Bayonetta – Review

1. I must admit that is quite unexpected, but that’s only the beginning of the quirkiness of Bayonetta. She’s probably the only video game hero that I will know that actually uses her hair as her source of power. Seriously, you heard that right. Not only that, but as it progresses, you’ll realize that even the angels don’t seem all that innocent compared to what you have heard in church, that’s for sure.
   
   Story: 7.5/10
   
   500 years ago, the Umbra Witches and Lumen Sages which controlled the dark and light respectively; vanished. Also around this time, Bayonetta slept until these years passed. Once she awakened, she couldn’t remember what she was doing. As you get farther along, however, you find out what made these groups disappear as well as recover Bayonetta’s memory. As you go along, on average, you’ll see quite a lot of over the top cut scenes Bayonetta destroying angels in quite a number of ways as well as a character she doesn’t quite remember yet keeping an eye on her, so to say. The cut scenes are well-done, however, they do tend to carry on a bit longer then they should, and they’re also quite cheesy. You’ll meet other characters as well, but they don’t add too much to the story; save for one.
   
   Graphics: 9/10
   
   Vigrid is quite beautiful, and so are the other places you’ll go to. The enemies themselves also look great, and look quite angelic as well, if not freaky. One of the early enemies you’ll meet towers over you, but has a baby’s face for a head. You’d think something like that would look menacing, but it doesn’t. However, taking that for granted will surely get you killed as he’ll prove it to you very quickly. Even the bosses themselves look fantastic, but their looks range from grand to looking like an extreme monstrosity. It’s definitely not what you expected an angel to look like and it only gets better as you go along. The areas themselves are well detailed and the special effects are excellent. Just going from the modern world to this version of “heaven” is nothing short of evoking.
   
   Gameplay: 10/10
   
   As this was made by the same guy that did the original DMC, you’d expect just that and maybe some different weapons, right? Exactly, but it went beyond that. Heck, you even have the Stinger attack and can even do it in the air! The combat is fast and frantic and now with several combos with each available weapon, you’ll have to actually figure out what does what. The controls are straightforward but it’s the mastery of what you are doing that will have to show, as it’s pretty easy to do the basics and not much else, due to Witch Time.
   
   Witch Time is activated when Bayonetta dodges an attack at the moment it would have hit her. When this is being used, you move at normal speed but all enemies are essentially in slow-mo and you can combo at your leisure. This makes dealing with a large amount of enemies easier as well as bosses, assuming you get the timing right. There’s also a large amount of techniques and weapons that will only add to the experience as the majority of them will do something quite different. After getting so many of them, you can do all sorts of things with the combo system; from the simple, to the overly complex. It’s as awesome as you want to make it. The enemies themselves aren’t no slouches, however, as they want to take you to Inferno any way they can. As you can dodge at any moment, (yes, even during a combo) the ferocity of your average enemies is much greater than in DMC. Bosses will also be quite aggressive and will stop at nothing to bring you down to your last point of HP. You will die, you may die a lot, but you’ll try harder.
   
   Quite early in the game, you’ll learn about accessories which help you do things such as block attacks with the directional pad, create clones of yourself, and there’s even one that can make the game harder just by wearing it. This, in a way, adds to what you can already do in this melting pot of abilities. I don’t think I could do justice for the sheer amount of things you can do in this game, as it’s quite a lot to handle.
   
   Music/SE: 7/10
   
   The sounds are great for the most part, as if you’re attacking with the appropriate weapon, you’ll hear the sounds you’re expecting, and at times it’ll sound more brutal than you can imagine. However, the music is definitely has a hit or miss factor to it. It’s mostly J-pop during battles but during exploration, it’s usually…well…music fitting whatever you’re wandering to. If that’s not your thing though, you may end up hating it. I find it fine, but I can see this grating on the nerves of other people.
   
   Length: 10/10
   
   Secret weapons/accessories, extra content, extra difficulties, and even going for higher ranks all serve to make this game quite long. The average run through the first time will probably range from 10-15 hours depending on how well you do on this type of game. However, if you’re going for the higher ranks, expect this time to increase by quite a lot. The extra difficulties will also add to this considering you’ll definitely want to come back to it if it’s your cup of tea. There’s just so much to do that one playthrough can’t cover it, and the later difficulties change the game to the point where it doesn’t feel like the same challenge on the lower difficulties.
   It’s not hard to imagine that I’m still learning new things as well as honing my skills even after playing this game over 70 hours because of the sheer amount of things to do. If you like hack 'n slash up type of games, you can’t go wrong here. As a matter of fact, it’s time to crack some angel skulls. (..and somehow, I don’t feel right saying that)
2. Rating: 
   9
3. Product Release: Bayonetta (US, 01/05/2010)

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