If you hope to impress the cultural sophistication and profound artistic merit inherent in the video game medium (ahem) upon a doubtful acquaintance, you probably shouldn't count on something like Bayonetta to help illustrate your point. Centered on the exploits of an improbably posh witch and her fashionable pair of gun boots, Bayonetta feels like the result of designer Hideki Kamiya answering every development question with, "Sure, why not?" The game's hyper excess occasionally veers into the distasteful -- Bayonetta's clothing seems to come and go as it pleases -- but it mostly leads to situations that feel creative and surprising. Even a boss fight avoids routine by constantly changing pace: a battle on a bridge eventually becomes airborne after the whole structure is flung across the stage, and the ordeal isn't over until after a brief chase and a final showdown atop a winding set of stairs. Sure, why not?