Bayonetta. A very difficult game to review, especially for a relative rookie in this industry. I can almost feel the weight of EDGE magazines ‘rare as rocking horse poo’ ten out of ten weighing heavy over me like some kind of planet sized, four headed Angel thing or the recent La Roux themed advert boreing into my brain, suggesting to me that I should simply accept the inevitable, skip straight to the bottom and give the game a ten as well, saving myself a good few hours of pondering in the process.

However, I feel duty bound to tell you already that I’m not going to give Bayonetta a ten at all; in fact if you’ve skipped to the end of the review already (I wouldn’t blame you) then you might already know the score, but in any case, I should explain.

I certainly consider myself a fairly long-legged, hardcore gamer and I think I have been around long enough to know when I get my hands on something special. Bayonetta perfectly blends the best of what once made a great game with what now does and in doing so creates an experience which is nothing short of spectacular. The masterwork of Hideki Kamiya (the man behind Devil May Cry;) Bayonetta captures the balance between the general need for accessibility whilst also allowing the truly gifted to display the kind of sword, fist, foot and gunplay skills that have rarely existed outside Manga cartoons and in doing so cements it’s place as easily the best game in it’s Scrolling Combo-Em-Up niche by miles.

In terms of reviewing Bayonetta, I really don’t know where to begin. All the usual elements are here, including gameplay, plot, graphics, sound and so on but for some reason on this occasion it just wouldn’t seem right to plunge into a discussion about the various technical merits or narrative shortcomings found within the game. When one views a Picasso, it seems petty to criticise individual brushstrokes when you realise your dealing with what is effectively a genre defining piece of artwork, lovingly created by a master. Like a priceless masterpiece, Bayonetta will leave you astonished and humbled by it’s sheer spectacle and I would challenge even the staunchest of videogame haters to claim it doesn’t look wonderful.

A game of contrasts; Bayonetta opens in a dark, rainswept Graveyard before significantly ramping up the spectacle by delivering the falling Clock Tower level we experienced in our recent preview. Each and every location is as impressive as the last and whether Bayonetta is fighting her way up a crumbling tower, through a burning street or in one of the Eden-like Paradiso levels, it’s impossible not to feast ones eyes on what the game has to offer.

The games namesake and anti-heroine certainly makes a strong claim for ‘Hottest Videogame Character Ever’ and is definately tough enough to make Lara Croft wet the bed. Twice. Bayonetta (the character) is probably the most overtly sexual female character featured in a mainstream game to date, with an almost mesmerizing backside sway and a range of hugely over the top moves which often leave her wearing nothing more than her conveniently located, incredibly long hair. Despite the potential for sexist uproar, Bayonetta remains credible due to the fact that she simply does whatever she wants, using male characters to her advantage and never becoming dependant on the closest the game has to any kind of hero.

Plot in Bayonetta is almost non-existant, with basic cut scenes used as a vehicle to move from one set piece to another and nothing more. OK, so that’s not entirely true because there certainly is a story here, but the way in which it unfolds is extremely light with an incredibly camp style thats both tongue-in-cheek and self indulgent. Bayonetta rarely discusses anything with anyone and so the various defeated bosses simply make statements before she banishes them to hell with a wink and a click of her heels. It’s not a style which has ever worked for me, although in this case the game at least realises it’s shortcomings and compensates with its humour and flair. As a result of this ‘shoot first, ask questions later’ policy, progression from one level to another only occsasionally makes sense, with Bayonetta seemingly having a pretty good idea of where she is going unaided by her fallen opponents.

Speaking of opponents, bosses in Bayonetta are as spectacular as everything else in the game, but about five hundred times bigger! As the game progresses, the scale becomes larger and larger until it’s fair to say that many enemies won’t fit on a the screen by a long stretch of the imagination. Of course, the problem is aided by a generally dynamic and intuitive camera which zooms and pans nicely in accordance with the enemies attacks or location. Unfortunately I did find that there are flaws to this system, although rare, when one or two bosses in particular were positioned in such a way that it was impossible to see where the next fist or fireball was coming from. In terms of general resistance, Bayonetta builds players up slowly from very basic, low health and damage enemies to throwing previous sub bosses into the mix as though they grow on trees, often with some pretty nasty friends in tow. All in all, progress is challenging on the highest or second difficulty levels of the four on offer, whilst normal will test anyone who struggles to grasp the combo system.

