I've been really into Platinum Games MADWORLD. Any regular follower knows that I'm really looking foward to this over-the-top ultra violent romp that will be using the wiimote for chainsaw and signpost stabbing action.

This is the first time I'm posting about Platinum Games' other big budget title: BAYONETTA. Hideki Kamiya (the co-creator and director of DEVIL MAY CRY, VIEWTIFUL JOE, and OKAMI) has been working on this game with the programming team from Okami. As with MADWORLD, it's Platinum Games ambitious attempt to take the groundbreaking action game sensibiities of Capcom's best games and fuse them with a Western Aesthetic that will hopefully appeal to US Gamers.

I haven't been completely won over by the character designs. The enemy designs are little more generic than I expected. The beautiful main character feels like it's very close to being an excellent design, but its not quite there yet.

Despite that, BAYONETTA has a sexy clean look and dynamic animation style that has won me over. It proudly embraces its gaudy stylings with gratuitous camera angles and a wacky concept of having the female witch you control temporarily lose more clothes the more powerful her attacks become. They "logically" justify the semi-nude attacks by claiming that her costume is made of her own hair... and that she uses her hair for special magical attacks. So the more powerful the attack, the more of her hair/clothes she loses. Um... okay...

I also included the latest MadWorld trailer for your enjoyment.

BAYONETTA:

MADWORLD SPORTSCENTER TRAILER:

ONE PIECE MANSION is a forgotten oldie but goodie made by Capcom for the first Playstation.

The puzzle/strategy concept was okay. But what I really loved was the world and character designs. The main character looks like something designed by Yoshitomo Nara. The rest of the characters looked like they could have been designed by Gobi, Bill, and Fabien!

Here's the only decent video I could find:

The latest G.I. JOE: RISE OF COBRA movie posters have been revealed.

Stephen Sommers (director of VAN HELSING and THE MUMMY) is directing. I don't expect much beyond a mindless action romp of a movie.

Despite that, it's really cool seeing Snake Eyes and the women of G.I. Joe come to life. The Baroness was the first women with black framed glasses that that made my pre-adolescent body feel funny. Scarlett O'Hara was also hot. It helped that she had that awesome missile launcher tank (but damn, it was so EASY to lose those missles!).

Let's ignore that both women were fictional characters that solely existed as plastic figurines and cartoons. I was in elementary school!

The costumes used on these posters look more like METAL GEAR SOLID designs than G.I. JOE. I think the choices made for the women are very sexy and aggressive... accentuating the women's curvaceous form without revealling any skin. But the dudes look like a bunch of losers playing paintball.

I included some of the original METAL GEAR SOLID designs by Yoji Shinkawa for a point of comparison.

These lightened versions of the 5 posters were originally posted on the TOYSREVIL blog. Andy continues to kick ass on that blog!

I haven't played LITTLE BIG PLANET on the PS3, but I love the concept and design of Sackboy, the main character. As posted on Kotaku, a blogger named Maggie has done some amazing Sackboy dolls with Crochet. Thus far she'd done an adorable Star Trek Spock Sackboy and is working on a really cool Hellboy Sackboy.

CLICK HERE to see her original post.

Maybe I should ask her to do a Tequila Sack boy? :-)

WOW. That's a whole lot of Tcho Mini Figures! I'm super happy they arrived in time for an Angouleme festival debut. Thanks to Muttpop Nico for the pics.

Now this is the epitome of MONKEY NUTS! I love, love, love the monster designs... and that killer Japanese afro may inspire me to reapproach my hairdo.