UncleSpaggles

Two different demos came out that very clearly showed the difference between the originally programmed for 360 version and the substandard SEGA ported PS3 version. Strangely the demos allowed you to spam the sword attack for huge point gains, but otherwise they are a very good representation of the finished product. Bayonetta is a witch that can summon demons using her magical hair, hair which otherwise is used to clothe her rather impressive figure - people need to get over that part as its a very minor point once you start playing. If you like to dress up Video game dolls and then walk them to the side of a wall and rotate the camera for a closer look-see you certainly can, as each weapon has a unique fashion accessory available from the store...I expect that was included for the girl gamers, but tbh I think its a pretty rad touch which carries across into the cutscenes. You spend a lot of time behind Bayonetta's finely rendered rear so why not pop a flaming red devils tail on there? The presentation is wonderful throughout, the only bum note is the shooting game that appears at the end of each level...fun the first time but soon becomes played out. This is easily forgiven with a game that is teeming with imagination. Platinum Games are the guys behind Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe and while its easy to mistake Bayonetta for a clone of the former in truth she owes more to the latter imo. The way each section of a level, or Chapter, is broken up into Verses, her ability to manipulate time and some of her move set suggests Beautiful is the new Viewtiful. Bayo can also weapons switch like Dante and has air juggles and combo scoring which all takes place in what looks like a next gen DMC world. To discuss the fighting in great detail would take me into spoiler territory, but its safe to say that each weapon has its only style and many effect the way Bayonetta moves around her environment, choosing the correct tool for the job is often key to avoiding frustration. Once all the basics have been mastered, such as combo strings (of which there are many), Witch Time, Torture Attacks, Taunting and Dodge Offset there are also a few accessories which take the game deeper still. Wear the Gaze of Despair and every enemy you meet will become instantly enraged (as they are when taunted) making them far more aggressive and powering up their armour. Use the Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa and you can parry by timing your own attack to hit theirs, get the timing spot on and you perform a perfect parry allowing you to return their damage and sending you into Witch Time. The variation on offer here is truly staggering. To help improve your proficiency there are challenge portals dotted around that you can spend hours in trying to figure how to get the best out of a move or weapon set. This game has bosses, big bosses. Thankfully all of this serious fighting is accompanied by a wicked sense of humour with plenty of in-jokes and Video game references that are a real joy. In fact the things that would make most gamers want to play are best experienced first hand instead of being spoiled by me, which I expect will keep this masterpiece as a cult classic rather than a mainstream hit. Anyway, enough from me...anyone else played it, got any thoughts?

On the tube? Times must be hard.

I mean going back down to Normal should be easy after playing through the the hardest difficulty setting.

Damn, that Lost t-shirt would have been perfect as a b'day present for my girlfriend SOLD OUT Sod it, I'll get her a small mansize one

Oooh it was goood. The scenes with The Shadow Man (voiced by Mr Is It The Frank or Is It The Beans - that drove me nuts until I IMDB'd him just now) especially and at times they seemed to be showing how much of a 3D-like effect you can get out of classic animation. The use of lovable animal characters felt comfortably nostalgic and the story was sweet enough. The songs weren't as poppy/catchy as previous Disney outings, but had more class which fit the film's sense of style imo (at the expense of a sing-a-long at the pictures and hum-a-long on the way home). Some great bursts of Jazz however and the musical numbers thankfully never out stayed their welcome (never been my thing). Overall it felt a little empty, but what was there was very enjoyable and great to see on the big screen. With only about 50 people in the Empire Leicester Sq I can't see it making much money in the UK sadly...

Off to see the 'Princess and the frog' or 'The frog princess' or something along those lines tonight. Looking forward to some 'old school' 2D animation again. Bought 'Sleeping Beauty' or 'The Beauty Sleeps' or something on BluRay last year and it was truly a beautiful experience...high hopes then!

