Pussy Galore: Paws-on with Catwoman

Well, unless you've been out on the tiles all Winter you'll know that Batman's favourite feline nemesis Catwoman is about to get her very own movie this Summer starring the delectable Halle Berry.

Of course as day follows night, game follows movie, so it wasn't really surprising to find preview code gently rubbing up against our leg this morning, as somehow snuck its way in through the cat flap.

The game itself opens with a spanking intro movie which sees our eponymous heroine gliding and somersaulting across the city rooftops, where she spots a gang of armed robbers turning over a jewellery store. Not adverse to a bit of Tom herself, Catwoman's soon in amongst the thieves and making her own bid for a rather classy bit of smutter.

Suddenly the intro movie cuts out and there you are in all your feline PVC-clad glory; and you have to say from the off, that Catwoman's graphics are certainly as sleek and feline as its heroine. Mind you, when you've got Halle Berry's curvaceous form to base your character model on, it can't exactly be a struggle to turn up for work every day.

However, the game engine is remarkably decent in its own right and is full of excellent, slick animation. Hit crouch and Catwoman suddenly slinks into a feline squat, ideal for running and sudden evasive manoeuvres.

Whilst crouched, you can deliver cool combat moves, plus there's a array of stunning drop and roundhouse kicks you can perform. Used as a combo they're highly devastating and soon have you running rings around the villains. You'll also soon discover that Catwoman in standing mode is well capable of delivering a fair crack of the whip as well (boom-boom).

So once the villains are taken care of, Catwoman grabs her prize, which happens to be the rather gorgeous necklace which forms the 'O' in the game's logo. What this means for the story we don't know, but all this activity hasn't gone unnoticed and as the sound of sirens draws ever closer, the game dissolves into a cut-scene as Catwoman's police nemesis, Inspector Malone, demands her surrender.

Of course there's not a, ahem, cat's chance in hell of that and Catwoman makes her escape through the back of the store and into the narrow alleyways and tall buildings beyond.

This section of the game is used to introduce the stunning gymnastic moves which our heroine can perform. Drop into crouch mode and run at a wall and Catwoman will use her diamond claws and heels to sprint clean up it, leaving deep traces in the surface if she doesn't quite make it.

Catwoman can also perform Ninja Gaiden-style wall bounces, climbing hundreds of feet in several rather pert bounds. Chainlink fences are similarly no problem for our heroine, but the schwing-ing somersault sequences are truly spectacular, although you have to time your button presses carefully.

Obviously the police never had a chance and as Catwoman makes it to the rooftops again, she brings down a huge animated sign right on their heads with a rather tasty whip move.

Splendid, and once you've finished this opening sequence, the game breaks down your performance with ratings like Scene Objectives, Combat Bonuses and Bling Fragments (Catty is quite fond of the sparkling stuff remember).

Surprisingly this opens up a nice little RPG sequence as these bling fragments can be traded for extra abilities like Disarm with Whip, Neck Whip and the rather controversial Pose, where you can distract villains with your rather saucy curves. Once that's safely negotiated it's time to enjoy another extended cut scene which details Catwoman's origins and how you came to become a leather-clad pussy in the first place.

But we're going to pause there because: a) we don't to give too much away; and b) time is running short and we want another crack at the game.

On initial viewing at least, Catwoman certainly seems to buck the usual 'movie makes awful game' trend. The graphics are certainly lovely, the animation's smooth and it's certainly not hard work watching a virtual Halle Berry run around in a ripped leather cat suit.

If we've any reservations about Catwoman, they're probably to do with the camera system, which switches between fixed viewpoints rather than giving you a free floating view to control. It's not that it's bad as such, but it's just different and does take some getting used to, occasionally lagging behind the action.

Apart from that Catwoman, like Ms Berry herself, seems absolutely delectable and we're looking forward to house training her in earnest when the game gets a simultaneous release with the movie in just under one short month's time.

John Houlihan