GC 2008: Bayonetta Updated Impressions

After being announced earlier this year at an event in central London and on show at the 2008 E3 Media & Business Summit, Bayonetta was here at the Leipzig Games Convention 2008. The supernatural action game is being produced by Platinumgames' Yusuke Hashimoto, and he kicked off our presentation with a level of the game that we'd seen previously at E3. In the level, Bayonetta enters a garden area and subsequently has to face off against a number of angels before fighting her way through to a huge boss in the form of a gigantic, hideous-looking angel.

In a reverse on Devil May Cry, the titular character Bayonetta is a good witch who'll have to fight through scores of evil angels in her as-yet-unrevealed mission. In addition to carrying guns in her hands and strapped to her ankles, she'll have some rather impressive supernatural skills. It turns out that her hair can summon a giant fist punches, stiletto heel kicks, or even a huge dragon to slay her enemies. While fighting, you'll fill up a power meter shown onscreen. If you manage to fill it without being injured, you can also summon some nasty and amusing torture devices, such as an iron maiden or a guillotine.

In addition to arming herself with pistols, Bayonetta can equip other weapons, such as twin katana blades and shotguns. Hashimoto-san said the team was planning some more weapons that "you could hardly imagine," so expect to see more announced later on. We were given a quick demonstration of the swords, hacking and slashing through a score of opponents with ease. You'll be able to pull off some impressive combos with Bayonetta's weapons, and the katanas were no different. If your current weapon isn't cutting it, however, you can quick change to a different set midfight without having to jump out of the action. Hashimoto-san used the katana blades to dish out some damage to the midlevel boss we saw at E3, and as it takes damage, its body will show signs of injury. This damage includes exposed flesh on its neck and arms, as well as a gush of saliva dripping from its mouth.

We were then shown a brand new level, referred to as The Climax by Sega. While Sega wouldn't let on where in the game's story the level takes place, it did hint that it might be part of a flashback later in the game. The level begins with a prerendered cutscene with Bayonetta and an unnamed female accomplice--possibly another witch--on the edge of a cliff. Bathed in the full moonlight, Bayonetta jumps from the cliff onto what looks like part of a medieval church that's hurtling towards Earth. On the broken-off section of the church, she runs into more angels, which she engages in combat. Behind them, pieces of the destroyed church can be seen falling from the sky, as well as dozens of other angels flying around. After fighting for a few moments, the church smashes into the side of a cliff. Then, Bayonetta jumps back onto the spiraling platform and continues fighting.

A giant serpent could also be seen snaking around behind the action, although it didn't attack Bayonetta. After defeating all of the angels, Hashimoto-san jumped across from one piece of the descending church to another and came face to face with a beheaded cherub. The boss had a number of snakeheads coming out of its neck and a pair of wings behind it. Almost immediately, it tried to crush Bayonetta with its immense weight and then spewed a sizeable ball of fire at her, at which point our demonstration ended. Before we left the presentation, we spotted a few of the names of other stages in the game, including The Angel’s Metropolis, A Strange Place Called Vigrid, Purgatario, and The Lost Holy Grounds.

Bayonetta will be released on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 (including support for trophies). The game has yet to receive a firm release date so check back later when we have more on this promising action-packed game.