Where some key third party Japanese developers stayed away from the original Xbox hardware, it looks like Microsoft's persistence in getting them to create more Xbox 360 titles is paying off nicely. US gamers have already seen a number of high quality imports on the console thus far, and 2007 looks set to bring an even more diverse assortment. Granted, not every game is going to be perfect, but clear thinking gamers who appreciate the hard work that goes into making games will find something to like in almost everything they play. Atari's new action game Bullet Witch is one of those games that is a blast to play just to see what its developer has done in terms of their debut on the system. Although it's not as polished as it could be, the impressive physics, destructible environments and a boss battle or two make up for any technical woes. While gameplay leans heavily toward the arcade side, some challenging areas really get the adrenaline pumping. With only six stages, however, the end comes a bit too quickly. On the other hand, the promise of additional content makes for a decent enough recommendation for open-minded players.

The opening cinematic briefly details a series of catastrophes that leaves the Earth minus three quarters of its population and stuck with a demon army that needs to be eradicated. As Alicia, the black-leather clad Bullet Witch, your job is to ventilate as many demons as possible with extreme prejudice. Packing regenerating health, magic spells and an intricately detailed modular weapon called a Gunrod; you deal out death (and dour looks) to all comers in six stages that vary in length and difficulty. If you feel the need for comparisons, think Bloodrayne meets Gungrave on your 360 and, like it or not, it's hard to say no to a lady with a big gun. That Gunrod may look like a tricked out broomstick, but the only flying you do is atop a jumbo jet at 10,000 feet… or when you get smacked upside the head with a car or two!

The controls are easy to pick up, although the magic system feels a bit unwieldy at first. You move Alicia with the right stick and the camera angle with the left, the right trigger fires the Gunrod and the left with a directional move does a stylish leap out of harm's way. Reloading is performed with the X button, costing different amounts of magic points depending on the Gunrod's form. The rather large size of the Gunrod has Alicia's body off center and slightly to the left of the screen, 'shooting from the hip' as it were, and you can enable a closer viewpoint that allows you to get a bead on enemies faster than in the standard view. You can also crouch, allowing for a lower profile and better targeting, but movement is restricted significantly in this position.

At the end of each stage you're awarded Skill points that can be spent on acquiring or upgrading new Gunrod forms, powering up spells, or improving health and magic point regeneration. There are four Gunrod forms in total - a machinegun, shotgun, cannon and Gatling gun, each with three levels of power. In terms of leveling up, each player will have his or her way of upgrading. Nevertheless, you'll want to try out all the Gunrod forms just to see the different Element Shot effects. One interesting thing is that Gunrod bullets can't hurt humans, so you can blast right through them to hit any demons that are attacking them. Of course, some may see this as a cheap way of not programming AI routines for all the characters, but if you're around some of the weaker humans you'll sometimes see them trip and fall when running away.

As for magic use, the left and right bumpers cycle through a set of three magic rings that appear onscreen each time you press a bumper. The game doesn't pause while you're choosing a spell, so you can continue to shoot enemies while you quickly decide what to use. In addition to a magic wall and telekinesis spell, you can call a flock of ravens to swarm enemies, distracting them so you can shoot them. You can also toss rose petals that land on the ground, turning into spears that impale demons before setting them aflame. As mentioned above, Element Shots are available for the four Gunrod forms, but you'll need to go through the game (or exploit the save system) a few times to see the more powerful shots. You also get three Elemental spells as the game progresses - Lightning, Tornado and Meteor - with each one dealing out incredible damage that can uproot trees and bring down buildings.

Despite the post-apocalyptic setting, the game feels a tiny bit like a western at first, thanks to the constant gunplay and rustic color palette that bathes everything in a warm reddish tone. Even though there's a city in the distance, I half expected tumbleweeds to bounce across the screen as I was blowing a cackling Geist off the suburban porch he was shooting from. Amusingly enough, there's even a small graveyard dotted with makeshift wooden crosses in the first stage, complete with a pack of enemies shooting at some poor townspeople. I half expected one of the soldiers to yell "Dance!" before I sent them back to where they came from. Of course, this isn't the Old West, what with icky-looking demons packing some serious firepower with tanks and helicopters at their disposal. Bullet therapy is the main way of dealing with these clowns, but don't neglect your magic one bit.

