Bayonetta

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It’s rare for a game to overcome the kind of horrible first impression a bad demo can bring. After I tried the Bayonetta demo, I spit venom on the podcast and said it was the most inane, over-sexualized crap I’d ever seen. That would normally have sealed it for me, but when resoundingly positive reviews started pouring in, I was thrown for a loop. I hedged and rented it, wondering if reviewers with Japanese fetishes were about to lead me astray.

At first I was sure they had. Bayonetta opens with the sort of overwrought, nearly-impossible-to-understand cutscene that became popular when game developers began to exploit the processing power of the PS2. The story's opening is mainly about establishing a stylish main character with as much subtlety as a sledgehammer to the face. Bayonetta standing at a grave, disguised as a nun with bell-bottom dress pants and pearly white vestments. When the angels descend from heaven she launches herself into the sky and becomes a gun-firing whirlwind of destruction. Blood and feathers everywhere. Eventually her costume is ripped, revealing the leather-clad bombshell that has proved to be so controversial since the game came out.

I was both flummoxed and intrigued, I decided to give it a few hours and see where it took me. I’m glad I did.

It’s not because she’s a sexy witch with impossibly long legs and a costume that reveals flashes of bikini-level nudity when you attack. That all plays into the identity of the character of Bayonetta, but it’s not something she seems to identify strongly with. She moves with confidence, but she’s never trying to use her sexual wiles to get anything done. Her response to nearly every situation would actually be considered typical of a male action hero.

When a boss enemy launches into a monologue, Bayonetta will often say something along the lines of “Shut up and get to fighting already, you boorish prick.” But because it’s a woman wrapped up in skin tight leather which is not altogether that different from how Dante is portrayed in Devil May Cry, the rules are different. I’m not really equipped to talk about gender roles -- I've got only one, and I'm just getting by with it as it is --but I’m not too surprised that a female with a similar ethos garners such attention. We all have our own backgrounds and beliefs when it comes to portrayals of lead characters.

For example: A local gay friend of mine described this pizza deep throat scene in Devil May Cry 3 as "incredibly gay." Can't say it occurred to me at the time, but perspectives vary so much, who am I to judge? It IS kind of suggestive, now that you mention it.

If you’re lucky enough to get past the so-called hurdle the in the game’s presentation, what you’re left with is one of the most inventive action games in this generation. My wife pointed out that the combat reminded her of SoulCalibur because it’s easy to pick up a controller and quickly do a lot of cool moves without needing to get super technical with the combos. Because Bayonetta's attacks work primarily with two buttons, you can do all kinds of fun stuff just changing your timing a little. Throw in multiple melee weapons and some pretty ridiculous guns and it’s quite the achievement that they’ve managed to balance in so much complexity while still making the combat fun and approachable.

That's not to say the game is without nuance. Dodging is actually critical later in the game as it’s your primary form of defense, but it also sets you up for your best chance at pulling off longer attacks when you dodge at the right moment. A near miss from your enemy means you enter a brief spot of slow motion where you move at normal speeds and your enemies slow down. Turning defense into a launching point for more offence is a subtle, but important tweak to the formula. You’re never sitting in a corner with your defenses up while a crowd of bad guys wail on you.

Surprisingly, as much as I enjoyed the combat, the stuff in between the battles was what kept me intrigued. The different ways Platinum Games managed to top themselves on level design all the way up to the final credits was astonishing. Every time I thought I’d reached the height of what they were doing and expected them to rinse, wash, repeat, they threw something new at me. A motorcycle sequence, riding a giant bomb as it skims the ocean waters and running along ribbons of light in animal form are just a few examples. I’m delighted by the imagination on display with each successive level.

Bayonetta was just a joy to play. It was wonderfully inventive and somehow managed to maintain a strong design consistency through some incredibly daring and off the wall directions. Most importantly, I grew to like the Bayonetta character. There’s a lot we still don’t know about her, but she’s no one-dimensional sexpot. She has a Loki-like quality about her actions that amuses me and it’s clear the people behind the curtain are fond of their creation too. With any luck, we’ll continue to see more from her in the future, she has a style that cannot be denied.

Comments

Gaald wrote:
Mere Anarchy wrote:

Maybe I'll give it another chance. I have dismissed the game the same way you did initially, and I found the intro to be too "busy" for my tastes.

I'll reluctantly fire it up again, though.

I wouldn't bother. If you found the earlier stuff too busy, you are going to hate the later stuff.

