Bayonetta 2

[Flawless]

Re: Bayonetta 2



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IGN - SDCC 2014: Bayonetta 2 is Insane, and I Love It For That

Playing through Chapter 2 of the Wii U-exclusive for the first time just reaffirmed my claim that Bayonetta trumps any other action games in terms of sheer insanity. Within minutes of the demo, I had done about a dozen “firsts” for video games. For instance, a mysterious NPC pulled a Moses and turned a lake into a long, walkable tube of water. But of course, I didn’t just walk through it. I animorphed into a panther and ran through that bad boy on all fours. Yep, that was a first.

The core combat of Bayonetta 2 is deep, but accessible. It's designed to make anyone who picks up a controller feel like a the harbinger of death, but those who're willing to invest the time it takes to learn combos, master dodging, and flip between battle styles will find one of the most complex action systems around.

Everything about Bayonetta 2 has me excited. Platinum’s pedigree, the outrageous action, the wacky costumes inspired by Nintendo history, and the fact that the original Bayonetta is included in the package are all winners in my book. We still don’t have a an exact release date aside from “October,” but I am officially ready.

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Platinum Games Blog: Giving Effects an Edge

What I mean is, there’s an ironclad rule that effects should never hide a player’s motion. That may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s actually not so easy. We want battles to be exciting and have lots of stunning effects, right? So we tend to get carried away. If we add too much, though, you’re unable to see your character and the game becomes unplayable. As the player, your eyes should be on the enemy and your own character, not the effects. That being said, if we start being too safe making effects, battles are boring.

In the end, we decided to make over-the-top effects that would fade out nice and quick, with just a hint of the effect lingering behind. In other words, we tried to give them an edge. Rather than giving the effects too much screen time, we chose to give them a brief, brilliant appearance, leave an impression in the player’s mind, and then have an echo remain, to still give the effect some presence in the battlefield.
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It might sound like a subtle difference, but that subtlety is important. You’ll realize that when you’re stringing combos together. The more manic the battle, the more this method works.

That’s something you’ll just have to play and see for yourself, though. When you feel the sweat in your hand as you grip the controller, I think you’ll get it. I look forward to the moment when you do! Bayonetta 2 is an action game where every department devoted time and thought on how to put together the most satisfying kind of action game possible.

[Flawless]

Re: Bayonetta 2

Eurogamer - Bayonetta 2 is a sequel to savour

Take the first level proper, which is as good an opening as you're going to get in a video game. I was playing it across the same weekend as I was getting reacquainted with The Last of Us, funnily enough, and both had me welling up as their introductions came to a close - though in Bayonetta's case it was more a case of realising exactly how much I'd missed Bayonetta's high energy brand of gaming as well as a natural reflex reaction to my eyeballs about to burst into flame. It's just so much.

Seriously, it's staggering. From when Bayonetta strolls on screen like an angelic, elongated take on Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast At Tiffany's with a white hat and dress that I hope, hope, hope will be an unlockable at some point in the future to a succession of references that starts with Crazy Taxi and ends up, via a little After Burner love, to a kaiju tribute that puts this year's Godzilla reboot to shame. When Bayonetta 2's main theme kicks in during your first fight proper - a poppy, catchy number that I've had on loop since it first cracked a big grin on my face - it's hard not to be overwhelmed.

That Bayonetta 2 maintains those energy levels throughout its first third is astonishing. The make-up of the game is familiar - cut-scenes segue into light exploration and then into electric bursts of combat with a couple of bosses thrown in every level to keep you on your toes. Bayonetta 2's variety and pacing make it all seem as inventive as last time out, and a little more relentless too.

IGN - Bayonetta 2: Unrelenting, Sexy, and Totally Outrageous

If you came looking for a fight, Bayonetta 2 seems happy to oblige your desires with an out-of-this-world take on the character action genre. Don’t underestimate this heroine or this sequel. Based on our time with the first four chapters, it has plenty of action and surprises to keep fans satisfied and hopefully hook a whole new legion of fans too. Bayonetta 2 is a combat ballet laced with gold armor and red blood gushing everywhere. More importantly, it’s a sequel to one of the greatest action games ever made.

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[Flawless]

Re: Bayonetta 2

Bayonetta 2 Launches On October 24

Nintendo has announced that Bayonetta 2 has a firm release date. The title will make its previous "October 2014" release, arriving at the tail end of the month.

Bayonetta 2 for Wii U will come bundled with a copy of the original game. Nintendo and developer Platinum Games have also included Nintendo cosplay options for the witch.

[Flawless]

Re: Bayonetta 2

Bayonetta 2 focused Nintendo Direct this Thursday:

https://twitter.com/NintendoAmerica/status/506924567852773376

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Platinum Games Blog: Music

The last Bayonetta had a bit of a low-key tone in its battle themes at times. This time we’ve gone for a much livelier feel. We’ve upped the style, and tried a few new things, such as sticking to a standup bass rather than an electric, which gives the music a different, new tone.

This leads into the game’s boss themes. In Bayonetta 2, I tried to have the boss themes divided into movements that went with each stage of the fight. This made it a lot harder to find where to smoothly loop the song, but the added impact was worth the effort. See if you can notice when you play.

I don’t want to give away anything that hasn’t been revealed yet, so I’ll use the Gomorrah fight from the E3 demo for my example. This song is broken up into four phases: the battle’s beginning, the middle of the building, the top of the building, then the end of the battle.

I love the crescendo at the top of the building.

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Most of the composers for the original Bayonetta returned to help out on Bayonetta 2. Compared to the original’s 150 songs, Bayonetta 2 boasts 183 songs in total. This isn’t just a numbers game though, people. Five years is some significant time, so expect improvements in Bayonetta 2’s sound quality as well.

