Re: Bayonetta 2
Two more:
Gametrailers - 9.8
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The Guardian - 5/5
Two more:
Gametrailers - 9.8
Video
Text
Bayonetta 2 is a smart, confident sequel that knows exactly what it wants to be. It takes a long hard look at the original game, keeping everything sacred intact while deftly cleaving off any and all excess. Every chapter bursts with spectacle and every boss fight thrills. Perhaps most impressive, though, is that Bayonetta 2 is uncompromising. It’s a violent, sexy, crude and visually overwhelming rocket of a game from beginning to end.
The nature of third-person beat-em-ups is often misunderstood. Bayonetta 2 is a linear game with 15 chapters (plus post-completion extras) that will take probably 15 hours to finish once. But completion is where games like Bayonetta 2 really get started. This genre is all about mastering a combat system and gradually cranking up the difficulty as you do so, learning the ins and outs of an incredibly complex move-set and the different styles inherent in its various weapons (I’ve unlocked eight, and there are more). Bayonetta 2 is not “about” finishing the story or being blown away by the set-pieces, visually astounding as the latter often are – it’s about becoming better at playing to the extent that combat becomes almost a performance.
Bayonetta 2’s campaign gets within touching distance of the original’s sheer imagination, but its structure is far superior – Bayonetta’s biggest problem was that it didn’t offer experienced players a way to simply enjoy the combat system outside of story mode. This means it’s extraordinarily difficult to choose between the two titles but, as luck would have it, the definitive version of Bayonetta is included in the sequel’s special edition. That particular purchase is probably the greatest action game package in history.
Bayonetta 2 is another Wii U classic, another brilliant production from Platinum Games, and an exceptional debut for its first-time director Yusuke Hashimoto. It is not just that the core fighting system is so great, but that the game’s construction lets players pick and choose the parts they most enjoy, and delight in discovering new secrets as they do so.
The sheer polish applied to every part of Bayonetta 2 is something every major studio should aspire to: the exceptional and wide-ranging soundtrack, the huge number of unlocks, the Nintendo easter eggs, the “making of” materials, and the unlockable characters that bring their own style. Not a single thing has been held back. In this second adventure, Bayonetta over-delivers in every regard, and it will be a long time before another fighting game threatens her crown.
The sheer polish applied to every part of Bayonetta 2 is something every major studio should aspire to: the exceptional and wide-ranging soundtrack, the huge number of unlocks, the Nintendo easter eggs, the “making of” materials, and the unlockable characters that bring their own style. Not a single thing has been held back. In this second adventure, Bayonetta over-delivers in every regard, and it will be a long time before another fighting game threatens her crown.
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