Bayonetta PlayStation 3

Released on 08/01/2010

• Bayonetta Review

  Mad Hair Day

  Not to be confused with the layered ice cream and chocolate dessert of a similar name, Bayonetta is an ultraviolent and visually stunning offering from that talented bloke (Hideki Kamiya) who gave us the Devil may Cry series.

  The game's setting is Europe although the city in which the action takes place, Vigrid, is fictional and it's here where our heroine, Bayonetta, plies her bizarre and violent trade. Bayonetta is a witch with no memory of her past but whose journey through the game will shed light on the mystery and bring her into contact with some incredible supernatural opponents.

  Shoot From the Heels

  Like Devil May Cry before it, Bayonetta is an action adventure, but while there's a certain amount of exploration, the main event is the combat. Bayonetta can handle herself. Her basic weapons of choice are not two, but four handguns. Two of these are conventionally operated using her hands, and the other two, rather less conventionally, are strapped to her heels. It get's weirder, though - don't worry.

  Two handguns are conventionally operated using her hands, and the other two, rather less conventionally, are strapped to her heels.

  As well as a range of weapons becoming available throughout the game (shotguns, rocket launchers and the like) Bayonetta also has another, and quite bizarre, trick up her sleeve. Well, not up her sleeve, but on her head. You see, she can use her hair to launch devastating attacks on her enemies, perhaps styling it into a giant fist to crush an opponent.

  Girl Powers

  She can even perform insane finishing moves (or torture moves) on her opponents including summoning devices such as iron maidens and guillotines with which to get the grisly job done. Bayonetta is not dating material. Another smart combat feature (apart from various acrobatic moves) is Bayonetta's ability to use Witch Time, slowing down the action in order to more easily evade an attack.

  The point of all these bizarre combat moves is the sheer joy of pulling off ever more balletic and impressive attacks.

  The point of all these bizarre combat moves is the sheer joy of pulling off ever more balletic and impressive attacks. In fact, this really is the nub of the game and anyone who's ever played Devil May Cry will already know this. While Bayonetta's story is a rich and interesting one, it plays second fiddle to the action which is never less than intense. The idea is to despatch your enemies with as much flair as possible using the game's ludicrously inventive range of weapons and attacks the end result being as much about spectacle as achievement.

  To these ends, the game not only looks amazing, with its gothic European setting and constantly surprising characters, but the combat system is also satisfyingly well-designed. Basic punches and kicks are joined by ever more elaborate moves, weapons and combo opportunities, many of which you will have to learn by trial and error, but some of which you are allowed to practice during loading times. Moreover, weapons behave differently according to their size, so if you opt to use a larger heavier weapon, it will be unwieldy, leaving you open to attack.

  Bayonetta is a unique and fascinating experience, containing lots of signature features from that cklever man Hideki Kamiya. It will please his fans, and for those of you who haven't seen his work before: prepare for gobsmackery.

  GAME's Verdict

  

  • Amazing looks.
  • Over-the-top combat.
  • Loads of combos and special moves.
  • Superb female lead.
  • Fantastic weaponry.

  

  • Unremittingly mad.

  Review by: Simon 'Toupee Attack' Kirrane
  Version Tested: PS3, Xbox360
  Review Published: 23.12.09

  Published: 23/12/2009

• Bayonetta Review

  Hair today, guns tomorrow

  You only need wander down an inebriated British high street after closing time to see just how perilous a pair of high heels can be. But Bayonetta, the titular star of this action blitzkrieg, elevates the art of deadly footwear to an all time high. She is, after all, perhaps the first girl to lace a pair of shotguns to her ankles.

  Not only that, she's also the first Sarah Palin-lookalike to take on the heavenly host using a cat suit and a demon-possessed hairdo - not to mention anti-heroine of the first game to come from Japanese master game designer Hideki Kamiya since the magnificent Clover Studios closed its doors
  

  Dante's Dad returns

  For his re-entry to the joyfully over-the-top third person action genre, Kamiya has drawn the very best elements from his first game, Devil May Cry, and combined them with cherry picked ideas from Ninja Gaiden, God of War and even Super Mario Galaxy. But this is a game more than the sum of its disparate parts, one that combines a firework explosion of animation with jaw-dropping imagination, combat, set pieces and monster design.

