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Hair is very frequently ignored when it comes to its effectiveness in battle, few videogame heroes and heroines utilising what is a very versatile substance when fighting enemies. Bayonetta changes things, and while some aspects of her ‘personality’ have been enhanced considerably more than is usually seen in games, she uses her hair in the most interesting way I’ve ever seen. Morphing it into beasts such as a crow to swallow up snake like creatures, or a massive dog to tear towering bosses to pieces. Just the start of the intricate combat system, Bayonetta delivers where most Action Adventure games stumble, creating pure mayhem.

The fact the game is from people behind Devil May Cry is evident from the very start of Bayonetta. Stringing combos together using two face buttons is as unobtrusive as it was controlling Dante, but thanks to some fantastic animation and well implemented combos, Bayonetta actually beats the original series combat-wise. The ability to assign varying weapons to all 4 of Bayonetta’s limbs doesn’t make the original set of trusty pistols a pointless option either, instead giving you hundreds more combos to obliterate your enemies with. No matter which implements you use, whether that be a sword, set of shotguns or massive claws nabbed from a recent boss encounter, you move with such grace and fluidity that combos are all part of being Bayonetta.

That said, dodging attacks is essential too, and with a quick tap of R2, you backflip and lunge away from attacks directed towards you, an integral part of every battle. If you backflip at just the right time, near the instant you would take damage, Bayonetta enters Witch time, a perk of her Umbra Witch past (Uncovered in various flashbacks throughout the game). For a few seconds time will slow down for everything but you, meaning you can get closer to enemies and pull off devastating combos with ease. Utilising the feature is vital against tougher enemies, and when encountering the minimal puzzle sections Bayonetta features. Timing must be exact though, and learning just when to hit the button is the first task you should complete when playing Bayonetta. Adding yet another layer to the already dense combat system, both offensive and defensive strategies blur together to form Bayonetta’s signature style.

Mostly linear, Bayonetta doesn’t attempt to stray from the format of its predecessor Devil May Cry. Instead it embraces this structure, moving from set-piece to set-piece at a blistering pace. With cut scenes in both CG, and somewhat stilted ‘comic strip’ sections, if the voice accompanied still images can even be called that, marking the cut off point between each set-piece, it’s surprising to see the distinct divide of each action moment into specific ‘Verses’. Though the cut-scenes can look fantastic, they never reach the same fever pitch of excitement as the intense boss battles or brief quick time event sections. Exploration isn’t Bayonetta’s thing though, moving from arena to arena fighting sets of enemies to destroy ethereal barriers is all she finds time to do in this adventure. It’s barely worth mentioning the story she gets herself into however, thanks to some intentionally campy dialogue and cut-scenes; comical but far from engaging.

If that was the end of the review, I bet that most would have been surprised by the score given to Bayonetta below, but one aspect of the version I played made it impossible to give the experience any higher. Ports of 360 games to PS3 have been commonplace in the industry for the past few years, but other than some notable examples of when the process goes tails up-The Orange Box-old habits have somewhat died. Bayonetta is the next exception to the rule, where problems such as choppy framerate throughout most battles, excessive loading and less impressive graphical touches make the PS3 port considerably worse than the 360 version. Loading times can range from the outrageous, around 20 seconds to load after a death, to the infuriating, 6 seconds to pause the game, Bayonetta soon begins to grate on your patience. For a game with combat as frenetic and upbeat as this, you feel completely deflated when watching a machine that delivers content as breathtaking as Uncharted 2 stammer its way through a simple menu screen.

And on this note Bayonetta is set to really disappoint PS3 players. These issues aside, it’s a must play game, enjoyable from start to finish with intense, interesting combat, and set-pieces to rival the most elusive touchstones in gaming. If you have the choice of platform, the decision is obvious, but for those who only have the lesser option, the game just about makes up for its mistakes. The first incredible 360 game of 2010, even if PS3 gamers may not agree quite so much.

PS3  Rating:

360  Rating: