Releasing two games in one year - let alone two possibly genre-redefining titles - is unheard of this console cycle. Yet that's exactly what intends to do, with the launch of Bayonetta in January and Vanquish next month.

This feat certainly wasn't an easy task, though. The Japanese developer had trouble achieving platform parity with Bayonetta, and it seems that Vanquish gave Platinum Games a similar challenge.

In a blog post on Platinum Games' official site, level designer Tetsuya Sasano said balancing the fast-paced with texture-rich graphics was "hell" for the developers. "When we tried to add large numbers of enemy troops on to the screen, the game would slow down, and it would degrade the feel of the game... Luckily, we were able to do our best to cut the fat off the stages without dropping the graphical quality", he wrote.

Vanquish hits the PlayStation 3 and in October. Gamers eager to give Platinum's title a spin can download a from their consoles' respective store.

By Nicholas Gasse