  In Bayonetta, the sultry witch who cuts her way through archangels with rare ease, gaming finds its strongest, most capable female lead. As you tap buttons a flurry of screen-flitting, balletic moves spill from her torso. Lithe and strong, she buzzes and back flips around enormous androgynous bosses like a deadly mosquito.

  She strings together combos of air and ground attacks, one moment pulling out a sword, the next cart wheeling across the ground firing bullets from the weapons strapped to each of her limbs. It's a dazzling spectacle, the sort to remind us why we first started playing videogames in the first place.
  

  Tough, in more ways than one

  But this is no mere button masher. Chimes that sonically build up to connection signal enemy attacks. After a few hours of play you begin to hear the rhythm of combat and respond accordingly. A brilliant loading screen, that allows you to execute anyone of the huge litany of Bayonetta's moves (and have each one ticked of the collectable shopping list) encourages experimentation and, at anything above the easy difficulty level, you're going to need to block, parry and counter everything thrown at you if you're to traverse the road to victory.

  Dodging an enemy blow at the last moment triggers Witch Time, a state that consigns all enemies to gloopy slow motion while you continue to line up ever more dazzling attacks as they stutter. The game's rules are simple yet work together with rare efficiency, while the sheer spectacle of the visuals - showing Bayonetta surfing, flying, summoning giant fists and esoteric guillotines before sprinting up crumbling buildings - makes these fight sequences the most beautiful and terrifying yet seen in games.
  

  Time to hit the shops

  An upgrade shop allows you to purchase new guns and a spattering of fresh moves but, crucially, almost all of the tools you'll need to get through the game are available right from the off. That said, for the dedicated there are numerous top tier items that will require multiple playthroughs to afford. Still, no matter how good your armoury, nothing will helps you get through the game so much as a mature understanding of the battle system, which encourages the sort of showboating that's ideal for the YouTube generation.

  For those with eyes to see, Bayonetta makes numerous tributes to both Clover and Sega's games of yore, from its missile-riding Space Harrier turn, to a constant machine gun volley of God Hand references. While these features are little more than a wink to those in the know, they demonstrate Bayonetta's appreciation of its genre's history - something that goes a long way to explaining its subsequent mastery of it.

  It's a stylish package too, treading a thin line between elegance and perviness in its cutscenes. The story is expectedly bonkers but the execution is enjoyable, mixing humour and schoolboy boisterousness with occasional, fleeting moments of tenderness.

  The result is an action game of startling confidence and competence, unashamed of its outrageous silliness, a celebration of the impossible only made possible by virtue of its chosen medium.

  
  

  Witch Time
  + Balletic fighting system.
  + Stylish, imaginative set pieces.
  + Outrageous story and setting.

  Ditch Time
  - Too many cutscenes.
  - Irritating voice acting.
  - Relatively high difficulty.

• Platinum Games working on new title for SEGA

  Japanese developer and fan favourite Platinum Games will be making another game for SEGA, according to reports at Eurogamer.

  This is great news, as the games Platinum has made so far - MadWorld, Infinite Space, Bayonetta and Vanquish - have been some of the best of the last few years. MadWorld's a black and white score attack masterpiece for the Wii, Infinite Space is a sci-fi RPG and one of the deepest, most involved DS games around, while Bayonetta and Vanquish have both rocked the PS3 and Xbox 360 with frantic action, casting you as a spooky, gun-toting witch, and a super-speed spaceman respectively.

  So is the game going to be a sequel? If so, the smart money's on Bayonetta. Replying to a Tweet a while back asking if Bayonetta 2 would ever see the light of day, the Platinum Games co-founder Hideki Kamiya said simply, 'I believe so.' He also said, 'She'll be back if you believe so,' to another follower. Sounds promising.

