How often have you been playing a game and thought to yourself, "This is pretty great, but it could really use more witches with magical hair"? If the answer is more than never, then you're in luck, as Platinum Games and Sega are had at work on Bayonetta, a title which will feature all the gun-toting, hair-powered magic you could ever expect from a witchy woman.

Bayonetta is the sort of game that's picking up where DMC left off and adding whole new levels of over-the-top gameplay. Rather than playing with a half-human androgynous dude who fights demons with swords and guns you'll take control of a witch who fights angels with her hair and well, guns also. But wait, the guns are attached to her feet so that's totally different (and awesome). Still, anyone who enjoyed the DMC series will be able to jump into Bayonetta and feel right at home.

In addition to having guns attached to her feet (still can't get enough of that), our protagonist also has a couple special abilities in her arsenal to help her deal with the angelic menace. One such ability is Witch Time, which is a skill that activates anytime a player dodges an enemy attack at the last possibly moment. Witch Time throws you into a slo-mo mode where you can then quickly loop around an enemy's flank and land a counter attack without fear of being blocked or struck yourself. It's a tricky skill to master but once you do Bayonetta will become nigh untouchable in combat.



The other major factor in fighting is the magic gauge which allows you to pull off special attacks of varying magnitudes. Small attacks may stun enemies or wipe out lesser foes, while a fully charged bar can unleash some particularly nasty "torture attacks" that will grind even the mightiest baddies to dust. These attacks are powered by Bayonetta's magically regrowing hair, which also serves as her bodysuit. Therefore, anytime you launch a special attack our favorite witch loses a bit of her covering for a few moments until it grows back. Sorry to all you perverts out there but she never quite bares it all; still though, I'm sure there will be plenty of folks who will charge up the magic meter and then unleash a fully powered attack on some lesser foes simply to check out a few free moments of jiggle. You sicken me, and I hope you can live with yourselves.

The game can be quite adolescent at times, but it is intentionally so and revels in its own naughtiness. Bayonetta's swagger is all sex and violence, and conversations drip with the tones of the naughty school marm who is going to punish you for being a bad boy in class. The title also embellishes its violence, with special attacks being measured in "megatons" and giant hair stilettos skewering baddies while ferocious hair dragons chew them to pieces. It's truly a game that is utterly unabashed in every sense and so no one will be able to cry foul at Platinum Games for holding anything back.

The total package Bayonetta creates is a game which is sassy, sexy and exceptionally entertaining. The different ways you can spank the angelic forces (both literally and figuratively) are tons of fun, and the game is going to be heaven for those folks who love racking up huge combos and raining down unrealistically tremendous amounts of pain. Also, Bayonetta's willingness to show a little skin probably won't hurt sales either. If you're hankering for a realistic game, this ain't it; but if you want an outrageous, crazy title featuring a witch who uses hair as a weapon and enjoys the feel of guns strapped to her feet then you are definitely in the right place.