Review by Anthony Bacchus

Bayonetta is ridiculous. Let’s just get that out of the way. You won’t play a more strange, perplexing and outrageous title in this generation. I’ve played my share of weird games, but nothing could have prepared me for a shape-shifting witch that summons hellish demons from another dimension to destroy angelic creatures with her hair. Yes, with her hair! Bayonetta is the latest from Hideki Kamiya (acclaimed director of such greats as Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe and Okami) in which he attempts to create a new next gen successor to DMC. Does he succeed? Hell Yes!

With all that being said, Bayonetta is an unforgettable experience that will wow gamers from beginning to end with it’s stylish presentation, gorgeous visuals and it’s deliciously entertaining combat system.

You play as Bayonetta, the cool titular character that is as much dangerous as she is sexy. She awakens from a 500 year sleep, with no memory of who she is. All she knows for certain is that she’s been cursed to taking down the angels from heaven who manifest themselves as vicious monsters that are bent on killing her. During the course of your adventure, you’ll slowly unravel Bayonetta’s back story and purpose in an ongoing war between light and dark. Sporting a skin-tight outfit, a beehive hairdo and glasses, Bayonetta is not your traditional female heroine and that’s what makes her so much fun to play.

-Graphics-

Boasting excellent next-gen visuals, Bayonetta is a treat for the eyes. The game runs at a wicked 60 fps and each character, enemy and environment are so intricately detailed that you can’t help but feel suckered into the fictional city of Vingrid. Bayonetta herself moves at a brisk pace and every punch and kick animation is smooth and elegant. Smaller details like Luka’s scarf and lighting effects during magic spells are the icing on the cake. The graphics aren’t perfect though. Expect some slowdown during some of the more intense battles with large bosses and there is some screen tearing when exploring the various sections of the city. These minor annoyances aside, this is one beautiful game.

-Sound-

The soundtrack in Bayonetta is interesting and one that screams JPop and could potentially get on peoples’ nerves. However, after spending hours with the game, the music, well, somehow – fits. During combat, the impacts of each and every hit is perfect and when collaborated with the soundtrack, it all sounds refreshing and strangely enticing at the same time. Voice acting is decent, not great. Bayonetta sounds perfectly fine, but the actors for Enzo and Ronin just have to go. I will give props to the catchy rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me To The Moon.” Bravo!

-Gameplay-

Bayonetta is the female equivalent to Dante but comes packed with four equipped guns, katanas, shotguns and pretty much anything a nearby enemy drops. This assorted arsenal is a fantastic addition to the frantic combat system and is where the game truly shines. Bayonetta is the kind of game that can overwhelm any gamer just from simply watching it. The action is so fast-paced that it seems nearly impossible that the game can have a decent control layout. Well put those doubts aside because Platinum Games have created one of the simplest yet deep control set ups in a videogame.

Your usual punch and kick buttons are present, as well as an action button and an evade button. That’s really about it. But it’s the amount of combinations that can be done with these actions that really make it special. Let it be known that this isn’t an easy system to master. Expect to die numerous times on your first play through before the core combat mechanics are fully understood.

Because the game has no block button, you are forced to learn and execute the evade technique which is especially convenient when most of the larger enemies can only be dealt with by dodging. By evading at the right moment, you active Witch Time which allows Bayonetta to move faster than her opponents for a brief amount of time to inflict crushing combos and magic spells. Only about half way through the game was I able to dodge nearly every attack successfully and earn a gold medal or higher after every confrontation. I can go on and on about the combat in Bayonetta and it’s increasingly challenging and rewarding system.

Bayonetta is more than just combat though. During certain sections of a level or after a chapter is completed, you can access The Gates of Hell where you can purchase items, new moves, techniques and weapons. If you’re low on cash (referred to as Halos in the game) you can concoct items through a simple mini-game where health items can be made, as well as offense and defensive support items. It isn’t the deepest of systems, but you’ll be glad it was implemented when the next shop isn’t within distance for some time.

If there is a major setback to the game, it has to be its story and the way it is told. To put it simply, Bayonetta’s story is a jumbled mess. To make matters worse, Bayonetta actually feels like it has a good story to tell but it’s execution is all wrong. There are two kinds of cutscenes in the game that help drive the story along and only of them truly works. The scenes that are all rendered with the in-game engine are amazing. These usually include some incredible acrobatic fight sequence elevated with strong animations, lighting and voice acting. The other cutscene is a static film strip sequence that plays out like a slideshow only with dialogue. These simply do not work and it actually feels like the developers just ran out of money. Often times, the film strips are peppered throughout the normal cutscenes and then are changed back again. An example of this comes early on when Bayonetta and her accomplice, Enzo are driving on the freeway when, without warning, they are forced to drive off the freeway to avoid colliding with a downed airplane. However, as soon as the collision is about to form, we have to witness it through four snap shots before reverting back to the in-game movies. I couldn’t help but feel a little cheated when these sequences would occur.

-Final Thoughts-

In what is already becoming a jam packed year of highly anticipated games, Bayonetta is the first “must buy” game. If you even have the slightest interest in action games, you owe yourself to try this game. This game brought back fond memories of my Dreamcast days when a game like this would be released on Sega’s box every other month. Maybe because Sega published this game was the reason I feel that way, but it does feel like a long lost Dreamcast game. Bayonetta won’t win any awards when it comes to storytelling, but it makes up for it with its awesome combat, style and flair.

*A quick note must be addressed before I go on. There is a lot of debate between the 360 and PS3 versions of Bayonetta and how the PS3 version suffers from performance issues. I can only comment on the 360 version, thus this score relates only to the Xbox 360 version. If UCC News Editor Matthew Dykstra chooses to comment on the PS3 copy, then please do so.*

Rating

A-