E3 2013 Hands On: Bayonetta 2

by David 'Hades' Becker [ Wednesday, 26th of June 2013 - 09:46 PM ]

This was my first time playing a real game with the WiiU controller and I was a bit worried as all of the tech/non-tech demos I've played were designed specifically with the controller in mind. Bayonetta originally wasn't so I was expecting it to be a bit on the rough side in terms of controls. I was pleasantly surprised that was not the case. After about a minute of getting use to the big controller I was hacking, slashing and witch time-ing as if there was nothing different. In fact, the controls seemed quite a bit easier to use than the first title. Fast, responsive, and the combos didn't seem to be all too tricky to pull off.

At least not tricky as long as you forego the touch screen controller scheme. I was actually recommended against them by the person running the kiosk and I was the third person of the day on it. I chose to ignore the warning at first but quickly after changed them back to the standard controls. Most of the touch screen I played with used the button pressing to boost the Torture attacks, an action that has been done using just button presses before. This all seemed a bit added on just to use the touch screen and added no extra benefit or fun to the experience. Sad but true.

The last feature I was actually able to get my hands on, and it is a new one for B2, was the "flying combat." If you can actually call it that. This was more or less just the same combat with different moves and no ground being rendered. It wasn't bad by any means but it wasn't really a new feature. It was like they were trying to find something extra to add into the demo and game just to say they had something new. Maybe there is some real flying later in the game, but the demo didn't really have any.

In the end I did have a good time with Bayonetta 2, but it really didn't need to be a WiiU exclusive. I didn't see anything that required it to be on WiiU outside of it being published by Nintendo. Everything handled just as it had before in the first game but with a few upgrades and fixes. Also not to mention story. Like I said, this will most likely be the game that makes me purchase a WiiU.

Also, I didn't have a camera crew on site to record the game play, but you can check out what IGN recorded free of charge.