So we’ve done Holiday Guides for games, but those are a collaborative effort. Now that it’s (pretty much) too late to go get any more presents and you don’t need a Holiday Guide anymore, it’s time for a “best of” compilation! Except it’s all by me, so you might not care. Yeah, that’s the catch.

How this goes down: This is my list. I’ll put a game on it (really, just whatever I think of, there’s no order here at all), tell you why I thought it was one of the best of the year, and it’s up to you to decide whether or not you actually care about what I say. Cool, right? Except that’s like the entire rest of the Internet, so you should totally be used to that.

Without further ado, this is the part where I talk about how 2010 was such an awesome year for games, and that it’s totally impossible to pick just a few. Except I’m totally lying! Well, I’m not lying about the 2010 part, I’m lying about the impossibility. It’s totally easy to paredown games in 2010, especially when you don’t have any silly numbers hanging over your head like I do. I did that on purpose, because I’m smart. Or something.

Eh, I’ll just shut up and start listing.

Bayonetta (PS3, 360 – Rated M for the fun kind of violence and kinda-sorta nudity on a kinda-sorta regular basis)

Its fast-paced action, mixed with a campy sexuality that made a lot of people uncomfortable, makes this one of the best action games of the year. Bayonetta made me laugh, though, because it was just so on-purpose and over-the-top – I mean, seriously, she wears her hair and it’s her main weapon. That’s funny enough. The combat was a dream, too, just in case you thought I forgot about the part where the playing was the good part. (I didn’t.) You have to play it multiple times through if you’re a completist, and trust me – you won’t mind.

Red Dead Redemption (PS3, 360 – Rated M for a version of the Old West that would make John Wayne blush)

Okay, it might be Grand Theft Horse. Actually, no. “Might be” is a little weak. It’s definitely Grand Theft Horse. However, once you get past the interface’s GTA look (which took me a while, since I’m not exactly a fan of Rockstar’s signature series), there’s an awesome story to behold – one that is based fully in American history, is completely believable and beautiful, and you’re going to want to take that ride all the way to the end. My husband bought this game for himself, but I’m the one who’s spent about 60 hours playing it this year. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Undead Nightmare easily adds tons more playtime to the title, and multiplayer is actually fun. (Except when people try to invite you to a posse when you don’t want to be there. I said no once, I don’t need to clarify that twenty more times.) This is the only multiplayer I’ve ever really enjoyed outside an MMO. I do feel, however, like I have to defend my RDR love all the time, and I probably do. The game definitely could have used a couple more months of refinement – the infamous Cougar-Man is testament enough to that, though it was always fun to see what would bug out next – and a few of the mechanics just seem off to me, especially when it comes to horseback riding. I mean, come on! We have two analog sticks – would it be that hard to use them as reins? I’m actually willing to say that, despite the occasional graphical glitch, if I were ranking things, this would sit at the top, not a doubt in the world about it. (If you’ve finished the game – and only if you’ve finished the game, I don’t want to ruin anyone’s experience – reminisce with me and watch this perfectly-placed moment that shows off the true power of in-game music and scripting. No, that wasn’t a tear coming out of my eye. It’s allergies. Winter allergies.)

Kirby’s Epic Yarn (Wii, Rated E for E-dorable)

I just got this as a gift yesterday. Best gift ever. No, seriously, I’ve had the game a day and it’s on the list. Why? It’s adorable (the word everyone seems to use when describing this if only because it’s so apt), plays incredibly well, and is designed well. You might find the arts-and-crafts aspect a little gimmicky, but I don’t care if you’re 4 or 84 – you can (and should) enjoy this game.

DJ Hero 2 (PS3, 360, Wii – rated T for lyrics)

I’ve never been a fan of classic rock (and I still only like some newer stuff), so even though there are tons of plastic instruments littering the house, the turntable is consistently my favorite. I mean, who could hate a game filled with mashups? (If the answer is you, get off my lawn.) They took everything in the original DJ Hero that was even slightly problematic, fixed it, and even added vocals. Excellent.

