Ever since Lara's "guns" graced the cover of Tomb Raider we have been inundated with one hot chick heroine after another. For crying out loud, playing as a buxom babe draped in leather has basically become its own genre in the gaming world. Just about every publisher has made an attempt because let's face it, sex sells!

Eye candy may be well and good but when it comes right down to it if the game isn't good then nobody will really care, right? Welcome to Bullet Witch.

Starring the wicken Alicia, Bullet Witch tells a twisted tale about a gate to hell being opened and Earth being brought to the brink of disaster. Lucky for us we have a cosplay goddess with a gun and witchy powers on our side. Yes, the story in Bullet Witch is pretty lame but let's face it, you didn't come here for an award winning plot and brilliant dialogue. The whole point of this game is to arm you with an endless supply of bullets, a bevy of carnage inducing spells, and one scantily clad lady with an attitude.

Gameplay:

Bullet Witch starts out like so many mediocre action games have before. You're essentially dropped in the middle of an environment and lobbed snippets of tutorial hints whilst you are being shot at. This portion is basically there for those of you who were too lazy to read the instruction manual. Granted all you really need to know is that the game plays like most every FPS/third person game does nowadays.

There are a few twists to the standard control set up though. For instance if you want to "zoom" in you have to press the right analog button. This centers the camera near Alicia's gun and allows you to aim more carefully. Unfortunately this also forces you to walk slower which will lead to you being shot; repeatedly. The solution for this is to not use it until you are comfortable with the way the game works (which is not well). In the meantime you'll be running around like a chicken with its head cut off and pointing the aiming reticule this way and that. It's effective but a little too frantic for my taste and you can imagine how crazy it gets when you're facing six or more enemies at a time.

To help level the playing field for the inadequate shooting mechanic Alicia has a supply of spells at her disposal. These are accessed through a cumbersome menu system that uses the LB and RB buttons. With three levels of sub-menus and no way to hot-key particular spells utilizing these techniques becomes a real pain in the ass when you're under fire. If the game paused while you looked through your spell list it would be one thing but it doesn't. You have to memorize where the spell is that you want and shuffle to it by instinct rather than ease. Imagine trying to do this while trying to fight a tank and you can almost picture the frustration that comes from it.

When you actual are able to pull a spell off the effect is relatively impressive. You can hurl cars towards enemies, summon ravens to tear at their flesh, and even use the elements to your liking. As you progress in the game lightning, tornadoes, and meteor showers are all at your beck and call. Granted they are not as fluid in execution (part sub-menu, part summoning animation) but they are fun to pull off. As you play you'll also gain points that you can use to level up your magic to make them even more effective so that's a definite plus.

You can also buy and level up a variety of gun forms for Alicia. Sadly the pickings are rather slim and to be honest it does not really matter what you pick. The main form will be the most used among the bunch but there is also a shotgun form, sniper rifle, and gatling gun. Either way you slice it the starting weapon is probably the best and most useful so don't bother with the others unless you get bored; which WILL happen.

Part of that boredom stems from the lack of enemy types. There are drone humanoid demons that plague every section of every stage. These are the losers that you'll be fighting most of the time and believe me when I tell you that it gets old quickly. A variety of armaments for the bunch doesn't help because in the end whether or not they have a sniper rifle, shotgun, or machine gun they are all the same.

Other forms of monstrosities in your path take the shape of brains that lift cars and hurl them at you, a 200ft giant with a gun for an arm, and possessed humans with balloon-like poltergeists on their heads. The selection is eclectic to say the least but the variety just isn't enough to keep things interesting. Sure there are points where you're fighting dozens of foot soldiers while dodging cars. Those times are arguably the best that you'll have with Bullet Witch; they just don't happen often enough to lift the experience.

The flow of gameplay basically means that you'll shoot your way through a section in a stage, kill a brain to unlock a barrier, shoot some more bad guys, and watch a crappy cut scene. Throughout the game the AI is absolutely terrible. Enemies will often stand in one place while shooting and sometimes it seems that the only way you'll die is if you stop to fight. You can quite literally jump through whole levels and make it to the end without firing a single shot.

Occasionally there are boss fights thrown into the mix but these are hardly what I'd call highlights. Taking on the snake boss while standing atop a flying aircraft showcased some of the potential that Bullet Witch had but the boss at the end of stage six was another story. This was one of the most frustrating and cheap bosses that I have ever fought against and in the end after a cumulative game time of about two and a half hours I could not beat him. Difficulty is one thing but not having a fighting chance is something else.

All of that being said there are some fun moments to be had while grueling your way through Bullet Witch. When the gameplay elements come together at the right points the true potential of the project is shown. Summoning a tornado that tears apart various sections of the stage, lifts cars like they were paper, and hurls enemies into the abyss definitely has a cool factor. If the development team had actually given thought to the story, fine tuned the spell casting, and got a little more creative with the enemies this game would have been something to be excited about. In the end though all we're left with is another gun toting digital hottie who is fun to play with at times but ultimately not worth a second date.

Graphics:

When I saw Bullet Witch screenshots from the Japanese build about a year ago I was fairly impressed. The game looked like it could have been a lot of fun and the action looked pretty intense. Unfortunately looking at the game in motion is a let down. The graphics in no way say "next generation" and to be hones the game could have been an original Xbox game in most circumstances.

The environments are bland beyond compare though the torn up cityscape was impressive in parts. Characters, apart from Alicia, are poorly designed and all enemy/friendly models look alike. Shadows are virtually nonexistent and when they do appear they are pixilated and just plain ugly. Textures are another sore spot in Bullet Witch and the mapping just seems to be off most of the time. Lighting is another problem with the game and more often than not you'll be fighting to adjust the camera just to see through a shadow that is just too deep. If there's anything good to say about Bullet Witch it's that the explosions are quite nice and the elemental effects from magic are sometimes awe inspiring.

Sound:

Nearly as disappointing as the graphics, the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired as well. The voice acting in Bullet Witch is downright awful to the point that it could be considered campy goodness. Many times while playing I was thrown back to the first time I watched Army of Darkness, though this game is by no means as amusing. Alicia has no personality and Max Cougar is too lame to appreciate. The random drivel spouted out by your enemies is funny but it seems out of place given the tone of the game. The sound effects are fairly decent and the music is acceptable, though forgettable in the end. Bullet Witch does have a decent presence on the soundstage thanks to a good sense of immersion but its use is nothing groundbreaking.

Conclusion:

There are times while playing Bullet Witch where the intent of the developers comes through in shining colors. The environment explodes in a scene of mass chaos, enemies are thrown hundreds of feet, and little Alicia dodges cars while fashionable flipping through the air. The only problem with this game is that in between those cool moments the experience is downright terrible. AI is shoddy, boss battles are frustrating, one hit deaths await you, the magic menu is clunky, and the presentation leaves a lot to be desired. Action aficionados that love blowing stuff up with chicks may want to give this one a rental but everyone else can just skip it.