Bayonetta [PS3 / Xbox 360]
By Joshua Ostroff

"I've got a fever and the only cure is dead angels."
-Bayonetta

Ever since the Christmastime gaming deluge ended, I've been killing a lot of angels. Though God's messengers have been bad guys in other pop-cultural products ― His Dark Materials book trilogy, the past two seasons of Supernatural ― I can't recall angels even appearing in games, much less driving a fist or a sword through their angelic little faces.

And yet in 2010's first two big releases ― Bayonetta and Darksiders ― angels have been getting the brunt of my attacks. (And this month's release of Dante's Inferno further ramps ups the videogame holy wars.) Yes, I've also been slaughtering demons, but ho-hum, been doing that for decades. Wiping out heavenly hosts, however, is a little strange, especially when they kind of look like flying monkeys.

Created by Hideki Kamiya, the brains behind Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe and Okami, the ultra-stylized Bayonetta stars an eponymous long-legged witch with Sarah Palin eyeglasses, pistols strapped to every limb, magical hair and a tendency to appear naked whilst getting her slaughter on. Also, she really likes lollipops.

This acrobatic action game is knowingly campy ― some critics have said "gaudy," others lobbed "sexist" ― and, as with much Japanese pop culture, a narrative mess. There's some sort of war going on between heaven and hell, though you're largely ingesting angel essences to avoid returning to hell… I think. (Christianity, which includes Purgatorio, Inferno and Paradiso, is used to fuel the game's style, not its substance.)

Luckily, the wonderfully over-the-top combat, including ridiculous boss battles and sublimely silly "torture attacks," helps assuage Bayonetta's failures in storytelling.

While Okami was an argument for games-as-art, Bayonetta is a reclamation of games as adolescent male fantasy, albeit with a baroque design approach to complement its balletic violence. But for the most part, it works, and besides, there's room for both. (Sega/Platinum Game)
Dvd Reviews: Clash of the Titans [Blu-Ray] - Dir. by Louis Leterrier
Dvd Reviews: Repo Men - Dir. by Miguel Sapochnik
Dvd Reviews: Insomnia [Blu-Ray] - Dir. by Christopher Nolan
Dvd Reviews: Being Human: Season One
Dvd Reviews: Animating Reality: A Collection Of Short Documentaries
Dvd Reviews: Batman: Under the Red Hood [Blu-Ray] - Dir. by Brandon Vietti
Film Reviews: Dinner for Schmucks - Dir. by Jay Roach
Film Reviews: Countdown to Zero - Dir. by Lucy Walker
Dvd Reviews: A Prophet (Un Prophete) - Dir. by Jacques Audiard
Music DVD Reviews: Black Sabbath - Classic Albums: Paranoid
Music DVD Reviews: Gene Hoglan - The Atomic Clock
Dvd Reviews: Brooklyn’s Finest [Blu-Ray] - Dir. by Antoine Fuqua
Dvd Reviews: Operation: Endgame - Dir. by Fouad Mikati
Film Reviews: Salt - Dir. by Philip Noyce
Film Reviews: Gasland - Dir. by Josh Fox
Dvd Reviews: Cop Out [Blu-Ray] - Dir. by Kevin Smith
Dvd Reviews: Mother - Dir. by Bong Joon-Ho
Dvd Reviews: Charlie’s Angels [Blu-Ray] - Dir. by McG
Dvd Reviews: The Losers [Blu-Ray] - Dir. by Sylvain White
Dvd Reviews: Barking Dogs Never Bite - Dir. by Bong Joon-Ho
Dvd Reviews: Love the Beast - Dir. by Eric Bana
Music DVD Reviews: Chimaira - Coming Alive
Music DVD Reviews: Buck 65 - The Lost Tapes
In the middle of an open field, you can hear music from everywhere, particularly the DJ stage situated in the centre. Almost 200 bands have gathered here to play on seven stages, each only about 100 metres from the next, causing sound to bleed all over. For veteran music fans, it's a familiar scene: scantily clad women offer Red Bull and vodka, dreadlocked white hippies entrance themselves with their spin-dancing, and if you don't like a given band, more options are only an aimless wander away.... Read More
In truth, the first spin of Burning Love's debut full-length didn't yield the anticipated reactions. Expecting something in the same raw, combative vein as their demo/EP, Songs For Burning Lovers, while still wonderfully rough, seemingly lacked its predecessors' overt rabidity and stampeding ... Full Review
Hearing about someone else's dreams might be the most boring form of storytelling, but living in someone else's dreams ― at least in the hands of star writer/director Christopher Nolan (The Dark Night, Memento, The Prestige) ― makes for the movie event of the summer.... Full Review
Viewing the December 2009 Issue: Contents PageNewsClick Hear • Articles --> Front  •  Points  •  Year In Review  •  Questionnaire  •  Release Dates  •  Timeline  •  Videogames  •  Conversations • Music Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Aggressive Tendencies  •  Beats & Rhymes  •  Destination Out  •  Frequencies  •  Groove  •  No Future  •  Pop Rocks  •  Wood, Wires & Whiskey  •  Concert Reviews  •  Halifax Pop Explosion Reviews • Motion Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Dvd Reviews  •  Film Reviews  •  Music DVD Reviews  •  Videogame Reviews • Music School --> Need to Know  •  Where I play Contests • Contact --> About Us  • Advertising  • Distribution  • Getting Reviewed  • Getting Published  • Letters To The Editor  • Partnerships  • Subscriptions • Exclaim! Radio --> Aggressive Tendencies Radio  • Beats & Rhymes Radio  • Destination Out Radio  • Frequencies Radio  • Groove Radio  • No Future Radio  • Pop Rocks Radio  • Wood, Wires & Whiskey Radio Exclaim! TV • Home & Latest Issue Browse Issues Privacy Policy