Developed by Platinum Games Inc, Bayonetta is an action title that comes greatly anticipated since its very first screenshot was shown. Hideki Kamiya, creator of “Devil May Cry” fame aside, this is a game that is self-styled the never-before-seen “Climax Action” genre (a great marketing gimmick if you ask me). And if you have been living on the moon since 2009, this is also that game that has a female protagonist whose leather-clad costume gradually loses material as she dishes out attacks. It’s every boy’s and man’s wet-dream, so what could possibly go wrong? The answer is… plenty.

The Good… Climax Action

Let’s start off with some positives. If you’ve played any of the “Devil May Cry” title and loved it, and you’re in this for the action alone; Bayonetta delivers. Period. Basically, you control the female protagonist, who comes with ultra-responsive gun, punch, kick and jump moves assigned to one button each. By pressing these buttons in different variations, you can execute some pretty amazing combos… hundreds of them, actually.

The exhaustive list of different combo moves is complemented by special “Torture Moves” which can used when you’ve built up a magic meter (by not getting hit… easier said than done). There’s a good variety of special moves, including grinding enemies with giant spiked wheels, or sawing them in halves using a chainsaw sword, or even imprisoning them with torture devices. It’s not first-of-its-kind by any means but seamless control and execution means you’re gonna have good fun if you’re an action gamer at heart.

The really fun part about Bayonetta is “Witch Time” (the game’s equivalent to “Bullet Time” from the Matrix movie). “Witch Time” is executed every time you successfully dodge an enemy attack using the R2 button, where everything turns slow-mo and you’re given a few seconds to attack your enemies. Many games have already done this; but Bayonetta really does execute this aspect flawlessly because it has made “Witch Time” more than just another gimmick but an important part of gameplay. You’ll meet many enemies who simply cannot be defeated without “Witch Time”… and you’re gonna totally love it when you do!

To top off everything, you’re also gonna get a wide array of weapons (which you must earn)… all with unique fighting styles and spotting their own exhaustive combo lists. Best of all, some of these weapons can be equipped onto your feet resulting in even greater variations in the way you fight. Bayonetta might not be yet a customization haven, but it boasts enough variations for action gamers to have some serious experimentation. And this can only be a good thing.

The Bad… Everything Else

Here comes the bad news. Unfortunately for Bayonetta (and for gamers far and wide), it fails to translate the excellent result in gameplay to pretty much everything else within the game.

In story, Bayonetta had engaging material to begin with (come on, gun-trotting witch kicks ass!), but ultimately fall flat on its face during plot development and even in the way it tells the story. The tale of a witch waking up after a couple hundred of years with no memory (except for a faint recollection of a battle scene with another witch) is promisingly enough, but hours into the game and it becomes apparent that the developer isn’t interested in providing any answer. Gamers are fed with the same waking up and recollection scenes over and over (…and over) again, which are intersected with other characters with no back stories and a bizarre romance that came out from nowhere. Then you meet some big boss dude, and voila! The End. So much for a grand climatic ending…

History tells us that what some games lack in stories they have often made up with excellent characterizations (think Devil May Cry). Sadly, this is not the case in Bayonetta. The heroine is at best, a bad Dante wannabe; and at worst, a cross between a stripper high on drugs and an F-word spewing gangster from the 70s. The other cast include a bad rendition of Samuel L. Jackson, some forgettable pretty boy, some girl, and a (supposedly appealing) white witch… who looks and speaks like she’s 50. Enough said.

In graphic, Bayonetta isn’t any better. For a game with so much marketing based on the babe factor, anyone would expect this game to squeeze out every once of juice from the PS3 to provide a feast for the eyes (admit it, guys). But what we eventually got is graphic that resembles that of a nicely-done PS2 title and porcelain characters with close to no tone or texture. Seriously, when the heroine in a nun costume right at the beginning looked more like a man wrapped in some beggar’s cloth, you know there’s something seriously wrong with the graphic department here.

The developer’s nonchalant approach to graphic is also visible in the cut-scenes, which contains a lot of still images lined on film reels, somewhat akin to the impressive but lazy Folklore from a few years back. Bayonetta also offers some alternative costumes, but most are simply the inclusion of a tail here and a hat there. When you have this saucy heroine as your model, you really should be exploiting this to the fullest with all manner of funky cosplay (drool…). Too bad it didn’t happen though.

And finally, all the above is nicely wrapped up with some seriously unforgiving loading time. Pick up a new item? Wait 10 seconds. Open the inventory screen? Wait 7 seconds. Do stuff in the inventory? Wait 5 seconds. Die and restart? Wait another 15 seconds. One could grow old waiting for stuff to happen on what is supposedly a defining action game on a robust current-gen console. (Note: as of this review, a patch has been made to significantly shorten loading time).

Get This for the Action

If you’re an avid action gamer, Bayonetta is a game that you’ll love. Excellent responsive controls, great weapon variations, unbelievably large combo lists to master and the super fun “Witch time” means you’re gonna have good fun killing those angels using different means again and again.

But if you’re in it for the babe factor, for the story, or simply to engage in visual feast that you can only get on the PS3; you’re bound to be bitterly disappointed. Bayonetta’s plot is nonchalant at best; and with the sub-par graphic, you’re probably gonna get more babe factor from Metal Gear Solid: Guns of the Patriots. If you do not fancy action games, our feeling is that you’re not going to like this.

Ultimately, PS3Hyper offers Bayonetta is Much-to-be-Improved 3 out of 5. If there ever were to be a sequel, we hope Platinum Games walk the talk and deliver a sexy storyline and eye-popping visuals that a game such as Bayonetta undoubtedly deserves.

Posted in Reviews on Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 11:06 pm |
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