Games

[filterpunk]

So. Bullet Witch.

I had almost written this game off due to the swarm of negative press it's received since being released, particularly IGN's cringe-inducing score of 4 out of 10. The review here on Insomnia was one of the only sites with a different opinion, which left me uncertain. Do I go with my gut and Insomnia's review or listen to the mob and ignore it?

Today comes along and my girlfriend and I are doing geek shopping. Books, DVDs, and thanks to an understanding girlfriend, video games. So we march into Game Trader, one of the very few independent game stores here in the Portland area. I've got $50 and a 20% off coupon in my pocket. I see a few things I've been meaning to check out, but nothing that I'm really dying to play. I finally gave in to my curiousity and plonked down the $27 for a used copy of Bullet Witch.

Honestly? I love it. It's not perfect by anyone's criteria, but how can anyone not have fun with this? So the shadows look a little off at times and the AI is inconsistent. Big deal. You're a hot girl with a huge gun and crazy fucking magic powers running around blowing shit up.

I'm actually a little peeved about the reviews I've read, if only because they're probably having a nasty impact on the game's sales. Cavia may not have made the next Gears of War in terms of how polished the game is, but they also don't have Microsoft throwing money at them to make their game. In a way, I kind of feel like this was a labor of love for them, since they usually take on properties like Ghost in the Shell: SAC or work-for-hire stuff like Drakengard.

The IGN review is the one that has me the most annoyed, as it's clear that the reviewer either didn't understand how to play the game or didn't actually play it. He refers to casting spells as "unwieldy and frustrating", but his description is only even semi-accurate for things like Lightning. He describes clipping issues and collision detection problems, but looking over the review, it sounds like he got to the bridge in the first level, kept dying due to the Walnut Head throwing cars at him, and just gave up in frustration.

I'm also convinced that a lot of people are so afraid of being labelled "typical guys" that they'll condemn any game that features a sexy lead female. Virtually the entire first paragraph of that IGN review remarks that "Leggy heroines have long been used to move shoddy games into the hands of unsuspecting teenage boys". I really have a hard time comprehending why a "leggy heroine" is a problem. Would anyone even want to watch an obese woman running around with a huge gun? Flip things around and imagine Kratos from God of War, except instead of a hulking brute of a man, he's a pasty-faced geek with a stupid emo haircut. Yeah, that'd be awesome.

I'll stop babbling, but I wanted to thank Alex for being one of the few dissenting opinions about this game. Maybe my tastes are just weird or they've gotten worse over the years, but it's unfortunate that only a handful of people are saying anything positive about it.

[icycalm]

Cavia may not have made the next <i>Gears of War</i> in terms of how polished the game is, but they also don't have Microsoft throwing money at them to make their game.

Note that Bullet Witch came out several months before Gears of War. So Cavia could not have been trying to make the next Gears of War -- they hadn't even played it back then.

Also, equally important is that there were not nearly as many decent action games on the 360 back in July, when the Japanese version of Bullet Witch came out, as there were when the American version was released earlier this year.

Finally, as you say, if the game had been financed by MS who knows how it would have turned out. Probably fucking awesome.

Would anyone even want to watch an obese woman running around with a huge gun?

I wonder what the IGN guys would have said in that case! I bet they wouldn't have been very happy!

I'll stop babbling, but I wanted to thank Alex for being one of the few dissenting opinions about this game. Maybe my tastes are just weird or they've gotten worse over the years, but it's unfortunate that only a handful of people are saying anything positive about it.

Note that I played the game and reviewed it months before anyone else, so I wasn't really disagreeing with anyone at that point.

As for now... man, I don't even read game reviews anymore -- I couldn't care less what those fuckfaces have to say about anything.

[filterpunk]

Note that Bullet Witch came out several months before Gears of War. So Cavia could not have been trying to make the next Gears of War -- they hadn't even played it back then.

I don't mean in the literal, "omg, we need to make that game!" sort of way. Just about any developer, especially an independent like Cavia, would love to put out a game that sells over a million copies. It's too bad that they couldn't secure a budget like Epic had, though - they've obviously got talented people, but it's pretty clear that they're working with very little money, long hours, and tight deadlines. I doubt they could afford to spare the expense or time to make things look nicer - though imo, it actually looks pretty good.

Also, equally important is that there were not nearly as many decent action games on the 360 back in July, when the Japanese version of Bullet Witch came out, as there were when the American version was released earlier this year.

I've only had mine since Christmas, so I haven't played a whole lot of what's available, but I'm kinda meh on a lot of the action games. As far as what's available right now, the only things really on my radar are Dead Rising and Senko no Ronde. Mass Effect is around the corner, along with a few other goodies, but not much to really get me excited.

I wonder what the IGN guys would have said in that case! I bet they wouldn't have been very happy!

Oh man, can you imagine? It's such a catch-22 for the developer. If the character is a sexy female, it's a lure to attract teenage boys (funny, I'm 26...) and if it's an obese or "normal" woman, they're either mocking fat people or the character designs are bland.

Note that I played the game and reviewed it months before anyone else, so I wasn't really disagreeing with anyone at that point.

As for now... man, I don't even read game reviews anymore -- I couldn't care less what those fuckfaces have to say about anything.

Maybe not, but it certainly turned out that way. I still read those sites once in awhile, but I try to take them with a grain of salt. Blindly trusting them is usually a good way to wind up with shitty or overrated games - i.e. picking up Shadow of Rome based on the GameSpot review and finding out that instead of the constant gladiatorial violence described, it's about 5 minutes of fighting and 3+ hours of poorly designed stealth missions featuring a little kid who can only take a single hit.

Then again, I also hate Halo 2, Metroid Prime, and GTA3, all of which are routinely held up as examples of perfect, amazing games.

[MAXCHAIN]

I also hate Halo 2, Metroid Prime, and GTA3, all of which are routinely held up as examples of perfect, amazing games.

I don't necessarily hate all of those, but they ARE host to many design flaws, lots of filler, and are generally bland. As far as I'm concerned this is true of about 98% of console titles considered "perfect".

Dead Rising and Senko no Ronde...

I seriously recommend Senko no Ronde. Great versus shooter.

As for now... man, I don't even read game reviews anymore -- I couldn't care less what those fuckfaces have to say about anything

After two reviews I've read (fairly) recently, I'll have to agree. Seriously, Senko no Ronde, 4/10? Fuck that. That's just a clear indication that they didn't even try to understand the game.

EDIT: icy, I know what you mean about From Software. I've always enjoyed Spike's Way of the Samurai titles; they're open, have a rewarding battle system, and lots of things to do, but always suffer from really basic issues that should have been easy to fix up. This, to me, is what hampers a lot of really original games from becoming excellent. Instead they are simply "a lot of fun" (Here's hoping for Way of the Samurai 3 :)

[earthboundtrev]

Bullet Witch heads to PC on April 25
http://nichegamer.com/2018/04/11/bullet ... -april-25/

XSEED Games has announced they’re porting Bullet Witch to Windows PC.

Developed by Cavia, the dark-fantasy and western-military themed action game will launch for PC via Steam and the Humble Store on April 25th.

During launch week, the game will have a 10% discount, otherwise its regular selling price is $14.99/€14.99/£12.99.