How would you know? Three minutes of watching me play? You don't like the game, that's fine, but no need to speak with authority about how other people will enjoy it. My initial experience was the same and my end result was roundly positive overall.

(I won't mention Poison Ivy, because she's pretty much always been the half-nude nature chick and Batman AA wasn't going to change that)

The problem is not Bayonetta, she's just become the poster-girl for a more widespread "women are only interesting if they're half naked" attitude within the gaming industry. Like Rob said in the podcast, I'm tired of it.

So it's OK if it originated in a comic first instead of some game designers head? That's a total double standard, dude. We all draw the line somewhere, but that line is often just ahead of something we like and just behind something we don't.

There's no broad brush to paint the industry with here. Poison Ivy and her half-nakedness is fine because it makes sense within the context of the Batman universe and the character's story. I'll just say that Bayonetta's story, as messed up as it is, justifies her style as well. She's not even human, near as I can tell.

Switchbreak wrote:

To put it another way, calling out Bayonetta as sexist is like calling out Blacula as racist.

I don't think exploitation films were quite the same when they were new.

Gaald wrote:

They could have made her look like just about anything and people would have probably still loved the game. Instead they chose the most immature and sexist route.

How is this the "most immature and sexist route"? I'm not calling you out, I'm just curious as to what about a woman who is a blatantly sexual being makes her portrayal immature and sexist.

I hate you, Certis. I was happily going to go along and pretend this game didn't exist. Play a few old games from 2009 and not add to the pile. Now I can't wait for pay day.

Also, I'd never seen Blacula before so thanks for sharing that. "Dracula's soul brotha". *cringe*

wordsmythe wrote:
Switchbreak wrote:

To put it another way, calling out Bayonetta as sexist is like calling out Blacula as racist.

I don't think exploitation films were quite the same when they were new.

Okay, so maybe choose a point of reference that is more recent (and more blatantly ironic), like Black Dynamite or Afro Samurai.

My point is that this game is pure cheesy exploitative camp, which is exactly what it is intending to be. It is entirely aware of how ridiculous it is.

You know, with all the brouhaha over the representation of a woman in Bayonetta, where are the complaints from women?

Leigh Alexander considers Bayonetta an empowering heroine because she doesn't shy away from sexuality. And Mystic Violet right here says she's comfortable with game and character.

With all the opinions about sexuality and gender roles flying around the people who should care the most seem pretty silent.

IMO, people are too sensitive and seem to want to muzzle anything vaguely controversial.

With all the opinions about sexuality and gender roles flying around the people who should care the most seem pretty silent.

IMO, people are too sensitive and seem to want to muzzle anything vaguely controversial.

I took an English class once where for whatever reason we talked a lot about Women's rights and sexism. The conversations were dominated by the men, and we were greatly outnumbered by the women. The Professor would try to get the women more involved in the conversation but they just wouldn't.

It was bizarre.

Gaald wrote:
With all the opinions about sexuality and gender roles flying around the people who should care the most seem pretty silent.

IMO, people are too sensitive and seem to want to muzzle anything vaguely controversial.

I took an English class once where for whatever reason we talked a lot about Women's rights and sexism. The conversations were dominated by the men, and we were greatly outnumbered by the women. The Professor would try to get the women more involved in the conversation but they just wouldn't.

It was bizarre.

That's sort of the reason I'm not chiming in much here. I realize that Bayonetta's sexuality is in the forefront, and it does make me a little uncomfortable as an individual, but I'm also aware of my male privilege in this area, and I don't want to go around dictating how others should feel or how female sexuality should be constrained or presented.

Gaald wrote:
With all the opinions about sexuality and gender roles flying around the people who should care the most seem pretty silent.

IMO, people are too sensitive and seem to want to muzzle anything vaguely controversial.

I took an English class once where for whatever reason we talked a lot about Women's rights and sexism. The conversations were dominated by the men, and we were greatly outnumbered by the women. The Professor would try to get the women more involved in the conversation but they just wouldn't.

It was bizarre.

I think that a lot of men - most, I'd even say - have no idea just how intimidating women, especially young women, find the prospect of breaking into a conversation being held by a group of men. Even if you're a feminist. Even if the conversation is about women's issues. Even if it's in a nominally "safe" environment like a classroom. Even if the women outnumber the men. Even in this day and age.

Privilege can be invisible when you possess it.

Brennil wrote:
Gaald wrote:
With all the opinions about sexuality and gender roles flying around the people who should care the most seem pretty silent.

