For a game to earn a 10/10 review by Gamespot is such a rarity that when I found out Bayonetta 2 received that honor, I reserved it immediately, despite never having even heard of the series. Never have I regretted this decision to expand my gaming horizons.
Within seconds of gameplay prepare to be thrown into an all-out war between Heaven and Hell, with Bayonetta right in the middle. You'll encounter several new enemies in this battle alone, and experience Umbran Armor for the first time. Umbran Armor is a giant mech piloted by Umbra Witches, and is armed with huge gatling guns in its hands and is capable of firing huge explosive rounds from its feet. The armor is also capable of flight.
Bayonetta 2 sets the bar ruthlessly high during the first few minutes, and surprisingly is able to maintain that level of thrilling action throughout much of the entire game. Every once in a while you'll catch your breath as you move to your next objective, but typically not without being harassed by bloodthirsty minions from Heaven and Hell, so there truly is never a dull moment.
Bayonetta 2 improves upon its predecessor in every possible way, making the first Bayonetta seem insulting in comparison. Graphically, Bayonetta 2 seems to use every last bit of power the Wii U is able to muster, and the results are breathtaking. The visuals of Bayonetta 2 are as masterful as they come.
Varied combat options give you the power to blast through angelic and demonic forces alike with style like never before. Bayonetta is famous for wielding weapons on her hands and feet, and with even more weapons to choose from in Bayonetta 2, mixing and matching weapons to different limbs creates multitudes of combat styles to keep things from going stale (a word that has no meaning in the world of Bayonetta 2).
Among the many fresh garnishments Bayonetta 2 brings to the table, perhaps the biggest game changer of all is the Umbran Climax. When enough magic energy is accumulated, activating Umbran Climax becomes possible. When Umbran Climax is triggered, Bayonetta's hair extends to waist length similar to her super-powered moments in the original Bayonetta. Attacks during this state that would normally be punches, kicks, slices, etc. are now accompanied with either a demon summon or a giant version of the weapon you're wielding. Umbran Climax can easily change the tide of battle when used wisely.
If the "Earrings of Ruin" are equipped, Umbran Armor is summoned instead of Umbran Climax being activated.
A plethora of costumes are waiting to be unlocked, including Nintendo themed ones that come with their own special effects; for example, don Samus' Power Suit and instead of turning into a panther to cross terrain quickly, Bayonetta will curl into morph ball, dropping bombs with every jump.
Jeanne has her own variations of many of Bayonetta's costumes, as well as several exclusive to her. There is much more that could be said regarding this subject, but the joy of discovering them during gameplay would be a shame to spoil.
Witch time continues to be an invaluable combat strategy (the method of dodging at just the right moment to pause time for several seconds), but this time around does not require magic power. Hits from enemies no longer drain your magic either, and both of these adjustments make fighting baddies much more fun, without making fights less challenging.
The storyline of Bayonetta 2 is much more straightforward than its prequel, yet ties in to the original Bayonetta's storyline seamlessly and in a very interesting way. The story is compelling and a major contributor to this game's excellence.
Tag Climax is another new feature introduced in Bayonetta 2. This is your chance to show off your skills to players around the world as you both slaughter legions of enemies in an attempt to out-perform your combatant. Whoever scores the most points wins, and there are several rounds, each round with enemies and difficulty of alternating players' choice. In this mode you can play as characters otherwise un-playable in the rest of the game, something that hopefully changes in Bayonetta 3, since the characters exclusive to this mode are a blast to play.
Bayonetta 2 is a brilliant masterpiece fantastic enough to earn Bayonetta her well-deserved spot in Super Smash Bros. The replay value is sky-high, the experience is unlike any other, and any Wii U owner who doesn't buy this game is making a big mistake.