Blade Kitten hands-on preview

Downloadable action adventure Blade Kitten puts you in control of the oh-so cute Kit, a female bounty hunter (hmm…sounds familiar) who’s half cat, half hot chick. She also happens to be the last of the Darques, an ancient race of feline folk lost to mass genocide. But rather than getting all wasted on rum-spiked milk and wallowing in misery at her lonely existence, Kit instead makes a living rounding up bounties and discovering all the secrets held within the planet of Hollow Wish, a locale with no need for law and order.

Kit’s main weapon of choice is the nifty Darque Blade, a medium-sized sword that floats in midair and stays by her side at all times. It can be used for close range swipes or sent swooping out for longer-range striking. If you’re feeling a tad more brutish, you can use the Darque Blade as a spear and bring your enemies right to you, in a definite nod to Scorpion of Mortal Kombat fame. Kit’s Darque Blade has its defensive qualities as well; when the player holds down  the attack button, the blade will emit a protective bubble to keep Kit from harm. The Darque Blade does have a limited well of energy, but it recharges itself after much use and Kit’s life bar handles itself in the same manner.

Blade Kitten’s gameplay is best described as your typical side scrolling beat em up with a touch of open world exploration added for good measure. The lithe, free running Kit is able to jump, hang and climb through Hollow Wish’s huge levels. She’s also capable of jumping and balancing herself on poles without a problem. Kit also brings back a recognizable platformer move in the form of a diagonal slide and a fast sprint for more harrowing situations - such as a set of moving blocks that are timed to smash together just so, crushing your pink-haired frame into nothingness.

Blade Kitten’s cast is also fully voiced and its visual style may be very endearing to anime heads. In fact, its cel shaded graphics are bright and colorful enough to even catch the attention of casual players. And its 19 levels (including three in which Kit rides on the back of her flying alien pet, Noot) are set to deliver a lenghty amount of gameplay thanks to their surprisingly large size.

The game’s only drawback might be its repetitive gameplay. Old school or not, gamers might grow tired of hacking and slashing enemies and collecting the currency they drop as the game rolls along. But there's still plenty of time before the game hits PSN, XBLA and PC in Spring 2011, so Developer Krome Studios could easily add additional types of gameplay to the current bits already present in the game. If they do, this kitty has a fair shot at being one of the first must-play downloadable games of next year.

[Editor's note: Take a good look at the author's name on this piece. It's Elton Jones, the winner of GamesRadar's Sims 3 Intern for a Day Contest! Congratulations, Elton! He's had a great time today too, haven't you Elton? Hey, HEY! Since when does me asking you a question mean you can stop washing my car? Do you WANT to go back in the box?]

Sep 18, 2010