It’s these combos which form the backbone for the experience in Bayonetta and around which the entire game could live or die. Fortunately, the endless stream of varied and aesthetically pleasing attacks feel an absolute breeze to execute, with Bayonetta’s twin pistols maintaining the combo counter whenever there is ground to make up between enemies. Being part Witch/Demon/Butterfly Thing our heroine is armed with an arsenal of ever more impressive offensive moves, beginning with kicks and punches and usually culminating in a ‘Weave Attack’ which is basically when Bayonetta animates her hair to form a giant fist, boot or other similar nasty in order to finish a particularly mean string of attacks.

This ‘Weave’ feature is also used to finish most bosses and involves what the game ominously terms a ‘Climax Attack.’ On these occasions, the rather talented hair-do takes the form of a huge Crow or Dragon (amongst others) usually devouring or dismembering the helpless enemy before dragging them to hell. To be honest, it’s a fitting end for most of the preaching Angelic types who form the vast majority of Bayonetta’s enemies because they rarely have anything relevant to say and are almost universally huge ugly monsters. The final notable special attack is the ‘Torture Attack’ which is possible only once Bayonetta has a full magic guage and usually involves a particularly damaging (albeit not often especially torturous) set piece, such as forcing the enemy into a guillotine or placing them in a giant vice for example. All good wholseome stuff really!

Bayonetta features one of the largest and most varied attack rosters I’ve seen in any game but even I, a man so ham fisted I can’t even whisk an egg, managed to get to grips with some of the fairly impressive combos thanks largely to the incredibly simple idea of having a practice area for a loading screen. This kind of inclusion is what makes Bayonetta so easy to get into and yet the whole game is designed to promote people to achieve better. Medallions are given following key sections or ‘Verses’ of each level, with Pure Platinum being the best and typically only awarded when a series of enemies are dispatched in one or two combo strings with next to no damage being taken all in a relatively short amount of time.

 At the end of each Chapter, medals are totalled up and an overall award is given as well as the number of deaths, items used etc meaning that if a player scrapes through a Chapter, there is a clear incentive to achieve better next time. Achievements or Trophies are sensible and generally quite fair, with many being given for obvious progress such as killing a huge boss or finishing a quarter of the game on a certain level. There are also some more typical fun things, such as destroying all of a particular bosses tentacles as you fall from a great height.

Pros
Sublime Graphics
Rewarding Combat
Videogames imitating art

Cons
Tiresome, repetitive music
Pointless, irritating QTE sequences
Occasionally dodgy camera

Final Verdict
All in all, Bayonetta is a really fantastic game which summons a few mixed feelings from me. In short I wish it had more of a cohesive story and the truth is that it’s really not the my usual cup of tea, but the sheer quality of the visuals and superb execution throughout did win me over. In some ways, Bayonetta is a great compromise because it certainly allows people like me to pickup and play with a certain amount of success, whilst hardcore lovers of the genre will find themselves in seventh heaven (or hell actually) stringing together combos into the hundreds and doing so with such control, finesse and visual intensity that the control pad becomes almost an extension of their hands.

On the other hand, it still shows some of the weaknesses of both its niche audience and Japanese heritage with music which is in my opinion truly awful, but made worse because its repeated over and over again to the point where I would actually have preferred it if ‘In For the Kill’ by La Roux had been shoe-horned in at the last minute. The plot (which I agree knows its own shortcomings) is almost completely frivolous, irrelevant and silly and in my view fails to tie the game together as it should and there are the occasional camera glitches I mentioned earlier. Again though, to go back to my previous reference, it would be cynical to criticise Picasso’s ‘Blue Period’ work simply because one finds the subject matter disagreeable, the quality of the paintings still speaks for themselves and the same can be said of Bayonetta. No doubt, with more games like this the world will simply have no choice but to recognise videogames as a genuine, credible art form which is every bit as valid as Painting, Sculpting, Drama or Opera.

9/10

Matt