Noobish impressions: Bayonetta Killed Mario!

I have not been fair to Mario over the years. I have had a Wii and Super Mario Galaxy for quite some time now. Never interested or bored enough to actually play the game, it has sat in a dark corner of my home collecting dead skin cells. Having recently returned to Mario 3, a game I played and enjoyed throughout my childhood, on Nintendo8.com, I decided it was time to give Super Mario Galaxy a chance. Ultimately, it could garner a play through or be allowed to slip into my backlog along with many other games that just have not made the cut. What happened was not at all what I expected.

I am a noob to the 3 dimensional Mario titles. That said, my noob’ish impressions of Super Mario Galaxy are very positive. Having skipped every Mario since Super Mario World, and being an open critic of Wii’s motion control, I was not quite sure what to expect from Mario’s first 3-D adventure on the Wii. I actually expected the core game play of SMG to be different from its numerous predecessors. I was way off; the core Mario game play is still there. On top of that familiar and addictive non-violence, the developers have added some very interesting elements to the game play. One thing I found especially entertaining was the new sense of exploration that was available, but not forced onto the player. Navigating a small planet, being able to walk around it on all sides as the camera stayed stationary to my gravitational vantage point was certainly a new sensation. Seeing future planets to be visited by Mario off in the distance created a sense of excitement to continue the trek through the colorful galaxies of Mario.

Wheeeeee!

Combat is simplistic yet enjoyable. If it were any harder I’m sure I would have passed it off as frustrating. At first I thought, “Oh, just hit them with a star and kick them like a soccer ball? Pretty lame,” but as I explored more regions of the universe and became more familiar with the game play I realized that any addition to the combat would only have degraded the core play style.

What I like most about Super Mario Galaxy is the overall ease of the game. Normally I prefer games of extreme difficulty. Most games I purchase, I initially play on the hardest setting available. I like a challenge, and Mario Galaxy provides a challenge to the player without the use of intricate battle elements and impossible puzzles. The game play is right on point. Not too hard for someone taking a more casual approach, and not too easy for gamers looking to constantly be challenged. Somehow Mario Galaxy gives the player, whether they call themselves “hardcore” or “casual,” a challenging and fun platforming adventure suitable for all ages.

Like they had to ask.

I can’t wait until the next time I can play Mario Galaxy again. I want to go back and beat the game, not allow it to become part of my enormous back log. Unfortunately for Mario, Bayonetta flew down from another dimension, forced her stiletto heels into Mario’s grinning face and blew his Italian head off! I’m sorry this happened; I truly am. Mario and I, after all this time of wanting to build a healthy relationship, cannot be seeing each other for quite some time, especially with the head trauma that Bayonetta gave to him free of charge.

Bayonetta is just about everything that I love in a videogame. Sleek, responsive controls, challenging game play, high quality platforming, over the top violence, a plot that involves ancient mythology and lore, intricate combat, and a sexy librarian bitch witch who is just as easy to turn off as she is to turn on.

If lovin' you is wrong, then I don't wanna be right.

I half expected Bayonetta to be a God of War/Devil May Cry clone, trying to cash in on a half naked woman with the fanboys. I was way off. Not only does Bayonetta live up to the hype from critics, Bayonetta does it by combining excellent game design with sex appeal. I have been addicted to this game for 3 days now, and I don’t see myself letting Bayonetta slip into my back log. I see Bayonetta dominating my free time up until Kratos comes back from wherever he has been hanging out to reclaim Olympus. Of course, he might want to stay in hiding… Bayonetta is one bad ass bitch and definitely the first must own for 2010.

R.I.P. Mario. That wound looks like it hurt…