Bayonetta

Bayonetta Updated Impressions:

When we last saw Bayonetta, the titular demon witch with the killer hairstyle was being played on the E3 show floor. PlatinumGames' Hideki Kamiya had a brand new demo in store for us at GamesCom 2009.

What's New:Before we got to see Bayonetta in action again, we were presented with a lengthy new cutscene that answered some questions but asked many more. From what we know, Bayonetta had been sleeping for 500 years and was suddenly awoken in order to battle for forces of good. We're introduced to a new character, Luka, a debonair human who briefly met Bayonetta as a kid and has grown into a man and possible love interest for the seemingly ageless witch. Unfortunately for him, Luka and Bayonetta both exist in different dimensions, and while he can smell and hear her, he can't reach out and touch the alluring witch. Some of the cutscenes we saw used the in-game engine, while others were prerendered and had a cinematic look complete with sepia and film roll effects.  

 What's Different:  While Bayonetta usually equips pistols on her ankles, this time around she was sporting two rocket launchers attached to her lower legs. While slow, the rockets pack a hell of a punch and can take out certain enemies with just a single round. You can also perform an ultracool handstand move where she fires both rockets at once. From what we saw, it looks like you can also lift any weapons your victims leave behind, as well as objects. At one point, we saw Bayonetta raise a car and effortlessly fling it at an enemy.

The demo ended with Bayonetta, doing battle with a monstrously large angel in midair. The menacing celestial being had a huge, faced tongue (think Aliens) and spiked tendrils. After attacking the tongue for a moment, Bayonetta was able to run up to the head and cut off the tongue in a satisfyingly bloody and brutal animation--something we've come to expect from this promising gorefest.

What's the Same: We got a chance to play the same demo that we first saw at E3 2008 and got hands-on with at E3 2009. We also saw some more witch time moments, a slow-mo mode executed by dodging attacks at the right time. From what we can tell, the ability looks like it will play an important part in the fast-paced combat.

What Impression the Game Made: Bayonetta is looking great and seems to manage making ultraviolent action both rewarding and humorous. The game packs plenty of action, drama, and sass together, and while we haven't seen a lot of the story, the combat looks and feels both intuitive and fun. We look forward to getting more time with Bayonetta before its launch in early 2010.

Features

• Groundbreaking Gameplay — Bayonetta, the game, is all about action. From the controls to the finishing moves, Bayonetta is positioned to be about pure action gameplay
• Hair: Her hair serves as the basis of her costume and also her attacks and powers. These manifest in different ways: Wicked Weave attacks, Torture Attacks, and Climax Attacks
• Upgradeable weapons -In addition to her four enchanted guns called Scarborough Fair, she can unlock an array of weapons from shotguns, bazookas and fiery claws
• Enemy weapons - Bayonetta can also battle with a variety of other weapons retrieved from fallen enemies
• Beast Within - Bayonetta calls upon primal forces, transforming into various beasts (Panthers, etc.) according to the situation

Bayonetta Progress Report

Well, Bayonetta is officially our new favourite videogame character ever. Yes, she beats out Snake, Lara, Faust, Waluigi or anyone else you care to mention. Importantly, she's even cooler than Dante, who has long been the poster child for devil may care action heroes. The things that man can do with a gun and some airborne billiard balls. 

This party's getting crazy - let's rock, indeed.

So. Bayonetta. Why is she the new saviour of action gaming? Because she has the playfulness and versatility of Dante, but wrapped up in some of the most visually inventive combat we've seen in a long while. That and the fact that she's close to naked about half the time. (More on that in a sec.) It certainly bears the hallmarks of the game's director Hideki Kamiya, who was also director on the original Devil May Cry (not to mention Resident Evil, Viewtiful Joe and Okami). That alone suggests good things a'brewing... and it all comes together when you see it in motion. 

Stiletto guns. Highly practical.

As mentioned, this is a wildly inventive action game. Bayonetta is hugely versatile, with weapons secreted about her entire body - she has two guns strapped to her boots, but can also dual wield in her hands, or switch to a sword. Lightning fast melee attacks chain into weapon attacks, which chain into hair attacks. Yes, hair attacks. As you've probably heard, Bayonetta utilises her long black locks as a weapon. Numerous combos end with portals opening in the air, through which huge demonic fists or boots wreathed in hair punch or stomp through. The hair really comes into its own during the boss battles too. At the end of the first stage we were shown (which was a more polished version of the stage demoed at last year's E3), the hulking, cherub-faced boss is devoured in the gaping maw of a massive dragon, constructed entirely of shimmering, swirling strands of black hair.

Hair today, devoured tomorrow.