While the run and gun works fine, you'll soon find that spell usage really makes the game fun to play. Sure, you can run through the first levels blasting Geist after Geist with the Gunrod, but you'd be missing some amazing Aegia Phys-X powered destruction. For example, Willpower + flaming car + gas pumps = big boom. There's even a bit of a rescue element to consider if you like; in some levels you can heal wounded NPCs with a spell that drains a small amount of HP as you spray some of your blood around. You're rewarded for this with some thanks and usually a gift of an apple, loaf of bread or what looks like a yummy chocolate bar. It's a bit quirky, yes, but one shouldn't assign arbitrary rules of reality to any video game, I say. Besides, this game features cigar-chomping, trash-talking demons dropping out of helicopters, as well as floating mutants with humongous brains called Walnut Heads that can toss cars and trucks without lifting a finger.

Granted, you'll probably fumble around with the magic system early on, but once you realize that it's part of the game's style, it's all good. Hell, Cavia has even given you unlimited ammo, provided you have enough magic points to reload your gun. The basic strategy throughout is to shoot enough demons so you have enough MP to cast spells that deal out more damage. If you stick to strictly using magic then you'll be low on MP when you need it most. On the other hand, if you just use your guns you'll be frustrated when overwhelming odds and a sniper or two send you back to that last checkpoint, no matter what mode you're playing in. If you're trying for a 100% survival rating for NPCs then you might want to beat up the ones that for some crazy reason run toward enemies or stand stock still as they're shot up, but given that most of them sound like they'd rather die, it's sort of understandable.

The second stage is modeled slightly on New York City, compressing Times Square, Rockefeller Center and parts of the Financial District into a maze of streets and plenty of Geist troops. Here you meet up with the remnants of the human army, getting a few AI soldiers who are great at being shot by the snipers introduced in the stage. You're guided through the streets by a series of Walnut Head-generated magic gates. Once you're spotted by one, it lifts anything not tied down and tries to flatten you after a few seconds. Generally it's easy to flip out of the way before a bus doings off your poor head, but once in a while smoke or flames from something obscures a big-brained baddie and that's when you get it. To be fair these guys are easily taken down if you're quick (and use Element Shots), ut the same can't be said for those snipers.

If you're more used to action games where you can take a dozen bullets to the dome and bounce back smiling after you seize some health pack spinning in the corner then this one touch of realism might be considered an annoyance. I did appreciate how the game is kind enough to warn about the first sniper and how that fancy dodge move is useless, but seeing that laser sight line up afterward made for some tense moments. Granted, should you be shot in the head by a high-velocity round fired by an obviously trained pro in any game, you should be pushing up daisies. Amusingly, should you get a chance to run up to a sniper, he'll throw up his hands and surrender, allowing you to beat him to pulp or put a few bullets into him. Rocket and machinegun firing tanks don't give up however - and neither do the bosses for that matter.

There are two major boss battles, three if you count the demon army being dropped from multiple choppers at the end of one stage. The best one is Stage 3's (literally) eye-popping fight 10,000 feet in the sky against a huge mutant dragon while you're running around on top of a 747. The beast unleashes huge eyeballs that land on the plane, where they sprout legs and a stinger then proceed to poke holes in the jet. Other eyeballs come zipping at you, doing small amounts of damage as they try to knock you off the plane. That Lightning magic is your friend here, as it's the only way to strike down the boss before he chomps the plane. The battle isn't very tough once you figure out what needs to be done, but on the first try expect to restart if you're not quick on the trigger or with the magic. When you get the other spells, it may not seem like there's a chance to use them much, but you'll be surprised at what you can accomplish with some creative thinking.

In the first three stages (and the last) you're guided through street layouts or magic gates, making them linear. Some areas are sectioned off by loading screens that deposit you in a new map that requires clearing out in order to progress. However, since there are no pickups to collect, things may seem too simplistic to some players. Scouring a stage might only get you thanks or a food item from a survivor, but since part of your ranking depends on how fast you clear a stage, you may find yourself heading straight for the exit. As there are no maps or radar, the majority of stages will take anywhere from 45 minutes to well over an hour to complete, depending on difficulty, but you'll whittle that down somewhat with each play through. Clearing the game on Easy allows you to continue on Normal with your Gunrod and magic skills as they were when you finished, plus you get Achievement Points for going through the game on every difficulty setting.

