DmC (Devil May Cry) review

by SaikyoBro on Mar 24th, 2013

Devil May Cry is a really popular Capcom franchise that first game into play in 2001 on PS2, and was considered a huge innovation in the industry. There hadn’t really been many games like this before, and it’s generally said to have had a huge part in starting the “hack ‘n slash” genre. Without this game, we may not have seen God of War, Bayonetta, or the newer Ninja Gaiden games. There was a sequel that got some pretty poor reviews, and a 3rd game that was considered a masterpiece. Then there was 4 on the 360/PS3, which was considered pretty good, but didn’t quite meet the bar set by 3. While some say the DMC series has never had a solid story as a strength, others disagree, and had been waiting several years to see their favorite characters come back and continue where they left off, killing demons and making cheesy one-liners. And when TGS 2010 came around, they got their wish!

…almost! A new entry in the series was announced. People were, uh…pretty pissed to say the least. Instead of a lovable white-haired demon-slayer cracking jokes and eating pizza, they were treated to a foul-mouthed, sex-crazed smoker who looked like a drug addict. People began giving him stupid nicknames like Donte and DINO (Dante in Name Only), bashing him, making angry YouTube rants, etc. And while it’s pretty funny, can you blame them? The character had very little in common with the classic Dante besides his name and his weapons. And while some would argue that that’s all you really need, the other aspects of him were either removed entirely or exaggerated to the point of being embarrassing. The new Dante was not a good character on his own nor a proper successor to the original, who many hail as one of the most iconic gaming characters ever made.

Since then he’s undergone some more changes. He doesn’t smoke, his face has been more rounded out, his hair looks a little bit better, his voice is a bit more fitting, and he’s generally a lot less frustrating to look at. Not quite the way he used to be, but a lot better nonetheless. In my opinion he’s still a pretty crappy character in both design and personality, but it could be worse. And if you aren’t happy with his design, you can unlock a classic Dante costume usable through the entire game! (It’s actually really easy, you just punch in your credit card info and pay 5 bucks!) You may be wondering why I would go on about the main character’s design for 3 paragraphs, but that’s because…well, I dunno. But it’s a pretty big deal to a lot of the people who played the older games so I figured I’d give my 2 cents. I personally prefer the old Dante but I can work with the new one just fine.

The intro to the game starts with Dante having sex and opening his door nude and hungover the next morning, then instructing the demons attacking him to get the f**k off his trailer. I’m sure a good chunk of classic Devil May Cry fans turned the game off right there, but it gets better after that. You don’t see him drinking or (luckily) naked for the rest of the game, so it’s kinda weird they’d show something so strong in the beginning then ignore those traits of his completely for the rest of the game. The first level does a decent job of teaching you the basics with your sword (Rebellion) and your pistols (Ebony and Ivory) that you’ll need to get the hang of to do well in the game. The story is that basically, there’s a city being controlled by demons without the humans’ knowledge. Their news networks, their drinks, everything is controlled by the demons and used to keep the humans under their control. There’s a group called The Order (that the demon’s news network refer to as a terrorist organization) working against the demons and their leader Mundus, lead by Dante’s brother Vergil. Dante and Vergil are nephilim. Seeing as FireFox tried to correct that to “Philipine” I guess not everybody knows what that is, but it’s the offspring of an angel and a demon. As Dante, it’s up to you to help The Order take out the demons and free the city. The demons only appear in “Limbo”, an alternate plane that only demons can exist in. Dante and Vergil, being part demon, are frequently dragged into it and forced to fight the demons. They often manipulate the environment and swarm Dante to kill him and allow the demons to continue controlling the city.

The combat is the main focus of the game; being nephilim, Dante has powers and weapons of both demons and angels. Early in the game you find two weapons, Arbiter and Osiris. Arbiter is a demonic axe with short range and slow attacks, but powerful strikes that combo into each other. Osiris is an angelic scythe that doesn’t hit as hard, but has more range and is good for attacking multiple enemies at once. You can use both of these weapons as well as his sword and pistols in combat simultaneously, allowing for a huge variety in attacks and more combos than you can count. You find two grappling hooks, an angelic one and a demonic one. The angelic one allows you to pull yourself to platforms, and the demonic one allows you to pull platforms closer to you. There are a lot of puzzles revolving around this mechanic from the minute you pick them up. You can also use them in combat, allowing you to pull yourself closer to enemies or pull enemies closer to you. And this is just the beginning of the game! You find more weapons, more guns, and unlock more abilities throughout the levels, all able to be used on the fly in the middle of combat. It’s a little complex and difficult to get the hang of, but every weapon has a use and it’s a blast once you figure out what you’re doing.

