Back in my high school and college days I was fairly consistent and up to date (to a degree) with most of my video gaming. Now it seems that I have fallen incredibly behind, almost to the point where I don't play much at all. There are various reasons for this but the best way to explain it would be that my life's focus has shifted directions. But I still love to play a good video game. To be up front let it be known that I am a Playstation guy, my current system being a PS3.
BAYONETTA is one of my more recent endeavors (like I said, I'm way behind). The game was released back in 2010 onto Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. More recently the game saw a release on the Wii U for Nintendo this last year in preparation for the sequel being released exclusively for the Wii U (what kinda crap is that?! Where's my Playstation 3 port?!).
What first attracted me to the game was the director, Hideki Kamiya. This great man is responsible for such legendary games as Resident Evil 1 & 2, Devil May Cry, Okami, and Viewtiful Joe along with others. Bayonetta promised to be another game in the vein of Devil May Cry (my favorite series of his). Just the thought of receiving another Devil May Cry-esque game from him was enough to get me onboard. I had also heard a many great things from friends and fellow gamers about the extreme action of the game too (my kind of game;)
Plot: The Umbra Witches and the Lumen Sages, the darkness and the light of our world, have been ancient rivals since time and memorial. Together the two factions provided balance for the world. Many centuries ago a battle occurred which nearly annihilated the Umbra Witches. All but two perished. Since then the Lumen Sages have prospered and enjoyed a period of unchallenged authority.
After 500 years of sleep one of the two surviving witches, Bayonetta, awakens. She has no memory nor recollection as to what her mission is or where she comes from. Almost immediately upon resurrection she is attacked by Angels, minions of the Lumen Sages. As Bayonetta continues she slowly uncovers more about that fateful day 500 years ago when the Lumen Sages fought the Umbra Witches.
It's kind of a classic plot but it works nonetheless.
Gameplay: Like I mentioned earlier, one of the big draws for me was the patented action gameplay signature of director Hideki Kamiya. Mr. Kamiya does not disappoint. Bayonetta plays a fluidly as the best Devil May Cry while maintaining a sense of its own individuality. The action is fast paced and player created, meaning the player is given a set of abilities and it is up to the player to string combos together, move and dodge, and ultimately revel in one's own badass skills. It's a great mix of guns and edged weapons, very much in the style of Devil May Cry.
Too many action games nowadays dumb down the gameplay with auto-combos or quick time commands making the action more pre-programmed and less customized (God Of War and Castlevania: Lords of Shadow for example). I'm not trying to sound elitist or pretentious by saying this but the developers of these types of games are getting complaints from gamers that these games (like Devil May Cry 3) are WAY too difficult. In perfect consumerist response the developers strive to makes great games but search for a way to attract the largest audience by making them more accessible. By doing so they're taking away a little bit of the pride and effort to beat these games.
Bayonetta finds a great compromise with it's fighting system. You can utilize both kinds of methods at once. The amazing customizable action is intact but you also have an alternate form of attack with your witch magic, using a gauge of magic power and activating it near an enemy with quick time commands. The system works brilliantly and is very flashy. Also wicked cool in this game is the use of "Witch Time" which if you dodge an attack at the last possible moment all your enemies around you slow down and you speed up enabling you to hammer on them mercilessly for a brief period of time. Mastering all three techniques makes for some killer video game action!
Character Design: The designs for the characters are an interesting blend of post-modern melding with older European esthetics (I really don't know fashion very so take my comments at face value). Bayonetta has a sexy cool design but most of the supporting cast seem rather blah and uninspired. Where the designs really take off is with the enemy angels and Lumen Sages. I've seen a lot of monsters in my day but the design approach of the enemies here is truly original and one of a kind. The bosses in the game are a wonder to behold and even the regular enemies have very unique looks.
I wouldn't change much about Bayonetta's design. Her character personality I could being tweaked a bit but overall I wouldn't alter her appearance. She looks great and looks like a new action hero icon.
Presentation: The game happens on an alternate plain of existence directly on top of our reality. This makes for some interesting landscape interactions as well as serving the plot. Third person over the shoulder gameplay with a small degree of camera control that allows you great views of the characters and the environment. The graphics for both the characters and backgrounds are top quality.
The cut scenes go back and forth between being total cinematics and a frame by frame still slide show. I have no idea what they were thinking with the film reel design. It's different but it comes across as cheap. I think it's a way of trying to keep the exposition interesting but it comes across as boring. I'd have preferred full cinematics instead.
Bayonetta is one extremely sexualized game too. Overtly sexual in its depiction of the title character and of several of the enemies and supporting cast. I was kind of stunned by how in your face the sexuality was (not that I'm complaining but you can definitely tell no woman was involved in the decision making of this game).
Then there's the music, about a dozen different versions of the song FLY ME TO THE MOON. I wonder what the fascination is with the Japanese and the song Fly Me To The Moon? It's featured in multiple anime shows among others. It's a jazzy soundtrack with some epic tracks for the boss battles too.
Replay Value: Like most action games there are several different levels of difficulties to choose from
including multiple easy modes for the casual gamer. The game is loaded with hidden items and secret stages. Everything you acquire carries over from play to play. There are plenty of skills and weapons to unlock and the challenge goes up immensly with each difficulty bump. One of the sad things though is that you lose your "Witch Time" ability with the higher difficulties. It certainly makes it harder.
All in all the game is strong and a wonderful action experience. I played the Deadpool game earlier this year and Bayonetta blows it out of the water. Comparing it to the Devil May Cry games it's more challenging than DMC, more fluid than Devil May Cry 4, and destroys Devil May Cry 2. I'd love to see Dante and Bayonetta in a game together.
Overall Ranking: 8 out of 10
A solid action game worthy of praise.
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