Cavia's previous games have had impressive cut scenes and a few striking character designs, but this is the first game in which the visuals look nearly as good as their CG work. Sure, there are plenty of current 360 titles that look better, but it's important to see games by different developers as separate creations and not slap some silly 'by today's standards' label on them. Alicia looks good and moves fluidly, with some brief scenes that show off impressive effects when casting spells. The six stages range from the gloomy suburbs to a dense, freak-packed forest, to two different versions of the doomed metropolis from Stage 2. My personal favorite maps are Stage 5's wide-open field with snipers galore and the huge construction site in Stage 4 that's a deathtrap unless it's blown up with a few well-placed shots to a fuel depot. The assorted demons look good and have great death animations, but their AI ranges from crack shot to mentally impaired. This makes for moments when you're cracking up, as you blast fools standing still or running right at you right before tossing the controller at the TV because you were capped by a sniper or some enemies that came up behind you and started shooting.

There's a movie-quality score and some solid sound effects along with a mixture of serious and appropriately campy voice acting. Although he doesn't do much in the game, the leader of the human army, Maxwell Cougar, provides a nice touch of welcome humor to the scenes he appears in with Alicia. Given that there are slots open in the Stage Select menu for new areas, I'm hoping that Max shows up as a playable character down the road, as it would cool to see if he's as tough as he looks. The demon army is a bit too goofy initially, but I've heard that even in the import version they made pretty much the same bad jokes and amusing comments in Japanese whenever a fellow soldier got his. But hey, this isn't a serious game along the lines of a Half-Life 2 and even Gears of War had some intentionally B-movie scripting that gave that game a fun Sci-Fi Channel feel. Besides, the creepy sounds and fast movement of those flame spitting transformed human/Geist hybrids you'll encounter (that look like something out of Silent Hill crossed with John Carpenter's The Thing) make up for any voices you dislike.

While the game is designed to run in HD, it's great that Cavia didn't forget standard TV owners. The game defaults to a letterbox view on a non-HD set, giving it a movie like quality that every next-gen title should have as a standard feature. However, although each area looks great, the game has a problem rendering shadows on most objects; depending on the camera angle you either see smooth shadows that add to the realism or severely jagged, warped shadows that distract from the gameplay. The final stage is a big victim to this issue, which is too bad since otherwise it's fun to play. Most indoor areas and Stage 5 suffer the least, since they take place in semi-darkness or in a misty then foggy expanse that hides the problem. Once you upgrade your skills to deal out maximum damage you'll occasionally see some slowdown and physics gone wrong is spots. After one wow-inducing Level 3 Willpower blast that cleared out an area, tucked away in a corner I saw a barrel suspended in midair near a car raised up on its back wheels as if frozen in time. One shot knocked them back to normal, but this sort of glitch is usually an issue in any game where physics comes into play so extensively.

Bullet Witch is one of those gamer's games that's worth a purchase if you're willing to overlook its flaws. As long as you feel that games of all types absolutely need to be supported on any platform, you'll have a total blast. Given the Skill Points system, Xbox Live scoreboards and upcoming download content (new stages and sexy costumes for Alicia), it's clear that Bullet Witch was made to be played through multiple times. While you can finish it on Easy in about seven to eight hours, you'll get a sweet 99 Achievement Points for logging fifteen hours of playtime. In other words, if you're the type to blow through a game once, pass judgment on it and trade it for store credit a day later, you're not going to get your money's worth here. I'm really hoping Cavia produce a follow up at some point, particularly so they can make improvements to the game engine as well as address any gamers who only own the Core 360 system; those users won't be able to download any of the new content unless Atari makes it available on an Official Xbox Magazine demo disc, or as a separate budget-priced game disc. Whatever their plans are, it'll be interesting to see what the future holds for Alicia Claus.

Reviewed by Greg Wilcox for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).