Fighting my way through Non Stop Infinite Climax difficulty which has the Witch Time removed, the enemies are more aggressive deal more damage. I have the Rosary Beads equipped, which leave behind a large blue ball of explosive energy when you evade an attack, and the Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa to parry attacks and return fireballs. Great fun against the larger bosses and baiting Jeanne. One last achievement and then I'll continue my Platinum trophy run on Normal...should be a piece of piss after this! Love this game so much.

In the game, Bayonetta is leered at by the 'angelic' enemies she fights, often her attacks turn their lustful yearning back upon them with murderous results and the tease performance she puts on is part of this relationship. However, the game goes from showing things from the Angels POV to giving you a right eyeful from then on suggesting to me that the creator playfully views the player in the same light as the perving enemies. You can of course unlock more respectable costumes (and far more revealing ones), but the fact remains the cutscenes imo occasionally go just far enough to make the objectification on display troubling. Not enough to stop me from playing the game I might add, once you've become hooked by the combat system you'll be Select+RT skipping them anyway and the focus shifts back to the original relationship I mentioned. "You've been naughty", time for some spanky spanky!

PIazo3-_80A Damn this Official Guide looks sick, can't wait to get some tips to help up my game!

Did they die?

Happy Christmas!

*Holds up big stereo*

Thats interesting, the game certainly is filled with satire but I get the feeling that wasn't what you meant...

Bunch of babies in this thread....

Watched Cannonball Run at the weekend and was surprised to discover I knew all the lines (even the bits in the out takes at the end)...very odd. That black Lamborghini still looks incredible.

Its an incredibly accessible and welcoming game on normal, with an abundance of check points (even during sections of the boss battles) - you can create different lolly pops to help you through if your skills are struggling - so try to avoid the Easy mode if you can. Looking forward to hearing how you get on with it.

Its a shame, I had one glorious day with the 360 version and have spent the rest of the time flirting with the PS3 effort. Shit Bayonetta is still Bayonetta, but I can not wait for the 8th Jan so I can get back to the REAL version of this!

I'm just calling it as I see it. Something else that's worth a mention is how every single enemy attack has clearly sign posted audio and visual cues. This is probably the most important point tbh because once you tune into these you will be reacting to everything the game can throw at you without even thinking about it allowing you to focus on your offensive combos and other trickery! For example, an angel will make an attack noise, an attack animation and there is even a golden light cue on their weapon just before they strike, 3 things telling you to evade. I'm at the point where I just need to hear an audio cue to be able to successfully trigger Witch Time or counter an attack from an off screen enemy. A trumpet angel will make a musical cue before firing a sound ball at you, its these warnings that let you evade and in this case slow time and knock the ball back at your enemy. Of course this alert system was present in DMC3 and VJ but its certainly been perfected here. One of the reasons I hated DMC4 was its failure to clearly signal all incoming attacks, if you get hit in Bayonetta its nobodies fault but your own.

The bigger the cushion the harder the pushing?

Thats the way I thought it was done, however the handle of a gun is pretty small and I was concerned that you'd mess up your fingers performing the action (as they are wrapped around it) leaving you unable to then fire the weapon further through the level/desert/playground...

As there seems to be some sort of knowledge in this thread I was wondering what the correct procedure is for pistol whipping somebody - are you hitting then with the barrel of the gun or the handle?

Then you say "I'm going to count to 3" and if at "2" they are still holding out you pull their daughter into the frame and place the gun at her head praying she's doesn't possess the 'power of three'. Is the safety on the right hand side of the weapon relying you to remove you finger from the trigger in order to feel if its on or cross your left hand over leaving you open to attack? Or do you just use your left hand to check? Do they make left handed guns?

This wouldn't kill the assailant but simply blacken their face.

If you are down with the quickness facing off against a cocked gun you just need to get your finger between the hammer and the firing pin to render the weapon useless - I think I saw this in a Lethal Weapon movie, but they are based on true stories so... Scratch that, the above method only works during suicide attempts.

Has this been announced as a jape yet?