The Official Bayonetta Thread

[gustave154]

BAYONETTA AWESOME REVIEW

I think Bayonetta has an interesting setting and story on its own. The weapons are superb you got a katana and cat claws , you can even pick up enemies weapons which are kinda neat. The enemies are really varied and they have different movesets and styles. It would take certain weapons to kill the enemies and thus will require the player to keep thinking on ways to defeat the creatures.

Bayonetta puts the bar very high in terms of number of moves available, but also in the way they can be chained gracefully. And even if her arsenal is already very deep in the beginning Bayonetta can use many different weapons, either some collected from fallen enemies or unlocked throughout the levels. Each new weapon opens new moves and combos, and the ability to switch from one to another at all times by a simple press on the left trigger multiplies the combo possibilities.

Each enemy, whatever its size, requires to think a new tactic to be put down efficiently. Some will be easier killed from the air, others will snap you out of the air and remove a big part of your health in the process. Pressing the R2/RT allows Bayonetta to dodge attacks with a kind of pirouette, but more importantly with the right timing it slows down time to allow for a furious counter-attack that can last a variable amount of time. This dodging system is introduced very early in the game, and it soon becomes a natural part of the fighting system.

It's indeed possible to buy new moves, weapons and potions at the game's shop. This is where the rings that most enemies leave on the ground when killed will be used. The shop is available before starting a new level, but also for the longest ones right in the middle of level itself. The least talented players such ______ will certainly enjoy being able to get some more health potions before going back to the fighting.

In a game like Bayonetta, bosses are an integral part of the experience, and again Platinum didn't fail to deliver. The more you progress into the game, the uglier they get, and of course they all require different tactics to be taken down. The most advanced ones have of course various phases, usually introduced after a rather devastating move by Bayonetta. Once again here Platinum proves their mastery of the genre.

The biggest competitors of Bayonetta, mostly Devil May Cry and Ninja Gaiden 2, tend to suffer from difficulty peaks, frustrating the player in the process. It looks like Kamiya's team took a long hard look at what was wrong with these and made sure that there would be enough checkpoints and put in infinite continues with a full health bar. Of course using a continue will instantly kill your chances of getting a good score at the end of the level, but for the average player who just wants to keep fighting an see more insane cut-scenes, this doesn't really matter. It's been a long time since such a hardcore game had basically zero frustrating points in its main gameplay.

With two tiers of 'easy' level to play at, Bayonetta is welcoming to newcomers, who will be able to perform impressive strings of attacks simply by mixing up button inputs. Play the game at Normal difficulty or higher, however, and every move will need to be carefully timed, especially during the protracted boss fights, some of which make up entire chapters of the game. With scored leaderboards for almost every level, the firm emphasis is on competition, and at high-level play, Bayonetta demands mastery before victory.                  

BUY THE GAME ON 5TH JANUARY 2010