All of which brings us to the aforementioned nakedness. Bayonetta's very outfit, you see, is composed of hair, so when she's using a lot of it to attack, it leeches off her body, leaving her almost completely bare. We're still undecided whether this is the stupidest thing we've ever seen, or the coolest. Probably somewhere in between. The game certainly doesn't shy away from her sexuality - the enemy she's currently targeting, for instance, is highlighted with a pair of bright red lips on its chest.

I believe this move is known as 'The Brazilian'. (Alternate caption if you want one "Punch Giant Robo, punch!")

So who is this Bayonetta lady, anyway? Well, apparently she's a witch and the last of an ancient clan. She finds herself in the modern day, with no memory of her childhood, and travels to the fictional European city Vigrid in search of her past. This - as is always the way - seems to revolve around finding a blue gem that goes with the red one she currently wears. You get the idea. All you really need to know is this is a balls-out action game set amongst glorious European architecture, against 'The Lumen Sage' - evil angels and monstrous demonic guardians.

Baked to perfection in the coven.

Yes, evil angels. Many of the enemies you come up against literally have wings on their backs and halos hovering above their heads (which you collect and use to buy new weapons and upgrades). They'd kill you as soon as look at you, however, so you shouldn't feel too bad about thrashing them to the point where they literally explode in a shower of gore. Your cloven-hoofed enemies wield a number of weapons, including spiked metal balls on chains, huge bugles that also seem to double as muskets and staffs with razor-sharp metal arrays atop. Adding to her already formidable ability set, Bayonetta can wield these weapons herself, resulting in some pretty sweet moves. She can plant the staff, for instance, then spin around it like it's a stripper pole, firing her stiletto guns in all directions.

Dan Brown must be rolling in his grave.

The controls seem pretty straightforward, with the ability to shoot, kick, punch, jump and dodge. There are a stack of combos, with the hair attacks often being the final blow. Launch into a flurry of punches, for instance, and it will chain into a portal punch, where a giant demonic fist hurtles out of a portal above the enemy, punching it into the ground. Another special move sees Bayonetta pose upside down, firing off the guns strapped to her stilettos, with the player controlling the direction of fire. Dodging is important too, as successfully evading an enemy attack at the last second sends Bayonetta into 'Witch Time', aka bullet-time.

There are also a number of cinematic kills in the game, which are executed with a simple button press when prompted. One might see a guillotine appear, with Bayonetta repeatedly kicking the enemy in the ass until he falls into it and is decapitated. (Shades of God Hand!) Another sees an enemy smashed to bits in an iron maiden, while a third has Bayonetta hook a chain around an angel's neck in mid-air, then yank it back to shower the area with gibs. We'd have liked a little more control over these moves, but they're cool nonetheless. Perhaps the biggest potential weakness in the combat, however, is the lack of manual lock-on. The auto system seems to do a decent job, however, so we'll reserve judgment until we go hands-on (which should be soon). 

'Guillotine', it's French for 'a whale's vagina'.

As you can see from the screens, this is an absolutely stunning-looking game. One moment you're running along a vaulted and somewhat ecclesiastical mosaic-tiled corridor, the light streaming in from the tall windows along one side, the next you're walking the paths of a verdant tree-lined garden, a bubbling fountain its centrepiece. There are numerous visual flourishes to enjoy too: the fact that you knock off the aforementioned cherub boss' armour and even start to expose the muscle beneath his skin; the animalistic qualities of Bayonetta – her butterfly wings after double jumping, the hair dragon; the level of detail on Bayonetta's model, right down to the mole on her chin, the patterns on her outfit and the red and black motif in her attacks. 

The 'Beloved', a cherubic boss with a shining red weak spot on his back. There's always a weak spot.

Yes, this game is nothing short of vivid, and almost explodes out of the screen at times. Perhaps the best example of the kind of spectacle Bayonetta is trying to achieve, in fact, is the other level Sega demoed (which is apparently the game's opening sequence). In it, Bayonetta fights alongside another woman - at this point we don't know who she is - on the face of a destroyed clock tower as it falls off a cliff. It's falling high above an ominous planet's dark surface with a huge moon hanging in the sky. After battling angels and a flying centipede/dragon creature, the protagonists leap across chunks of falling debris to another large piece, where a double-headed dragon sweeps into view and spins its body, lashing its wings at the fighters. It then belches up twin fireballs at our heroines, before landing on the falling stone structure, its talons the size of a large car. The whole sequence is nothing short of spectacular. Of course, whether this particular section is playable, in amongst the insanity, remains to be seen, but as an opening it's undeniably bold, and as long as these kinds of cinematic excesses are balanced by more grounded sections - which we have every confidence they will be, Bayonetta is going to be one of the best action games of 2009. 

The four worlds formed again, and yet again, as endless aeons wheeled and passed.

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