Developer: Cavia
Publisher: Atari & AQ Interactive
Screenshots: Available Here
Rating Guide: How I Review Games
Review:
Yes, I know you’ve read some pretty horrible things about Bullet Witch in the media. You’ve seen the low scores and some of you may have even almost completed the first level before trading it in or taking it back to your local rental store. Let me just say that I might echo a lot of your sentiments in this review but I also might surprise you as I too committed the cardinal sin of gaming. What’s the cardinal sin of gaming? I almost listened to the reviews out there and almost didn’t bother trying it for myself to form my own opinion. Yes, I admit that. Fortunately, I did venture out to play Bullet Witch for myself and I was glad I did.
There’s one word that came to mind after I played this game. It’s one word that really saved it from being something I had no interest in to something I had some fun with. That word is ‘potential’. Had the developers simply delayed or given more time to fine tune this game, I think it would’ve faired much better…in fact I know it would have. There is a wave of potential just oozing out of this title that it almost made me angry that they robbed me of what could have been a great experience. I did enjoy the game after truly giving it a chance but the potential it had left me scratching my head. You’ll see me refer to this word often throughout this review.
Gameplay, Graphics and Sound
2013 AD. Humanity is on the verge of extinction due to natural disasters, starvation and the sudden infestation of evil, twisted monsters. Demons have been reborn and the end of civilization is near. There is no hope until a beautiful woman dressed in black with the powers of a witch and a giant gun (gunrod) shaped like a broom appears to mount one final stand against the evil. Her name is Alicia Claus (no relation to Santa) and her weapon of choice will scare you. Her gunrod is part broom and part machine gun, shotgun, cannon or gatling depending on your preference. You can opt for any of the four uses by pressing the B button. You start with regular ammunition but can soon upgrade your gunrod’s ammunition with magic called Element Shots. When you cast it, your weapon becomes equipped with magical ammunition that causes more damage. Casting the Element Shot on your shotgun will enable it with Wind ammunition that blasts a shockwave of wind with each shot. Each has its own magical ammunition effect. Alicia also has at her disposal a range of magic including Will Power, Rose Spear, Lightning, Tornado, and Ravens Panic among others. Hit the LB or RB button to pull up her Magic Ring and press the A, B, or X button to cast the corresponding magic. There are 3 layers to her Magic Ring. Will Power was one of my favorites along with the Rose Spear. Alicia would throw rose petals on the ground that made silver spikes erupt that embedded any enemy standing close by. The effects are pretty good but could’ve been better. I can only imagine what a true casting of Rose Spear may have looked like or what damage a Lightning cast (more on this later) could have done if the potential had been met.
You can power up at the end of each level depending on how quickly you finish the level, how many enemies you killed or how many humans were left to survive. You’re judged and given Skill Points. You can use these and distribute them to Alicia’s abilities, her gunrod or her witchcraft (magic) thus increasing each of these skill sets. The more powerful the witch, the larger her ass kicking prowess is and the more you enjoy the game I think. (it really does get better as you gain more powers)
The controls, however, weren’t at all magic. The targeting system left much to be desired as did the melee combat. You have to almost be perfectly centered and in front of an enemy to melee attack otherwise your attacks are all over the place and not hitting. You can at least click the right stick to get a closer targeting reticule (gun sight) in order for more “precision” aiming. They call this the ‘shooting view’. There is no map or HUD so you’re left at times wondering where to go or where you’re being shot from. It’s not too much of a bother because the game is simple enough but at times a little direction would’ve been nice. The enemies were mindless. Perfect examples are the Walnut Heads (huge brains) and the Gigas (huge beasts with big hearts). I’d simply stay a distance away and shoot. They wouldn’t come after me at all. They’d just sit there and let me play target practice.
There are plenty of cars and other things to toss around or use to kill someone with a Will Power blast. The design of the city had so much potential but in the end it didn’t have much in terms of textures and polish. I had visions of a torn city…a Gears of War-styled broken spirit city; potential I say. The only thing within the environment that looked the part was Alicia, yet even she could use a makeover. There is a bit of interaction within the environment although none of it really impressive. There are walls/rooftops that you can shoot to come crashing down on the enemy. There are water towers that will fall when shot as well. It was a bit of fun I must admit.
I expected more thump I suppose out of the Magic casting. As I mentioned above, the Lightning cast is your air strike against large things like tanks. It takes them out but the delivery of the spell was really cheesy. I can’t help but think of Lost Planet explosions at this juncture and how cool it would have been to see Alicia cast Lightning and all hell breaks loose around her with the streets cracking, windows shattering and huge explosions! Potential missed. (again) The effects were good for the most part but not great. One thing I did want to make a mention of that was very well done was the menu screen. It had the perfect feel and design to it while selecting options.
Could this be the infamous Xbox 360 Elite that has the internet in a frenzy? Could there be a black Xbox 360 limited edition equipped with HDMI, a 120GB hard drive and a slick black finish? I’ve gotten so many emails asking for a comment, a hint or some small piece of information about this rumor that has surfaced yet again. I have no information. As far as I know this is nothing but a clever April Fool’s joke so I can’t comment any further about it.
If true, I’ll be grabbing one of the sweet black wireless controllers for sure! I’m not at all interested in HDMI but I do have a slight interest in the 120GB hard drive (Video Marketplace purposes).
Here’s something I’ve been wondering for a little while. How would our gaming lives be if there was one format shared by Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo or anyone for that matter? By this I mean what if there were one technology agreed upon by all developers/producers and the different companies were only presenting different designs around this technology? Other parts of the tech industry do this so why not consoles? Think about it. There’s one approved technology or format for DVD and all of the companies like Samsung, Sony etc are simply making different designs around the format allowing the consumer to choose a design/price for the most part that works best for them. All DVD players play DVDs so you’re really only choosing who puts on the best show.
Why not have a universal format for developers to use to make these games and allow Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo to design a console around it that they believe would be the choice to make. You’d still have your three companies vying for your pockets but then how much better would we be if developers could focus on one technology and not 3 different ones? It’s an interesting though isn’t it?
Think about all the games you could play on either system. Halo 3 on Nintendo if you so chose that you liked the way their cute little console was designed and priced. Zelda: Twilight Princess on the Xbox 360 if you fancy its concave approach. Could there ever be a day that the big 3 agree to develop one concept for games? No. But it doesn’t hurt to ponder these things.
I don’t know if many of you remember this freakish little title slated for the Xbox 360 and PS3 this fall. I came home to some media today and it included this amazing new trailer. Watch it only if you can handle it!
Clive Barker’s Jericho Trailer
Codemasters today releases the full length Clive Barker’s Jericho “Crusader” trailer set to terrify and pleasure gamers and horror fanatics alike. Created from an original concept and story, Clive Barker’s Jericho promises an overload of sensory horror shock as players journey through hellish locations and slices of time. An action/horror FPS, the ‘Jericho’ of the title refers to the Jericho Team, a seven-person strike force that protects government interests from paranormal threats. Trained in both conventional warfare and the arcane arts, each Jericho Team member is an expert in different para-psychological disciplines, including clairvoyance, alchemy, blood magic and exorcism.
For further information on Clive Barker’s Jericho, please visit the official website located at www.codemasters.com/jericho.
Don’t be left to simply read the stories the next day. You can have your own story to tell. Get ready for another Unscripted Nights event!
Celebrate more than two decades of the Castlevania franchise by reliving (or experiencing for the first time) one of the series’ most highly regarded games. The legendary 2D side-scrolling action adventure game from Konami Digital Entertainment, “Castlevania: Symphony of Night,” is ready for download on Xbox Live Arcade! Right now…so why are you still reading this? Grab your 800 Microsoft Points and grab it!
There is also a Picture Pack (100 Microsoft Points) and Theme (150 Microsoft Points) available for this game.
Game Screenshots: Available here
Now that the NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) has been lifted on the Shadowrun Beta participants, I can tell you a bit about what I’ve experienced so far. If you have any questions about the game, feel free to post them or discuss them on the message boards.
My Thoughts
First and foremost let me just say that I won’t make mention of any of the graphics in the game because as a beta, they stink. Keep in mind that a beta is an unfinished product and it doesn’t represent what you’ll see in the finished game. So although I may post some screenshots of what I’m playing, you should visit the Shadowrun screenshots for a more accurate detail of what the final game might be.
It’s better to have flown and lost than never to have flown at all. That’s all I have to say to Sony about the recent news taking flight around the interweb today. Namco Bandai has apparently flown its Ace Combat 6 to the Xbox 360. IGN speculates that it may even be an Xbox 360 exclusive. (originally reported by Famitsu)
So that makes the second of the 2 franchises I had followed on the PlayStation now headed to the Xbox 360. (the other being Devil May Cry) Perhaps I should have another ‘Case of the Mondays’ like yesterday because it seems to have prompted some incredible news or at least I like to think it did. Looks like I’ll be taking to the skies on Xbox Live with one of my favorite flight franchises! The image used in this article is from Ace Combat 5.
Sony, where have thy exclusives gone? There aren’t many franchises on the PlayStation that have interested me over the years. There have been perhaps one or two that I thought to maybe purchase the system for. I’m surprised to be able to say that one of those reasons doesn’t exist anymore as Dante and Devil May Cry 4 are headed to the Xbox 360! I can’t fault a company for maximizing its efforts to make money…can you? What’s even more interesting is that it will be a simultaneous release for both consoles. Go Capcom!! I’ll make sure to keep my eye on this and bring you more as we near its eventual release.
The latest iteration, “Devil May Cry 4″ will take advantage of each platform’s hardware strengths to achieve the most stunning visuals in the series to date, and the introduction of a mysterious new protagonist will keep the action fast and fresh.
(side note) I know the interest in the PlayStation 3 around Unscripted 360 is high judging from how frequently my article about the PS3 Sitting and Not Selling is clicked so I plan to incorporate a little Sony’ness every so often to give my opinion on some of the things in the media regarding the subject.
One of the fantastic things about doing what I do is that you meet quite a few people who share the same passions. It’s easy to sit back and enjoy everything about Unscripted 360 and the Xbox 360 because I’ve met so many great people. Two of those people happen to be 360 community members from the UK. Both The Grevster and Whagi have developed sites to offer a deeper look inside the UK community and those who call it home. They’ve set out to give a larger voice and in some cases a face, to the UK crowd. There are quite a few UK fans of Unscripted 360 so I wanted to make you all aware of what’s hot in your area. Also, these guys have done such a wonderful job that I wanted to give them an old Deacon pat on the back!
UK Spotlight - UK Community member, The Grevster
The UK Spotlight is just as the name implies. It’s a place where members of the UK community are shown to the world. The site also has a variety of reviews, news and competitions centered around the Xbox and Xbox 360. If you’re looking to share some of what you do with other UK friends, this is the hot spot to do it.
Whagi.com - Xbox.com Moderator, Whagi
Whagi.com is mixed with a variety of content from news and reviews to special interviews and website design. I recently had a chance to do an interview for the site and it turned out really well. Be sure to stop by and read up on some of the interviews currently available including my own!
Excellent job guys. Keep up the good work in the community!
LOL