Tiny Diggers – An iPad Construction Truck Game for Kids Age 2-5

Upon my arrival to E3, there was a very short list of games that I told myself I would wait through mounds of crowds to try and get some playtime.  Some were off the wall, like WET, while others were practical, like Assassins Creed 2 (no I did not get in), and then there is Bayonetta. 

I am not sure why I am so intrigued by Bayonetta, and I mean beyond the obvious look of the character.  It is more the fact that I have never been any good at this type of game style.  I have tried to get into Devil May Cry, but at the end of the day, I am never really talented enough to pull off anything beyond a B when it comes to a letter grade.  Also, the mythos of Devil May Cry is a bit confusing at times, when you have not played it from the beginning.

I had heard about Bayonetta being a little easier on the difficulty curve and since it is the beginning of the franchise, I am not having to worry about missing out on some character interaction that happened in a previous game several years ago.  So after waiting in a mound of a line, I got my five minutes of quiet time with the lovely witch called Bayonetta, and I can safely say that this game was worth my time in line.

The floor demo started us on a train and we seemed to be awaking from a long sleep with little to no recollection as to who we are, or how we got there.  It seems that Bayonetta has arrived in the city of Vigrid, and upon arrival, trouble starts.  I am attacked by some demons that remind me of the flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz.  Attacking the critters was easy enough, as we have our melee kick and punch attack button, while our guns are mapped to a second button.  It was simple to grasp and getting combos together was an easy proposition.  As a matter of fact, during the loading screens, you can practice combos.  The screen will give feedback as to what combos you have been able to do and how many times you have performed it.  This was a welcomed feature as it gives me something to work on while waiting for the game to load.

What most have seen in the Bayonetta trailers are the super hair attackes that take out enemies.  Such attacks as a huge boot stomping down, or another attack that has you smashing someone with a huge fist.  I thought these would be tough to do, but it is all a matter of timing.  In a three button combo, if you press the melee button twice and pause just a second before the last press, you will perform one of these special attacks.  They dole out a huge amount of damage, and there seemed no limit as to how many times I could pull it off, with the exception of having to hit the timing.

Some enemies have weapons which you can acquire for Bayonetta’s use from time to time.  The first one I can in contact with was a trumpet from a downed enemy.  The trumpet was basically a rocket launcher in a very different package.  I was also able to find Bayonetta a big ass axe after defeating a larger mini-boss.  When you pick these special weapons up, they have a limited use before they run out, so do not waste them on the smaller creatures.  You will regret it when you run into some of the larger creatures you will run into.

Boss battles take place at specific points in a level, and normally take a ton of damage to take out.  You have to use a bevy of moves from Bayonetta’s repetoire to take these massive beasts down.  Big bosses normally have a specific weakness that you have to find and attack relentlessly until the creature falls.  The damage spots are normally marked by a red color and should not be that difficult to recognize. 

Graphically, the game is probably one of the best looking games I have played on the Xbox 360.  From the sharp rendered backgrounds, to the great character  defenitions, I was visually captured by the whole game.  Bayonetta herself, also looks very detailed, and the creators have spared no expense in pumping up her sex appeal.  From her slick, black hair outfit, down to the librarian glasses, Bayonetta is all about seduction and she makes no bones about it.  During execution moves, she actually takes the time to pose, while her hair creates a demon to kill a mini-boss.  At another point, she actually finishes a flurry of attacks in the “face down, ass up” position.  I could not help but laugh a bit at how Platinum Games has gone so far to boast the sexuality of Bayonetta.

After dying during a second boss fight, I realized that I had really enjoyed my gaming experience with Bayonetta.  The character is a fresh change of pace in this climate of political correctness.  I think that Bayonetta is shaping up to be a big time hit for the fall season.  Platinum Games has created a new franchise that will hopefully start up a new franchise for another big time character.