I've been enjoying Bayonetta for the past week. After picking up a copy at my favorite video game store for $14, I installed the title to my 360 hard drive and fired it up. What strikes me first is the style and attitude of the game. The heroine is ridiculously hyper-sexualized, yet once you look beyond her mile-long legs and weird suit apparently made of hair, there's an honest (in a literary sense) character!
The story is told through a bizarre mishmash of cutscenes and stylized film reel scenes; in the latter characters' lips do not move with dialog, which seems odd at first but can be attributed to the style rather than outright laziness or low budget.
The gameplay is oddly satisfying. This is not just a button-masher. The combat consists of numerous useful and gratifying combos, but they aren't activated randomly by mashing buttons like a noob playing Soul Blade. Combat operates almost - but not quite as silky-smooth point-and-click - like Batman: Arkham City; it's just a little faster. Jamming on the controller doesn't really help you here; strategic timing and placement of various attack types is critical. The dodge mechanic is awesome as it triggers a brief slow-motion Witch Time effect, allowing you to rack up some excellent damage without taking any yourself.
I'm looking forward to the second half of the game; I plan multiple playthroughs to hit the harder difficulty levels as well.
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