I had no idea what Nier was when I first read Square Enix's E3 2009 lineup. Now I know a few things about it thanks to this teaser video. Well, three things actually, and the most notable is that it definitely seems to owe quite a bit to God of War. Check it out after the jump.

The moment we saw Bullet Witch Alicia, we immediately fell in love with her. Some have commented that she is a rather weak witch, with just a handful of magic spells, but she really is beautiful.

With that said, we are happy to announce that the game has finally shipped to retailers across North America.

We know we've already discussed the different features of the Bullet Witch before, but we'll outline a few details for the benefit of newcomers. The game takes place in the year 2013. Humankind is on the brink of extinction, and demons are creating havoc everywhere. The last hope rests with Alicia and her magical skills, not to mention her swift trigger finger.

It's understandable that Atari Product Manager Jeremiah Cohn is quite excited:

Cavia has designed a game that offers all the successful elements of a next-gen title including sophisticated weaponry, destructible environments, downloadable bonus content coupled with a captivating storyline that bring gamers an extremely intense and exciting game.

Bullet Witch is rated M and can be purchased for a suggested retail price of US$ 49.99. Details about a post-launch downloadable content at the Marketplace should be expected shortly.

If you're one of the people who have been smitten with the charms of Bullet Witch's heroine, Alicia, take heart as she's set to grace your Xbox 360 soon. Fans won't be disappointed as Atari has just announced that the title has gone gold, and it's bound to be released on February 27. And everything is going as scheduled.

Developed by Japan-based game developer">Cavia Inc., this action game is set in the year 2013 when the world has just suffered major natural disasters, and to top it all off is an invading force of demons. In comes Alicia, gun-ablazing (yes, "gun", as in singular) and her quest to rid the world of the forces of evil.

Though some may complain that the game is old (it HAS been out in Japan since July 2006), you gotta admit that it's hard to resist a pretty girl with a weapon that transforms into various types of firearms.

Atari's American release for Bullet Witch is just around the corner - February 27, to be exact. We know some of you may have gotten the Japanese version that was released last year, but you do know that a lot of things have been tweaked, right? Especially with regards to the physics engine. That's why a lot of people are expecting so much for the NA release.

Discussing more about the changes, tweaks, and differences between the Western and Japanese version, U.S. Product Manager Jeremiah Cohn and Producer Matt Rush were interviewed by Siliconera. Here are a couple of odds-and-ends from that interview:

• Alicia Claus is voiced by Sarah Natochenny (that's Ash's voice in latest "Pokemon: Battle Frontier" TV animation series)
• Downloadable content will feature not only the schoolgirl outfit that everyone's been waiting for, but also that of the White Witch, the Mummy, and the Secretary costumes
• Ten minutes of playing the game can have Alicia wreaking havoc on entire city blocks (yeah, city blocks, plural) with just a single spell
• Cavia (the developer) was able to touch up the AI, camera angles, lighting, textures, and, of course, overall gameplay
  

Check out the full interview behind the "Read" link.

There has to be something either exotic or dreamy about nice girls named Alicia. So it is with Atari's Bullet Witch's equally exotic Alicia Claus. The devs at Cavia, inc. sure did hit on a nice name for her, and they did justice to that name by drawing her so impeccably... pretty (she did earn a nod from a certain magazine).

They even had Alicia model costumes aside from that trademark black... leather? Not in CGI or gameplay, but in a series of character model studies Cavia artists conducted to study the Alicia look, which they posted up in their blog a short while ago. At some points it does go from dark-arcanic to fairy-whimsical, but again, that's the allure of being a model for you. Hey, an Alicia in any other costume still looks sweet.

And in celebration of the holidays, the artists also had Alicia up as one of Santa's little elves. "With being the case that it is said, everyone who is Merry Christmas!" (blame Google Translate for that quote). Wait - her last name is Claus, right?

See the other faces of Alicia after the Jump!

The year: 2013.
The problem: humans at the brink of extinction.
The cause: aliens from planet Sera demons.
The salvation: Alicia the gun-wielding witch.

You guys might keep an eye on next year's shooter Bullet Witch. With an interesting story line and characters served in the cauldron, the game is peppered by monsters that were inspired by American horror and Japanese folk monsters. Kind of like, say, "Underworld" meets Silent Hill meets "The Grudge" meets DOAX2.

