The Shadow Remains Cast
Bayonetta finally arrives in proper form, battered but not completely beaten in the journey to the PlayStation 3.
Published: February 3, 2010
That cash is spent in an underworld bar (Bayonetta pulls pretty heavily from The Divine Comedy's concepts of Paradiso, Inferno and Purgatorio to define the different realms angels, demons and Little Miss Gunshoes move between), allowing you to trade in pieces of records to gain new weapons or to add more moves to Bayonetta's laundry list of special attacks, many of which make the game far, far easier if you're not quick on the dodge (thank goodness, as the game gets absolutely crazy toward the end in theme and difficulty).
In short, you beat up baddies in as flashy a fashion as possible, take the money banked and burn it to unlock better ways to make with the halo robbing. In between levels, a kind of shooting gallery mini-game will allow you to plink away at enemies to earn points that can redeemed for restoratives or banked for extra halos. It's a neat little touch, embracing Bayonetta's approach to incorporating snippets of gameplay from all over, and can be extended by finding bullets hidden throughout the witchy romp.
Even though the patch allowed for an install and thus dramatically cut down on some of the more annoying bits, there are still elements that show this was a port more than anything. Dumping all the data onto the hard drive can't possibly repair all the instances where the game's code was bent and shaped to work on the PS3, and as such the game is still clearly a smoother, sharper, more polished effort on the 360. If you have the choice, there's no shame in us saying the original, native platform is the one to experience the game on. If you don't have a choice, though, the patch has essentially brought this game back from the brink. Bayonetta was nuts enough to be entertaining even with all the issues, but it was asking much of anyone interested to have to sit through the game regularly taking a break in the middle of the action to load a simple screen.
With those pauses gone, the game is infinitely more playable, and it gives Kamiya and Team Little Angels (a nice riff on the Team Little Devils group that created Devil May Cry for Capcom) a chance to showcase just how completely insane they all are. All that insanity regularly results in Bayonetta topping itself in sheer ridiculousness, sexy cheese and mind-bending action elements. All the various bits of combat end up gelling amazingly by the end, and now that the game isn't a chore to play anymore (oh how I wish I'd just waited for the patch to start playing), I'll very likely end up going back through the game and testing my mettle with the even more insane difficulties. Because I am a glutton for punishment.
And because Bayonetta is one of the best pure action games to hit in years. Just opt for the superior version if you can, and if not, make sure you don't actually play the 360 version because the PS3 one, while much-improved now, isn't the truest vision of what Platinum Games was going for. Still, the hard work of both SEGA and Sony to get the game up to snuff is commendable. It's also well worth picking up now. So go do it. Go on, git!