  All Platinum Games' releases have been successful with critics, but Bayonetta made a particularly big splash, its fast-paced fighting and lustrous visuals getting it a 10 from EDGE Magazine. We'll keep you posted when we have more news on this one.

• New Release Round Up: 8th Jan 2010

  Two amazing titles start the gaming calendar off with a big bang. This week's all about supersized action gigantic setpieces, huge and epic combat. It's a big week for games...

  Big scores
  Bayonetta bursts from the twisted brains behind Devil May Cry and Resident Evil: a superpowered witch in a skintight catsuit and guns in the heels of her shoes. Bayonetta is all about big, balletic, button-pummelling fast combat. And it looks unbelievably beautiful.

  Bayonetta's big setpiece combats are designed to look great whether you're a gaming novice or action master with controls that easily let you get into the action but huge depth in the layered system of combo moves, upgrades and finishing moves.

  Combat doesn't come bigger or better than in Bayonetta. And that's official the game was recently given a rare erfectscore of 40 from influential Japanese magazine Famitsu. Rave reviews don't come bigger than that.

  Big battles
  Game themes don't come bigger than that of Darksiders. As War, one of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, you're tricked into setting off the final battle between heaven and hell too early. In the ruins of Earth, you've now got to find those responsible for the ultimate trick.

  Darksiders combines epic and button-hammering combat as War fights through damned and angelic legions, with dungeon-delving puzzle-solving and adventure as War tracks down those behind the devastation and brilliant gothic visuals from renowned comic artist Joe (X-Men) Madureira.

  Think of Darksiders as a cross between God Of War III and The Legend Of Zelda: The Twilight Princess. That means an action-adventure that's positively epic in scale.

  • Find out more about Bayonetta
  • Find out more about Darksiders
  • Back to more New Release Round-Ups

  Published: 08/01/2010

• Games With Girls

  

  Games. Girls. Historically they've not really been words you put together, at least not in a positive way. Time was girls barely played games, and when it came to female characters in games, they were rarely more than damsels in distress.

  But things are changing. Games have evolved. Female characters are stronger, bolder, more prominent and, most importantly, playable.

  This is our run-down of some of the best and brightest girls in gaming today. The women who solve problems, kick @$$ and actually matter.

  Lara Croft
  Tomb Raider

  Lara seems the obvious place to start really, the first real female lead in a game - not simply the character you played, but the character the game was centred upon. And she was the first to really achieve widespread media attention.

  Lara Croft and Tomb Raider took a male-dominated genre and character type and did a gender switch. Strong, feisty, independent and intelligent, Lara was everything a stereotypical female character wasn't. That said, there was always one thing (well, two things) that garnered Lara the most attention.

  Since 1996's original Tomb Raider, Lara has appeared in eight sequels to date, with a ninth due this year. Again simply titled Tomb Raider, we go back to the start of the story and find out what made her the woman she is.

  Tough, smart and sexy, there's no doubt that Lara Croft is still the benchmark.

  Jill Valentine
  Resident Evil: Revelations

  The Resident Evil series has seen many female characters, from the cunning Ada Wong to the tough Sheva Alomar. But Jill Valentine is the one that stands out.

  Debuting in the original Resident Evil and continuing throughout the series, Jill proved herself to be more than a match for those virus-ridden zombie types. Jill was designed to complement partner Chris Redfield by having different strengths and skills, thus showing that she wasn't just a female 'version' but an independent character and a genuine alternative to the male lead.

  A promotion to sole protagonist for Resident Evil 3 showed she was capable of carrying a game on her own. Although she would return to shared billing in later games, including this year's Revelations, her continued appearances throughout the series is testament to the strength and staying power of the character.

  Chun-Li
  Street Fighter X Tekken

  Where would this list be without Chun-Li? The archetypal beat 'em up girl showed she could certainly handle the male fighters and spawned a thousand* imitators.

