GameSpot: Bayonetta (PS3) Review

Unfortunately, as entertaining as the stylish action combat of Bayonetta is, it's plagued by a number of technical issues on the PS3 that distract and spoil some of the fun. Not only are the visuals grainier and more washed out than in its Xbox 360 counterpart, but there are also noticeable frame rate dips that occur when the action gets too heavy. Most commonplace, however, are the frequent, excessively long load times.

Bayonetta can stay with you even after you've stopped playing it. Regardless of which version you play, its host of hidden items and secrets, multiple difficulties, competitively balanced scoring system, and charismatic heroine make Bayonetta a game that will be revisited time and time again.

[Bungie]

what !!!

the game got a 9 not 8.5

what's wrong ?

EDIT : never mind it's ps3 version. my bad

[N4PS3G]

PS3 version got a different score

[Homicide]

The PS3 version got an 8.0, not an 8.5. It scored a whole point lower than the 360's.

[N4PS3G]

Homicide is right actually...don't know why it says 8.5

[Bungie]

OMG it's true it got an 8

wow that's not a good way to start the year

[Simon_Brezhnev]

bungie the way you troll is not a good way to start off the yar

[Bungie]

i'm not trolling it really got an 8

click on the link if you don't believe me

[Digitaldude]

"Thats not a good way to start the year"
I kinda dont want to read your fanbyish comments in posts.
Platinum games didnt do the port, how lazy.

[steck67]

Not surprised. It is a crappy port after all. Unless if Sega decides to patch this, I guess I will be getting Dante's Inferno instead. It was either this or DI for me until GoW3 comes.

[Trebius]

I'll go ahead and rent Bayonetta and Dante's Inferno...at least we all know the REAL defining genre experience comes with GoW...

I'm just happy I get to play all 3 :)

Oh and Bungie...you're a big stinky loser...haha. You're first post every thread, need a job? I need waiters at my restaurant.

[SDF Repellent]

Bungie, you are becoming the X360 fanboy version of Saaking. You are first to post in every X360 article this past couple of months.

But your jokes are way more funnier than Saaking. LOL

[kingdavid]

I think saaking is improving tbh. IE. less biased toward the ps3.

At least he can acknowledge there are good games on the 360.

Back on topic, its crap that shotty ports like this still exist. There is no excuse for such dodginess in today's industry.

[red5ive]

i don't want to, but i'm actually boycotting this for my ps3. i've been hella pissed ever since i found out that Bayonetta was a terrible a port.

[pippoppow]

Bungie, SDF, N4PS3, going crazy over a game PS3 owners can play. Enjoy your slightly better version. 8 is still a good score for those gamers who like DMC type games.

Oh, I'm sure you guys will be buying the better version of ME2 , Splinter Cell and eventually Alan Wake for the PC? Since playing the better version of a multiplatform game is so important.

Mods please do your jobs. Posters who constanly jump into threads pertaining to a console they get a rush bashing and get away with it is what is hurting this site. Every once in a while,ok but constantly?! Maybe we should all just indulge in the same "fun".

[kingdavid]

As stated by IGN

"Bayonetta is one of the finest actions games I've ever played as long as we're talking about the XBOX360 Version."

[darkmurder]

"Bayonetta is one of the finest actions games I've ever played as long as we're talking about the XBOX360 Version."

Lol expect a million disagrees just for the fact that its clearly an inferior version (its the devs faults so why are u guys blaming IGN and gamespot)

[darkmurder]

Double wtf

[bakasora]

I played the PS3 version today, some part the texture look like crap, like PS2 quality. Its a really fun and thrilling game nevertheless. Yay thumbs down for me

[Eamon]

Guys, stop feeding this troll. It will get you nowhere.

[bjornbear]

parading when a PS3 PORT gets a lower score? =P

what? ran out of halo or something? xD

sad sad people

- i think its still a fair score =) and i'll still be picking it up later, but for now, saving up for the coming months! =(

[jcgamer]

and for confirming that Bayonetta may be solid, but it's FAR from the masterpiece that the HYPE train is trying to make it...

and i'm so glad PS3 and 360 owners are preordering exclusives like GOW3 and Mass Effect 2 over HYPEonetta...

Oh, and for that shoddy port? Bayonetta, welcome to bargain bin city...

lol

[bacon13]

I love 360 and PS3 which is better banter. Hey guys and girls, get a good job and buy both systems! That way you can have your good Bayonetta port and God of War 3...........YAAYYYY!

[kingnick]

I've played Bayonetta and Dante's Inferno on both PS3 and Xbox360. Bayonetta is a far better game in terms of gameplay and graphics.

Dante's Inferno really shows the sacrifices that have to be made when a multiplatform game is designed to run at 60FPS on both PS3 and Xbox360.

The lack of shader power on the PS3 combined with the fact the game can't take advantage of the PS3 or Xbox360 really shows. You get a game with the technical weaknesses of both platforms and none of the strengths.

For 360 owners Bayonetta is a far better choice and for PS3 owners GoW Collection or GoW3 (when it launches) would be better games to pick up IMHO.

EDIT: The demos that is.

[The Happy Baby]

Play It.
Stop Whining.
If you dont wanna play the 360 version instead, then buy D.I.

[Saaking]

Guess I'll be renting the 360 version then.

[Athlon]

That confirms it as a rental for me as I only have a PS3. Not 100% sure if I should pick up Darksiders tomorrow either as I'm on a budget.

[happyface]

agree

its a huge disappointment the ps3 cant run this masterpiece properly

[theEnemy]

It's a huge disappointment that Sega can't port this game properly to a masterpiece console.

[nycredude]

Happyface

That is the real difference between the two consoles. Not to be a d1ck but on the 360 this may be a masterpiece compared to the lineup but on the Ps3 this is just another decent game compared to the lineup.

You guys keep hyping up multiplats to be the "masterpieces" on your console of choice while the rest of us play real masterpieces.

IMO Darksiders looks a lot more interesting and so I'm getting that until GOW 3. Besides I read somewhere this game is only 8 hours long, half of which is cutscenes.

[hazardman]

Guess I'll be getting it for the Xbox360 then..

[Bodyboarder_VGamer]

Oh man, I really wanted to play this game but I'm not going to support crappy ports. They can eat $#!^ and die. Crappy ports in this day and age it's unacceptable.

[mesh1]

hahahah look n4g trying to fool ppl the game got 8/10 compared to the 360 versions 9/10 yet the n4g sonyfanboy mods are giving falxse info givivng the ps3 version a 8.5 from gamespot.

[Trebius]

Why're you such a nerd? :)

PS3 gamers have This, DI, and GoW3 to experience...alas you only have 2 :(

If you want to play the superior version in the genre just go to a friend's house with a PS3, if you have friends that is...

We're the 1 bubble warriors!

Except you're a loser fanboy...and I just like to curse off mods a lot :)

[Gago]

GS gave it a 8.0 not an 8.5

superior 360 version confirmed again

[CernaML]

You must feel so proud.

[Anorexorcist]

I find it so hilariously pathetic how kids like Gago are so quick to take credit and brag with the whole "superior console confirmed" thing for certain titles that have superior Xbox 360 ports like Bayonetta, yet completely ignore and disregard the existence of multiplatform titles like Dragon Age Origins that have superior PS3 ports.

It's really a back-and-forth debate with regard to superiority of multiplatform titles on both consoles, yet idiots like Gago find it to be the primary factor in what console has the best games.

PS3 has MGS4, Uncharted 2, Gran Turismo 5, and God of War 3 to name a few, yet what is the common retort coming from the MS fanboys, besides the whole - Those games didn't sell 5 million copies on their launch day (neither did Halo 3 or ODST BTW), so they are now and forever flops - schtick:

"Xbox 360 has the superior version of Bayonetta, with shorter load times and more better shadow effects. Superior console/games confirmed!!! &)"

[billjimbob]

What is ONE game that is superior on the PS3 than it is on the Xbox 360? None. Dragon Age is IDENTICAL on both systems... it is superior on the PC, though. The amount of games that has a superior port on the Xbox 360 is staggering enough that you would be a fool and a fanboy to ignore it... GTA4, Bayonetta, Orange Box, etc. etc.

[redsquad]

That '1' single point must make up so much for the frustration you feel about the PS3 having better exclusives.

[Ace_Pheonix]

GTA4 was actually better on PS3. As was Burnout Paradise, Prototype, DMC4, the list goes on and on. For both sides. With marginal differences. Whoop dee f&*!@'in doo. Boil everything down and these pathetic arguments are always going to go back to 360 failure rates, poor exclusives and poor online servers on the 360 side with the rest of you morons complaining about inferior online, poor sales (...seriously?) and... well I can't remember what other ones you guys made up but really. I'm gonna go play some f&*!@'in games. This is like agruing who's better, black or white people and why. THEY'RE BOTH JUST f&*!@'in PEOPLE!

[bjornbear]

360 gets 1 point!

now it needs about 10 more points before it can compete in terms of games again! YAY! /s...-_-

who cares, its a bad port by Platinum Games* fix'd =), they will get smacked up for effing this up and improve.

i don't see this as a win for 360 or a loss for PS3, and those who do are just being desperately fanboyish =/

[rezenu]

Hey, congratulations. You got teh *superiorz* versionz. You are winnar!

Fanpeople...I shake my head at you.

[lightningsax]

I'm just kinda pissed at Sega that they can't port a game. They did a fine job moving Rez from DC to PS2. Sure, you need a bigger team to deal with more complicated architecture, but for that you make a bigger team! If anything, Sega is an old, weathered company that knows the basics of business and game development, all Sonic Unleashed-s aside.

I would like to know what went on behind the scenes for this port-fail. Did Sega not get paid enough by Platinum to get a good team together? Did Sega corporate not allocate enough resources to create a good team? Did Sega have an adequate team that just screwed up? I have no clue, but it would make a great news story.

[BWS1982]

is wrong, very wrong. There are screen comparisons all over the web showing how the textures and visuals on the PS3 version of Dragon Age are superior. That's probably the first and biggest time that a PS3 game has been drastically better, go look it up.

There are a few others (Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Oblivion, etc...) that result in a superior PS3 edition, but one of the biggest yet has been Dragon Age. 360 has the most multiplats that end up superior (biggest few were Ghostbusters, Bayonetta, Orange Box, COD 3 and Bioshock, to name the most prominent) but the fact of the matter is that's just one of the downsides to the whole "which console edges out" thing, and exclusives tell the real tale.

It's rarely night and day in terms of difference when 360 edges out, so if you want to be realistic, you have to go with the fact that 90% of games "play" the same on both consoles, with the NOTICEABLE differences being few and far between, there are only a handful of titles that end up with the "Bayonetta" treatment, whilst most are basically identical and sometimes the PS3 version edges out.

But like it's been said, I guess the 360 guys enjoy earning that gold star they can put on their shirt, have fun.

[eliasg]

lol again Sony fanboys. Enjoy your terrible version of this game!!!
hahahahahahahahahaha

[deadreckoning666]

This is VERY saddening to hear. As as a PS3 only owner I refuse to buy an inferior port. Platinum will lose MANY potential buyers because of this and I really wanted this game too. No Bayonetta for me.

[etownone]

cry me a river

[ape007]

play the two versions yourself and see the difference if it really that big, then it's up to you to buy it or not,if it's not that much then also it's up to you

well the ps3 has gow3 which is the king of kings

im gonna get bayonetta on xbox 360 but wish I can control it with DS3,DS3 is a bit better at these kind of games

and of course gow 3 day 1 buy baby

[HurstDarkStar]

my friend's actually gonna buy this tomorrow wonder if i should tell him to pick up dark siders instead?

[deadreckoning666]

Platinum Games just screwed themselves...hard. Its funny cause if both versions were equal the game would have sold more copies on the PS3 since the 360 is dead in Japan. Bayonetta missed a HUGE opportunity to compete with GOW3 on the PS3. GOW3 here I come!

[Asuka]

Some of you are not getting this game because it score an 8.0, and prior to such scoring you were going to purchase it, correct? Since when is an 8.0 considered a bad score, so much so that it doesnt even warrant a purchase anymore? So what if its a full point lower than the other version. An 8.0/10.0 is still a good score.

Simply put, why is everyone B!tching about an 8.0 score like if it were a 4.0?!

EDIT: Not bagging on anyone, im just curious is all. Is there a new kind of scoring system i am not aware of?

[deadreckoning666]

Lance, its not really the score itself, its the PRINCIPLE of the situation. Im a self respecting gamer, so why should I buy an inferior version of a game? Its not a bad port, but its still inferior nonetheless.

[rucky]

It's a crappy port. If PS3 owners choose to support these half baked games then developers won't even bother with quality control for the PS3 version anymore.

@below - If the game is technically flawed compared to the other version then it IS half baked. Why? Because you cannot call it a finished product if it still can be improved. The score doesn't even matter on this case.

[Asuka]

@9.1 - ok, i see your point. I wouldnt want to buy something knowing that there was a better version of it at the same price. That makes sense.

@9.2 - You didnt answer my question. You are claiming that its a half baked port even though it scored an 8.0/10.0 How is an 8.0/10.0 "half baked"?

[Eamon]

This is why if you had both consoles you'd be able to choose the better version with no complaints.

Then again, consoles are expensive.

[chidori666]

" wow that's not a good way to start the year"

realy? who cares about this game?

this game is nothing like the juggernaut games gran turismo 5 or god of war 3.

[stonecold1]

helghan bayonetta is more a devil may cry does not even touched god of war 3 or dantes inferno god of war 3 will be day 1 i will skip this game as theres more games aaaa titles coming in the next few mnths

[Cheeseknight28]

I'll be buying this on my 360. Kamiya needs a strong seller or Platinum Games will be bankrupt before it even got started.

I mean seriously, look at his more recent track record. God Hand. Okami. Viewtiful Joe. Madworld. VJ sold ok, but the rest never took off. I want to support a struggling developer.

For all of you not buying the PS3 version, more power to you I suppose. At least Platinum didn't make it, that was Sega's fault.

[CrippleH]

That is the reason it's platinum fault also. It's their game, don't expect another company to port what isn't their work.

History has proven port and PS3 does not mix.

[Swiftfox]

So are you suggesting that a studio needen bother developing a game unless they have the money, man power, and resources to dedicate to building a game from the ground up on multiple systems?

That's unrealistic.

[CrippleH]

You are reading what's never implied. Too many people are blaming Sega for porting what isn't actually their work. Is it their code? Nope. History proves Porting for the PS3 doesn't work. Porting for the 360 does.

[Swiftfox]

True in that there is a better result when a game is lead on the PS3 and then ported and Sega shouldn't be blamed for that.

However, I don't think we should be blaming Platinum Games either. We don't know all the facts, and drawing a conclusion to the contrary is a bit reckless.

[va_bank]

At the end of PS3 demo it actually says "Ported by SEGA". They actually used the word "ported". What am I missing?

[Darrius Cole]

This is all Platinum's fault. If they do end up going bankrupt this will be the moment we all look back upon and say "That's where they messed up. Bayonetta is the one they let slip through their fingers."

The original code is 100% Xbox 360 exclusive material. Why didn't they sell it to Microsoft? Microsoft has been paying for 3rd party exclusives for this entire generation; it was stupid of Platinum to make a 360 exclusive for free.

Moreover, you have bigger hack-n-slash fanbases on PS3 than on 360. On PS3 you have old DMC fans, Heavenly Sword fans, Ninja Gaiden Fans, and GOW. On 360 you have old Ninja Gaiden Fans and some new DMC fans. Further still, this type of game usually over-performs in Japan. Why would Platinum design an exclusive game on the smaller fan-base for free even though the platform has a history of paying for these type of games? The answer is, "someone in a high position is stupid, as far as business goes".

It looks to me like Sega saw what Platinum was doing and said, "YOU IDIOTS!! That game has to be on PS3 as well." If anything Sega is trying to save Platinum games by saving Bayonetta. It looks like Sega is forcing Bayonetta to go multi-plat even though neither the developer nor the game code want to be mult-plat.

[Cheeseknight28]

It might should have been a 360 exclusive, but at the same time that wouldn't be a good idea. A friend of mine just came back from Japan from a study abroad program and he told me that Japan is buying Bayonetta like crazy. Had this been 360 exclusive, the American audience would be the deciding factor in terms of sales. Japanese gamers hardly own any 360s.