Once you see Bomberman, you cannot erase him from your brain.

BioShock 2 (PS3, 360, PC – Rated M for underwater drugged-up zombie folk and general scariness)

A lot of people didn’t like BioShock 2. Whatever, I’m not them. I put in the game expecting more creepy underwater Art Deco FPS action, and by golly, I got it. I also got a multiplayer mode that wasn’t really worth putting in any effort, but I don’t care. Let’s just rename it to BioShock 1.5, acknowledge that the story changed completely from conception to completion, and act like the story fits in with the original mythos. I got more of Rapture, and it was all I really wanted from a direct sequel, therefore I was pleased. Haters, to the left. Or wherever you go. Come back for BioShock Infinite, I’ll greet you with open arms.

World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (PC, Mac – Rated T because you’re playing with other people, and we know other people are idiots)

I am a WoW n00b. I acknowledge this freely. But I love it so much right now that I needed some kind of justification for putting it on the list. A 2010 expansion is that justification. Thanks, Blizzard! I spent enough time playing in the pre-Cataclysm Azeroth to recognize exactly how much work they put into the Shattering just prior to Cataclysm‘s release – and you know what? Going in and breaking a world you’ve spent years making takes guts. Kudos. I need to talk about something that a Cataclysm code actually unlocks, though – and that love comes from the two new races, Worgen and Goblins. Their starting areas are incredibly hand-holdy (I’d imagine that is even more evident to the veterans), but the origin stories they give you are an excellent few hours of fun. Since I can’t quite get to the high-level content yet (that whole n00b thing), I can only give you reports that this content is excellent, as well. I plan to make it there in 2011, so I anticipate agreeing. However, I bought this for new races alone and haven’t been disappointed.

Gran Turismo 5 (PS3 – Rated E for cars that are far less harmful than actual automobiles)

I’m still working on my review of this, actually. Fun fact: This game is massive. If it wasn’t, race fans around the world would have every right to be angry. There are over 1,000 cars (which…um, wow), damage is back, and you know what? It’s just plain fun. I don’t want to spoil everything I have to say about the game (or simulator, if you’d prefer), but I’ll leave it at this: The only way I think I could like it more would be if it let me drive my daily commute in increasingly fabulous cars. I’ll leave it up to Polyphony to recreate the Interstate Highway System. I think they can manage it.

Lara Croft and the Guardian of Light (PS3, 360, PC, iOS – Rated T for guns that shoot things)

They took my favorite series and literally turned it on its head by changing it into an isometric action game. With so many camera problems in the past, this, funnily enough, may have been the right step to take. Of course, I don’t know if it’s going to stick. I mean, they are working on the reboot now, so this could be a one-off downloadable title with no sequel in sight. With so much critical acclaim, they’d be dumb not to try the formula again, though. The game features surprisingly plush environments and puzzles that were actually fun to solve – taking the series back to what it used to be (and what made me fall in love in the first place).

Heavy Rain (PS3 – Rated M for love, loss, and that time you had to go through Saw-levels-of-insane trials to save your kid)

Are you prepared to be disturbed? Because Heavy Rain is pretty disturbing at times. But it wins for me because it’s pretty much a genre-creator, in that it’s not really a game, per se, but it’s more of a choose-your-own-adventure. I loved that series of books and always figured out every possible ending, and I did the same with Heavy Rain. At the moment, it’s the only game in which I’ve actually taken the time to get the platinum trophy, because that’s how curious I was to see every ending. Again, it’s not perfect, but it was an enjoyable story that hit me in all the right places. Also, it was nice to be able to play on the hardest setting right from the very beginning, since it only tests controller familiarity. And hey, now that I’ve bought Move, I can play it all over again. For only about the tenth time.

Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Wii, 360, PS3, PC, DS, PSP, iOS – Rated E10+ for magical hijinks)

I’m a complete Harry Potter nerd (really, that should surprise no one) and the games for the series have always left me a little…wanting. So this re-imagining by Traveler’s Tales is pretty much exactly what I’ve been searching for the whole time. Besides automatically getting a checkmark in the “cute” column (the wordless cutscenes definitely add to this), the game actually works really well and the world is just plain gigantic, like it should be. A world that includes magic definitely lends itself to a Lego title – in fact, it makes me wish that magic, in this form, existed in every previous Lego game. It certainly helps explain a few of the game mechanics. It’s a lot of fun to create in this world, as well.

Toy Story 3 (Everything but your phone – Rated E-E10+ because Buzz Lightyear has a blinking light that is actually, totally a laser)

I file this one under “surprises.” I really didn’t expect to like this game as much as I did. First off, I normally hate (HATE HATE HATE) platformers (which makes a few items in this list surprising to me), and movie tie-ins are almost always something you can relegate to the bargain bin. But here…you know, it’s obvious that they took some kind of care with this game – much like Pixar’s movies. You’ve got the standard “recreate the movie” mode, and then you’ve also got the Toy Box, which is…well, if you took an open-world game and put it in a Toy Box featuring all the Toy Story characters. It’s great, really. (I hear that this mode loses a fair bit of its shine in every version except the PS3, 360 and PC, though, so be warned.) Even though the game is missing Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, you’d never guess, and the charm from the source material is preserved appropriately. So if you liked the movie (and really, who didn’t?) this is worth a shot.

One Chance (Flash game – Not rated, it’s the Internet)

@Cherithe recommended this game to me one night a couple of weeks ago, and it’s really resonated with me. (Luckily for you, she also reviewed it.) You’re a doctor who’s found the cure for cancer, and you get six days to play out. In those six days, you only get one chance (hence the title) to save all of humanity. This game is what Heavy Rain wanted to be, I think. You finish once, and that’s it. There’s no going back for Platinum trophies, there’s no replaying. You finish, and that’s it. Reload the page, and you’re stuck with your last decision. You make moral choices along the way, and unlike other games (BioShock comes to mind), your choices aren’t always so cut-and-dry, so absolute-good-vs.-absolute-evil. There are shades of grey in there, and I appreciate that immensely. Yeah, you can play it through again if you want to cheat the system. But that completely kills any meaning the game has. It neuters whatever beauty was there. So…just don’t do it. Own your choices – in the game and out. It’s a life lesson, really.

Trauma Team (Wii – Rated T for excessive internal organs)

This is yet another surgery game from the folks over at Atlus. (Oh, hey, I totally reviewed it!) This Wii version revitalizes the genre (or, really, it’s more like revitalizing the Trauma series), in my opinion. The comic sequences between and before surgeries inject needed doses of life into what has, for the most part, become as sterile as an operating room. I loved the new medical examiner portions, where you effectively fight crime with MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE! as well. It took lines of logic that rivaled some crazier Phoenix Wright trials to make certain connections, but figuring everything out from the evidence always felt extremely rewarding. Like Kirby up above, this was a game that made me happy I had a Wii.

So! There you have it. My favorites, in no particular order, with only one Ultimate Favorite chosen. And hey, you didn’t have to click “Next Page” once. Let this be a lesson to everyone – pagination is no fun. And yeah, I probably left out your favorite game. If I did that, it was just because I didn’t play it. Or I did, and I didn’t like it. Or I liked it, but it didn’t particularly stick out. But hey – this was a list of 13 that did.

Now, let’s bring on 2011! A lot is on the way and I’m excited to find out what I’ll love next year.

The general, female audience seems to have an issue with Bayonetta. Maybe her breasts just aren’t large enough? Nah. Maybe, to quote an “import-ante” person in the realm of gaming journalism, “have never had sex before?” Maybe, female gamers and their supposed deprivation of fluid exchange has somehow caused them raging insecurity? Nah. I mean, I highly doubt it. Well, the one, definite issue I do carry with Bayonetta is that it was not marketed as a “quality” game. Seeing as how a great deal of women probably do not share my love of Bayonetta, let us speak of your dislike for Bayonetta.

