Episodes
Tuesday Nov 11, 2014
Review - Bayonetta 2
Tuesday Nov 11, 2014
Tuesday Nov 11, 2014
This review is done by Anthony Fallucco. You can get more videogame news and thoughts from
Anthony by following him on Twitter @Killroycantkill.
-----
Bayonetta was a surprise hit back in 2010 and it has unexpectedly
become not only my favourite character action game, but one of my favourite
games of all time, period. So when Nintendo announced they would be publishing
the sequel people were excited, and a bit trepidatious at the same time. But
they have made a true sequel to an almost perfect game that is better in some
ways but worse in others.
What most people come to Bayontta for is the smooth and insanely stylish
gameplay. Fighting in this sequel has been polished even beyond that of the
original, and considering how great the gameplay was in the first game that is
an amazing accomplishment. Just as in the first game you are able to equip a
variety of weapons not only to your hands but as well as your feet, which make
for some very interesting combinations. Ever want to attach chainsaws to your
feet and ride them around like motorized rollerblades? I know I have! This game allows
for that kind of lunacy and more. Each weapon allows unique combos and they all
handle drastically different from one another. You are also allowed to have two
different sets of hand and feet weapons equipped at one time. I ended up
finding my favourite set that I was most comfortable with and using that for
most of the game while only briefly trying the new unlocks that I would get. Overall
I thought the weapons were more interesting and fun to experiment in the
original Bayonetta and because of that I didn’t want to try as many, or mess
around with certain combinations in comparison to the original.
The defining mechanic in Bayonetta, Witch Time, is back in the sequel and works the same as its predecessor. Just before the enemy hits you with an attack, if you are able to dodge it you will go into Witch Time, which is basically a different version of bullet time (i.e. Slow Mo from The Matrix). During this time you will be able to freely hit enemies without worrying about retaliation plus it looks wicked cool. Being able to balance smacking angels and demons in the face with well time dodges will make for stylish combos and some of the most fun I’ve had since the original game. Another new mechanic is Umbran Climax, which turns all your attacks into wicked weave attacks. It’s meant to be an alternative to Torture Attacks but just completely outdoes them in both power and utility, and ends up making Torture Attacks useless in terms of efficiency.
Bayonetta 2 also has a story, but like with the first game it is all about time travelling nonsense that is very confusing, but not impenetrable. Mainly the story is used to show Bayonetta being her most awesome self and taking down larger than life enemies of Heaven and Hell while also doing insane things like fighting on top of a moving fighter jet flying through a bustling city, or battling for her life while two giants also fight behind her. It’s kind of a trademark for this game but the sequel uses a lot of ideas from the first game in an attempt to be an homage or reference, but just feels like the developers being lazy and willing to stay from the formula of the first game. For something as original as Bayonetta, it is disappointing to see the creators play it safe and reuse action scenes and ideas from the original game.
Multiplayer is a new addition in the form of Tag Climax. You
can either team up with a friend, a random person online or just play with an
AI partner and battle it out in different scenarios. While you’re working
together to defeat the arena you have chosen, you are also
battling against each other by going for the best score possible. Before a
battle you are able to bet halos in order to gain more if you get a higher
score from your opponent, but the more you bet the harder the difficulty of the
scenario becomes. It’s a great addition to the game.
There are also a plethora of unlocks that will take more than one play-through
if you want 100% completion. Like items called Accessories that will give
you different abilities or make the enemies react to you in different ways. But
the most popular unlocks are all the different costumes that you can get not
only for Bayonetta herself but some other unlockable characters as well. Since
the game has also been published by Nintendo, Platinum has added a lot of cool
Nintendo costumes that are not only just texture switches, but also add new
moves. For example you are able to unlock Samus Aran from Metroid and when you
dash, instead of a turning into a cougar, you turn into the morph ball. It's
little touches like these that make all of the unlocks worth striving to
obtain.
In the end Bayonetta 2 is truly one of the best games to be released so far this
year, with improved level design and smoother combat it makes for a great experience. But with a weapon list
that's not as fun as the original, a lot of recycled ideas, and the what
feels like, fear of trying anything different than from what made the first game
great, it is a slightly inferior experience to the original. But I guess it’s good
that this amazing Wii U game comes packaged with Bayonetta 1 right?
Comments (0)
To leave or reply to comments, please download free Podbean or
No Comments
To leave or reply to comments,
please download free Podbean App.