Bayonetta is one of those “book should not be judged by its cover” kind of cases. Its main protagonist, Bayonetta, is a highly stylized and sexualized kinky witch with a body suit made of her hair and guns on her high heels. With a description like that it is very easy to scoff at the silliness and absurdity of the character and dismiss the game as a horrible Devil May Cry knock-off using the sex sales mantra to lure gamers in. However, I can gladly state that this is very far from the truth. Although Bayonetta has its flaws like any games does, the sum of its part makes this game a must buy for any gamer who has ever enjoyed Devil May Cry or God of War.

In terms of gameplay Bayonetta has a fantastic and deep fighting system that is easy to use but hard to master with moves that can be purchased with rings that you acquire through killing your enemies. The game also feature an element called “Witch time” that takes effect if you dodge an enemies’ blow at the last second. Think of Matrix and the slow motion that so many games implement now a days and that is what “witch time” is exactly. Although it is useful it requires some very good timing and does not last too long so do not expect a free ride with this feature.

Bayonetta has a wide assortment of moves that can executed with incredible style and fluidity which I can only compare to acrobatic breakdancing with guns. It’s just that satisfying. There are also “climax” and “torture” moves that she can perform. Torture moves are performed on general enemies when your magic is magic is maxed and these involve mostly medieval execution devices (e.g. guillotine) whereas “climax” moves are exclusively for finishing off bosses and involves Bayonetta’s hair transforming into some giant beast who devours or pummels the boss to death. Both are pretty graphic, very climactic and extremely satisfying to say the least. This game gives you feeling that Bayonetta could have featured as a selectable special character in BlazBlue due to her “anime-ish” look as well as her stylish and complex fighting style.

Overall, the game is well paced in terms of difficulty but requires a fair (not crushing) amount of timing. Defense is more about dodging than blocking. At no time during the game did I feel that enemies or even bosses were cheap in terms of their attacks. However, one aspect of the game I did notice was a tad bit questionable although exciting were the boss fights. Although the bosses are huge and very intimidating they have fairly simple patterns and can be easily beaten after 2 to 3 times retries at max. They are nevertheless some of the most fun and exciting boss battles available this generation.

Graphically this game has the same art style as Devil May Cry 4, it is pretty game but what is more impressive is how much action happens on the screen and how visually overwhelming everything can become especially during boss fights as they are incredibly huge. The storyline overall is good but isn’t the highlight of the game and didn’t capture me much. In addition, the soundtrack is just horrible and tacky music. Remember that Street Fighter 4 theme song? There is a lot of that kind of music.

As I stated at the beginning of this review, Bayonetta has it’s flaws (storyline, soundtrack)  but makes up for them in its strengths (gameplay, graphics). It provides a truly unique and different experience from other action hack and slash games available on the PS3 and Xbox 360. Although a demo was made available on PSN and Xbox Live, it does not compare to the full game experience and therefore does not do this game justice. I was extremely skeptical about this game but after finishing it I am a believer. Whether it is better than the unreleased and upcoming God of War 3 is irrelevant as I can confirm as a gamer Bayonetta will complement Kratos beautifully rather than compete with him for a spot in my game library. The 1st lady of action games is here.

Verdict: