bapenguin
02-28-2007, 06:04 AM
<div style="float:left">
Title: Bulletwitch (http://www.bulletwitch.com/)
Platform: XBox 360
MSRP: $49.99
Editor: Nicholas 'bapenguin' Puleo</div>
<img src="http://www.evilavatar.com/staff/bapenguin_f.jpg" style="margin-left:10px">
<div style="float:left;margin-left:7px">Bulletwitch</div>
Bulletwitch was released in Japan sometime ago and garnered little praise from reviews. It was developed by the Japanese studio Cavia, and the in-game demons were designed by acclaimed character designer Yasushi Nirasawa, who has been responsible for designing movie creatures and action figures as well as creating his own range of figurines. Months later the game has finally hit North American shelves thanks to Atari. The game has gotten additional development time during the translation period which should allow for a much cleaner game.
<span style="float:right; margin-left: 5px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom:5px;">http://www.evilavatar.com/images/previews/bulletwitch/thumb.skinless.jpg (http://www.evilavatar.com/images/previews/image.php?image=www.evilavatar.com/images/previews/bulletwitch/skinless.jpg)</span>
Bulletwitch is set in 2013. After consecutive years of war and civil unrest a devastating virus breaks out wiping out all but a billion people on the planet. With the virus comes strange demon like people who seem hell bent on claiming people’s skin. No, literally, these guys are wearing army fatigues but are missing their skin so they want everyone elses. And it’s your job to stop them. But who are you? You are Alicia. A witch and a bad ass bitch with this huge machine gun, broom, sword kind of thing called the Gun-Rod. Yup…this game is Japanese alright.
The game plays out as a 3rd person shooter. You also have numerous spells and abilities at your disposal. Spells range from Willpower which allows you to force push cars and other objects to a meteor strike, lighting attack or even a feast of crows to unleash on your enemy. All spell effects are gorgeous to watch, and remind me in a small way of summons from the Final Fantasy games. Not all magic is offense, as defensive and healing spells like Sacrifice and Ancient Wall to block incoming enemy fire are at your disposal.
So all this sounds well and good, but how does the game play? Unfortunately the controls are a mixed bag. The game is in desperate need of a lock on function, or at least a smoother aiming system. Something more akin to Lost Planet would have been nice. Instead the 3rd person aiming is jittery and slow. Being a next gen game, hell being a last gen game, you’d expect to be able to shoot and jump at the same time. But alas, this just doesn’t seem possible. On the flip side the spell system is really well implemented with any of your 27 spells 2 button presses away. Simply click the left or right bumper, and hit the corresponding face button of the spell you’d like to use.
<span style="float:right; margin-left: 5px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom:5px;">http://www.evilavatar.com/images/previews/bulletwitch/thumb.explosion.jpg (http://www.evilavatar.com/images/previews/image.php?image=www.evilavatar.com/images/previews/bulletwitch/explosion.jpg)</span>
The game world itself features a huge expansive city and suburb. There are no loading times during the levels themselves. The art style of the game reminds me very much of the movie 28 Days Later in both color palette and the general look of the world. The graphics are impressive with nifty lighting effects and incredible explosions. There’s something very satisfying about using willpower to throw a handful of cars and gasoline trucks into a pile of enemies and watching it all explode in a blaze of glory. Certain areas of Bulletwitch feature deformable terrain and objects. For instance, at one point there was a group of skinless freaks holed up in a gas station. Not the wisest place to stand ground, so I threw a bunch of cars at them, shot the cars and proceeded to level the entire gas station into a pile of rubble.
After each level you are able to upgrade Alicia’s abilities and magic. Buying yourself new spells and gun-rod upgrades yields a pseudo RPG element to the game. Your points available to spend is based on previous mission performance. After completing the game you are able to retain the skill levels and continue leveling up your character to aid you in the harder difficulty levels should you choose to trudge through the game again.
<span style="float:right; margin-left: 5px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom:5px;">http://www.evilavatar.com/images/previews/bulletwitch/thumb.bigguy.jpg (http://www.evilavatar.com/images/previews/image.php?image=www.evilavatar.com/images/previews/bulletwitch/bigguy.jpg)</span>
All in all Bulletwitch has its moments, but the overall pacing of the game and the frustrating controls bring it down. The basic game play involves a lot of backtracking as you take down barriers to unlock places you’ve previously been. There’s no real enemy variety with the exception of a few big, and I mean big, bosses and bad guys. And to round everything out, the game itself is short featuring only 6 levels. Most players can beat the game in 6-8 hours. With only leaderboards available for Xbox Live, the lack of any kind of co-op or competitive play kills the replay ability of this game. The few moments of brilliance in Bulletwitch are unfortunately brought down by the overall mediocrity of the game. Definitely a rental.
<div style="float:right; margin-right:60px; margin-left:5px">
Score:
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e3.jpg
3 out of 5 Evil Eyes</div>
The Good:
+ Excellent explosions and spell effects
+ Big areas with no loading
The Bad:
- Short game with no online
- You can Willpower cars but not enemies!?!?
