Bayonetta
Which herb is your favourite?
A sexy British female protagonist, wearing tight-fitting garb, in a third-person action game? It isn't what you think. Rather, this is Bayonetta, the second game due out from Clover spin-offs PlatinumGames, now firmly ensconced at Sega. This is the latest title from Hideki Kamiya - who is on hand to take us through parts of this outlandish and action-packed adventure.
Playing as a long-legged, leather-clad witch (the titular Bayonetta, who sports guns strapped to her limbs), players are going to be drawing upon all manner of combat disciplines and weapons as they romp across a number of landscapes, from the predictable Devil May Cry-esque gothic castles to more hellish, apocalyptic stages, in which the gameplay will 'switch up' to match the setting.
While this game is clearly about flows of combat and movement at it's core, Kamiya-san is very keen to imbue the experience with meaning beyond just a fighting frenzy, so we'll be presented with an involving plotline that will be told via in-game sequences and flashbacks. If you think this looks good, some of the set piece action in the game also looks impressive, PlatinumGames delivering some epic environments, that come to life through some lovely visuals effects.
Who says Japanese developers can't make game engines? Indeed, the scale amid which some of the combat evolves is dazzling - whole buildings literally being torn apart at times. This is over-the-top, third-person combat taken as far as it can go, and while Bayonetta doesn't look to shake up the conventions of the genre, there is a sense of everything being polished and expanded.
While story will play a part in making the combat seem worthwhile, shooting and fighting will be the most important part of the experience. As such, Kamiya and his team are working hard to offer up a vast range of weapons - including unusual Angel Weapons, which add another twist to the fun. As previously hinted, some muscular weaponry combined with vast bosses should see the game world being appropriately demolished; although there will be some exploration just to control the game's pacing.
Indeed, pacing could be one of the most important elements of the experience, the designers working hard to control this element, and portray a sense of 'climax' as players move through the world. This will see plot and action combining to create ever-building tension; the experience becoming harder and more intense as you work towards the story's conclusion.
Gigantic and quite original looking bosses will play a part in keeping things fresh, and if these beasts can be drawn together with the gameplay in a convincing plot-driven manner then Kamiya could have a hit on his hands, assuming the story isn't utterly absurd.
As our demonstration nears its conclusion we're whisked off to another part of the game, leaping forward in time, to show off one of the more apocalyptic levels players will be tasked with completing. During this section our dark heroine can fly and even walk on walls as violent, over-the-top foes fall by the wayside in spades. Flames lick and Bayonetta will use her magic hair and arm and leg-mounted guns to deal with enemies in as violent and swift a manner as possible.
With Bayonetta's four guns called parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme (Kamiya is a fan of folk music), and a mysterious male lead called Luka on the scene, we're hoping that PlatinumGames have added enough depth and characterisation to the game to see off other third-person shooters - off which there will be myriad this year.
The game's designer is clearly confident, and with Okami and Devil May Cry behind him perhaps he has every right to be. We'll find out more as a release on the PS3 and Xbox 360 looms later this year.
Comments
nice review :) looking forward to buying it