So, why am I so against this facetious represention of a great game? A game of it’s stature just, well, deserves better. I, as a consumer, deserve better. Bayonetta didn’t look worth it. My first impression of Bayonetta was “PASS!” I mean, numerous times when I had walked into Blockbuster looking for a game to rent, I look back now and I’m like, “Wow, this was pretty easy to skip over.” I couldn’t take the box seriously. It made SEGA look like one of those desperate, kiosk people in the center of the mall. I even questioned if some of these “reputable” game sites had lost their mind. Nines and tens—seriously? Thats what forced me to play it, though. I can’t lie.

Truthfully, I held off playing Bayonetta because I had read so much criticism within the female gaming community. I thought, Oh, God. I just want to play a genuinely solid game. I figured however, that if Bayonetta provided enough ammunition for like, every single journalist known to man to create extensive essays about “sexuality” and bicker about “female empowerment,” then it automatically assumed the role of being “exploitative” by default. If there are people, females particularly, prioritizing criticism on this game then, unquestionably, there lies something worth ardently defending. Think about it. Something is there. That’s why it’s being analyzed. Yeah. I didn’t understand the arguments arising in the blogosphere. Its obviously hyper-sexualized heroine was somehow the “elephant in the room” or something. Like, Of course the shape of her butt wasn’t a priority, Dude; Kamiya obviously lost sleep at night thinking “Oh my God, how will I empower her as a female?” What? Come on, man.

So, I sat back to oversee some people and again, mostly females, criticize a reputable journalist. She assured us that female heroines do not have to be devoid of massive breasts to assume a respectable and/or “empowering” status in video-games. I agreed with her completely and I realized I’ve had this point-of-view before I knew what “gaming journalism” was. What I didn’t agree with was her brash defense-mechanism aimed toward her Twitter critics in a cleverly controversial manner:

“anyone who’s offended by Bayonetta has never had sex before,” she tweets. Thank you, Advocate of The Vag-Team.

I’ll admit, I didn’t know how on earth to respond to that one. While I hold the utmost respect for her as an established game journalist, I felt this comment to be, uh, irrational to say the least.

Admittedly, the only thing I find repulsive and/or offensive about Bayonetta is that it superficially cheats consumers, especially the female market, out of an amazing video-game. The worst part? SEGA seems to do so intentionally, especially capitalizing on the grubby promotional work. Is it because some female gamers have “never had sex before?” Or is it because it looks like it has nothing to offer the gigantic, female gamer market? It just doesn’t scream “Play me! I’m one of the greatest, pure-action games on the planet!” It is. It really, just…is.

When I finally gave-in and took it for a spin, I was even more disturbed by the sensory overload of jiggling body parts and sleazy dialogue. I thought, how… can I… take this game seriously? You can’t. As soon as you don’t, you’ll start to realize what a superbly made game this is. Still, it’s not right to shun a good portion of your female audience because you’re not easily offended. I mean, is it? I didn’t psychoanalyze what the developers at Platinum Games were trying to tell me about Bayonetta. SEGA simply needed a good deal. They pounced on something outrageously provocative and ran with it because they needed it. Their track record needed it.

It isn’t about Bayonetta’s character being “exploitative” or “empowered,” it’s about intention. It’s about appeal. All inclusive. So, why do some women idolize the chesty Lara Croft, yet some of the same women feel slightly uncomfortable about the idea of Bayonetta–all tramping around in a cheerleader costume with a special move entitled “Climax?” It’s the presentation.

I wasn’t offended by the “sex” or the “sexiness” or even her breasts and it certainly wasn’t pertaining to abstinence. Good lord. Sega just lacked a compelling market outside of just making it look “sexy.” This, and this alone, is offensive as a female and more importantly, as a gamer.

