Xbox 360
The short but critically acclaimed resume of the now-defunct Clover Studios is particularly telling. What the developer brought to the table was a handful of aesthetic wonders, each brimming with innovation and personality. But with disappointing sales figures falling way below expectation, it seemed that gamers en masse weren't ready for their personal brand of accomplished yet abstract titles.
Clover Studios was eventually dissolved in 2006 and the subsequent creation of Platinum Games, again headed up by Devil May Cry creator Hideki Kamiya, brought about a sea change for the developer. Their second title, the incredibly slick Bayonetta, looks like it could be the real money-maker the studio has been in search of, full to the brim with balletic combat, furious gunplay and epic enemy encounters. With the recent announcement that the game has unfortunately slipped from a winter release to early 2010, there's no better time to recap what we know about this superb looking title.
Bayonetta is the bespectacled heroine of the title, oozing the kind of cool that Devil May Cry's Dante may find hard to match. She's a witch with the power to shape-shift and kick ass six ways from Sunday with her hard-hitting magic, dual pistols, guns embedded in her high heels and the ability to attack enemies with her hair. With so many ways to dispatch foes, there are opportunities to string together multi-chain combos that look absolutely stunning in motion. When striking foes, flourishes of flowers, sparks and lipstick marks fly around the screen, resulting in the kind of beautiful chaos that is expected from Kamiya and his team.
Plot-wise, little has been revealed, with Bayonetta awaking in a strange land with no recollection of who she is or how she got there. The setting is ethereal, depicting heavenly cities, complete with grandiose statues and stunning architecture. Whether or not Bayonetta has been thrust into a battle between demons and gods has yet to be seen but it could be a valid assumption, given Kamiya's penchant for the underworld as seen in Devil May Cry.
It wouldn't be the first thing the two games have in common, as the previously mentioned attack opportunities hark back to the complex combo structures of Dante and Nero. Bayonetta can launch enemies into the air and pull off gravity defying juggle combos, as well as mix up close and long ranged attacks to keep multiple advancing enemies at bay. Spotted in recent gameplay videos doing the rounds online, are contextual attack options that present themselves when enemies are stunned or if you manage to pull off an attack at the last second.
When an enemy attack is deftly avoided, you can initiate ‘Witch Time', that allows for a barrage of punishing counter-attacks, suggesting there is a clear risk-reward system at play here. For example, do you risk taking a lot of damage by standing your ground and picking out last-minute parry and counter opportunities, or do you go on the offensive and risk being attacked from behind or the sides? Regardless, it is a game that rewards player creativity, with a wealth of potential attack patterns for you to discover and use as you see fit.
Painful sounding ‘Torture Combos' have also been announced, relying on contextual magic attacks, such as executing enemies with guillotines or summoning spirits to do the job for you. Also present in recent videos is the ability to equip ‘Angelic Weapons' at the touch of a button, possibly relating to recent images of Bayonetta wielding a wide range of melee weapons, including a sword and whip. This could open up a new tier of combo options such as switching weapon mid chain, which would be a welcome addition, but for the less dextrous gamer, attempting this level of finesse may cause a bit of a headache. Finally, Bayonetta's hair can be manipulated to batter ten shades out of enemies and unleash more devastating magical attacks, with the ability to form a giant earth-shattering fist and many more to be announced.
In true current-gen beat -em-up fashion, there is an in-game currency that can be acquired by felling enemies and smashing up the scenery. Halos can be spent upgrading weapons, buying health restoration items and possibly skills.
So while much of what we can expect to see in the final game is still up for speculation, what little information there is should be enough to get beat-em-up fans itching for a hands-on session. All of the genre staples are present and correct, from the multi-tier combos and athleticism, to the upgradable weapons and currency collection. The solid foundations are firmly rooted already and as long as the bite of the plot can match the resounding bark of the combat then you could be looking at the Platinum Game's first major success story.