Bayonetta is a successor to Devil May Cry. It is also presented in a more fun and far more insane way then Devil May Cry ever was. The titular character is basically a dominatrix librarian with guns on her feet, a suit made of her own hair, and all the moves that Dante has and then some. The games graphics are beautiful in the main, with great lighting and shine. There is an old cinema style slideshow effect that the game uses for its cutscenes at times, and this feels like either a bad stylistic choice by the developers or a low budget. I only complain about this because all other aspects of the game's presentation are so well done. Bayonetta herself is expertly crafted, with all her movements brilliantly animated.
The game has some good combat music, but repeats it WAY too often, there is only so much I can take of the same song over and over again. The voice acting is ok, nothing special, but thats not why anyone would play this game. The story line is....... well I didnt fully comprehend it. Bayonetta is a story about the traditional balance between light and darkness. Long ago, two clans -- the Lumen Sages and Umbran Witches -- maintained the balance between the opposing forces. The Lumen, aligned with the god of Paradiso, controlled the power of light, while the Umbra, funneling power from the demons of Inferno, watched over the darkness. Both clans had deep respect for each other and blah blah blah, its garbage.
What you will like is the game play. The combat in the game moves with huge speed, creating excitement for the fights. The game, while challenging, caters for beginners and experts with its variety of difficulties. The combat has some crazy looking special moves which make the end of battles with enemies a joy to watch. There are a plethora of combat moves in the game, and different weapons to use. This adds replayability to the game as you can try different fighting techniques. While the combat is excellent, the fixed camera is not always co-operative, but this is a minor issue here. Bayonetta also has some incredible boss battles which are fun and memorable, as well as being huge in scale at times. The design of some levels like going up a sky scraper on a motorbike or running upside down to the top of a tower are amazingly creative.
The game has a nice frame rate, and the campaign is surprisingly long. The game has moments including shooting an angel cherub in the japs eye, a green glow emenating from the anus of God, and a character riding a motorbike vertically up a skyscraper. I would recommend this game to any fan of the genre and also to anyone who would like to try the genre out.
pros: Smooth running and fun combat
great enemy designs and graphics
skill based and challenging
cons: Very difficult at parts
Weak story line
some cutscene decisions make the game seem low budget
wtf: Hair attacks make her naked
Score:
- 7/10