by GrathiusXR:

©2010 Arthur Kotsopoulos

Stylised Over The Top Action

Bayonetta seems to be quite the rage at the moment, and it needs to be in good form as well in order to take on the likes of  THQ‘s Darksiders, which was also released on the same day. Both are action games, both feature gigantic enemies, both have a battle between Heaven & Hell but both seem to have faults in different areas.

Bayonetta seems to be the hardcore ‘action’ game when compared to Darksiders, in that it features more over-the-top action variety across the board. Brought to life by Hideki Kamiya (from the original Devil May Cry game) of Platinum Games, Bayonetta sets to not revolutionise the genre, but to expand it and add flavour.

• Bayonetta Accoldaes Vid

As a hot intellectual-looking female protagonist, Bayonetta carries out a plethora of some of the craziest moves I’ve seen in any game to feature fighting/action, and an ability where Bayonetta’s hair can rip apart the bigger enemies in a beautiful climatic scene makes this game larger than life (or virtual life as the case may be).

It pulls out all the big moves and spares nothing on the beautiful fluid action experience in doing so.

Fluid Game Flow

From the main menu to the crazy opening level, you will almost instantaneously be reminded of Hideki Kamiya’s Devil May Cry back on the Playstation 2. From the characteristic sound when you select Play in the menu, to the excellent and yet graceful combat movements throughout the game.

The Eurovision-esque pop music that plays during battles and the average yet very cheesy voice acting of all the characters adds a fresh layer of flavour to this genre, and again, whilst the game doesn’t revolutionise the Japanese-styled hack-n’-slash genre it sure does make it extremely fun to appreciate.

Starting the game on Normal (as Hard can only be unlocked upon completing Normal) the game sort of plays out as a massive tutorial until you’ve completed your 1st playthrough. Enemies do moderate damage, they attack more frequently -  well you get the gist of it.

• Bayonetta Fliud Morhping

What I disliked about this is the fact that I can’t play the game off the get go on the difficulty of my choice. I am forced to have to play it on an easier level despite having played my fair share of action games which frustrates me no end – *cough Ninja Gaiden 2 cough*.

It’s annoying really, as I don’t mind frustration really, because in the end it makes me want to better my combination of moves. It makes me play smarter, it allows me to learn how to adapt to any situation, and most of all, it teaches me to never underestimate my enemy.

That’s not to say ‘Normal’ does not have its fair share of frustration though – oh no. ‘Normal’ still offers up plenty of hours of combat goodness and some enemies that will start to make you want to rip your hair out.

Luscious Locks

Funny that I should mention hair here actually, as one of Bayonetta’s really unique offerings is the fact that Bayonetta’s hair (yes Bayonetta is her name) is very alive and evil. Pull off any specific combination of moves and her hair actually plays a part in the combat as well.

It can create a giant boot or fist out of thin air and deliver massive damage to your enemies.

It’s a very useful tool that she possesses, and one that becomes a very interesting piece of gameplay. As not only does the hair help out with lesser enemies, but at the climatic end of a boss fight or mini-boss fight, Bayonetta often summons her hair for a very satisfying and skillful kill.

The combat is handled with care and you can see that it was invested with time and high levels of production values as combat is fluid and chaining combinations of moves is like a jazz musician playing his saxophone: smooth.

BUT… what suffers from this is the story. Bayonetta’s storyline is somewhat confusing and the use of film strips stills to narrate half the cutscenes does not help at all.

Ahhh… The storyline . . . . hmmm

Having finished the game I STILL do not understand what the story is all about. Half-way through the game I thought I had a clear understanding of what the basic story was, that was of course until I got to the final few chapters, where I lost interest once again as another poorly explained and executed twist in the plot came about.

Yes the combat is fluid, yes the enemies are massive in scale and yes Bayonetta does have the sex appeal to carry it all off but, regardless of how great and how much fun a game can be, without a clear cut, well explained storyline, it just doesn’t do it for me.

What strikes me as odd though, is how the game takes a page from Devil May Cry 4′s book. Where half-way through the game you actually replay a few levels you have already completed, except this time they are slightly varied.

By varied I mean they’re not on the ground anymore: they are actually floating in the air in Paradiso (or Heaven as we mortals know it).

Let’s go to heaven

Once you hit this part of the game it does start to get a bit tedious.  Enemies that you once battled with in the beginning of the game are less frequent, where bigger more harder enemies start to appear much more through the game.

Mini-bosses that you fought previously start to appear more in the 2nd half of the game- heck even level ending bosses that you defeated are thrown at you once more like the common grunt.

I must say though, it’s great that they did this, as it adds a bit more of a challenge but when a game starts to become tedious or feel repetitive, which often tends to result in just pure frustration. By the end of the game they basically throw everything they can at you and it strikes me as lazy rather than creative.

Think COD:World at War where the last few levels were just grenade spam-central and every checkpoint was a killer to get to – that is basically the same case with Bayonetta. Which is a shame in my opinion.

Don’t get me wrong though, Bayonetta is a great game both visually and with fun gameplay. Once you hit your stride and mix move after move in 50+ combos it’s just beautiful music to a hack-n’-slashes ears and eyes.

Not to mention the fact that you can buy new moves as well as items which can help you out in the midst of battle.  You can get items which can turn you into a pack of bats right before you get hit, which negates damage, and turns on Witch Time (Think The Matrix- everything is slow motion but you). There is a block feature, where if you press the Left Thumbstick towards an ememie’s attack, and do so at the perfect time, you can activate an Extended Witch Time.

There are plenty more to buy and these add variety to the game. To obtain all the items available in the game you need to do at least 2-3 play throughs, and don’t worry finishing Normal unlocks Hard then finishing hard unlocks Climax.

Speaking of Climax

So all in all Bayonetta is a worthy purchase especially if you live in Australia as the Climax Edition comes with a replica Scarborough Gun which whilst the paint work is shoddy it’s heavy and well worth adding to your collection.

If you are a gamer that loves a good storyline then avoid this at all costs as the draw point in Bayonetta is combat/action.

But if you’re a gamer who just loves to sit down relax and enjoy some great action then Bayonetta is the perfect game to tide you over until the big action boys get released.

©2010 Arthur Kotsopoulos

“8.5/10

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