All things Bayonetta

[arry_g]

But does the existence of metacritic, and the way it affects game development, mean that reviews should be written to take into account the damage it might do to developers? I'd say no, because that way madness lies. (I've seen some people on twitter today saying that reviewers have a social responsibility to not harm developers, which is complete bullshit)

Destructoid, for example, have never given any game in the Fable series a good score. I can disagree with that, but I'm not about to tell them they can't say that.

This is what I touched on at the end of my e-mail. I'm going to create a new thread to discuss metacritic in the game industry. There's an interesting conversation to be had there even if it does make some of us temporarily annoyed with each other.

[Flabyo]

The industry isn't as centre left as you might think. It certainly isn't in, say, the mobile space.

[arry_g]

The industry isn't as centre left as you might think. It certainly isn't in, say, the mobile space.

I'm not surprised to hear that. I should clarify though that I did say in an earlier post that it certainly seems so to me subjectively because of the sort of people I follow and the sort of people I listen to but we are naturally attracted more often than not to consume the media that most supports our interpretation of things.

So, I am certain that my view is through a specific lens. It often appears the majority is but to assume a fact based on what one person see's and experiences is a logical fallacy of sorts.

Would you not say though that the larger part of the public facing side of the industry is? Public facing is of course the key phrase here.

[Todinho]

I dont know how accurate this is since I never lived in Japan but it's an interesting take on how the japanese tend to use sexuality in their games:

[Scrustle]

I like Gaijin Goomba's stuff, and I'm subbed to him, but usually I tend to steer away from his personal opinion stuff, especially when it comes to social commentary. Pretty much every video like that he's done I totally disagree with and think are absolutely full of logical flaws, but not with that one.

I guess that was less his own opinion and more just explaining cultural differences, which is what his channel is all about, but when I saw that in my sub box, I was kind of dreading that he was going to start ragging on Bayonetta with another poor argument. Glad to see that isn't the case, and he is yet another person who totally gets what she's all about and why she is the way she is.

[AndyKurosaki]

So this arrived today, played the first two levels. As with the original, the story doesn't make a lick of sense. There's a barrage of swears from the get-go, the American sidekick throwing out "motherfucker" as often as he says "forgetaboutit". And Chapter 2 had a slow-mo open crotch shot of Bayonetta going backwards. Fun for all the family then.
Still, it's pretty much "more of the same" so far. And considering the original is one of my favourite games of all time, that's perfectly fine with me.

[mikeleddy83]

I'm really enjoying what I've played so far but I'm close to tuning out on the internet and select podcasts to save a few surprises for when I get knee deep in the game. I sometimes wish I didn't have such a low tolerance for spoilers but I'll always consider my purchase to have been tainted a little when I hear a full blown discussion of content roughly close to the end of a game in most cases before the game's even on the shelves.

But yeah, I'll be back soon and I'm certain the game will remain stellar!

[AndyKurosaki]

I completely avoid stuff like that for that very reason. I barely ever watch pre-release footage videos of games online. I want to experience stuff first hand.

[Scrustle]

I remember one of the trailers for the game kind of spoiled some stuff about antagonist characters. But actually playing the game, it doesn't seem to be a big deal. The character in question is never a secret, and you see them right from the start.

[mikeleddy83]

Yeah, sorry about that. Didn't mean to insinuate that anyone on these boards was spoiling games for me I just had a bit of anger from other sources (especially podcasts mentioning Danganronpa) and vented a little too openly. How's everyone getting on with the game? I'm working my way into chapter 3 and really enjoying everything about it but worried I wont have a partner for the co-op side of the game which I'm still unsure of when to tackle.

Did anyone else make that sticky decision (no pun intended) of playing the first game again? I did get tempted but I'm curious to see how people new to the series can adapt to what I found to be a masterpiece at the time.

[Scrustle]

Finding a co-op partner is fine. There's lots of people playing the game, and the mode itself is pretty simple. You just play specific encounters you've already come across in the story, one at a time, to a total of six rounds. Each round only lasts a few minutes at most. It's not like you need to find a partner who is dedicated to going through some long mode with you. And the range of encounters you can tackle in the mode is based on how many the host has, so if you haven't unlocked much yet, it doesn't really matter.

It also doesn't really matter if you win or lose. It showers you with halos in that mode no matter what happens. The only way you can actually lose halos is if you bet them, and then lose the round. But you can only bet halos if you're the host anyway. Although it's also actually possible to win all six rounds, but lose overall. That happened to me once. Didn't seem to make a difference to anything though. It's just totalling up score. But essentially, you can't really screw up that mode unless you're reaching way beyond your ability, which is pretty obvious when it happens.

But if you want I'm sure you could find a partner or two on these forums that'll join you for some co-op. I'd be up for it.

And on the first game, I actually did go back to it after finishing the second. I've already played it a while ago, so I'm not new, but I have to say going back was actually kind of hard. With everything still locked and no upgrades it felt difficult to adapt to that again. With lacking so many of the moves I had gotten used to, I actually felt pretty limited. Doesn't help that I've always felt the first few chapters of that game kind of drag a bit.

[hazeredmist]

Played the demo of this last night. Delightfully bonkers.

[AndyKurosaki]

I'm at Chapter 12. If you think the demo is bonkers (and it most definitely is), wait till you see the rest of the game. Utterly, totally insane. And brilliant fun.

[AndyKurosaki]

Completed this last night. It most definitely is one of this year's best games, without a doubt.The plot makes even less sense than the first game. But when the game is this much fun, that really doesn't matter. The 64DD costume was certainly worth buying as well.

[Sean]

So, I'm last as hell on this, but, I just fought the Lumen Sage last night.

That was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen in a game. The insanity of everything happening in the background, while still managing to keep the actual fight in the foreground coherent enough to manage and enjoy. I just sat there with my mouth open for a good 30 seconds to a minute after that chapter ended.

I already can't wait to play it again, and, I'm not even finished yet.

[mikeleddy83]

The biggest upset of 2015 for me is that I never did a second play through. I'm still up for doing the coop sometime though if anyone's still interested.

[chase210]

I can't decide if I like or not so far, I've only done the first two prologue chapters though. Can't argue with £7 though.

[dezm0nd]

Bayo 2 is ridiculously incredible. It's a shame that it won't become more available as it's a Wii U exclusive but I don't think we'd have it without Nintendo, weirdly.

[seansthomas]

That Lumen Sage fight is amazing. Terrific opening level too. Looks so nice and the final levels are great. Also manages to tie up the plot from the original quite cleverly.

What a game... Need to replay it soon but have a long list to get through

[Sean]

I've been taking my sweet time with this one, and, jesus...what a ride it's been. Each level seems to want to top the last one.