Bayonetta review

Developers:
Platinum Games (Team Little Angels)
Sega (PS3 port)

Publisher:
SEGA

Designer:
Hideki Kamiya (director)

Artist:
Mari Shimazaki (character designer)

Composer:
Masami Ueda
Hiroshi Yamaguchi
Rei Kondo
Akari Kaida
Erina Niwa
Norihiko Hibino
Yoshitaka Suzuki
Takahiro Izutani
Takayasu Sodeoka

Platform:
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (BEING REVIWED ON THE PS3 VERSION)

Release date:
JP October 29, 2009
NA January 5, 2010
EU January 8, 2010

Genre:
Action

Mode:
Single-player

Rating:
BBFC: 15
CERO: D
ESRB: M
OFLC: MA15+
OFLC: R16
PEGI: 18

Remember when you first picked up Devil May Cry 1 and started playing it? Remember all the demon ass kicking you did, remember how awesome it felt to kick HUGE bosses in the face while being awesome and cool bout it , remember how Dante was so cool and epic? Well in Bayonetta it’s the same only x100 times more epic. I got my copy by the end of December 2009 which was leaked a week before its original release date , I was going to the shop to pick up Uncharted 2 and what ever second hand games they have. So while I was browsing through the games, I found this game with a weird cover, sexy girl posing in space and the earth is in the back ground?? . . . It took me a second till it finally hit me IT WAS Bayonetta, I picked up a copy and put in my pocket just to make sure that i have it lol. I went back home, pop the disc in and OMG @_@ all I can say is , well , I have been playing it none stop since then.

Presentation:
When you start the game you will notice kamiya's DMC (Devil May Cry) touch all over the menu, even the girl saying BAYONETTA like DMC when you press start. The main menus are straightforward while the in game menu a.k.a. “pause” ‎is a little tricky. To be honest it took me a few chapters before I fully understood ‎how to use the item and weapon menu properly, there is really no ‎explanation to tell you how to equip or shuffle your weapons and the item menu ‎”continue” part was the same. Pressing "O" will get you out of sub menus but it will not exit the main menu, you will still have to press "X" to exit which was weird for me. Aside from the menu talk, Bayonetta got one of the biggest environments I saw in an action game so massive yet detailed; I liked how they made some of the “no ground environments” work. Everything flows smoothly and reacts to the action you inflict on your enemies. I liked the health and magic bars how they sparkle it really fits Bayonetta's feminine side. When I first saw the screen shots of the game (specially the wicked wave a.k.a. ‎giant hands and foot stomp moves), I was kind of skeptical about it. I had the ‎feeling that it will never flow right through the game and it will make some frame ‎rate issues, but I was completely wrong as the game and battles flows like magic ‎and you enjoy how you inflict pain to your enemies. Of course regarding the whole PS3 vs. XBOX360 frame rate issue, well, yeah the xbox version is much more stable but honestly, I played the PS3 copy and it did not really affect the fun.
Score: 9.5/10

Gameplay:
Hmmm…the core game plays of Bayonetta is all about hack and slash at maximum level and time, what more do you need from an action?? the action is really satisfying and the amount of combos you can land on enemies is insanely big , i was surprised by how much the combos and chains you can use in this game to kill your enemies. The weapons were epic, how many games you know that has a female lead wearing guns on her high heels? Baynetta can do that and its not just guns there is a lot of weapons and different variations you can do by mixing your weapons. Depending on which weapon combination you use your whole strategy in killing enemies will change. I will not spoil anything but I like the skates :3
One of the most awesome things about Bayonetta is her Hair! What? Yes her hair, Bayonetta wears a suit made of her own hair because she is a witch and witches don’t protect people right? Well in this game they do lol.
The protagonist wears the suit not to just cover her body :3 but to also summon giant demon monsters to kill her enemies and believe me you will never be more satisfied when you kick an enemy's ass so you can behead them in a sadistic way. Bayonetta is easily the most action over the top game for the PS3 and XBOX360 at the moment
Score: 10/10

Characters:
In the game, you will meet a bunch of characters that help shape up the world and story of Bayonetta, I think the design was kind of weird at first but it grows on you and believe it or not the game was designed by a woman and she said no one will know what men wants like a woman. I think that the game needed more characters but I think it was fine the way it is, every character got its own charm and they added it nicely to the story.
Score: 10/10

Overall:
to sum it up , Bayonetta is a very satisfying action game and it will give you this adrenaline rush every time a battle starts or boss shows up. the game was relatively long which was nice, there is a very easy mode which will make the game approachable to anyone who is new the genre. Lots of replay value for all the weapons and bonuses to unlock. It’s a game that will always be there waiting for you to come back and kick some more ass. and as usual like every game made the guys formally known as “Clover”, their game endings is always nice and makes you sit and watch it till the end . The people who are behind it are Team Angels (sound feminine enough to be familiar?). Bayonetta is a game I think personally you should pick up if you were ever a fan of the DMC series and believe me its worth it.
Score 9.5/10

Pro(s)
Over the top action
It feels nice to kick foes ass
Long play time
Lots of replay value
Sexy Bayonetta bonus unlocks @_@
One of the coolest OSTs that I heard in an action game
Bayonetta can be baby easy or Demon hard for the hard core players, a treat for everyone

Con(s)
Frame rate issue in the PS3 version
Long loading times in the PS3 "fixed in a later update"
Needed more menu and system explanation


~MAMO chan~ :3