Bayonetta

I am currently having a rest from what can only be described as sensory overload. This is sincerely the most intense and at the same time absolutely bonkers gaming experience I've had in all the years since videogaming itself began back in my distant youth. There's no slow invitational build-up here; Bayonetta just grabs you by your short and curlies and insists.
Plot you say?
What's the point when you have witches, Heaven vs Hell, huge mutant angels with babies heads or two headed dragon/angels with upside down heads for bodies.
"Bullet Climax"?... you bet.
A suit made out of hair that unravels into a giant boot, a hand for picking up and throwing cars or even a huge serpent that eats major enemies?... of course.
Sega's groan-inducing in-jokes and cutting off angel's heads in guillotines or sending them to hell kicked into an iron maiden?...just all in another day's work for this game.
These are just a few of the delights experienced within my first few breathless hours of play. Next thing I know I'm running up waterfalls in heaven (Paradiso) and stealing an enormous egg-timer. The pace never really lets up until you die.
(3 cheers for prompt delivery in this severely inclement weather too)

Certainly it is reminiscent of other well-known games that I won't mention here but take my word for it, within the first few hours of play Bayonetta has already surpassed them all. It's time to take off those training wheels and play with the grown-ups.
Fast and intuitive combat mixed with a superbly ecclectic soundtrack and some ridiculous "stupid big smile" moments. I know I haven't got far but I do know when I'm gobsmacked by something and Bayonetta finds me rocking back and forth mumbling in the prescence of true gaming greatness. The cutscenes initially appear to be the work of a lunatic mind but do link the segments together well enough so you can get on with enjoying yet more of the sublimely engineered combat. Rest assured the story does make sense but you'll only pull all the threads together towards the end of the game.

The animation of Bayonetta herself is so characterful and so over the top that she puts all other generic game leads to shame. In between acrobatics she struts around like she means it and her measured, disdainful English accent only serves to enhance the appeal.
There are a few rudimentary puzzles, a bit of "item/ring collection" and some very useful "Alchemy" which will no doubt bolster your offensive and defensive capabilities later on. Visit "The Gates of Hell" a cheesy cocktail bar on the edge of Hell where you can buy new items or fighting techniques. Replayability is looking good with scaling awards for each level completed and the usual host of unlockables and trophies to earn. There is more that I could add but I wouldn't want to spoil the joy of discovery for anyone else.

edit: Still playing Bayonetta over a month later and the addiction level is still fierce. The sense of achievement and actually becoming better is beautifully paced with what once seemed near-impossible now being a walk in the park. Don't let that fool you though; Bayonetta continues to ramp up the difficulty with "Hard" and then "Infinite Climax" mode. The latter becomes a war of attrition between you, your joypad and the joints of your fingers. This is not just a case of more hit-points per enemy but more enemies and the later-harder-enemies actually replacing earlier easier ones and they all move about three times as fast. Bosses have new moves and are less forgiving but worst of all there is NO WITCHTIME when you dodge so thank goodness for the "Dodge-Offset" move. I'm still trying to get platinum trophies, all umbran tears and unlock all weapons until I can face the ultimate unlockable enemy...Rodin..and I'm still enjoying it all immensely.

I had heard grumbles about the conversion for PS3 but seriously I have no complaints at all. Something this good shouldn't be compared to other versions; it should just be enjoyed.

As Bayonetta herself says "I've got a fever and the only cure is more dead angels"

This game is simply everything devil may cry 3 should have been.

Action games need to have something to stand out. For example, Dante's Inferno has the great conceptualisation of hell behind it, but comes across as a God of War clone. However, Bayonetta has so much more than Dante's Inferno.

You play as Bayonetta, a witch who fights against angelic forces who have extinguished all but one of the witches, destroying the balance between the two sides.

Bayonetta is a highly sexualised character. For instance, you can 'punish' a foe by, essentially, spanking them repeatedly. She attacks with her hair, which also serves as her clothes, so as you use increasingly powerful moves she... begins to lose clothing. It would be tasteless if not for the overall light-hearted feel of the game, and also if you weren't laughing whilst doing it. The gameplay is closer to Devil may cry than anything else, but has hints of God Of War's execution and button-mash sequences. There is no block button, which means you have to stay on your toes. Too often has a block button become a crutch to lean on, leading to Assassin's Creed style turtle combat. In Bayonetta, you have to dodge. It is your only defense, and works more fluently that Devil May Cry 4. A perfectly timed dodge will allow you to enter 'Witch time', which is essentially matrix-style bullet time. This feels rewarding as you pull off the perfect dodge, leaving the enemy defenseless for a few seconds. But unlike Max Payne, it doesn't overdo the bullet time: you have to work for it and it doesn't last long, and isn't the cornerstone of the combat, more just a little treat you get for a perfectly executed dodge.

Bayonetta's moves are designed to attack several enemies at once, often in more than one direction. She can shoot 360 degrees and spawn demons to crunch up her enemies. The combat is typically frenetic, with more urgency than Devil May Cry. You feel that Bayonetta is not to overpowered but also has a lot of moves etc. It's strange, I know, but in some games you feel invincible, and in some like Demon's Souls you feel powerless. Bayonetta get the balance just right.

As a pure action game, it's fun enough just to try to discover all of Bayonetta's combos. But in real time it's just crazy. It's very difficult to describe, and certainly not for everyone. My suggestion is to download the demo from PS store, then decide whether or not you will buy it.

There were some graphical issues, but these have since been patched. I've never noticed a drop in framerate, or any real screen tearing and didn't have any issues with it graphically at all.

Finally, don't listen to the people who say it is a bad port. There have been worse, and as I said the graphics have been patched. People do that all the time, because Digital Foundry say it is better on one console, it is automatically a bad game on the other, but in reality it is a good game on PS3. If you have an Xbox 360, I'd recommend you buy it for that, but if not it's fine on PS3.

For a game like Bayonetta there can only be one word to describe. Fantastic. I can think of no other game where entire boss fights happen in split seconds (trust me you'll understand once you play the game), where every boss battle, looks, sounds and feels like the last boss the game, and where some of the game play is so extreme its a wonder you can even keep up with it.

As for the game play it self it may take somewhat getting used to. Fans of Devil May Cry may not have such a problem but for those other games out there who are used to the likes of God of War 3 then this games pushes those visceral boundaries to the edge.

In the game you play as Bayonetta a kinky witch with extraordinary talent for kicking arse when it comes to angels; ironic since some are as evil as sin and they serve as the main enemies in the game. You make your way through the fictional city of Vigrid where you learn about your past as a witch and to also uncover an item known as the Left Eye. Thats as much as i will give away plot wise, but believe me you will have to play this game to really enjoy it. The combat system is very good and once your used to playing the game heavily you will be accustomed to performing sick combos and other such manouveres.

One thing the game does suffer from is the inevitable lack of longevity. For a first run the game could take round about 10-12 hours on normal difficulty, and even when i first played it it was stuck at certain points during the game. Although it is a fairly short game than others, i think, as with Devil May Cry, it is built for sheer fun game play and the replayability factor since every single chapter is divided into verses where the objective is not to sing but to kick arse as fast and hard as you possibly can.

I thought this gamne was superb and unreasonably underrated. It has good gameplay, outrageous visuals and combat style and beig totally serious it is the only game i have ever played where i actually started breaking sweat near the last boss, this is how intense it is. Have fun :)