IMO, people are too sensitive and seem to want to muzzle anything vaguely controversial.

I took an English class once where for whatever reason we talked a lot about Women's rights and sexism. The conversations were dominated by the men, and we were greatly outnumbered by the women. The Professor would try to get the women more involved in the conversation but they just wouldn't.

It was bizarre.

I think that a lot of men - most, I'd even say - have no idea just how intimidating women, especially young women, find the prospect of breaking into a conversation being held by a group of men. Even if you're a feminist. Even if the conversation is about women's issues. Even if it's in a nominally "safe" environment like a classroom. Even if the women outnumber the men. Even in this day and age.

Privilege can be invisible when you possess it.

I just ran across a related article the other day about a study on female reactions when they're lead to believe a male is staring at them. Very interesting read.

Gorilla.800.lbs wrote:

28 comments and no-one mentioned how off-putting is the heroine's deliberately crafted likeness to Sarah Palin. /brr

What's sad is that you have allowed Sarah Palin to invade your psyche and own the "pretty brunette with glasses" look.

Brennil wrote:

I think that a lot of men - most, I'd even say - have no idea just how intimidating women, especially young women, find the prospect of breaking into a conversation being held by a group of men. Even if you're a feminist. Even if the conversation is about women's issues. Even if it's in a nominally "safe" environment like a classroom. Even if the women outnumber the men. Even in this day and age.

Privilege can be invisible when you possess it.

Translation: Could all the penis-beasts shut up for a while and let the women have an opinion.

Brennil wrote:
Gaald wrote:
With all the opinions about sexuality and gender roles flying around the people who should care the most seem pretty silent.

IMO, people are too sensitive and seem to want to muzzle anything vaguely controversial.

I took an English class once where for whatever reason we talked a lot about Women's rights and sexism. The conversations were dominated by the men, and we were greatly outnumbered by the women. The Professor would try to get the women more involved in the conversation but they just wouldn't.

It was bizarre.

I think that a lot of men - most, I'd even say - have no idea just how intimidating women, especially young women, find the prospect of breaking into a conversation being held by a group of men. Even if you're a feminist. Even if the conversation is about women's issues. Even if it's in a nominally "safe" environment like a classroom. Even if the women outnumber the men. Even in this day and age.

Privilege can be invisible when you possess it.

This right here. How many times have women expressed themselves regarding women's issues just to be told to stop being stupid feminists and suck it up? Even I don't like getting into conversations like this. It always ends with a simple statement: deal with it.

Women and minorities aren't well represented in the gaming world. We all know it. Actually, we've had this conversation before. Some concluded that because the gaming industry is full of primary white and japanese men, that they cannot be expected to represent women or other races properly. So they turn to stereotypes to fill their character roster. And the only way to end this practice is to get more women and minorities in the field. I think it's BS especially when someone lives in a melting pot country. Yes, we have our differences, but I fail to see how I am so different that I become unknowable. The majority of people on this site don't even know what my race is or where I come from. I could be anyone yet I am not treated like an outsider or disrespected because of my gender. Now, if game developers wanted to include a different culture into a game, they'd just need to do their homework. On the other hand, stereotypes and sex sell. *shrug*

Anyway, let me get back to how awesome Bayonetta is. See, I know what you're thinking and that's cool. It's a matter of opinion and all of that. But I don't put Bayonetta up with those "other" games. Why? Because it's freakin comedy gold. It's hilarious. Hysterical. Bayonetta represents everything that is wrong with sexism rolled into a single game. She's a parody. I played the demo and was laughing the entire time. From her walk to the way she taunts enemies to the blown kisses to her heel guns... laughing my ass off. I honestly couldn't wait to see what crazy thing she'd do next and I haven't been disappointed so far. This game cannot be taken seriously in any way. It's completely ridiculous and I love it.

I've never been in favor of erasing characters like her. What I want to see are more females that better represent actual females. Everyone can still have their Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball if they want. But give me more Jade or Samus to balance it out a bit. It's idealistic thinking, sure, but it would be nice if sex didn't sell as much as an overall great game.

Well, I think that sums it up nicely. Lock thread?

Mystic Violet wrote:

Anyway, let me get back to how awesome Bayonetta is. See, I know what you're thinking and that's cool. It's a matter of opinion and all of that. But I don't put Bayonetta up with those "other" games. Why? Because it's freakin comedy gold. It's hilarious. Hysterical. Bayonetta represents everything that is wrong with sexism rolled into a single game. She's a parody. I played the demo and was laughing the entire time. From her walk to the way she taunts enemies to the blown kisses to her heel guns... laughing my ass off. I honestly couldn't wait to see what crazy thing she'd do next and I haven't been disappointed so far. This game cannot be taken seriously in any way. It's completely ridiculous and I love it.

