(Credit:
GameSpot)
Bayonetta is an over-the-top action game and the latest from developer Platinum Games. Publisher Sega has tread carefully with Bayonetta by moving it out of the way of the holiday 2009 steamroller (Modern Warfare 2, Uncharted 2, etc.). Now, as part of the first wave of 2010 games, it has a chance to pick up new fans and maybe even soak up some of those electronics retailer gift cards that have become a popular generic gift item.
We've been seeing the game pretty regularly and have had the retail version for some time now. Here are our final thoughts:
Jeff:
Odds are you won't play anything like Bayonetta all year. While that may seem like a bold claim just one week into 2010, Bayonetta is by far one of the most bizarre, over-the-top, challenging, and entertaining games we've played in a while. Some may find the title's action similar to that of the Devil May Cry series (which isn't a bad thing), but Bayonetta feels more accessible. Though at times the game can be frustrating, it's designed mercifully enough to allow for difficulty adjustments and its checkpoint system is fair.
The story in Bayonetta isn't the most coherent we've come across, so this may not be the game for those looking for such a detail. But for what it lacks in comprehensiveness, Bayonetta makes up for with its gorgeous visuals and tight controls. Very rarely does the title dip below a smooth frame rate and the variety and creativity behind some of the game's bosses are just mind-boggling.
(Credit:
GameSpot)
It's tough to fully explain a game like Bayonetta to a mainstream gamer. With its heavy Japanese influence and formulaic gameplay structure, the game may not appeal to every type of player. That said, Bayonetta is unique enough that we'd recommend it for fans outside of the action genre just as a means to experience something truly artistic and imaginative.
Scott:
Thank god for Platinum Games. Formerly the team behind Capcom's funky Clover, they're the equivalent of Terry Gilliam or David Lynch to movies--indie, bizarre, fantastic. While their work may not be for everybody, I'd personally rather have a world filled with titles like Bayonetta than the endless one-off list of genre sequels we receive every year.
In short, as a game, Bayonetta is like Devil May Cry but with a far stranger and very Japanese devils-versus-angels storyline, injected with absurdly over-the-top violence and dialogue. On an Xbox 360, the arcade-influenced fighting moves are lightning-fast, and the boss battles are packed full of weird monsters, gravity-defying moves, and cheeseball music.
I love Bayonetta for personal reasons: I am an indie film lover and a fan of absurdism, and grew up on Sega consoles. Back in the days of the Genesis, Saturn and Dreamcast, it seemed like Sega made games like Bayonetta quite frequently--off the beaten path, action-filled, and odd. Sega's drifted from this legacy, but with Bayonetta it's a fine return to form. Don't hesitate if you love a great single-player action game, Japanese/Western cultural oddities, or are a Sega fetishist. I've discovered my new source of entertainment once football season closes.
(Credit:
GameSpot)
Dan:
Bayonetta feels like a mix between the frenetic action of Devil May Cry and the extended nonsensical cut scenes of Metal Gear Solid. Long sections of button-mashing and demon-fighting are intercut with even longer dialog scenes.
While it seems like there must be a missing prequel novel lying around somewhere that introduces all the characters and backstory, it's still pretty easy to pick up the basic theme--beat up everything in sight. The over-the-top fighting moves are fun to pull off--especially the ones that summon creatures from our heroine's own magical hair, and the settings change often enough to keep things visually interesting.
But, we can't help but feel that the game's non-stop weirdness comes off as somewhat forced after a while, as if a focus group of corporate marketing types were trying their hardest to create a game in the "weird Japanese beat-em-up" genre.
(Credit:
GameSpot)
A 14-year-old boy's mother had enough with her son's gaming over the weekend. After turning off the console hoping he would stop gaming, she called police to ask for their help in solving her son's "addiction."
According to the story first reported in the Boston Herald, Angela Mejia had enough with her son's gaming when she found him playing Grand Theft Auto at 2:30 a.m. She told him to go to sleep, but he refused.
"Sometimes I want to run away, too," Mejia told the Boston Herald. "I have support from my church, but I'm alone. I want to help my son, but I can't find a way."
After unplugging her son's game console, she decided to call 911. Police came to Mejia's home and coaxed the boy into going to sleep.
"[The police] were just like, 'Chill out. Go to bed,'" Mejia's son told the Herald.
What Mejia's son did when he woke up is unknown. My guess: he played a video game. Yours?
Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has written about everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Don is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and posts at The Digital Home. He is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure.
Sorry Vin, but Wheelman stunk.
(Credit: Gamespot)We've already shared our picks for the best games of 2009, so now it's time to check out the other end of the spectrum: the worst games of the year.
Before you jump over to the slideshow, we want to preface our list with a few important details. Our worst-of compilation doesn't include just games; it highlights some of the most disappointing hardware and trends that surfaced in 2009 as well.
So with that knowledge absorbed, we invite you to check out our picks for the worst that 2009 had to offer in the world of video games.
Don't see your most-despised game of 2009 on our list? Make sure to tell us in the comments section.
(Credit:
CNET)
If you're lucky enough to get your favorite piece of home theater gear this holiday season, the next step is setting it up and getting it tweaked just right. CNET dishes out home theater setup advice all year, but we've rounded up our most important home theater tips so you can spend your holidays on the couch rather than crawling behind your TV cabinet.
Home theater setup tips
- Don't buy expensive HDMI cables
- Speaker-placement tips for audiophiles
- Home theater speaker placement tips
- Is it worth setting up my Dolby Pro Logic IIz height speakers?
- Subwoofer setup guide
- How to get the most out of your subwoofer
- How to use your AV receiver's speaker calibration
- What'd he say? How to improve home theater dialogue intelligibility
- What do my speaker specs mean?