- Slow pacing, and unlocking barriers is NOT FUN
The Ugly:
- Aiming sucks witch titty
</div>
Title: Bulletwitch (http://www.bulletwitch.com/)
Platform: XBox 360
MSRP: $49.99
Editor: Nicholas 'bapenguin' Puleo</div>
<img src="http://www.evilavatar.com/staff/bapenguin_f.jpg" style="margin-left:10px">
<div style="float:left;margin-left:7px">Bulletwitch</div>
Bulletwitch was released in Japan sometime ago and garnered little praise from reviews. It was developed by the Japanese studio Cavia, and the in-game demons were designed by acclaimed character designer Yasushi Nirasawa, who has been responsible for designing movie creatures and action figures as well as creating his own range of figurines. Months later the game has finally hit North American shelves thanks to Atari. The game has gotten additional development time during the translation period which should allow for a much cleaner game.
<span style="float:right; margin-left: 5px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom:5px;">http://www.evilavatar.com/images/previews/bulletwitch/thumb.skinless.jpg (http://www.evilavatar.com/images/previews/image.php?image=www.evilavatar.com/images/previews/bulletwitch/skinless.jpg)</span>
Bulletwitch is set in 2013. After consecutive years of war and civil unrest a devastating virus breaks out wiping out all but a billion people on the planet. With the virus comes strange demon like people who seem hell bent on claiming people’s skin. No, literally, these guys are wearing army fatigues but are missing their skin so they want everyone elses. And it’s your job to stop them. But who are you? You are Alicia. A witch and a bad ass bitch with this huge machine gun, broom, sword kind of thing called the Gun-Rod. Yup…this game is Japanese alright.
The game plays out as a 3rd person shooter. You also have numerous spells and abilities at your disposal. Spells range from Willpower which allows you to force push cars and other objects to a meteor strike, lighting attack or even a feast of crows to unleash on your enemy. All spell effects are gorgeous to watch, and remind me in a small way of summons from the Final Fantasy games. Not all magic is offense, as defensive and healing spells like Sacrifice and Ancient Wall to block incoming enemy fire are at your disposal.
So all this sounds well and good, but how does the game play? Unfortunately the controls are a mixed bag. The game is in desperate need of a lock on function, or at least a smoother aiming system. Something more akin to Lost Planet would have been nice. Instead the 3rd person aiming is jittery and slow. Being a next gen game, hell being a last gen game, you’d expect to be able to shoot and jump at the same time. But alas, this just doesn’t seem possible. On the flip side the spell system is really well implemented with any of your 27 spells 2 button presses away. Simply click the left or right bumper, and hit the corresponding face button of the spell you’d like to use.
<span style="float:right; margin-left: 5px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom:5px;">http://www.evilavatar.com/images/previews/bulletwitch/thumb.explosion.jpg (http://www.evilavatar.com/images/previews/image.php?image=www.evilavatar.com/images/previews/bulletwitch/explosion.jpg)</span>
The game world itself features a huge expansive city and suburb. There are no loading times during the levels themselves. The art style of the game reminds me very much of the movie 28 Days Later in both color palette and the general look of the world. The graphics are impressive with nifty lighting effects and incredible explosions. There’s something very satisfying about using willpower to throw a handful of cars and gasoline trucks into a pile of enemies and watching it all explode in a blaze of glory. Certain areas of Bulletwitch feature deformable terrain and objects. For instance, at one point there was a group of skinless freaks holed up in a gas station. Not the wisest place to stand ground, so I threw a bunch of cars at them, shot the cars and proceeded to level the entire gas station into a pile of rubble.
After each level you are able to upgrade Alicia’s abilities and magic. Buying yourself new spells and gun-rod upgrades yields a pseudo RPG element to the game. Your points available to spend is based on previous mission performance. After completing the game you are able to retain the skill levels and continue leveling up your character to aid you in the harder difficulty levels should you choose to trudge through the game again.
<span style="float:right; margin-left: 5px; margin-top: 5px; margin-bottom:5px;">http://www.evilavatar.com/images/previews/bulletwitch/thumb.bigguy.jpg (http://www.evilavatar.com/images/previews/image.php?image=www.evilavatar.com/images/previews/bulletwitch/bigguy.jpg)</span>
All in all Bulletwitch has its moments, but the overall pacing of the game and the frustrating controls bring it down. The basic game play involves a lot of backtracking as you take down barriers to unlock places you’ve previously been. There’s no real enemy variety with the exception of a few big, and I mean big, bosses and bad guys. And to round everything out, the game itself is short featuring only 6 levels. Most players can beat the game in 6-8 hours. With only leaderboards available for Xbox Live, the lack of any kind of co-op or competitive play kills the replay ability of this game. The few moments of brilliance in Bulletwitch are unfortunately brought down by the overall mediocrity of the game. Definitely a rental.
<div style="float:right; margin-right:60px; margin-left:5px">
Score:
http://www.evilavatar.com/images/icons/e3.jpg
3 out of 5 Evil Eyes</div>
The Good:
+ Excellent explosions and spell effects
+ Big areas with no loading
The Bad:
- Short game with no online
- You can Willpower cars but not enemies!?!?
- Slow pacing, and unlocking barriers is NOT FUN
The Ugly:
- Aiming sucks witch titty
</div>