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Demonic, Witty Librarians ATTACK!
Five hundred years ago the world was kept in balance by two forces that controlled the “Eyes of the World”, the Umbra Witches and Lumen Sages. The “Eyes of the World” allowed the two factions to watch over the world and care for it from the ancient city of Vigrid, located in a hard to reach valley somewhere in Europe. These two factions were different aspects of the world, Umbra Witches being darkness (note not evil) that controlled the “Left Eye”, and the Lumen Sages were of the light that controlled the “Right Eye”. However five hundred years ago a rule was broken and the paths of light and dark crossed and bore a child, Bayonetta. Fast forward to the present we find that Bayonetta has been awakened from a pseudo-stasis of 480 or so years with amnesia, and hunts the heavenly host and works with a demonic weapons dealer named Rodin. Events start to take shape around Bayonetta as her memory returns. This is the general background for Hideki Kamiya’s new release Bayonetta. The game bears a general resemblance to the previous release by Kamiya Devil May Cry; however it has its own unique flair.
The gameplay is fast paced and incredibly enjoyable. I found the combos to be easily chained and fairly easy to pull off. There are a lot of combos to master as well, including some you can buy from Rodin at his bar with the halos of the angels you have killed. My favorite part of the combat is “witch time”, this happens when you at the last moment dodge an attack. When this happens time slows all the enemies and allows you to chain combos faster and deal loads of damage. This special effect can be used on every enemy save one, which I am not revealing. In addition to “witch time”, there is a magic meter that fills when damage is dealt and combos are pulled off, conversely when you take damage it drains. When it is full Bayonetta performs a special attack called a “torture attack”. The type of attack varies from enemy to enemy ranging from an iron maiden, to a guillotine, to a torture wheel that grinds into the enemy. The animations for these are an absolute joy, as well as being interactive to increase damage. On occasion when conditions are met Bayonetta also performs “punishment” on enemies, essentially resulting in a increased punching or kicking attack doing more damage. Attacks can also be made in the air with the assistance of a double jump mechanism and the ability to remain in the air while attacking enemies, enabling combos to be chained in the air. I should note also, Bayonetta equips weapons both in her hands and on her feet to attack with, as well as having a permanent ranged gun attack.
The feel of the game is very witty and mystical, yet modern. Unlike in Devil May Cry, Bayonetta is witty and talkative, not stoic. In every cut scene the dialogue is entertaining, flirty and witty. Unlike in a lot of other games where the interactions between bosses and the protagonist are confrontational and gritty, these are whimsical. I find this to be a refreshing change from the standard game. The fact that Bayonetta is also a flirty over the top martial artist librarian is good too. The story itself is generally typical, but this doesn’t detract from the game.
There are a number of optional collections quests as well. The most important in my opinion being the LP collection of angelic hymns which unlock special weapons for you, such as rocket launchers, shotguns, ice skates, and claws to name a few. One particular side quest that I did poorly on was collecting “umbral tears”, which legend has it are collected and held by ravens. These little friggers are fast and located throughout the whole game, sometimes hidden sometimes not. I have noticed if you do not manage to snag the raven on the first try, it does return after a few seconds allowing you to try again. There are a couple of others concerning tomes of knowledge with the story, and burial places of witches (aka chest containing stuff). Also upgrades to your health and magic meter as in most every games of this sort.
Overall this game is a great play. It is a game plus game as well allowing for more content to be unlocked with subsequent plays. The ranking system allows for excellent replayability and continued fun. I didn’t dabble with the multiplayer, but I didn’t feel I needed to. The game was so much fun without it. When you can use ice skates to combo with electro claws into a climactic battle where you summon a demon using a costume comprised of your own hair (causing you to be near naked) to bite the head off a two headed dragon with the body of an angel’s face as it praises you in its death throes, is awesome over the top fun. Play this game, it is worth it.
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System: |
Xbox 360
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| Genre: |
3rd-Person Action |
| Experience: |
Finished the single-player game
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