ISWT Review: Bayonetta

 

Well I'm writing this on Valentine's Day so close enough.After I played through DmC I was still in a beat 'em up mood so I decided to finally pick up bayonetta after years of hearing how this is the greatest beat em up game in existance....and I still think Devil may cry 3 is better,And DmC,And What I recall of god of war 2.....Yeah I think this game is a touch overrated to be honest.

 

 

Now don't misunderstand me I think the game is quite good it's just not nearly as great as most people think at least in my opinion.But I'm gonna give you a short version of the review up front.When you beat the game one of the things you get is this video

 

 

 

 

I think this video sums up alot of my feelings perfectly.While I usually start with the story I have a reason to get to that later but first I'll start with something about this game I do love and that's the soundtrack

 

 

I really don't think I need to say much if you watched that video.This games soundtrack is glorious....when it wants to be.Some tracks are okay,some are forgettable,but some songs like let's dance boys,or the fly me to the moon cover,or some of the boss themes are downright amazing.Ranging from the jazzy and energetic themes like the aforementioned let's dance boys to the latin chorus beauty of the 4 elemental angels fights.This game does soundtrack perfectly....again in places.The basic combat theme goes from a fly me to the moon cover that I both love and hate.(it's catchy but I can't help thinking frank sinatra is spinning like a blender right now.) And a track that....is both boring and really unfitting for a combat theme.That combined with a few very forgettable tracks here and there and it's a mixed bag with some amazing tracks mixed in.

 

Oh also I think one of the tracks is a remix of a song from afterburner....random but alright.

 

 

And then we have the gameplay.This is a very back and forth thing for me.It's solid and pretty good but nothing really special to me.It does have uniqueness to it though.Being able to essentially equip two pyhsical weapons at once.One in the hands and one on the legs.This is a pretty cool concept and it does work I have to admit but the other gimmick of the game always rubbed me the wrong way.Instead of guarding attacks you dodge them and dodging at the last second gives you a few seconds of slo mo time.You need to get good at doing this cause otherwise you are FUCKED!!

 

Not what I meant.....I'll get to that in a minute though....er also not what I.....You know what nevermind.

 

 

If you can't dodge enemies attacks constantly you will die,and die and die again because enemies hit like 18 wheelers with jet engines.This game can be brutal unless you get real good at dodging real fast.Some people may find it insanely easy but I've seen people,friends of me sell the game because the dodge system can at times be complete horse crap.If you get caught in a combo as well you can't dodge out of it as far as I know and it gets to the point of pretty decent rage considering how many ememies can be attacking you at once.So really your enjoyment of this game will be determined by how well you can dodge so if you know a friend who has it or if there is a demo out there for this game try it before you get it cause this is where the polarity split happens.

 

So music is split,as is gameplay depending,how's the story and characters....A little worse then split.The only character who is even memorable is bayonetta.And even then only when she's not just spewing innuendoes....again I'll get to that.She's pretty clever,funny and even charming when she wants to be but again only when she's not spewing constant sex jokes.Her rival,love interest and a little girl she finds....I have trouble recalling their names at times so yeah.Sans the main the characters are forgettable.

 

So what about the story?.....That's a really good question cause I have no fucking clue what just happened.Seriously they throw a crap ton of exposition at the beginning and then throw some absolutly rediculous scenes after and it just distracts you and never ever gets you back at any point in the game.The only real plot point I was following was who the little girl turned out to be and that ended in one of the most random twists ever and I do not mean that in a good way.

 

The graphics are quite good.Everything looks quite nice and nothing really looks off sans one or two character models but even then not terrible just a little off.but what do the graphics show off?.....See bayonetta's ass earlier for details.Yeah this game has a lot of fanservice in it.it wasn't quite as bad as I was expecting but it was a decent part of the game.but here's where the game's tone comes in.This game has a tone that says it's very over the top and very cartoonish in alot of elements.The sheer amount of references should give you a hint there.But between that,the fanservice,the moves she can do in combat and everything is so over the top but then the story kind of messes that up.

 

While again I'm not sure what the plot even is it's does in such a way that I think it's meant to be taken seriously and that really does not jive with the over the top style.It's the biggest problem with the game cause at least the combat could be practiced and you could learn to deal with the dodging mechanic.But mood whiplash and expecting to a not serious game serious all of a sudden is just not a good idea.

 

 

So let's take a look at what we have here.A game with good graphics.A decent soundtrack with some very stand out songs that elevate it to awesome.Good gameplay with a gimmick that can really mess some people up even if it can be practiced to fix it and a very confused story and tone.This game is the definition of mixed bag.When it's good it's great but when it's bad it's very confusing.The game is probably around 20 dollars now and for that price i'd say give it a shot definatly especially considering when people do like it they love it.Like I said I'll stick with Devil may cry 3 thank you very much.

 

By the way there is one line bayonetta says

 

 "There are two things I hate.Crying children and cockroaches.I guess that would make a young crying cockroach the worst thing ever"

 

Anyone else get a Doctor vibe from that line?

ISWT Review: DMC: Devil may cry

Hoo boy.Can you smell the fanboy rage on this one?

 

 



 

I was going to do a Vlog review on this but I couldn't find a way to properly say things with the controversy involved.I was going to do a not review and just avoid the situation but you know what? FUCK IT.I really enjoy this game and yes I like the new Dante.I think he's on par with the old one if not better and yes I am serious.but you know what let's get down to details before I have to bring out a riot shield.