[Flawless]

Re: Bayonetta 2

Can't wait!


New trailer:

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and the 30 minute direct.

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[Flawless]

Re: Bayonetta 2

EDGE awards sequel 10/10 score

The Wii U exclusive becomes only the 17th game to receive a perfect score from EDGE since the magazine launched in 1993. EDGE also gave 2009's original Bayonetta top marks.

"You never tire of it, but how could you? This is a game that begins with Santa riding a car along the side of a building, continues with you summoning a demon to headbutt a meteor, and ends with the most joyously cathartic climax of any game since, well, Bayonetta."

"When the pace does dip, there is more than enough charm, wit and heart to take its place. It is a masterclass in combat design, in videogame variety, in the balance between accessibility and depth."

"Sure, it's a sequel, but it's a sequel to what has stood, for almost five years, as the best game of its type ever made. Until now, that is. Sega's loss is Nintendo's gain: Bayonetta, twirling away from a gigantic demon's maw and smacking the highest choir of angels on the nose, has just given Wii U its first true classic."

[Flawless]

Re: Bayonetta 2

A demo is up on the eShop. It's part of the Prologue. So tight and fluid, Bayonetta is back. Only 12 more days until release.

Edit: Actually 15 more days. I thought it was the 21st for some reason.

[Sandman42]

Re: Bayonetta 2

A demo is up on the eShop. It's part of the Prologue. So tight and fluid, Bayonetta is back. Only 12 more days until release.

Downloading this when I get home.

[Flawless]

Re: Bayonetta 2

Gamespot - 10

Bayonetta 2's combat is so expertly constructed, and its presentation so joyously insane, that you'd have to try so very hard to get bored of it all. In a year filled with the promise of ever more elaborate experiences on all the shiny new hardware, that Bayonetta 2--a homage to classic game design and escapism--should be the most fun I've had playing a game all year is unexpected. But maybe it shouldn't have been. After all, its predecessor still stands as one of the finest games of its genre. To have surpassed that with Bayonetta 2, and to have created a game that will be remembered as an absolute classic, is nothing short of astonishing.

The Bad

• The sad realisation that future action games may never top this

IGN - 9.5

Every aspect of Bayonetta 2 feels polished and focused. At times, the writing feels ridiculous, but I still love how it plays. The superb pacing and combat are just that good. By the end I was convinced: This sequel builds on everything that made the original great, and delivers one of the most satisfying action games I've played.

Eurogamer - 9

The rhythm of combat remains the same, though it's hard to complain when it's riffing off such a heady beat, where chimed enemy attacks are lithely dodged into slo-mo pugilism, where impossible combos culminate with a 20-foot boot weaved from hair crashing from the heavens and where spinning amidst the avalanche of colour and cartoon violence is Bayonetta herself, stopping only briefly to wink at a player exhausted by the unrelenting joy of it all. Bayonetta 2's biggest disappointment may be that it's an iterative sequel, but it's not such a problem when it's iterating on genius.

Joystiq - 5/5

Bayonetta 2 is the perfect action game. It oozes style and boasts gameplay that's both refined and lacking in excess. The combat is so purely entertaining that it's easy to lose yourself in the almost-zen flow of dodging, countering and kicking enemies to death. Bayonetta 2 rewards a player's drive to look as cool as possible in combat with gameplay designed for exactly that – and with the acrobatic violence of a winking heroine who is as legitimately endearing as she is completely ludicrous. Even if Bayonetta 2 did not include an enhanced remake of its predecessor, it would launch as one of the Wii U's best games, but this generous inclusion pushes Platinum's first sequel into no-brainer territory for anyone with even the slightest affection for action games. If you bought the Wii U months ago explicitly in anticipation of Bayonetta 2, congratulations, your decision has paid off in spades.

Destructoid - 10

When Bayonetta came out in 2010, I thought it was nearly perfect. Four years later and Platinum hasn't lost its edge with Bayonetta 2. It's just as stylish and as fun as ever, and a must-buy for action fans who own a Wii U.

[Pezell04x]

Re: Bayonetta 2

Wow these scores are nuts

[MachoMyers]

Re: Bayonetta 2

Alright I have to at least try this. Never played the first but these reviews are absolutely glowing.

[Sandman42]

Re: Bayonetta 2

Hype levels are through the roof.

[Sandman42]

Re: Bayonetta 2

Giantbomb - 5/5

All of Bayonetta’s combat capabilities would be for naught if the game’s controller options weren’t up to par. Thankfully, controlling the action is perfectly crisp and responsive when utilizing the Wii U’s pro controller. Playing with the GamePad is another good option, and full offscreen play is possible. The original Bayonetta featured the one-button Automatic mode, and its spiritual successor this time around is the GamePad’s touch controls. You can unleash combos on enemies by tapping them on the screen, but you’d be robbing yourself of much of the joy of Bayonetta 2 if you boil the razor sharp action down to something so mindless.

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Bayonetta 2 doesn’t drastically change the already wacky formula that the first game introduced, but it’s a bigger and more nuanced version of its predecessor. It’s also the best game of its kind in years. If you’ve ever enjoyed this breed of reflex-heavy, hyperactive, ludicrous action game, Bayonetta 2 is a no-brainer.

[MachoMyers]

Re: Bayonetta 2

After reading the reviews, downloading the demos and playing through it (twice) I am sold on this. Going to have to get an external hard drive for my Wii U though.

[WDOgF0reL1fe]

Re: Bayonetta 2

Wow. I may have to buy it now. This is getting so much praise. It always interested me... but not like this now

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