But, let me tell you something. Bayonetta is, well, ferocious.  I could very well end my review here and plead everyone to silence hearsay and controversy and just play this damn game because if you’re a legitimate gamer, you’ll immediately attest to it’s fantastic polish.Yeah, it’s been done before, but what’s been done before certainly fails to supersede Bayonetta. This game is the perfect concoction; it distills the bad flavor of uninspiring sister-titles and it doesn’t snub the most potent ingredient—gameplay. Its an action title and God knows how many brothers and sisters it has to complete against. I can assure you, though–It’s the “Marcia! Marcia! Marcia!” of the Brady Bunch.

Bayonetta is at the forefront of her genre. It proved my judgement wrong and that’s why I love it. All I’m asking is that next time, Dear Devs, just fricking give me an inkling as to why I should play your game. Give me verifiable data. Take me beyond your Playboy model search. Don’t forget that I, as a female, buy your games. Boobs or not, I don’t want to skip a fantastic game. It’s that simple.

The point is, this is what good games force you to do. It’s what they’re supposed to do. Thats how you define a good game. Where is it written that a good game has to be concerned with your feelings? It’s not. Only we care. So if a game can somehow make me “un-care,” then its good game. A good game is concerned with being a good game. Thats what Bayonetta is. As much as I’m for the “respectful” portrayer of females, I’m still a gamer and, instinctively, judgement comes accordingly.

The devil and video games is a theme that comes up every now and then when a conservative group feels like alarming parents to the harms of video games.

This time it’s a group in Philadelphia that wrote the family paper The Bulletin, claiming video games are destroying Christian values.

The article, ““Buyer Beware: Satanic-Themed Video Games Concern Parents”, intends to warn parents about the increase of satanically-themed video games that target God and Christianity. They also point out that the games “invite players to make pacts with the devil, and elevate Satan to hero status.”

The examples given by 32 year old Lance Christian are very odd choices though:
“I feel that the devil has a new tool to work with in this age of technology, and the majority of adults in a position of responsibility are left in the dark,” he told the paper citing the following examples”

* Tecmo’s Deception: Invitation To Darkness–Players “make an unholy pact and sell their soul to Satan in exchange for power” with the object of the game being to ensure the resurrection of Satan and obtain his power.

* Nocturne—A game in which the hero (a demon) destroys the three Archangels St. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, then goes on to destroy God.

* Shadow Hearts—The hero uses his power to intercept and destroy God and “save the world.”

* Dragon Age: Origins—The game revolves around the story of God going mad and cursing the world. A witch attacks believers and players can “have sex” with her in a pagan act called “blood magic” so she can “give birth to a god.” Another scenario allows players to have sex with a demon in exchange for a boy’s soul.

But he does includes Dante’s Inferno, Guitar Hero, Devil Summoner, Koudelka, Trapt, Bayonetta and Darksiders.

[source Game Politics]

Rating: M for Mature
System: Xbox 360
Developer: Platinum Games/Sega
Players: 1
Genre: Third person shooter

BUY

Since getting a first look at the game, I had been itching to play the game further. I’m a big fan of game storylines and Bayonetta definitely does not disappoint. You play as Bayonetta who recently woke from sleeping for 500 years and who is searching for keys to remember her past. Bayonetta has received a lead that a gem she has been searching for, the Right Eye, is in Vigrid a fictional European city. Through the dialogue you learn about the three planes of existence that the people believe in, which are all based on Dante’s Divine Comedy: Paradiso (heaven), Purgatorio (purgatory) and Inferno (hell). Bayonetta is able to visit these realms, and even calls up demons from the Inferno who manifest themselves as giant beasts made out of her hair. I don’t want to give away too much of the story, but it is pretty engaging and when I first sat down to play I wound up playing for a few hours because I kept wanting to see what was next!

