OneMetal.com REVIEW:
Bayonetta: Climax Edition

Developed by the ex-Capcom renegades at Platinum Games, Bayonetta borrows and mixes the best bits of Ninja Gaiden, God Of War and – most importantly – Devil May Cry into one heady and intoxicating brew. The game beats these esteemed rivals about the head with balletic, burlesque-inspired grace and a combat system even novice players will find accessible. What you make of Resident Evil 2 director Hideo Kamiya’s “ideal woman” is another matter entirely, but I must admit to being rather smitten with the wicked witch myself.

Saucy, sadistic and not even the least bit shy, Bayonetta is the last known survivor of the Umbra Witches: an ancient cult dedicated to preserving the balance between light and dark. Revived after 500 years of slumber, the sultry sorceress soon finds herself ruthlessly pursued by God’s own angels. With no memory of her past, Bayonetta seeks to uncover the truth, take down some names and suck on her cherry lollipop. Heaven’s going to be Hell by the time Bayonetta gets through with it!

Like a cross between a sexy librarian, Razor Blade Smile actress Eileen Daly in her pomp and Dita Von Teese at her most seductive, Bayonetta’s not short on confidence. An expert in bondage, burlesque, pole-dancing and summoning demons, she’s kind of like a pagan wet dream. If you like your ladies Amazonian, with hips that just won’t quit, then there’s an almost obscene amount of fan services to enjoy. Almost obscene, but never quite.

Whilst Bayonetta plays and feels like a slicker, more enjoyable version of Hideo Kamiya’s Devil May Cry, it’s from his other brawler, Viewtiful Joe, that it takes inspiration for its most interesting gameplay dynamic: Witch Time. Dodging enemy attacks at the right time slows down time but speeds up Bayonetta, allowing players the opportunity to unleash potentially lethal combos for maximum carnage. This kind of risk and reward gameplay mechanic will be familiar to players of Japanese ‘bullet hell’ shoot ‘em-ups, pushing players to take greater and greater chances in pursuit of bigger combos and higher scores.

To this end, the combat system is a highly flexible and faithful beast, easy to pick-up and a tantalizing prospect to master. In a smart twist, most of the weapons can be attached to both Bayonetta’s legs and hands, opening up a humungous number of moves – the good news is that the same button combinations work across all the weapon sets. As for the weapons themselves, you’ve probably seen them all before: there are swords, gauntlets, shotguns, pistols, and even a whip for the more adventurous of you out there. What’s more, there are plenty of accessories and costumes to acquire from Rodan’s Gates Of Hell shop.

The most devastating forms of attack are Bayonetta’s torture moves. The wicked witch is something of a dominatrix when it comes to dealing with the angelic. Sadistic in the extreme, but always with a gory nudge and a bloody-splattered wink, the punishments on offer involve such antiquated devices as guillotines, iron maidens and even chainsaws. My personal favourite has to be the giant spiky wheel – such cruelty!

In another typically quirky design feature, Bayonetta’s figure-hugging S&M get-up isn’t leather but actually her hair! As the combos become more frantic, hair peels off to reveal brief glimpses of nudity – effectively rewarding ferocity with cheeky glimpses of her curvaceous figure! Her magical hairdo also conjures up extra attacks and demon summonings known as ‘Climax Moves’. These finishing moves range from snarling serpents to seabound, lava-spewing giant spiders and make for some of the most visually spectacular scenes in the game. Even the massive bosses pale in the shadow of these satanic scaries.

If all this sounds a little overwhelming then have no fear – Bayonetta has enough difficulty levels to cater for all – ranging from ‘Easy Automatic’ to the insanely difficult ‘Non-Stop Infinite Climax’ mode. You’ll feel every jump in difficulty, but the game has an uncanny knack of teaching you the ropes without you even realising it. Every audio and visual trigger enters the subconscious, whilst combos can be practiced during the loading screens – a clever way of hiding some chunky load times, too.

Even a title as accomplished as Bayonetta has its drawbacks, although none of them are game breaking. I felt the story was a trifle convoluted and the method of digesting back-story through the books scattered across the levels was a little old hat and unengaging. That said, the characters are universally likeable and the tone is always playful and/or ironic. The banter between Bayonetta and her supporting cast often threatens to burst into Carry On territory such is its bawdy nature.

The infrequent use of QTE (Quick Time Events) was also a little unfair. Often I’d be kicking back to watch a cut scene when all of a sudden I was required to make an unexpected button press. Similarly, avoiding attacks after cut scenes have finished can be tough – just keep your wits about you is all I’ll say.

Probably the single biggest issue is the camera. No 3D beat ‘em-up has perfected the camera, and Bayonetta is no different. Difficult to tame at first, but persevere and it won’t be long before you can handle the camera’s quirks and eccentricities effectively.

It’s easy to forgive Bayonetta for these issues because for every fault, there are 10 things that are great about it. What other game features nods to sources as wide-ranging as Sonic The Hedgehog and a vast array of Sega classics, Assassin’s Creed, Mortal Kombat, The Matrix, Apocalypse Now and – wait for it – Simon & Garfunkel?! It even has time to throw in a little nunsploitation and some better than expected vehicle levels clearly fashioned on Sega arcade favourites Hang-On and Space Harrier. Oh, and that’s not forgetting the highly addictive Angel Attack mini-game.

For the collectors out there, the Play.com exclusive Climax Edition comes with a CD soundtrack – as bundled with Japanese pre-orders of the game – and an art book. The seedy, noirish ‘Gates Of Hell’ music really stands out from the soundtrack. Meanwhile, the art book, despite being more substantial and polished than you would rightly expect, doesn’t offer you anything done better in the extras on the disc.