Bayonetta has everything good in the 3D Beat-'Em-Up genre whilst adding interesting nuances...Though the story is dumb.
Yes, the story of Bayonetta is far too ridiculous to be taken seriously and, at the same time, has so many things going on that are explained crudely through mostly stop-motion cutscenes. As for the full-motion cutscenes: they are (for the most part) reserved for anything but story purposes, and are instead intended to show off some incredibly "adult" situations which makes one question how this title did not receive an AO rating upon release. To be honest, I'm convinced that Bayonetta was not necessarily made to have an engaging story but rather to be a test of how much sexual content a developer can get away with before the dreaded AO rating is slapped on the front of the box. In any case, the interactive portion of Bayonetta is much more easy to understand than the ridiculous story.
The sound design in Bayonetta has some interesting variety. Although there are only a few battle themes (all of which are these bubblegum pop songs and a happy pop remix of Fly Me to the Moon), there are some remixes of cIassic Sega songs as well. In fact, there are plenty of cIassic gaming references within Bayonetta, specifically from Sega. The execution of the references prevents them from feeling intrusive and, in most cases, actually adds a great deal of value to the whole. Another aspect of Bayonetta which feels fantastic, save for some flaws, is the gameplay.
Controlling Bayonetta (the titular character) is very similar to the Devil May Cry series, which should come as no surprise due to the fact that it was made by the exact same people. However, unlike Capcom's stylish action series, Bayonetta provides a main character who can strap guns to her feet as well as dual-wield firearms on her hands. With the aforementioned change in character type comes some interesting combat options, such as being able to attack in a 360-degree radius by turning the left stick in a circle and hitting either the punch button to fire off from the hands or the kick button to do a handstand for more acrobatic results. Also, being able to hold an attack button while dodging and then continue the interrupted combo afterward takes a lot of frustration out of the gameplay, resulting in a smoother, more engaging challenge. Torture attacks add even more depth to the experience, allowing Bayonetta to dispose of foes via guillotine, pulley, chainsaw, and much more. Pulling off a torture attack feels satisfying each time, giving the player more incentive to learn the ropes of the deep combat control system. With a wide variety of weapons ranging from the standard handguns to a katana and plenty of other awesome tools of destruction as well as being able to combine weapons to both the hands and feet for different results makes for a system which can be utilized by both the casual player and the seasoned veteran. However, as with any title in the 3D Beat-'Em-Up genre, there are some portions which feel cheap.
Cheap hits are common in Bayonetta, and this is mostly due to one quickly apparent flaw: There's far too much going on to pay attention. Particle effects litter the screen like dust clouds, obscuring the movements of enemies and making it incredibly difficult to adapt to the rhythm of enemies and environmental effects cause the camera to be obscured by bits of whatever of the environment is flying around. Also, enemies can sometimes be at just the right distance to block the camera altogether, essentially giving the enemy a great chance for some free hits.
A few select enemies also contribute to the cheap factor, mainly an enemy named (probably as a joke by the developers) Fairness. Fairness is a four-legged creature who seems to have absolutely no foreseeable attack pattern, unlike every other enemy in the game. The erratic behavior of Fairness makes it nearly impossible to dodge over half of what is thrown at the player. What makes the creature even worse is that it has an unavoidable roar which stuns Bayonetta long enough to score a free hit, which resulted in innumerable deaths.
One last cheap bit, although not nearly as horrible as the last two, is the quick-time events. The timing for each event needs to be perfect, but is made harder by not being given enough of a heads-up on which button needs to be pressed in order to avoid an instant-kill death, giving only a split-second to react. Thankfully, the difficulty of such occurrences is slightly toned down by the amount of checkpoints given and, to make it even less frustrating, most quick-time events occur right after a checkpoint.
In terms of overall difficulty, Bayonetta may have its cheap aspects but the entirety of the experience feels like an honest challenge if enough patience is applied. The grading system is harsh (giving you the worst reward for dying even once) but being able to go back to any chapter before starting the next one gives a great chance for getting used to the flow of battle. Special missions, much like in the Devil May Cry games, are insanely difficult but they can be seen as more of an afterthought until experiencing enough of the main game, giving incentive to train in past chapters and adjust to the combat system.
One last note that has not been picked up on by Gamespot: The loading issues are gone. A patch has been released which allows data to be installed on the hard drive which cuts the loading times down significantly to the point of ceasing to be an issue. Also, the frame rate dips are hardly present due to the same patch and makes Bayonetta every bit as enjoyable as its other version.
Overall, fans of the Devil May Cry and Viewtiful Joe series will have just as much fun with Bayonetta. However, those new to the Beat-'Em-Up genre should not play on the normal difficulty. Although I have played all the Devil May Cry games and some of the Viewtiful Joe titles, Bayonetta's challenge lies between insane and crazy the first time through. If anything, Bayonetta should be a rental at the very least, just so you can gaze at the "scenery."