The game The controls are real easy to pick up on, especially if you’re familair with the Devil May Cry series. The combos for the special hair attack moves are easy to pick up on, and the fights against enemies and boss battles are fast paced and interesting. I loved that each boss battle was a different experience depending on what kind of angelic creature they were was great. I also enjoy that they have so many diverse angelic creatures and each with names and backgrounds on what they are as well as how they may affect humans and what level angel they are. You can look at all of these along with the notebooks you collect regarding research on Vigrid, the Lumen Sages and Umbra Witches as well as the demons that Bayonetta is able to call upon in her “Climax” attacks.

And speaking of those attacks, I have to say the game is also pretty funny. The banter that Bayonetta has with Luka (whom she refers to as Cheshire) is great. There are also funny quips that characters make that had me giggle. But nothing tops the angel that had me literally laughing for ten minutes and who I had to share with twitter: Joy. It’s overly sexy yet hilarious to me, and you can see a great video of her intro and the torture attack you use against her here (video lightly NSFW for implications). A lot of these can be seen as fan service, and some may complain, but I feel that it really gives the game some personality and it kept me amused throughout the game.

I also really enjoyed the unique way that the cut-scenes were done. There are your beautifully rendered scenes as well as some in-game graphic scenes. But what I really enjoyed was the still frames that were used with cuts and zooms. They did a lot with scenes playing out in a film reel where you went from one frame to the next. It was something new that I hadn’t seen before and it was fun to not have everything done the traditional way. Again another little bit that I feel gives the game it’s own personal character.

All in all this game is a definite buy. It has a great story, amazing graphics, good controls and some fan service that will give you a chuckle or two along the way. And it has a great replay value for you to go back and get a better overall level score as well as weapons and trinkets. Also trying the game on harder levels is always fun to do, albeit challenging. And I have to say I love the idea of a sexy heroine in glasses!

Bayonetta has just come out and SEGA is already starting to challenge their fans. The first 500 people that finish Bayonetta on the “Hard” setting will win an exclusive limited edition Bayonetta t-shirt from the guys at Penny Arcade.

To enter, after you’ve beaten the game, take a photo of the end screen and send it and your gamertag or PSN ID to bayonettacontest@gmail.com. You have to have the Umbra Elder achievement/trophy to qualify for a shirt. Sorry this contest is only open to gamers in the US. The shirt is in a large. Good luck!

SEGA and Maxim.com announced ages ago, a contest looking for a real life Bayonetta. SEGA finally announced the winner, Andrea Bonaccorso, who you can see on Maxim.com here.

For winning she gets a Xbox 360, 50-inch Panasonic TC-P50X1 HDTV and a copy of Bayonetta for the Xbox.

Andrea stated, “When I was 9 years old I begged my mom for a SEGA Genesis for Christmas. When I opened it, I screamed for about 20 minutes. For about 5 years after that, I was obsessed with all the Sonic The Hedgehog games, Toe Jam & Earl, and Rolo To The Rescue (a baby elephant in search of his mother). I didn’t return to my game playing days until about 2 years ago, and now, I’m STILL obsessed with those old games. When I was little I would stay up way past my bedtime and if I died (in the game), I would be crushed. I’d be so mad that I’d beg to stay up and try again. And of course, I’d get my way and continue playing until my eyeballs were burning from not blinking. Yay Sega! Thanks for contributing to my lack of doing homework!! I recently was searching for a Maxim contest, and when I saw what this contest was for, I thought I’d be perfect for it. Had the glasses, the ‘goth’ costume, and the sexy look! haha!”

Here are some of the other contestants, but it’s not totally safe for work. lol

The controls are really easy to pick up once you know the basics, and from there it’s just fun to figure out some of the cool moves and combos that you can do. Once you complete the tutorial, you begin the game in a battle on a clocktower that is falling from the sky against some angels. It was nice to get thrown right into the action and the environments are quite stunning. I also really enjoy the general character design from Bayonetta’s hip-wagging walk to the amazing designs of the various Angels she has to fight.

