Bayonetta Review

A great way to start off the New Year is by playing Sega’s Bayonetta for the PlayStation 3 or XBOX 360. Bayonetta is simply one of the best action adventure games since the release of Devil May Cry 4. There are many things that need to be noted for Bayonetta that stand out more than Dante or Nero of the Devil May Cry series. Since its release and announcement, Bayonetta continues to be compared to Devil May Cry 4. Let me say this, Bayonetta is more and far better than the Devil May Cry series. Got it?

Bayonetta is available for both the XBOX 360 and PlayStation 3, but both are not the same. The PlayStation 3 version suffers from a lot of issues that can be considered as annoying and a great nuisance, while the XBOX 360 is the better version, you will get a better experience when playing it. Without further ado, let’s take a look on the HOTs and NOTs of the game:

HOT

Presentation
Bayonetta is one hot, sexy mama. Her portrayal in the game can be considered as slutty, but she has killer moves that will make you wet your pants. With her sexiness comes with great presentation that will surely impress gamers who are looking for nice graphics. One of the things that I love the most about Bayonetta is how everything is happening all at once in the background while you are trying to stop a horde of enemies that is coming after you. It sure will give you a thrill and excitement.

There are approximately sixteen chapters in the game including the prologue, and other chapters. Bayonetta will be traveling in a lot of places. From a beautiful city to a wretched coliseum, prepare yourself to experience to see one of the most compelling scenery in a game.

There are two kinds of cut scenes; a CG and a film strip storyboard. We all know how good the graphics are in when it’s CG, but one of the things that interest me is how the film storyboard works. In certain parts of the game, story will be conveyed through a series of still pictures in a film strip. Voices will be heard but as the action goes along, it will move to different poses. Think of it as a moving story board.

Since Bayonetta is a witch, the enemies she will be facing are the creatures from heaven. Just because they are from heaven doesn’t mean it’s all nice looking. Prepare to meet some angels from heaven with a deformed look. It’s hard to explain how they look like because you will sometimes just see a face of an angel in a dog’s body or a face in a bird’s body with a halo of course. It sure looks nice, but if that’s how real angels looked like, I will be damned scared.

Tons of Combos
There are a lot of combos to be performed in Bayonetta. As you progress through the game, you will be collecting halo rings from downed enemies. These Halo rings can be used to purchase upgrades such as combos all the way to Bayonetta’s weapons via the Gates of Hell shop that can be accessed through intermission or certain parts of the games. I believe there are over 50 combos that can be executed and they are all very fierce and brutal.

As you collect souls while fighting enemies, you can let Bayonetta perform a special attack that deals massive damage. This is called a Torture attack and when executed, you will be pressing random buttons repeatedly to increase its damage. The way Bayonetta will execute this Torture attack will vary from the type of enemies she will be killing.

Just because this is an action game, doesn’t mean you can just push one button and finish the game. There are parts of the game that requires strategy rather than button mashing. In each chapter of the game, you will be graded on your performances in fights. With Bayonetta, you can do a lot of hits in the enemy by combining the gun, kick, and punch buttons. Think of it as a fighting game but with more depth and cool execution attacks. At the end of each verses, you will receive a score and a coin award that will be counted on your overall score for the chapter. Just remember, dodge and attack like there’s no tomorrow.

Tons of Weapons to choose from
Aside from kicks and guns, Bayonetta can use the weapons that enemies drop. There are a lot of them throughout the game and they vary from a big key to the weapon of the Grim Reaper. If you are getting tired of Bayonetta’s guns and kicks, you better make sure of these weapons. Just remember that there are also weapons that can be accessed via the Gates of Hell.

Phenomenal Music Score
Ok, aside from the gameplay of this game, I must say that the soundtrack used is one of the best. When fighting enemies or bosses, you will be hearing this lovely and engaging songs with a little bit of jazz that will let you feel the action of the game. As for the voice over’s, it’s decent but cannot be considered as one of the best.

Story
There are two clans that looks over the planet; the Umbra Witches, a clan that goes with the demons of inferno and the Lumen Sages, a clan that follow the commands of the god. Bayonetta, being the last survivor of the Umbra Witches sets out in an adventure to find out the truth on what happened to her in the past. Both clans waged a war with one another and the world became unbalanced without both of them existing. Bayonetta must now find the truth about her past and you will be helping her by fighting legions of angels.

NOT

Confusing Story
The story of Bayonetta is pretty straight forward in the beginning of the game but as you go through it, you will notice some lose ends. There are things that you will wonder about and it’s pretty hard to say it here since it since it will pretty much spoil the story. Just take note of the story for yourself and you will know what I’m talking about. If you are
not pretty concerned with the story of the game and just want the action, then you will have no problem with this one.

PS3 Version is a downgrade
Ok, the PlayStation 3 version of Bayonetta will really ruin the fun at times. Expect a lot of load times in between and during the game. One of the things that really is annoying is every time you get an item, open something from the main menu or do a little things that changes from one screen to the next, you will be seeing a two-five seconds loading times. This doesn’t include the long load times when loading the game chapter. To help you ease out the wait when waiting for the game to load, you can control Bayonetta in the loading screen and practice combos. There are also visual hic ups through the PS3 version many players will notice as the game goes along. Further problems include things such as screen tearing, choppy visuals, not so smooth textures, and a lack of detail in certain places. The PS3 version of Bayonetta isn’t bad by any means, the 360 version is just a superior experience overall.

VERDICT

Bayonetta is indeed one of the games that everyone should definitely pick up to start off the New Year. It is considered as the best action games to release in years, and no action fan should miss it. Her sexy look will not only attract male gamers, but she will make you fall in love with her personality. If you have both XBOX 360 and PlayStation 3 system, I would highly suggest to get the XBOX 360 version, but if you only have a PlayStation 3, just get it because the fun and action you will be experiencing is priceless.

[Editor’s Note: Bayonetta was reviewed on a PlayStation 3 platform.]