  Introduced in Street Fighter II, Chun-Li is one of the few characters to have appeared in almost every Street Fighter game (and crossover game) since. She has a fighting style, a character and a story that is completely her own. She's as tough as they come, but at the same time, her avenging-her-father's-death motivation showed a humanity that sets her apart from the crowd.

  With a look as iconic as any you are likely to find in gaming, Chun Li has been taking on - and taking out - all comers for 20 years and shows no sign of stopping. Which is just fine - would you try to stop her?

  *not actually a thousand. This is a dramatic exaggeration!

  Lightning and Serah
  Final Fantasy XIII-2

  The Final Fantasy series is well known for blurring gender roles, with androgynous boys and tomboyish girls. Appearances aside, it has had some strong female characters, exemplified by the Farron sisters, Lightning and Serah.

  Lightning was the protagonist of FF XIII, a soldier whose gruff confidence hides a more sensitive, vulnerable edge. At once both strong and feminine, she may be one of the most mature and emotionally rounded characters in the FF franchise. Serah takes the lead in FFXIII-2, and is almost a mirror image of Lightning - seemingly vulnerable on the outside, but tough and determined, and willing to do what needs to be done.

  Lightning and Serah go beyond two-dimensional 'types' and prove we can have strong female characters that don't have to play up - or play down - their femininity.

  SPECIAL MENTION: Samus Aran
  Metroid Series

  Yes, she doesn't have a game out at the moment, but this list would be remiss without a mention of Samus Aran.

  Ten years before Lara put on her exploring shorts, Samus was the surprise lead in Metroid. Surprise in that it was only as you completed the game that she took her helmet off and you discovered she was, well, a she under all that armour.

  One could argue that hiding her true identity is doing her gender a disservice. But by removing gender from the equation, Samus was the first character that showed gamers that women could do blowing stuff up in space just as good as men, something she would continue to do in 11 more Metroid games (as well as turning up in a handful of others). And, after all this time she still keeps the armour on.

  SPECIAL MENTION: Chell
  Portal and Portal 2

  While Samus was someone I couldn't not mention, Chell is a bit more of a question mark for this list. After all, the star of Portal and its sequel is silent and largely off-screen, due to the first-person nature of the game. Plus she was only female because it was thought this best suited the scenario of Portal, rather than any desire to make a female character.

  But it's that "what works best" thinking that makes her an important figure in the history of female characters - she's not there to make a point. And that is a point worth making.

  So what does the future hold?

  In 2012 we'll be seeing the Buffy-esque cheerleader vs zombie fun of Lollipop Chainsaw, point-and-click piracy with Captain Morgane and the Golden Turtle, and the largely-female cast of Akai Kitana Shin making their way to UK consoles. The Dead or Alive franchise returns with Dead or Alive 5 which looks to have toned down the exaggerated sexuality of the female fighters. There continue to be rumours of sequels to Bayonetta and Heavy Rain. And some day - maybe this year, maybe next - Beyond Good and Evil 2 will finally come out and Jade will get another chance to show the world what she can do.

  Female protagonists are increasingly giving their male counterparts a run for their money. But who's your favourite? Who do you play as, and who would you add to this list? Why not leave us your comments below.
  

  Published: 09/02/2012

• Sega acknowledges Western interest in Anarchy Reigns

  In the wake of some unfortunate news that upcoming post-apocalyptic, absolutely bonkers beat 'em-up Anarchy Reigns would be indefinitely delayed in the West, developer Platinum has sought to reassure fans that the title would see the light of day outside of Japan.

  "In the West, Sega is looking for the best time to put it out," said the developer regarding the publisher's announcement last week to delay the release.

  "There will still be ways for you to get it if you know where to go. We're still 100 per cent behind the game and we still want to connect with you and play with you and have a good time. So let's make sure that happens no matter what bad news we get."

  Looks like there's hope for fans yet. Anarchy Reigns is Platinum's fifth title for Sega and features a roster of characters that includes fan-favourites from other Platinum titles such as Jack Cayman of MadWorld infamy, Big Bull from the same game, and the titular witch from Bayonetta.

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