Hands On: Bayonetta

So I’ve been hearing a lot about Bayonetta in recent times. People are praising it to high heaven as the best action game to come along in a long time. With such monumental praise backing this game I just had to try out the demo that was dropped on Xbox Live and PSN recently.

And I wasn’t disappointed.

Simply put Bayonetta is like Devil may Cry on some serious crack. The reason I compare it to DMC is because it’s been created by Hideki Kamiya, the same person behind the DMC series and every aspect of the game reeks with his over the top style and panache. The demo kicks off with a tutorial where you get acquainted with Bayonetta’s many (and I do mean MANY) combinations she can pull off with her melee weapons and pistols (that by the way are attached to her feet). Mixing melee with ranged attacks can lead to some insane looking combos that are easier to pull off than DMC or a Ninja Gaiden.

So once I was done with the tutorial I was inserted into a dream sequence where I could hone some of the l33t skills I had just learnt in the tutorial. Not only was I killing people in style but seamlessly moving from melee attacks to blocks without losing my momentum. From time to time you’ll even get to execute Torture Attacks by which Bayonetta can finish off an opponent using something as obscure as a torture rack or a guillotine, the consequences of which are chunky and terribly entertaining.

Bigger enemies tend to drop weapons once defeated which Bayonetta can then pick up and use to her advantage. I came across two bosses in the demo and defeated them really easily thanks to a giant axe I picked up from a fallen foe. Bayonetta can even use her hair as a weapon and in a sequence that by the way was totally trippy her hair became a giant demon that proceeded to bite and chew a boss up (yeah think about it for a second).

While the game is high on the action quotient it performs very well in the visual department as well. Framerates hold up really well during some of the more intense action sequences and the game’s very colorful to look at. In fact whenever Bayonetta jumps around the place butterflies (yes butterflies) fly out of the ground.

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So yeah Bayonetta is not a game that takes itself too seriously and is proud of that fact. While I seriously doubt this game would be a better game than God of War III I’m pretty confident it will end up being one of the finer games of 2010. Luckily we won’t have to wait too long to find out since the game releases on the PS3 and Xbox360 for Rs. 2499 by the 5th of January 2010.