You find more weapons usually after boss fights, which are mostly really cool. Being one of my favorite parts of the original games, they’re really nice here as well. While there aren’t quite as many, they feel like you have to put more thought into fighting them. They usually come with some puzzle elements instead of blindly slashing at them, dodging, and continuing to blindly slash at them like some of the bosses in the other games. They’re almost all huge in scale and take a while to defeat, but they all feel fresh and interesting.

Their dialogue however, is…um…not great. In the original series, the exchange between Dante and the huge demon he’s about to destroy was usually entertaining, with his cocky attitude contrasting with their seriousness. His cheesy one-liners usually made you smile, while the new Dante’s lines usually bring in more of an eyeroll…yes, the second boss you face literally has Dante and the boss screaming “F**k you!” at each other. His lines retain all the cheesiness of the old Dante’s but none of the charm or wit to them. For example, he smashes through a wall and screams “Smashing!”

…cute.

The reboot doesn’t really make any mention of the original series besides a gag with a white wig falling on his head in the beginning and him shrugging it off. The only other nods to the original series are the names of the trophies/achievements being memorable quotes from the other games. I know it’s a reboot and all, but it would’ve been really cool to maybe see rebooted versions of Trish, Lady, Nero, or any other memorable characters from the old games, or at least a mention of them. Hearing some familiar music would’ve probably been awesome too. Spoiler: If Devils Never Cry had played during the final fight between Dante and Vergil, I probably would’ve enjoyed it a lot more for the throwback. At the same time you understand why they wouldn’t do that since it’s supposed to be brand new, but I dunno, some mention of the legacy of the older games beyond a quick gag with a white wig would’ve been cool for fans. One thing the game doesn’t have in common with the older games is the tone. While the older games dealt with demons and other serious elements with a laidback, not-caring main character, this game has the entire world you’re in as non-caring as Dante himself. The tone is also MUCH darker and more mature than the older games. When you’re not cussing out a huge monster, you’re stabbing someone through the chest. When you’re not stabbing someone through the chest, you’re watching your brother shoot a woman’s unborn baby. It’s clear from the beginning that the game isn’t for kids.

The story is pretty creative, the artstyle isn’t exactly unique but it looks great, and the music is…pretty bad. The rocking tunes from the original series are replaced with hardcore metal and obnoxious dubstep, which not only gets on your nerves but doesn’t fit very well. The atmosphere is sometimes made much more annoying by this. During the ending I had a feeling of satisfaction, followed by a feeling of remorse for what had happened during the last chapter, and I was sitting there thinking about how I should feel…and suddenly, the credits started rolling with loud and annoying dubstep playing and I forgot all about it and mashed the start button as quickly as possible so I wouldn’t have to hear it. The game’s only 30 FPS, but it isn’t usually noticeable at all because the combat is so smooth and the game looks so nice. I think the most visually impressive part of the game would be the morphing environments that happen when Dante is sucked into Limbo, and they also provide some fun platforming challenges.

The combat is the main strength of the game, and it’s really varied with all the weapons you can use at the same time and the ridiculous amount of varied enemy types. Some people are upset about the lack of a lock-on button, but the game usually does a solid job at letting you hit what you want. The game is pretty lengthy and it’s filled with things to find by exploring and secret rooms with challenges to complete, so there’s plenty of incentive to go back and find everything. The fighting, the exploring, the platforming, and the puzzles all blend to create a pretty fun, intense experience, but it just doesn’t feel as good. Enemies take longer to kill, making you feel weaker than you did as the old Dante. The music doesn’t get you as pumped as it should, the dialog doesn’t make you laugh unless it’s at your expense, it just feels like some areas of the game would be much better if more effort were put into them. Even the Devil Trigger (which you get halfway through the game or so) doesn’t feel like it makes you much stronger and it ends too quickly, and I found myself only using it when I needed to get health back.

So in conclusion, the combat is great, the platforming and puzzles are creative, the story is pretty cool, and the game looks really good! While these are all big pluses, the game is also held back by unlikable characters, poor dialogue, and strange choices regarding the atmosphere. The game is really fun, but it doesn’t make you feel super-powerful the way the old games did. It doesn’t feel like a bad game, in fact, it’s a really good game! But it falls just short of being as good as the older games with a few flaws that could’ve been easily corrected if more thought were put into it. I’d be more comfortable with a DMC5, but a DmC2 would also be pretty nice for me, as I’d like to see Ninja Theory try again. Their awesome combat system and creative ideas are all great, but seeing them in a world with more likable characters, more fitting music, better dialgoue, and…well, feeling more like one of the older games would be awesome. The game is a fun play and a pretty solid buy if you’re into action games, but there are some areas for improvement.

3.5/5

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