Bayonetta is a game about a shape-shifting witch from Hideki Kamiya, creator of Okami and Devil May Cry. "Intriguing" would be one way of describing what Gamestyle has seen of Bayonetta so far, "insane" would be another. Although not strictly a button-mashing exercise, Bayonetta's combo-heavy gameplay promises to "blow the doors off the action genre", and with a variety of physical and magical attacks, together with epic boss fights, you can start to see how. The onscreen action looks chaotic and frantic, but visually stunning. Gamestyle is not sure how redefining this game will be, but it certainly looks fun.
Bayonetta is a witch, who wakes up in a strange place, with no memory of who, or what she is. The story of how she arrived unfolds as the game progresses, and the amnesia will presumably allow Bayonetta to slowly remember her magical attacks, and introduce them into the game. Bayonetta will mix magic with machine guns, and footage has shown the little lady sporting a variety of heavy weaponry in her quest to remember her past.
The combat looks quite brutal, with heavy damage being dealt, and the ability to perform gruesome "Torture Attacks". These enable Bayonetta to summon archaic devices to wear her enemies down, before executing them in devastating fashion. There's an RPG element to the game, whereby defeating enemies rewards you with rings. These can be spent on new weaponry, which can be attached to either four of Bayonetta's limbs. The weight of these weapons affects her mobility, and so you can customise Bayonetta to suit your style of play. She can also disarm her foe, and use their own weapon against them, or use whips, swords, and even her own hair to bring about their destruction.
Being developed by Platinum Games, the team behind the Wii's ultra-violent Madworld, Gamestyle has concerns that Bayonetta will become just a repetitive bombardment of blood and brutality. Whilst Madworld was entertaining, it lacked depth, and Gamestyle hopes that Bayonetta won't fall into this trap. With such a unique main character, it's clear that Kamiya is certainly trying to push some boundaries of the genre, but time will tell if Bayonetta revolutionises it.
If you enjoyed the article above, check out the following reviews.
Vanquish preview for the Microsoft Xbox 360Deadly Premonition preview for the Microsoft Xbox 360
Dead Space 2 preview for the Microsoft Xbox 360
Medal of Honor preview for the Microsoft Xbox 360
The Secret World preview for the Microsoft Xbox 360
WRC FIA World Rally Championship preview for the Microsoft Xbox 360
Halo: Reach preview for the Microsoft Xbox 360
blog comments powered by Disqus
