Bayonetta: I bought this today, aka the day it came out, cause well, I didn't realize QUITE how hyped the game was, and recognized that the game might actually sell out quickly, so if I don't get my hands on it fast, I'd have to wait a while for it, and being that I have no real obligations now (barring work, which only lasts 4 hours a day), this is an ideal moment to grab new cool looking games!
Anyway, just beat Chapter 3. Initial impressions?
It really lives up to its hype. The game is basically "Devil May Cry, but with a female lead, so of course the badass levels are reduced for massive fanservice." Granted, Bayonetta still manages to look stylish, and pull off some of the same wacky antics Dante has (she just recently went lava surfing ON A HUGE DEMON to avoid being killed by said lava, for example.), and well, she's all over the place in gameplay. The game actually does a good job of letting you do pretty much ALL the cutscene shenanigans in gameplay...I mean all. You see her pull this crazy bullshit gun stunt out, and you think "There's no way the game will let me do that" ...lo and behold, its actually available! Some of this stuff, granted, requires specific combos, which you're more likely to pull off by accident, but hey, they're there (and generally, all accidents are serendipity; you're trying to do a basic move, then you pull off one of her more advanced combos, and things get splattered...and you find yourself in no position to complain!)
One thing that does slightly annoy me about the plot isn't the plot itself, but how it shifts from genuine cutscenes (Good!) to still shots on a reel, as though they're trying for like an old 40s movie thing or something (I...don't get this myself; it gives the game its own unique flavor, true, but it makes things less fun to watch.)
Oh yeah, game has Quick Time events, cause hey, why not throw in some God of War aspects to fuck up some DMC!? Unlike God of War, though, its far more fluid rather than detract from gameplay, cause they don't really stop action so much as move with it. Its kind of like God Hand's aspects. Though, the game also has genuine "Press BUtton to Not Die" events which does hurt the game some, though THANKFULLY, they don't seem to evolve much beyond single button presses so far, and a failure lets you start off from that exact quick time event. Still, would have been nice if they just didn't exist at all.
Otherwise? Game's shaping up to be really good, and maybe its the kind of game that will smack Capcom into making DMC5, cause its the first game that I've played that genuinely emulates DMC style combat, while having its own added flavor to make it not just a DMC-rip off. No, God of War (at least the first) did not do that right; see, Bayonetta fights aren't repetitive nor are they trivial like God of Wars were, and your deaths come from genuine fights, not platforming fuck ups. They're actual fights and they're fast paced rather than GLORIOUS ANIMATIONS SLAMMING DEMONS!!!!
Oh, that reminds me, Bayonetta takes after DMC for its use of gore and what not...as in, its more just added for graphical effect, which makes the scene look snazzier, cause its mostly demon angel blood, not humans, let alone humans getting decapitated, arms sliced off, etc., which is mostly just "LOOK AT THIS GORE ISN'T IT GRUESOME!?" Oh, hi God of War <.<
...I know, I'm slamming God of War down, but God of War was hyped just as much as Bayonetta, and really didn't live up to it. Bayonetta, meanwhile, does actually live up to its hype!
Oh yeah, ONE LAST THING!
One thing that stands out to me for Bayonetta vs. DMC style combat? The scope of it.
DMC fights are generally in smaller, tighter areas, and you tend to take advantage of this. Larger areas tend to mean enemies just take advantage of that and get you from behind. So generally, you want the smaller areas, so you can make use of your big shiny explosives in small corridors!
Bayonetta's the opposite; fights are more in big wide areas, so you can jump around like crazy, cause the nature of the combat is somewhat more mobile. Generally, you want to get in wide areas, instead of stay in close quarters, where your mobility is minimized.
Not trying to say one is better than the other, just interesting how they're similar systems, but already I can feel enough of a difference that such a thing is noticeable!
So, uh, yeah, my first impressions, beyond a few minor nuisances, are generally pleasant. Like I said, for all that the game got hyped to hell, it pretty much lives up to it, but then, I guess there's plenty of time for the game to FUCK UP HORRIBLY and make me eat my words! </cynical statement>