I tend to feel OK with this parody/camp interpretation I've seen a few places. I can respect Bayonetta on those grounds, even if the game's aesthetics and gameplay genre don't appeal to me.

Mystic Violet wrote:

Anyway, let me get back to how awesome Bayonetta is. See, I know what you're thinking and that's cool. It's a matter of opinion and all of that. But I don't put Bayonetta up with those "other" games. Why? Because it's freakin comedy gold. It's hilarious. Hysterical. Bayonetta represents everything that is wrong with sexism rolled into a single game. She's a parody. I played the demo and was laughing the entire time. From her walk to the way she taunts enemies to the blown kisses to her heel guns... laughing my ass off. I honestly couldn't wait to see what crazy thing she'd do next and I haven't been disappointed so far. This game cannot be taken seriously in any way. It's completely ridiculous and I love it.

Those are the types of games I enjoy, and I hope that when I finally do get to play it that the wife is either on a trip or just doesn't kill me, as I'm not sure she'd understand. I really think I could sell her on it if the background music wasn't so crazy, she absolutely can't stand any background music in games.

Maybe one day I'll find out.

Also, because I could:
IMAGE(http://images.joshuamills.net/gwj/mystic_approved_bayonetta.jpg)

Mystic Violet wrote:

I've never been in favor of erasing characters like her. What I want to see are more females that better represent actual females. Everyone can still have their Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball if they want. But give me more Jade or Samus to balance it out a bit. It's idealistic thinking, sure, but it would be nice if sex didn't sell as much as an overall great game.

I can agree with this whole-heartedly. (Let me add April Ryan to the mix).

trueheart78 wrote:

Seal of Approval

Hahaha! I give it two chainsaws up!

trueheart78 wrote:
Mystic Violet wrote:

Anyway, let me get back to how awesome Bayonetta is. See, I know what you're thinking and that's cool. It's a matter of opinion and all of that. But I don't put Bayonetta up with those "other" games. Why? Because it's freakin comedy gold. It's hilarious. Hysterical. Bayonetta represents everything that is wrong with sexism rolled into a single game. She's a parody. I played the demo and was laughing the entire time. From her walk to the way she taunts enemies to the blown kisses to her heel guns... laughing my ass off. I honestly couldn't wait to see what crazy thing she'd do next and I haven't been disappointed so far. This game cannot be taken seriously in any way. It's completely ridiculous and I love it.

Those are the types of games I enjoy, and I hope that when I finally do get to play it that the wife is either on a trip or just doesn't kill me, as I'm not sure she'd understand. I really think I could sell her on it if the background music wasn't so crazy, she absolutely can't stand any background music in games.

Maybe one day I'll find out.[/img]

Dude, I'll vouch for you. Just be like "Well, this Mystic b*tch on the forum said it was a good game and I believed her but now I can't return it because it's opened! ARG! And this game so terrible and sexist and I'm gonna finish it and tell all my friends how BAD this game is so they don't buy this filth too and honey I love you!"

MrDeVil909 wrote:
Brennil wrote:

I think that a lot of men - most, I'd even say - have no idea just how intimidating women, especially young women, find the prospect of breaking into a conversation being held by a group of men. Even if you're a feminist. Even if the conversation is about women's issues. Even if it's in a nominally "safe" environment like a classroom. Even if the women outnumber the men. Even in this day and age.

Privilege can be invisible when you possess it.

Translation: Could all the penis-beasts shut up for a while and let the women have an opinion. ;)

Actually, no, that's not what I meant. I was commenting on a particular situation and trying to expand Gaald's understanding of it, since he was baffled. It's not about men shutting up. It's about everyone understanding the way that privilege functions, and that in the vast majority of situations, it functions silently, unconsciously and invisibly. I'm sure you didn't think twice about the phrase "let the women have an opinion." To me it seems kind of condescending.

We're talking about worldviews here. I understand that most men most of the time have no interest in demeaning or silencing or marginalizing women. But things which seem small and innocuous to you are representative of larger issues to those of us who are aware of them. Those of us who have to be aware of them, because they affect the way we live our lives. It's annoying to be called to task about use of language which seems so trivial, so unimportant, I know this. I'm not trying to make you feel bad, to make you feel like an oppressor or paint you as my enemy. I'm trying to open a small window into the other side. It's different over here.

