I really don't like the timer one bit.
I feel like all it does is force players to play effectively rather than stylishly. Playing effectively is all I'm about, but I really wanted BP to whisper in my ear "psst...hey... hey you... take your time, be stylish", but it seems like it'll be screaming "QUICK MAN, QUICK, QUICK, QUICK!!!". I was honestly hoping that DmC's BP would have a counter that counts up, rather than down. To avoid abuse, they could have just had the time severely outweigh style after a certain point. This way I wouldn't really have to worry about time and I could play BP for the sake of just screwing around and being stylish (something that became a bore in story).
I could totally be over reacting though... I find it hard to tell from the video alone, but maybe it gives enough time to screw around... if not, Demon Dodge + Eryx all the way!