kung Fu Chaos is essentially a scrolling beat-em-up. You move along the environment, beating up ninjas left and right. Step off screen and you're dead. Although most of the backgrounds are magnificent, sometimes the game can get very confusing when there's just too much going on.

At the heart of this chaos lies a rather simple beat-em-up with sluggish controls. You have your standard punch, kick, grab and block moves and a little twist; whenever you have successfully knocked an opponent off his feet you can taunt him. Doing this will see a stream of cartoonesque expletives flying towards your downed opponent. Manage to finish your taunt and your opponent will stay down for a longer period of time, giving you the time to pick him up and throw him off screen towards his doom. Manage to taunt three times in a row and you can activate your special ability.

Pulling off special moves and listening to the director will reward you with a star. If you get five stars in a level, you unlock an extra. These can range from new character skins to the option to alter the game speed.

Graphics:
Kung Fu Chaos looks good. The characters have been lovingly animated, backgrounds are detailed and atmospheric and the game uses a whole range of beautiful Xbox effects. The 'cheap movie' idea is really well executed, with cardboard extras in the background and - this had me rolling on the floor with laughter - clearly visible wires when the characters are leaping from one rooftop to the other. There are also a few filters that can be activated to make the game look like a 32mm movie from the seventies. Also worth mentioning is the replay option, which lets you watch and save your favorite replays. It is here that they really went overboard with the effects, making it a bit hard to follow the action - although it really does look like an old kung fu movie.

Sound:
Most of Kung Fu Chaos' chaos comes from the sound. You have the standard kicking and punching noises, the grunts and screams from the characters, the background sound effects, the background music and the director screaming his directions - all at once. Luckily, you can adjust the volumes so you can, for instance, just turn off that annoying director. That is a big plus in my book. There is also the option to play your own Xbox soundtracks.

The character voices are really funny and all English is like those horrible translations they used to do for old kung fu movies. ''Face your tears'' or ''Did you see my ninjaness?'' are just a few examples. Very funny at first, although it gets very annoying, very fast.

Longevity:
You will have seen the end of the game in a day or two. Unlocking everything probably takes a bit longer, but not much longer. And then there is nothing left. I admit that I fell in love the first time I played Kung Fu Chaos. The next day that feeling had already disappeared. I had seen all the characters and heard all the jokes. This could very well be one of those titles that is going to just sit there, collecting dust.

Kung Fu Chaos is a bit more fun with four players. The levels are the same but now you battle each other instead of hordes of ninjas. This is actually even more chaotic than the singleplayer game, but it can be good fun. It's a pity the controls are just too sluggish to really enjoy the fighting itself. There are also some Mario Party-ish minigames in between the scrolling levels. In the singleplayer mode these aren't much fun to play but in multiplayer they really shine.

Round Up:
I wouldn't recommend paying full price for this game, as you'll probably grow tired of it very quickly. Just rent it when you have some friends over and you'll have a great time.