Being a witch and killing Angels never felt so good.
Developer: PlatinumGames Publisher: Sega Format(s): Xbox 360 & PS3
Hideki Kameya, the man responsible for the Devil May Cry series has returned with a game that follows closely to the PS2 classic. Bayonetta is certainly one of the flashiest and stylish action games that we’ve seen in a while, but does it stand out from the crowd or does it get pushed to the back of the line?
Having a game that looks very similar to Devil May Cry, you’d be forgiven to think that it plays identically like it. Yes, there are over-the-top cut scenes and the whole demonic Heaven and Hell theme is present too, but that’s where the similarities end. Bayonetta is much more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Developer: PlatinumGames Publisher: Sega Format(s): Xbox 360 & PS3
Hideki Kameya, the man responsible for the Devil May Cry series has returned with a game that follows closely to the PS2 classic. Bayonetta is certainly one of the flashiest and stylish action games that we’ve seen in a while, but does it stand out from the crowd or does it get pushed to the back of the line?
Having a game that looks very similar to Devil May Cry, you’d be forgiven to think that it plays identically like it. Yes, there are over-the-top cut scenes and the whole demonic Heaven and Hell theme is present too, but that’s where the similarities end. Bayonetta is much more than a wolf in sheep’s clothing.
Bayonetta’s story is one of a balance between light and darkness. Long ago, two clans known as the Lumen Sages and the Umbra Witches maintained the balance between both light and darkness, but a tragic event caused the two clans to enter into a war. At the end of it all only one Umbra Witch was left.
Bayonetta wakes up after a 500 year slumber with no memory of who she is or where she came from, but as the game progress Bayonetta starts to slowly regain her memory. But she is constantly being attack by the Angles of Paradiso who are trying to drag her down to Hell where she, supposedly, belongs. Clearly, Bayonetta knows something of great importance.
The story is neatly told through a variety of both in-game cut scenes and film strip sequences which introduce us to Bayonetta’s allies: Enzo (a Danny DiVito look-a-like) and the all knowing Rodin. There is a ridiculously pointless love-intreset thrown in and, chances are, that the story will go over your head; but that’s O.K because Bayonetta’s strengths aren’t found in it’s storytelling, but rather in it’s gameplay.
Once again, it’s very easy to compare this to Devil May Cry and to an on-looker the combat may seem down right bonkers, but after just a few minuets of play you’ll realise how deep and complex Bayonetta’s combat system really is, but at the same time how easy it is to pull off awesome moves thanks to the games simple and intuitive controls.
At the start of the game, Bayonetta is equipped with four hand guns, one attached to each limb and with two melee attack buttons (one for her arms and one for her legs) you’ll find yourself stringing together seamless combos with ease that not only look great to watch but are also powerful. As you progress through the game you can acquire other items by purchasing them or by picking up weapons that enemies have dropped which broadens your attack styles even further with a whole new set of button commands and characters animations. You can use the guns as long range weapons DMC style, but chances are that you’ll be using melee attacks more often as they offer up more variety to the combat. You can even use some of the scenery in the level to your advantage.
But the best part about the combat system is the brilliant Witch Time effect. If you dodge and enemies attack the last moment time will slow down, this give you an opportunity to string together even bigger combos. Strings of uninterrupted combos lead to Torture Attacks which, when activated cause massive damage to your opponent in hilarious and agonising ways. With a game that’s so focused on exhilarating offence, there has to be moments where your forced to play defensively otherwise it‘d just be boring.
With all of these offensive and defensive moves combined Bayonetta gives you a great feeling when you pull off stunning combos, as if you’re the one who is doing all the fighting, not Bayonetta.
Bayonetta wakes up after a 500 year slumber with no memory of who she is or where she came from, but as the game progress Bayonetta starts to slowly regain her memory. But she is constantly being attack by the Angles of Paradiso who are trying to drag her down to Hell where she, supposedly, belongs. Clearly, Bayonetta knows something of great importance.
The story is neatly told through a variety of both in-game cut scenes and film strip sequences which introduce us to Bayonetta’s allies: Enzo (a Danny DiVito look-a-like) and the all knowing Rodin. There is a ridiculously pointless love-intreset thrown in and, chances are, that the story will go over your head; but that’s O.K because Bayonetta’s strengths aren’t found in it’s storytelling, but rather in it’s gameplay.
Once again, it’s very easy to compare this to Devil May Cry and to an on-looker the combat may seem down right bonkers, but after just a few minuets of play you’ll realise how deep and complex Bayonetta’s combat system really is, but at the same time how easy it is to pull off awesome moves thanks to the games simple and intuitive controls.
At the start of the game, Bayonetta is equipped with four hand guns, one attached to each limb and with two melee attack buttons (one for her arms and one for her legs) you’ll find yourself stringing together seamless combos with ease that not only look great to watch but are also powerful. As you progress through the game you can acquire other items by purchasing them or by picking up weapons that enemies have dropped which broadens your attack styles even further with a whole new set of button commands and characters animations. You can use the guns as long range weapons DMC style, but chances are that you’ll be using melee attacks more often as they offer up more variety to the combat. You can even use some of the scenery in the level to your advantage.
But the best part about the combat system is the brilliant Witch Time effect. If you dodge and enemies attack the last moment time will slow down, this give you an opportunity to string together even bigger combos. Strings of uninterrupted combos lead to Torture Attacks which, when activated cause massive damage to your opponent in hilarious and agonising ways. With a game that’s so focused on exhilarating offence, there has to be moments where your forced to play defensively otherwise it‘d just be boring.
