I recently got hold of the Bayonetta demo, played through it a few times just to bring you the best review possible, hint, it's good, great even.
I'll start by saying that the version of Bayonetta I was playing was on the Xbox 360 so my entire experience stems from that system. The demo isn't very long as it only took me around 10-15 minutes to play through it to the end but to be perfectly honest, I enjoyed every minute of it.
The first section you play is a simple tutorial which I would consider to be self explanatory. All you need to do to complete it is follow the button commands and instructions that appear on-screen and it can be skipped if you don't feel the need for it but if you want to get the full experience of the demo, it would be best to finish the tutorial and learn how to pull off Bayonetta's large variety of moves.
Speaking of her moves, let me explain a little bit about her various attacks. I'm sure that I wasn't able to use her full attack list considering it was just a demo but what I was actually able to use impressed me. Every one of her attacks is very well animated and easy on the eyes, especially the ones that make use of her hair because the stronger ones. The 'Y', 'B', and 'X' buttons can be used together to unleash some unforgiving combos that will quickly turn your enemy into nothing more then a cloud of red mist and feathers.
Controls can either make or break a game and I'm pleased to say that they are very smooth, fluid, and responsive, allowing for precise movements which come in handy when you have to avoid constant enemy attacks from all directions. The camera is also not an issue on the Xbox version unlike many other games. I never came across any moments where it would go wonky or obscure the action, but I've heard that the camera has some issues when it comes to the Playstation 3 version.
The demo takes place over 3 small sections, most of which were seen in the E3 2009 footage we saw earlier this year. Aside from the tutorial, you have to battle a legion of angels while you're on a piece of free falling rock, while something which looks like a demonic dragon creature is launching balls of fire at you. Yeah, it's impressive and quite epic. After that section, you are placed in a cathedral where you have to battle it out against a horde of angels followed by a boss battle.
At the end of each area, you are shown a points screen where you are awarded medals depending on how well you did, basic stuff. I managed to unlock Platinum, Pure Platinum, and Gold. I'm sure these points can be used for either unlockables or upgrades in the full game which is a nice feature and very similar to Devil May Cry.
Overall, I can see why this game is getting praise from so many video game reviewers because it does look and play fluently. I'll admit that I was a little bit skeptical about this game because I originally saw it as nothing more then a female Devil May Cry rip-off; but after getting to experience it myself, I am convinced.
11/08/09 Colton West
