Any action gamer worth his button mashing has probably had Sega’s Bayonetta on the radar screen for some time.  There’s a high-end pedigree behind Platinum Games’ eyeball-spanking hack and slasher and I’ve been following its slow march to a January release date for some time.  The demo made its way to Live this week and I dutifully–and excitedly–took it for a spin.  My reaction?

G-r-r-r-reat.  Steve and Jon had snickered when I mentioned this game as one my most eagerly anticipated but having played through the demo I can confidently say that they can go suck it.  Bayonetta appears to be just as frantic and fun as the advanced hype has promised.  Seriously, the level of over-the-top action that’s being presented here makes Ninja Gaiden 2 look like Zork. 

The demo is brief and includes a tutorial and a couple of stages.  But that’s more than enough to get a taste of the insanity that will follow.  Bayonetta has a ludicrous amount of ways to destroy enemies at her disposal, from ankle-mounted guns, to flying jumping kicks to a series of dropped enemy weapons that allow her to pound on the bad guys in different ways.  Though it’s the combo enders that really stand out, whether it’s a leather-clad fist popping out of thin air to pulverize a rogue angel or a stiletto heel dropping from the sky to crush someone into meat chunks.  Then you’ve got the finisher “Torture Attacks,” cinematic finales that feature opponents getting tossed into Iron Maidens or kicked into a guillotine.  Glorious, glorious stuff. 

The mayhem looks great too, hyper-stlized and smooth running despite all the craziness going on.  Button-mashing could get you moderate success (at least in the demo) but it’s obvious Bayonetta rewards mastery of the combos and evades, and practice will reward you with even more Climax Action. 

Can not wait for this.