- Demystifying speaker impedance--what you need to know
- What's up with watts: How much power do you need?
- How to double your home theater receiver's power
- Six ways to make your turntable sound better
- How to get the best sound from in-ear headphones
Of course, the other half of the home theater equation is the HDTV, so be sure to check out David Katzmaier's HDTV setup tips, too.
(Credit:
Gamespot)
Another year, another laundry list of video games. This year saw thousands of titles released, but only an elite few are worthy enough to be labeled as "year's best." It was undoubtedly another year of sequels, though a few new franchises do appear on our list.
We already know what to look forward to in 2010, but as we conclude another year of gaming, let's look back at the best video games of 2009.
Don't see your favorite video game of the year on our list? Let us know in the comments section.
'Tis the season to record a lot of video. And take it from me: you want a camcorder you can slip into a pocket between memorable moments, not some big, bulky thing that requires a neck strap.
Flip Video's popular pocket cams start at around $200, but right now you can grab the Creative Vado HD (with accessories) for $99.99 shipped.
I'll be the first to admit this isn't the best deal I've ever posted on an HD camcorder, but it's one of the best I've seen lately. Plus, the bundled accessories--a mesh case and a USB power adapter--would cost you an extra $45 if purchased separately.
The Vado itself can record up to two hours of 720p-quality video--twice as much as the Flip MinoHD. That's because it sports 8GB of onboard storage compared with the Mino's 4GB. Alas, there's no media slot for adding memory cards.
CNET gave the Vado HD mostly high marks, citing its strengths as solid video quality, removable battery, easy operation, and bundled HDMI cable for watching videos on an HDTV. Of course, as with most pocket camcorders, this one offers fast and easy USB-powered uploading to YouTube.
Also, the Vado features a relatively spacious 2-inch LCD. The MinoHD's 1.5-inch screen seems painfully tiny by comparison (trust me--I've got one).
I have no idea how long Creative's stock will last. But I do know the Vado bundle is also available in red--much purtier, IMHO.
Backup deal: You know what would go great with that $78 Blu-ray player I mentioned the other day? The Optoma HD20 1080p projector for $999.99 shipped. (Add it to your cart to get that price, and use Google Checkout to knock another $5 off.) It has dual HDMI inputs, so you can plug in your Blu-ray player and your game console! Drooooool.
On Sale Now: $99.95 - $199.99
View the latest prices for Creative Vado HD
On Sale Now: $976.79 - $1,199.00
View the latest prices for Optoma HD20
So you've finally purchased a gaming console and you've already loaded up on some of the best games. In order to get the most out of your hardware, we recommend checking out some of our top-rated must-have accessories.
It's a safe bet that you'll need at least one extra controller, but there are also plenty of first- and third-party items that will complement the system of your choice. Whether it's rechargeable battery packs, controller attachments, or HDMI cables, you're definitely going to want to take a look at what we recommend for each video game console.
Click on your gaming console below for our top picks:
Is this the future of Blu-ray?
(Credit: Amazon)Brace yourselves. Less than two weeks after you open your gifts on Christmas morning, the consumer electronics industry will be reminding you that all those new gadgets--touted as lustworthy just days earlier--are already obsolete.
OK, maybe that's a tad cynical. But it's certainly true that the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (January 5-10) codifies the trends and sets the bar for what you can expect to see on store shelves for the following 12 months. That's especially true in the home theater category. But before we look forward to the upcoming show, let's take a look back at what we saw in 2009.
As the 2009 show came to an end, we chose the Samsung HT-BD7200 home theater system and the EchoStar "SlingLoaded" HD DVR 922 as the most promising products in the home audio and video realms. The latter product, to date, has yet to make an appearance in the real world (an all too common trend for many high-profile CES
... Read moreThe camera industry is in the throes of a digital photography revolution. But a new version of Nikon's 300mm telephoto lens announced this week, a $5,900 model intended for professionals, shows at least some parts of the photography market are constant even as the rest is overhauled.
Nikon's new 300mm f2.8 lens
(Credit: Nikon USA)Digital photography is profoundly different from the film era for many reasons. Here are some: new image sensors can enable photography in conditions too dark for film. The same camera can shoot video and still shots. Cameras can record not just when you took a photo, but where you took it. It's easy to publish photos globally on the Internet or to alter them significantly with software. And steadily increasing computing power lets cameras do everything from detect smiling faces to correct lens shortcomings.
And yet islands of stability remain. The high-end lens, with its complex optical engineering and premium pricing, is one of them.
Many SLR users don't venture beyond the kit lens that comes with their camera--an 18-55mm zoom that's reasonable for indoor shooting and basic tourist photography. Those who want to photograph the kids' soccer matches can step up with a telephoto zoom--usually one reaching to 200mm or 250mm and costing a few hundred dollars.
So why all the extra price for a bit more focal length to reach 300mm?
... Read more
With Ustream Live Broadcaster, you can share real-time video with the world.
The race is over. Ustream Live Broadcaster is the first app that can stream live video from the iPhone to the Internet. It's free, and it works. Will society ever be the same?
History may well record that Knocking Live, which debuted with some fanfare last week, was the iPhone's first video-streaming app. But only other iPhone users can watch the feeds; Ustream lets the world tune in.
Indeed, in case you're unfamiliar with the service, Ustream allows anyone with a Webcam to broadcast live video to a private or public audience. In this case, the iPhone acts as the Webcam; all you need is a Wi-Fi or 3G connection. (If there's no connection available, you can record your video and upload it to the service later.)
And speaking of 3G, the app works with both the iPhone 3G and the 3GS--impressive given that the former cannot, on its own, record video.
Other perks include a nifty on-the-fly polling ... Read more