With all of these offensive and defensive moves combined Bayonetta gives you a great feeling when you pull off stunning combos, as if you’re the one who is doing all the fighting, not Bayonetta.
Although the combat system is miles ahead of anything else in it’s genre, the core gameplay is very linear and has been done before with same old pattern of facing a horde of enemies, exploring the level and then followed by another horde of enemies and so on, but don’t be fooled by thinking that it’s just blindly following the same formula as every other action game.
Bayonetta is good at mixing up enemy combinations and even though the Angles you face are the most common enemy, you’ll find that they’re a lot harder to defeat when they’ve got some back-up. Not only that, but bosses that you’ve previously beaten in the game reappear in regular fights, sometimes more than once. Enemies that you’d expect to be end-of-level bosses in other games are served to you as mere cannon fodder in Bayonetta, and make no mistake; they are hard to beat.
The only problem with the gameplay is with it’s puzzles which are, quite frankly, too easy and not worth putting into the game. Thankfully, thought, there aren’t many puzzle sections which means that you can enjoy the game for what it truly is.
The graphics in Bayonetta do look fabulous and are very good, but it’s nothing ground breaking. With that said, the games does run at a full 60fps meaning that the in-game action is as smooth as silk. If the games graphics were too detailed then you’d miss out on the slik combat action. Although character models aren’t exactly detailed the backgrounds and setting to the levels are and they are just wonderful to look at and they take you to some great places. The end game boss, in particular, is stunning to look at simply by the sheer mammoth scale of the thing. It puts Shadow of the Colossus to shame.
The game does sometimes suffer from the odd bit of slowdown, but that’s really the only bad thing that can be said about the gameplay, and even when it does slowdown you can barely notice it. However, compared to the Xbox 360, the PS3 version does suffer from slowdown more often and the in-game cut scenes take far longer to load than the 360. In fact, some of the PS3’s cut scenes load mid-way through the actual scene, as if it’s buffering it or something. The PS3 also lack in the graphics department with blurry graphics and dull colours compared to 360. Needless to say, if you have a choice then pick up the Xbox 360 version.
So the game looks very nice, but unfortunately the same can’t be said about the music or the voice acting. The games music is a strange mix of Jazz and J-Pop which doesn’t seem to fit at all and the voice acting isn’t any better either. It’s not as bad as, say, House of the Dead but characters like Enzo and Rodin can get pretty irritating quickly. Bayonetta’s character is portrayed quite well, but that’s about as good as it gets where acting is concerned.
Bayonetta is good at mixing up enemy combinations and even though the Angles you face are the most common enemy, you’ll find that they’re a lot harder to defeat when they’ve got some back-up. Not only that, but bosses that you’ve previously beaten in the game reappear in regular fights, sometimes more than once. Enemies that you’d expect to be end-of-level bosses in other games are served to you as mere cannon fodder in Bayonetta, and make no mistake; they are hard to beat.
The only problem with the gameplay is with it’s puzzles which are, quite frankly, too easy and not worth putting into the game. Thankfully, thought, there aren’t many puzzle sections which means that you can enjoy the game for what it truly is.
The graphics in Bayonetta do look fabulous and are very good, but it’s nothing ground breaking. With that said, the games does run at a full 60fps meaning that the in-game action is as smooth as silk. If the games graphics were too detailed then you’d miss out on the slik combat action. Although character models aren’t exactly detailed the backgrounds and setting to the levels are and they are just wonderful to look at and they take you to some great places. The end game boss, in particular, is stunning to look at simply by the sheer mammoth scale of the thing. It puts Shadow of the Colossus to shame.
The game does sometimes suffer from the odd bit of slowdown, but that’s really the only bad thing that can be said about the gameplay, and even when it does slowdown you can barely notice it. However, compared to the Xbox 360, the PS3 version does suffer from slowdown more often and the in-game cut scenes take far longer to load than the 360. In fact, some of the PS3’s cut scenes load mid-way through the actual scene, as if it’s buffering it or something. The PS3 also lack in the graphics department with blurry graphics and dull colours compared to 360. Needless to say, if you have a choice then pick up the Xbox 360 version.
So the game looks very nice, but unfortunately the same can’t be said about the music or the voice acting. The games music is a strange mix of Jazz and J-Pop which doesn’t seem to fit at all and the voice acting isn’t any better either. It’s not as bad as, say, House of the Dead but characters like Enzo and Rodin can get pretty irritating quickly. Bayonetta’s character is portrayed quite well, but that’s about as good as it gets where acting is concerned.
It’s easy to right-off Bayonetta as a DMC clone, but it simply isn’t. Although the storyline can be confusing to follow at times and the voice acting below par, it’s the gameplay that stands out above everything else and it lets you forgive the games slight flaws. Bayonetta doesn’t just tick the boxes in the ‘Action Games Rule Book‘, it re-writes it and shows everyone how an action games is really done and sets the bar for all other games in the genre.
If there’s one game that you have to buy in 2010, then make sure it’s Bayonetta. Simply reading this review doesn’t justify how great this games it. Go and play it for yourself; you’ll soon see what were talking about. + Adam
If there’s one game that you have to buy in 2010, then make sure it’s Bayonetta. Simply reading this review doesn’t justify how great this games it. Go and play it for yourself; you’ll soon see what were talking about. + Adam
In short - Forget about Dante and Kratos. Bayonetta is the new Queen of action games, and it’s going to take something truly special to kick her out of her throne.
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