Bayonetta, great game or too much?

[Jagos]

I'm always behind the times nowadays. Some of the best games I probably won't be able to play because I don't have the time anymore. Watching some of the new details on the newest generation of games, however, truly gives me a pause. Are games getting better in regards to the new year or are they too much?

I believe it's best to get a few opinions on this. Meanwhile, I think I'll look at a walkthrough or two so as to understand how good or bad the game is from my own viewing.

[CABAL49]

The advertisements just look weird. I have no idea what to think of it.

[bluestarultor]

NonCon and Mirai have both played it, but they have quite opposite views on it. It's actually a very polarizing game content-wise, but I think most agree that the combat is good.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

I only played the demo, after having seen various videos of it. Before playing it I thought it looked cheesy, embarassing, and tacky. After playing it I felt no different, except that I also felt incredibly cheapened, dirty, and not even vaguaely impressed by the combat.

I'll stick to DMC and GoW thanks

[synkr0nized]

After playing the 360 demo and watching the Freelance Astronauts play the PS3 demo, I have decided that the ridiculous and very-prevalent action probably outweighs her tiny head and the silliness of the character designs. I may rent it first, though, to make sure the fun of the game play doesn't wear off too quickly.

[Mirai Gen]

Originally Posted by bluestarultor

NonCon and Mirai have both played it, but they have quite opposite views on it. It's actually a very polarizing game content-wise, but I think most agree that the combat is good.

You can read the review I wrote in full (and if you want to skip by me bitching about the absolutely terrible writing and direction just hit page down like four times) but basically Devil May Cry is better.

The combat's cluttered with all the flashy graphic effects, quick time events are fucking annoying, the combos are overwhelmingly complex and nearly identical in execution, and worst of all weapons are unlocked by forcing you to jump through increasingly difficult hoops.

And the cutscenes are just...embarrasingly bad. Like, it seriously capped out at 3/5 at the Dojo just from story and cutscenes.

[Jagos]

...

I just watched the first two parts on youtube.

W...
T...
F...

There was a pole, there was her fighting and dancing. But I can't figure out what the fuck is going on except there's one group that doesn't like the other group.

Maybe it gets better?

[Archbio]

I have decided that the ridiculous and very-prevalent action probably outweighs her tiny head

Pretty much anything would have to outweigh it, since it's so tiny.

[Kim]

I liked the combat in Bayonetta much more than Mirai did, but the game still left me feeling awkward and disappointed. The game has plenty of combos, but you'll usually end up spamming two or three because it's easier to and because there isn't something grading you in the top right corner. ("Cool, Badass, Awesome, Stylish" or whatever)

You have to collect records to get the weapons, rather than getting them from boss fights, so it's entirely possible to play through the game and miss the vast majority of the weapons. I certainly did.

Boss fights are massive and epic, and there are forgiving checkpoints, but it doesn't have the in your faceness of DMC3 boss fights. In DMC3, bosses were constantly in the fray, trying to fuck you up. It feels substantially less so in Bayonetta. The game is also substantially easier than DMC3.

There are Quicktime Events.

Nobody knows when to shut the goddamn hell up during cutscenes. They are practically Kojima levels of verbose, but half the time they don't actually convey any information. The antagonist, Baldur, is especially guilty of this and pretty much killed the plot, which reeks of Kingdom Hearts Nomura plot twist huuuuurgh.

The ending just drags on and on and on.

The sexualization is definitely a your mileage may vary kind of thing

With the bad out of the way, let me touch on the good...

Cereza is fuckin' adorable as hell and has the only good dialogue in the game.

The combat with regular enemies is ridiculously fun.

Being able to alchemy yourself up some healing items or items that boost your attack is a great idea.

The game is gorgeous.

There are some funny references to other games by them.

Walking on the walls and ceilings, as infrequently as you get to, is pretty awesome.

You can turn into a goddamn panther and that's cool.

Dodging can slow down time if you time it right and leads to a Viewtiful Joe style solution for taking out certain enemies.

In the end, I'd say the good outweighs the bad, and it's worth renting if you're into stylish action games, but I can't honestly recommend buying it unless you've already played it and really, really love it.

[Mirai Gen]

Originally Posted by Jagos

Maybe it gets better?

It doesn't.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by Noncon

The game has plenty of combos, but you'll usually end up spamming two or three because it's easier to and because there isn't something grading you in the top right corner. ("Cool, Badass, Awesome, Stylish" or whatever)

I honestly think that even if there was a Stylish meter, it wouldn't solve the problem of being given too many options. God of War II even had too many options at times, and it was borderline considering many of them were gradually doled out over time through upgrades.

Bayonetta just threw two-button combos extending about six long, then made it so half of them can have a momentary pause at any time to make it an entirely different attack chain. This is especially a problem considering how frantic the combat is and, honestly, the lack of a parry button makes it awkward, since dodging takes you away from the enemy.