There are also some fun controls and moves that are great. The best I think is Witch Time which occurs when you dodge an attack at the last second. Witch time slows time so that you move normally but the enemies do not, and this is great for getting in some big hits while fighting a boss or large group of enemies. There are also the Torture attacks which I had a lot of fun activating just to see the various torture devices that appear and are used to kill off the angles.

The one bad thing about the demo I felt was that it went by too quickly. I would have enjoyed it more if it had been longer, but all in all it was a solid demo. It’s a decent showcase for the game and what it will be like, and I’ll most likely pick it up when it comes out! Bayonetta comes out in North America in January 2010.

It’s not exactly guaranteed so if you want early access to the Bayonetta demo you should act fast. SEGA is offering the Xbox 360 demo weeks earlier to people that register for a free SEGA Pass. Submit your details and you might receive a free voucher code to redeem for your download of the early access demo of Bayonetta.

They will only be giving away 40,000 codes for the demo. Registration opens from November 9th until November 13th. Codes could be sent out as early as November 16th.

www.sega.com/bayonettademo/

After some hectic confusion in the morning with media passes, I was well on my way to experiencing GameX. GameX is the three-day convention in Philadelphia, PA that offers everything geek culture: video games galore, Steam Punk, robotics, comics, cosplay, and more. It’s similar to a convention like PAX, but on a lesser scale. I’ll be first to admit that the east coast gets the raw end of the deal on these types of events.

Since it was Friday, and the kiddies were in school and the parents at work, it was definitely a slow day. Friday in the middle of the day just doesn’t seem like an optimal day/time for a gaming convention. Due to the way the event was scheduled, there was not much going on Friday anyway. So this gave me a great chance to take a look at everything and really take it all in. I was able to meet a couple of my favorite celebrities like Brian O’Halloran (Dante from Clerks), and three of The Guild members Robin Thorsen (Clara), Jeff Lewis (Vork), and Sandeep Parikh (Zaboo). I did forget to bring cash, sadly, and I have to wait for an autograph until Saturday or Sunday.

I sampled some unreleased games too! I got to play an upcoming MMO by Hi-Rez Studios called Global Agenda, EA’s Dante’s Inferno, and SEGA’s Bayonetta. I will be doing previews of Dante’s Inferno and Bayonetta once I spend more time with them. The highlight of the day was The Guild panel for me. There, fans of The Guild got to watch two episodes from season 2 and ask their questions afterwards. People asked questions about their experiences on The Guild sets, their likes and dislikes about acting on the show, and similar questions. There weren’t many people for the panel, but the people that were there were huge fans. Everyone in the audience and The Guild were laughing during the Q&A as the guildies were making jokes and being very conversational and friendly with the crowd. I’m disappointed in myself because I forgot to record the Q&A part so I would actually remember specifics.

I’m excited for the rest of the weekend because I’ll be attending some of the seminars and sessions GameX put together, playing more new games, as well as hopefully spend some time interviewing a few people. Stay tuned!

Get your body suit and stiletto boots out of the closet because SEGA of America is looking for a real life Bayonetta with Maxim.com. SEGA is looking for a girl who captures the style and attitude of the heroine from the upcoming game.

The winning contestant will be spotlighted on Maxim.com, receive a Xbox 360 game and entertainment system from Microsoft, a 50 inch Panasonic TC-P50X1 HDTV Plasma TV and a copy of Bayonetta for the Xbox 360.

“Bayonetta is lethal – she’s beautiful but brutal. We’re convinced she will stir up the Maxim readers.” said Sean Ratcliffe, Vice President of Marketing, SEGA of America, Inc. “We can’t wait to see the Maxim.com audience rise to the challenge of trying to find us a real life Bayonetta.”

You have to be 18 years or older to enter and a resident of US or Canada. Participants have until September 30 to apply. Get all the details at http://www.maxim.com/Gaming

I’m pretty sure entrants should probably make their costume out of more than just hair. I know it’s great to be authentic when cosplaying but Lycra will work just as well.