Now, this may just be a result of four years of playing God of War.

But when I play God of War, I know what every combo is (not hard, there are only 10-15), what it does, and when to use it. I know when I should be blocking, evading, jumping, etc. I have to think about these things, though, in relation to the situation. That's where the difficulty comes from.

In a typical Japanese hack and slash, with its 50-60 different combos, I find myself ignoring them and just mashing the attack buttons while randomly jumping around everywhere, in a vain attempt to evade enemy attacks.

I never button mash in GoW, and I always button mash (sort of) in J-Hack and Slashes. I just don't see any other option, especially since Bayonetta "teaches" you combos by showing a list of a few of them, which you can try out in the ten second loading screen.

@Kantor

Ah, but then your complains come from the fact of the increased complexity of japanese Hack-Slash games, rather than they being inately Button Smashers, which they are not.

It's true that GoW is more user friendly in it's approach, you could learn all combos very fast and you could stick with a few of them (especially once you reach level 5 with the Blades) and obliterate anything in the game, but that doesn't actually differ from the formula of DMC, NG or Bayonetta.

Added complexity just means that you'll have to pour more of yourself to master the game, and to open yourself to more strategical approaches and actually make a bigger attempt at learning the patterns of those given names.

That's why I say it's a bit unfair to put that label on Japanese Hack-Slash games and not GoW, since the only actual difference comes from the difficulty gaps and the ability of gamers themselves, and not actual game mechanics.

Kantor said: I just beat the GoW3 demo without dying or using any of the 15 or so health chests. Easy games are nice (though this is presumably Easy difficulty).

amen to that brother... but thats why there are very easy difficulties in japanese hack and slash games xD

it would be awesome to see you review Bayonetta though... Your reviews are amazing man xD

But what is one supposed to do? Memorise all 60 combos which do the exact same thing?

GoW combos have nice, memorable names: Plume of Prometheus. Valor of Hercules.

Not Left-Swing-Uppercut or Bottom-Right-Kick or Bottom-Right-Punch-Kick-To-Raised-Elbow or whatever.

I also dislike how JH&S give you scores and times at the end of each level.

In that sense, I suppose it isn't the hack and slash elements of GoW that make me love it. Or perhaps it's the few hack and slash elements it shares with DMC, NG and Bayonetta, and the stuff it adds in to replace the 800 combos and score screens.

gustave154 said: Kantor said: I just beat the GoW3 demo without dying or using any of the 15 or so health chests. Easy games are nice (though this is presumably Easy difficulty). amen to that brother... but thats why there are very easy difficulties in japanese hack and slash games xD it would be awesome to see you review Bayonetta though... Your reviews are amazing man xD

Reviewing Bayonetta would entail sitting through 12 hours of that painful experience.

Note how I only review games which I somewhat like, and most of the games I review are my favourites.

@Kantor

You don't have to memorize all combos, because after you put enough time, or about the same time that you have put on GoW, you'll find combos that are efficient for you and those that work for certain types of enemies.

I agree with you that it takes more time and it's more difficult to do so in japanese Hack-Slash, but it's more rewarding than when you do it on GoW, given the much more difficulty Curve.

I also love that games like Bayonetta and DMC times you and rates your performance according to your combo skills, damage taken and time taken, because you can take elations from those stats and see which areas you can improve next time ;)

As I said, GoW stands out for me because of it's magnificent story, but also because of having superb weapons, really good enemies and even though it uses a simplified mechanism, it's actually satisfactory as well.

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                  

Are we, at least, in agreement that, either:

a) Edge is full of shit, OR
b) The demo is not representative of the full game experience?

Because, no matter your genre preferences, that was NOT a 10/10 on the Edge scale.

@Gustave

You got to play the full game already? I'll be getting this game, since I already said that the demo blew me away ;)

But that doesn't take from the achievements that GoW has already made in the Hack-Slash genre, each game can co-exist ;)

I have to agree that it was NOT a perfect game.
The graphics is not that good even on the XBOX 360
and 'drum roll' its not on constant 60 fps.
There was some technical hitches that marred the game in some way.
But you will have to play the game to judge it for yourself.
EDGE does ridiculous stuff i know.