The 360's physics engine will allow you to cause some environmental damage with Alicia's Gun-Rod - yeah, that staff-like rifle she has. It's imbued with magical powers that can cause some pretty hefty damage, alright. Atari is even promising to spread the love by giving fans downloadable content like costumes and extra levels.

Now for some eye candy, click below and check up on some screens!

Warning: None of the nine spells of Alicia in Bullet Witch starts with Bibidi-babidi-boo and they do more than turn pumpkins into carriages! In fact, Atari wants to make it clear the upcoming neo-apocalyptic action game for Xbox 360 carries a mature rating for violence not to mention Alicia's risque attire.

Developed by Cavia, Bullet Witch tales place on earth in the year 2013. That's seven years from now. In Bullet Witch, however, humans are on the brink of extinction as demons surface and create a tidal wave of destruction and havoc. Only Alicia can save mankind now and her arsenal of weapons include these magic spells:

Elemental Shot
Adds elemental effects to each version of the gun-rod, choose from a few basic elements. Infuse Alicia's gun with fire and torch enemies and call upon wind to disable and blow them away.

Ancient Wall
Summon a primeval wall that temporarily protects Alicia from ensuing attacks.

Rose Spear
With a poignant flare that characterizes Alicia's style, pitch roses and wherever petals fall, spears appear to impale enemies.

Will Power
Classic telekinesis is called upon to control inanimate objects and use them as projectile weapons.

Sacrifice
To heal others, Alicia must sacrifice herself and her own powers. Conjure the energy of life, literally giving blood, to repair and restore life to allies.

Raven Panic
Call upon a murder of ravens to aggressively assault and distract enemies.

Lightning
Control powerful thunder and lightning to accurately strike down enemies and cause massive destruction.

Tornado
Summon the force of a tornado to bring wreckage and ruin to the environment and enemies.

Meteor Shower
Conjure fiery balls of destruction from the angry skies to demolish everything in her path.

Have you ever had sleepless nights wondering what kind of havoc the lovely witch - Alicia of Bullet Witch - can do armed with her fierce gun-rod and magic spells? Marvelous things we tell you.

Associate Producer Matt Rush of Atari has commented that Cavia is now fine-tuning the game for American audiences and plans to add more features compared to the recent Japanese release - like new spells and levels supplements for the initial game plus new costumes as downloadable content through Xbox Live. There will also be four versions of her mighty gun-rod - machine gun, gatling gun, shotgun and cannon - that can be unlocked throughout the game.

It's not only added gun power that's going to receive some upgrades, but her magical powers as well. Players can use her 'Will Power' spell to push vehicles on the street for a short distances, and eventually lift trucks and throw it at enemies. Regeneration and momentary invincibility to enemy hits are also possible. Additional spells that can be seen in the video are manifesting a protective wall, calling forth a meteor shower, thunderstorm and a cloud of crows to attack enemies.

Get ready to be bewitched. And no, no nose twitching here.

Download: [Bullet Witch (5 Minutes)]

The neo-apocalyptic action game Bullet Witch by AQ Interactive has found itself a a worthy publisher in Atari - one of the more popular third-party video game publishers. Their collaborative efforts on Bullet Witch signifies the beginning of an on-going co-publishing relationship between Atari and AQ Interactive.

"We are excited about starting our relationship with Atari with this project. We have great respect for Atari's expertise in publishing video games with their splendid brand name. Bullet Witch is the first original title developed by our group development studio, Cavia. It is our great pleasure to see this title as part of Atari's stunning product portfolio," said AQ Interactive VP Naohiko Hoshino. Nique Fajors, Vice President of Atari's Sales and Marketing, also has nothing but good words to say on this very unique offering by AQ Interactive, saying that they are looking forward to working with them on Bullet Witch.

Through Xbox Live online entertainment network, Atari, Inc. will provide fans with downloadable Bullet Witch content post-launch such as character costumes and extra levels.

Bullet Witch is set on a calamity stricken planet earth in the year 2013. Humans are on the brink of extinction and their fate rests upon a witch blessed with magical skills and a swift trigger finger named Alicia. Who by the way, does all the shooting in mighty high heels. Check out the hot-off-the-press screens below:

Cavia and AQI are at it again with this recent batch of 20 screenshots from their upcoming title Bullet Witch. Considering this title is going to be released in Japan in only two days, their recent media crusade is understandable. Taking place in the year 2013, players will take control of the heroic witch named Alicia that needs to save civilization from the brink of extinction.