Brennil wrote:

Actually, no, that's not what I meant. I was commenting on a particular situation and trying to expand Gaald's understanding of it, since he was baffled. It's not about men shutting up. It's about everyone understanding the way that privilege functions, and that in the vast majority of situations, it functions silently, unconsciously and invisibly. I'm sure you didn't think twice about the phrase "let the women have an opinion." To me it seems kind of condescending.

We're talking about worldviews here. I understand that most men most of the time have no interest in demeaning or silencing or marginalizing women. But things which seem small and innocuous to you are representative of larger issues to those of us who are aware of them. Those of us who have to be aware of them, because they affect the way we live our lives. It's annoying to be called to task about use of language which seems so trivial, so unimportant, I know this. I'm not trying to make you feel bad, to make you feel like an oppressor or paint you as my enemy. I'm trying to open a small window into the other side. It's different over here.

I see where you're coming from, and while I obviously can't really see things exactly as you do, I do empathise. That's why I actually tried to call attention to the lack of female voices on the topic, and to try flush some out of the woodwork.

While my last comment was entirely tongue in cheek, I did think about the phrase "let the women have an opinion," I nearly said girls. I figured women was pretty neutral.

Certis wrote:
(I won't mention Poison Ivy, because she's pretty much always been the half-nude nature chick and Batman AA wasn't going to change that)

The problem is not Bayonetta, she's just become the poster-girl for a more widespread "women are only interesting if they're half naked" attitude within the gaming industry. Like Rob said in the podcast, I'm tired of it.

So it's OK if it originated in a comic first instead of some game designers head? That's a total double standard, dude. We all draw the line somewhere, but that line is often just ahead of something we like and just behind something we don't.

There's no broad brush to paint the industry with here. Poison Ivy and her half-nakedness is fine because it makes sense within the context of the Batman universe and the character's story. I'll just say that Bayonetta's story, as messed up as it is, justifies her style as well. She's not even human, near as I can tell.

Actually, what I was saying was that I couldn't fault the game developers for making Poison Ivy half naked, because that's how the character originated. If Bob Kane had envisioned Poison Ivy as some dumpy hippy chick wearing a hemp trenchcoat with vines growing out of the pockets and the game developers had made her look like how she is in Batman: Arkham Asylum, then I'd raise an objection pertaining to the developers' hands in it.

As it stands, her appearance in the game was fairly brief, mostly tasteful, and the fact that she was green and covered with moss mitigated a fair amount of the cheesecake appeal. Kind of like how they made Mystique in the X-men movies-- sure, she's "naked," but she's also scaly and blue with hideous yellow eyes. If that does it for a person, that's fine, but I doubt the character design team was going for the blue-scales-with-jaundice fetish demographic.

With Poison Ivy the developers' hands were mostly tied, but with Bayonetta everything was chosen to be as it is. The story justifies her nudity, but who created the story? And why did they create it that way? These questions matter to me. The story justifies the action in Manhunt too, that doesn't mean I want to play it.

Of course it's a double standard, but it's a double standard with reasons. Presentation matters, and the women characters in Batman just aren't presented the same way they are in Bayonetta. Saying the two are equivalent just because there's partial nudity is like saying that a Jenna Jameson movie is equivalent to Klimt's The Kiss just because they both have kissing in them.

doubtingthomas396 wrote:

Of course it's a double standard, but it's a double standard with reasons. Presentation matters, and the women characters in Batman just aren't presented the same way they are in Bayonetta.

In what way?

With Poison Ivy the developers' hands were mostly tied, but with Bayonetta everything was chosen to be as it is. The story justifies her nudity, but who created the story? And why did they create it that way? These questions matter to me. The story justifies the action in Manhunt too, that doesn't mean I want to play it.

To be clear, because this is a common misconception, Bayonetta is never actually nude. At her skimpiest, it's less racy than what you'd see during a day at the beach.

Certis wrote:
With Poison Ivy the developers' hands were mostly tied, but with Bayonetta everything was chosen to be as it is. The story justifies her nudity, but who created the story? And why did they create it that way? These questions matter to me. The story justifies the action in Manhunt too, that doesn't mean I want to play it.

To be clear, because this is a common misconception, Bayonetta is never actually nude. At her skimpiest, it's less racy than what you'd see during a day at the beach.

