Bayonetta

Following in the over-the-top tradition of Devil May Cry, Bayonetta offers a welcome antidote to standard heroes with artistically-gelled hair and seething testosterone. The gameplay in Bayonetta may be violent, but it's all balanced out by attacks that take the form of stiletto heels, hair-based magic, and a constant soundtrack of Tokyo pop. No matter how brutal your so-called torture attacks get, they never feel quite so bad when your toe is tapping to the beat.

The game follows the titular character, a witch re-awakened after 500 years with no memory of her past. She battles her way through hordes of angels to fight for the powers of darkness, only to discover – well, let’s be blunt, no one’s really playing this game for the storyline. Suffice it to say, if it’s shiny, gold, and looking menacingly at you, it’s your job to kill it in the most flashy possible way. 

That’s probably the heart of the Bayonetta experience – the right buttons will produce gymnastic attacks, magical boots made out of your magical hair, lipstick bullets, and even torture devices to savage your enemies. Most battle sequences are wrapped up with a scorecard and a medal based on your performance, as well as the number of ‘gigatons’ your finishing move did. Given the histrionic scale of the game, it often seems like the button mashing you do on the control pad doesn't really translate to what just happened on the screen.

The game is visually beautiful, but never dwells too much on anything but the be-spectacled heroine, and often seems more interested in a good dance sequence than its cosmic story. It’s all just as candy-coated as the lollipops Bayonetta uses to heal in-game: not long-lasting, but fun, sweet and lightweight all at the same time.