Vanquish is following in the stiletto-heel footsteps of Platinum's last action game, Bayonetta, in a couple of interesting ways. First, the Shinji Mikami-designed shooter is being outfitted with an optional "Casual Auto" difficulty level, much like Bayonetta's "Easy Automatic" mode, designed to allow even those new to action games have a good time.

"Once you get your target on the enemy, the rest is easy as pie," Mikami said in the blog post announcing the mode. "I'm sure saying it that way makes it sound totally uninteresting, but when you actually give it a shot, the tempo it gives the game play will make you jump up and say, 'Woohoo!'" That's the other way in which Vanquish echoes Bayonetta: exclamations. It's "Woohoo!" from the player, versus "Wuhhh!!" from Bayonetta. "You know ... 'Wuhhh!!'"

Vanquish also includes an unlockable "God Hard" difficulty. "I think our fans will get where this one is going," Mikami teased. We suspect apocalyptic beatdowns are to be found within this mode.