It's clearly implied she is nude, even if you don't actually see full-on nudity. I think it's an important distinction for the character and story, myself. But you're right, it's not as if they're actually putting her nude on the screen for you to ogle.

Which goes with the "Bayonetta is in control of her sexuality" angle, she isn't being exploited, she's teasing you. Which is much more fun.

We're all nude under our clothes, Pyroman.

Except Certis, I think.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

We're all nude under our clothes, Pyroman.

Except Certis, I think.

There are dozens of them, dozens!
IMAGE(http://i47.tinypic.com/24vpnoh.jpg)

PyromanFO wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

We're all nude under our clothes, Pyroman.

Except Certis, I think.

There are dozens of them, dozens!
IMAGE(http://i47.tinypic.com/24vpnoh.jpg)

Who wears short shorts?

PyromanFO wrote:
Quintin_Stone wrote:

We're all nude under our clothes, Pyroman.

Except Certis, I think.

There are dozens of them, dozens!
IMAGE(http://i47.tinypic.com/24vpnoh.jpg)

Awesome reference. Now we know something new about Certis. It's time for the Never Nude support thread where we let Certis get it out of his system.

Switchbreak wrote:
doubtingthomas396 wrote:

Of course it's a double standard, but it's a double standard with reasons. Presentation matters, and the women characters in Batman just aren't presented the same way they are in Bayonetta.

In what way?

Consider the scene that introduces Harley. She preens over her outfit as being "pretty hot" but to me it felt like she was grotesque. Afterward, even with an outfit that seemed tailor made for upskirts, they didn't zero the camera in on her crotch-- even when she was doing backflips.

With Ivy, again she had a sickly pallor, moss all over herself and in spite of the seductive nature of the character, they didn't play her up in a "don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like her?" way. Again, she was grotesque. I didn't get the feeling that the player was supposed to find her alluring at all.

Bayonetta, by contrast, is all about wiggling her arse around and generally thrusting her various areas at the camera. For crying out loud, if you pick up an polearm dropped by an enemy she'll do a pole dance that damage nearby enemies.

Then there's the whole "one handed mode" thing that Rob mentioned. I'm sure someone will correct me if it's not true, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was.

Certis wrote:
With Poison Ivy the developers' hands were mostly tied, but with Bayonetta everything was chosen to be as it is. The story justifies her nudity, but who created the story? And why did they create it that way? These questions matter to me. The story justifies the action in Manhunt too, that doesn't mean I want to play it.

To be clear, because this is a common misconception, Bayonetta is never actually nude. At her skimpiest, it's less racy than what you'd see during a day at the beach.

Having played the demo, and witnessing the plumber's crack for myself, I'd like to state that this is a distinction without a difference.

Again, it's all about presentation, the difference between beachwear and Frederick's of Hollywood.

Regardless, append the word "partial" to everywhere I say "nudity" and my point still stands.

The hell of it is that I'd have much less of an objection to the game if she was just in a tight outfit. It's the fact that her clothes jump off her while the camera moves itself just behind her at ankle level so the player can look up at her partially obscured bits.

Wet is a good example of how they could have made Bayonetta a game I'd be willing to spend money on. Rubi wears a tight leather outfit and has some acrobatic movies, but aside from the developers talking about how "hot" Rubi is in interviews, the character is just another action heroine. Again, the magic word is presentation.

To be clear, Wet is just about on the tipping point of what I'm willing to tolerate in a game (there is an unfortunate torture scene in which Rubi is in her skivvies, but since it's a torture scene, I'm willing to give the developers the benefit of the doubt and not assume they were aiming to titillate the whips-and-chains crowd, and anyway the scene is brief and they don't linger on anything excessively.) If they'd played up the obvious innuendo from the title more than they did, or tried to make Rubi some kind of sexpot, I would have given the game a pass. As it stood, it was just like playing a Quentin Tarantino movie with fewer N-bombs.

At this point, I don't really think I have anything else to say. I'm pretty sure everyone thinks I'm wrong, and I don't want to stray into jerk territory ala episode 166 because I'm also pretty sure that nobody in the history of the internet has ever changed anyone's mind with a forum post.

doubtingthomas396 wrote:

Then there's the whole "one handed mode" thing that Rob mentioned. I'm sure someone will correct me if it's not true, but I wouldn't be surprised if there was.

There's no one-handed mode. If you play in Very Easy with the combos on Automatic you can pretty much just hit punch, just like in Devil May Cry 4.