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Not as bad as you thinkThe subtitle of this review might be misleading given the score you see below. There's a good reason for that though. Catwoman is one of those games that has some really incredible ideas behind it but just completely falls apart in its execution. It also suffers from being attached to a movie that has completely bombed out at the box office. If the game were done based on the comic book version of Catwoman, most folks would probably be able to see the smart ideas hidden in this game. But with a box office dud clouding your vision, it's almost impossible to see the good here. That's too bad because some of the gameplay should be expanded upon and done correctly. Catwoman follows the story of the movie. Woman finds out about secret bad stuff, she "dies" and is brought back with nine lives and cat-like powers by magic cat. Then she sets out to use these powers for both good and bad, kind of like your cat who will knock over the flowers one moment and then curl up in your lap purring like a kitten the next. There's nothing overly ambitious in the plot and it's essentially the same as the comic version of Catwoman which was retold differently on the screen in Batman Returns too. It's fine for videogame fodder and allows the game to visit lots of different locations during play. The game is based around two major game styles. The first is a beat 'em up style where you take on various thugs in glorious three dee environments, most of which look great. This is where that inspiration comes into play. Using dual analog sticks (for the love of God don't even try to play using the keyboard), you can both move and attack in different directions at the same time. The left stick controls Catwoman's movement while the right controls attacks. Simply push the way you want to strike (kick while crouched, whip while standing) and out comes the attack. This would seemingly allow you to take on whole rooms full of bad guys at one time. The designers saw fit to only throw about one to three bad guys at you at a time though so the system is completely underutilized. It's a total bummer because it's a great design. That's one vote for "Make another game with this engine!"  The second game style is run and jump action platform gameplay that features wall crawling and some amazingly fun swinging from pole to pole. This is where the excellence and fluidity in the game's animation really shines through. Catwoman though, as you've probably guessed, is an exercise in polar opposites when design meets actual implementation. For some inexplicable reason, the way these swinging levels are designed features numerous ways for you to plummet from five or more stories up. This forces you to navigate through tricky jumping and swinging stages multiple times before finally reaching a checkpoint. There are moments of absolute madness so steer far clear of this game if you're the type to throw controllers. You could go broke from smashing them because these areas are so undeniably frustrating. Like all Electronic Arts games, this one has a polished presentation. Menus, graphics, music, sound effects and even voice acting are all good to great. The game's cutscenes are rendered using the game engine and once again the animation is superb here. Clearly the animation team deilvers and are backed up by mature presentation of the game's plot. Catwoman's swaying hips are mesmerizing and match Catwoman actress Halle Berry's moves exactly. But all the polish in the world can't save a game that frustrates like this one. The game feels completely undercooked and unfinished. It's also got a couple dumb bugs including one that causes a boss fight to be replayed because the boss is down but the game somehow doesn't register it. Catwoman could have been a contender. The ideas are here and the combat system especially demands expansion and another go round. But when a game becomes this frustrating due to control and just poor level design, there's no way to recommend it to anyone. Kid Factor: Some bad language in the cutscenes may surprise you in Catwoman. The cutscenes also play out very movie-like placing this game directly in the Teen category of rating that it received. There's only a little blood in a jarring scene near the end and often guys will fall from massive heights only to be revealed as "ok" in a quick cutscene, sort of like G.I. Joe cartoons from years ago. Junior will undoubtedly be riveted to Catwoman's rear as she walks around. The game definitely does "sexy" without going overboard which is nice to see. If you let the kids go to the movie, the game is probably ok. Reviewer Recommended Ages: 14+ Genre: Platform/Action/Fighting ESRB Rating: T-Teen Publisher: Electronic Arts Developer: Argonaut Software 
Some bad language in the cutscenes may surprise you in Catwoman. The cutscenes also play out very movie-like placing this game directly in the Teen category of rating that it received. There's only a little blood in a jarring scene near the end and often guys will fall from massive heights only to be revealed as "ok" in a quick cutscene, sort of like G.I. Joe cartoons from years ago. Junior will undoubtedly be riveted to Catwoman's rear as she walks around. The game definitely does "sexy" without going overboard which is nice to see. If you let the kids go to the movie, the game is probably ok.
Kid Factor by Dave Long
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