Bayonetta

Bayonetta is one of those games that will constantly leave you in awe with its sheer ridiculousness and no holds barred action. It’s over the top, hyper-sexualized female lead might make you feel a little guilty, but despite all that she is cool, calm and can kick some major back. Just a warning, your wife/girlfriend may not appreciate you playing a game where the protagonist’s clothes constantly disappear for climax attacks.

Right from the beginning of the game, you are treated to a lengthy introduction to the game’s storyline. You’ll also figure out right away that its crazy. Though the cut scenes are generally rather long, most of them are just cool looking action vignettes. The dialogue is generally kept to a minimum, which is good since what’s there is pure cheese. The voice acting is only particularly well done by Bayonetta, while the rest are decent to garbage. You will hear the words “Mummy” uttered constantly from the child character, and it loses its charm real quick. Honestly, the story is forgettable, merely serving as the link between all the awesome action and set pieces you will experience.

Thanks to tight, responsive controls, playing Bayonetta is fun right from the start. It eases you in at a decent pace, allowing you to become more and more comfortable with the combos as the game becomes progressively more challenging. And challenging it is, even on normal you will get a good work out from your relentless enemies. If you want to button mash, the game cleverly provides easier difficulty levels, where combos are automatically strung together, no matter what you press. Even if you don’t like to button mash, I thought it was cool to see some of the awesome looking combos I could pull off as I got better at the game. Load screens are also intelligently used, giving you the opportunity to practice combos while you wait.

I won’t go deep into the structure of the fighting, since it could take a while to describe the level of depth to the combat. You can attach different weapons to both your hands and your feet, which creates a massive list of different attack combinations at your disposal. Essentially, the game allows you to play however you feel comfortable. Generally certain situations are better dealt with certain weapons, but overall you pick your poison, and it will work with fantastic results. When you build up enough magic by pulling off combos and perfectly timed dodges, you get to use torture attacks to quickly dispatch enemies. Even if your just watching a buddy play, there is tons of enjoyment just seeing this crazy stuff. It definitely comes off particularly Japanese, but I think anyone into action will like what they see.

One thing that may be divisive for people is the music choice. The game mixes J-pop, with dance type jazz, and the typical orchestral score. It also all pops up at weird times, I’m just not sure what to think of it. Although I enjoyed most of the music, I just felt it was a little out of place at times. Ultimately, it does suit the bizarre tongue-and-cheek style presented.

Visually Bayonetta is a stunner. There is an incredible amount of detail in the environments and most of the action takes place on epic landscapes with all sorts of madness going on around you. Even basic encounters are better when you are on objects falling from the sky. I thought Bayonetta’s running looked a little awkward, but it’s probably because she’s wearing heels with guns attached! The only time I had framerate issues was towards the end of the game when there was lots going on. Although it wasn’t a huge issue, it still threw some of the timing off on my combos. There is also some minor screen tearing during the brief times you are running around with no enemies.

If I had to compare it to a game, I would compare it most to Devil May Cry on drugs. It’s just plain insane, and insanely fun to play. If it wasn’t for each stage separated by chapters, I probably would have never stopped to think long enough to turn off my xbox. Bayonetta is a fantastic start to 2010 and is already a good Game of the Year contender. Playing through the story ran me about 10 hours, but with multiple difficulty levels and tons of stuff to unlock and upgrade your character, there is plenty more hours of ridiculous fun available. It’s a must play game for any Devil May Cry or Ninja Gaiden fan, but if you like good action games, you’ll love Bayonetta.