Still though, I doubt it sold all that well over there. Though from what I hear they had a massive ad campaign.

[Darrius Cole]

If would have been a bad idea if they made it a 360 exclusive for free, which they originally did if you look at the code. Yeah it would not have sold as many copies, especially in Japan, but they would have gotten money from Microsoft to make up for it.

[The real killer]

It's a just a standard 360 settings game nothing more, we all know that games from PS3 are far better than a standard game like this piece of crap.

[acere]

am not really liking the stupidity ...garbage man save my a 60$

[Swiftfox]

I did hear rumor that a patch was coming from Sega to fix the load times issue for the PS3 release of the game (though nothing else).

I'll be picking up this game within the week, though after reading the reasons why some people won't be picking this game up, I must say I don't fully understand the logic behind that decision.

[SDF Repellent]

Tomorrow as well as the PS3 version of Darksiders (which reviewers said is the better version).

See, it is nice to own both as I don't have to worry about crappy ports. PS360 FTW

[SDF Repellent]

Great Score, can't wait.

[meganick]

Earlier today the PS3 score was 8.5, and now it's an 8. Why the change I wonder?

[Digitaldude]

9/10 isnt rare these days, its just your normal great game.
The gems come out later on.

[Dutch Boogie]

Is it me or has Gamespot been awfully honest lately?

[thief]

"frequent, excessively long load times."
Happens in that game as well, doesnt it?

Anyway, spread the word around, so that nobody with a PS3 buys this game, that will make kamiya come to his senses.

[nogolis]

Ok, lets look at this objectivly now shall we. I hate this game. It has no appeal to me at all so my veiw is as split down the middle as possible.

What we can all gather, however, is that the gameplay in this game is an 8. That's not AAA status. I mean, let's face it, the Ps3 version and the xbox 360 version have the same core gameplay. The fundementals are all there on the Ps3 version, they said so themselves. That leads me to believe, if gameplay>graphics is the way of life, that this game is average at best.

Glad we cleared up the blandness of this rubbish game.

[Blitzkid]

Is it really one whole score worse than the XBOX Version? I played the demo and was surprised how good this game is. And in the screen comparisons the XBOX version looks barely better i think.

[Vmura]

As long as I can play masterpieces like Uncharted 2 I can't care less about multiplats having a pixel more than the other.

For some people multiplats games are the only games they can brag about having "superior" graphics when it should be their consoles exclusives that should do the talking, but oh well.

And by the way since when an 8 is bad score, sight..

[mrmikew2018]

Thank you Platinum Games and SEGA for continuing this endless battle of "my version is better than yours" Honestly this is getting tiresome.

[DigitalAnalog]

Looks like Bayonetta's biggest PS3 supporters would be in Japan. Now I expect to see how much the game sells on the PS3.

-Go Figure!

[ps3rulz]

Any ways, since when 8/10 a bad score.
Im still getting it on the ps3, also the awesome god of war 3.
Atlest i get to play both games, betabox hahaha.

[peeps]

it's not at all and if anything it still shows that if u only own a ps3 and like this look of this game u shud check this out.

i personally own a ps3 and 360 so know when i do buy this i'll get it for the 360, but for this week it's darksiders on ps3 for me :D

[Whitefox789]

personally me I've bought games that have gotten 6.7 from GameSpot (Castlevania: Curse of Darkness) and loved it and 8.0 is really good I mean look at God Hand got an 8.0 from GameSpot amazing game? Yes!, Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition got an 8.2 amazing game? Yes!

Personally me I think the people are too picky this generation and reviewers are giving perfect scores too easily.

[Darrius Cole]

Agreed.

Back in the PS1 and PS2 era, Gamespot almost never gave 9's to any game. Now they give 9's to almost every decent game.

[Whitefox789]

Thank you for agreeing with me; I swear to god now in days its never about the love of the games its about the love of the sales or scores or consoles failing.

[Pirateogta]

360 Version: 9.0
PS3 Version: 8.0

How are you going to spin that, PS3 fanboys?

[gamer7804]

Given every review of these games on both platforms and the problems on the ps3, Bayonetta might as well be called an xbox360 exclusive.