 

 

.We begin with the new dante the morning after one hell of a party and I will say that the fact he lives in a trailer is pretty scummy.I'll give you that.But he's awoken by Kat a member of a group called "The order" who need Dante to take down a tyrant named Mundus who has taken control of mankind via debt and kept them tame via mindcontrol,surveilance,and violence when necessary.The only people who can stop his power given to him by a hellgate is a nephilim.A half angel,half demon hybrid which only two exist; Dante and the leader of the order as well as dante's twin brother Vergil.Dante,Kat,and Vergil spend basically the entire game trying to take out the mind control and surveilance systems to get mundus' dander up and get him away from the hell gate to sever it's power and in his weakened state Kill mundus.That is the incredibly abridged version.There is alot more to it but to avoid spoilers I won't get too far into details.The story is one of the better ones in the franchise and I would actually say it's Pretty good in general.A story of rebellion,rebirth,and revenge against a man who wants to control the world for his own means..

To be fair the rather Obvious Fox news parody is a bit Blatent for my taste even if does get a laugh every time I see bob barbas cause my mind just goes to "Fuck it! We'll do it live"


But one of my favorite things with this game is the main theme of it; Perseverance.Now that's what I got out of it anyway but between the news media turning The order into a terrorist group and literally the world turning against him in Limbo(I'll get to it in a second) it all feels like everything is against dante.Hell even the fanbase is against the new dante but again I'll get to that later.Between that and what I at least consider to be the new dante's theme (Never surrender by combichrist) it all adds into the theme of dante overcoming odds and everything being against him.Maybe I'm exaggeratting and that's not what was intended but it seems right to me and to me it makes everything feel alot stronger.


Like I mentioned earlier the levels seem too want to kill you sometimes and that is because of limbo.Demons don't live in the real world sans a few powerful ones like mundus they live in a mirrored dimension that can affect the real world called limbo.Limbo is a genius idea and the single best idea in the game in my opinion.It removes all boundaries when it comes to level design and because of this and the pretty damn good graphic quality this game looks gorgeous.Not to mention having walls shift or close around you can cause some cool moments.

But it's not just the levels trying to kill you.The enemies are.....well kinda bland design wise and some of them can get a little rage inducing on harder difficulties.I would say the enemies are easily the worst part of the game to me.bad design and often just hard to fight even if the combat is amazing.Oh by the way the combat is amazing.The use of angelic and demonic weapons and the hooks make combat a blast.In the second stage you gain access to A demonic axe called arbiter and an angelic scythe called osiris.You can use them by holding The R2(Right trigger) and attacking as normal for demonic and L2(Left trigger) for angelic and because of the fact you can switch between different angelic and demonic weapons via the left and right D-pad buttons respectivly you can use every weapon on the fly without having to equip them specifically or go into a menu and I love it.That combined with the hooks whcih can either bring you towards an enemy or bring an enemy towards you.It's a really nice and flexible combat system that allows you alot of comfort and variety.With some tweeking it could be one of best combat systems for hack and slash type games and considering the style system really good for the devil may cry franchise in particular.


Speaking of the style system this is another thing that alot of people seem to turn against with this game.The style system from devil may cry promotes using different weapons and variety in combat by giving you style points which would serve different purposes in different games.The general thought is that's it's much easier then the original games to get to triple S rank and while I do agree that it is I actually think it's more balanced now.In Devil may cry 3 I would rarely if ever get a maxed style rating.In DmC I may have ten times so far after the equivalent of two playthroughs.It's still very difficult to do it just a bit easier.


Alright.Let's talk about Dante.I will say from this point on is my opinion especially considering the division of the fanbase considering the matter.In other words....

What the sign said.


So when DmC was first announced and the new dante revealed I was actually one of the angry ones.Not so much because I didn't want them to change the old dante or because I thought a reboot was stupid (In fact to be honest after 4 I'm glad they did cause the only thing they could have done was keep nero on as the main character and no thank you) It was mostly because of what the new dante was like in the trailer.A quiet smoker.Okay smoking was just a weird decision but quiet was a bad move.Seriously The game series title is a play on devil may care meaning recklessness.I don't get that from the First new dante and had they stuck with that I think I could understand alot of the rage people have against the new dante.That being said they did change his personality and slightly altered his appearance.Very slightly.He was no longer a quiet smoker and now more of a rebellious punk and that was a sigh of relief for me.However I hear alot of people thought that this was an attempt to suck up to fans by making him more like the old dante.Now whether that was the case I have no idea but regardless I think it happened for the better.

He's a rebel punk and I think that works quite well.In fact now that I think of it I do like him more then the older dante.I think the main reason is that the character actually has an arc,and theming unlike the original who just had anime-esque badassery.There is nothing wrong with that and in 3 it worked quite well for him but I'll take depth over badassery any day of the week.

That's just my opinion and I'm sticking to it dammit


Now while devil may cry 3 has better characters and a better villain in arkham then Dmc,(seriously Kat is pretty bare in terms of characteristics and mundus is okay but compared to lady and arkham it's not even a contest) everything else is just above Devil may cry 3 but not quite enough.Like I said I think Dmc is the second best game in the franchise and I seriously hope people can get past their reasons for hating it and give it a chance.....and man am I glad to get that off my chest.