VideoGame Alright gameplay with bad writing.
I'm a traditional type who enjoys following the story of a powerful, likable protagonist. Needless to say, this reboot, including the Vergil DLC, has left me disappointed, but its gameplay is alright.
Story has never been a strong fort, yet I was attracted to the original series because of the mythos surrounding Sparda, and Dante was charming with his hilarious antics. In contrast, Dm C felt like a giant edgy political statement with largely bland characters with bad dialogue save for Bob Barbas. Couldn't stand Dante's mother's voice. I found the new!Dante to be completely unlikable, as if being a douchebag is cool. The early white-hair joke certainly didn't help because the tone implied that old!Dante wasn't cool. new!Dante eventually develops as a person, but by then my first impression has left a bitter taste.
Art-wise, the environment is beautifully designed. However, I didn't like the filter effect and the lighting is very hard on my eyes with its constant bright flashing. Didn't like the dubstep, but wished Combichrist's "Never Surrender" played more as a battle theme.
Gameplay. Ignoring the stupid color-code system and the bad Stinger control, the combat system is quite nice, it fits a Nero/Vergil style nicely(I didn't like Nero though), but its let down by bad camera and poor balance. The camera is completely free to accommodate the auto-lock-on, so I had to constantly adjust mid-fight even if I were fighting a single boss! In contrast, the original series' lock-on feature allowed me to constantly face the enemy and so focus on fighting. Balance-wise, it is too easy to keep combos going with the infinite angel/demon pulls and jump cancels are no longer as useful, the Aquila's easy stunlock is ridiculous, terrible "hit-the-weakspot" bosses.
Progression is one area that is undoubtedly well done. No longer do you constantly fumble at terrible jump puzzles, instead you use the angel/demon pull to get around easily, enjoying the scenery in the process. It is more straight-forward and well-paced, it never feels like a bore getting around.
Dm C isn't the game for me; the flashy lighting and bad writing ruined my whole experience. However, gameplay is quite solid overall despite being too easy. It isn't a terrible game on its own, but not great either, at best average, at worst mediocre.
VideoGame Credit where it's due, please.
Story
DMC stories have generally taken place in a vacuum, which in turn gives them very little weight. 4 was somewhat better about this, but I do think that this game has done the best job so far of actually placing the action in a believable setting. The plot itself is decent. It's a relatively standard take on the whole "antisocial antihero gains a conscience" version of the hero's journey and not particularly deep, but it's well executed. To everyone complaining about Dante being a jackass: that's kind of the whole point. The plot is all about his Character Development, and by the end of the game he's basically dropped the whole douchebag act.Platforming
This is the first game in the series where the platforming has actually been anywhere close to enjoyable. Navigation around the levels is fast-paced and twitchy, and I honestly think this might be the better part of the game.Combat
While the execution could be better, I love the idea behind the combat. The focus is as fast as ever, with the focus very much on mobility, positioning control, and flexibility. While you'd think this would draw attention to the lack of a lock-on feature, in practice it's usually not a problem to target the enemy you're looking for. Additionally, I'm a sucker for a well-executed parry mechanic.Design
This is a minor thing, but I really appreciate the decision to include actual checkpoints in the game instead of forcing the player to finish each stage, boss fight included, in one sitting. Similarly, I like that each boss is given its own stage so that you can go back and replay them at any point without necessarily having to go through a full level beforehand. I'm not saying you should, though, since... well, I'll get to that in a moment.Difficulty
More specifically, the lack of it. Not a lot to say here; it's simply way too easy. And that's not even getting into the whole Hard Levels, Easy Bosses thing. A good boss fight tests your mastery of the game's mechanics; the boss fights here mostly consist of the standard formula of finding a weak point, wailing on it, and repeating ad nauseum with no concern to whether or not the player actually knows what they're doing. There's also not very many of them, which is disappointing, as the numerous and intense boss fights were easily the best parts of the classic games.VideoGame It is for the best.
When i heard that this game was hated I was shocked, after all it was 6 months before the game was released. DMC was what i expected and more. The action is more streamlined(after i learned the new commands), the overall story and events of the game were not as silly as the first games. It is more easy? No. It is just the same, it took me the same time to finish this game as it did 4. It adds some things to Devil May Cry as it takes same things away, this game is something new. The mixing of Nero's moves with Dante had to be done, because Dante seamed slow in the eyes of the viewer in comparison to the mobility of the Devil Bringer. Why shun this game? If this game did not exist there will not be any Devil May Cry EVER AGAIN. DMC is more accessible to new players(most people i know can not play the previous games), and it is the right thing to do. For the first time symbolism, not of the BS kind, was added to the game, and I have to applaud the care that went into it.
VideoGame Give it a shot
As a longtime fan of DMC, I get it
When the first trailer popped up, I pretty much pissed blood with rage, I screamed at my laptop, threw things against the wall, deleted everything DMC related off my PC, Pretty much boycotted Capcom, I considered trading-in my DMC games but ultimately decided to keep them, hoping that if I got lost in them, I'd forget all about it
Months passed, I didn't follow the press at all, I didn't care that they changed the look further, I didn't care that they brought in Vergil, I didn't care that they changed it to a prequel and then to a alternate continuity.
Cut to January 17th 2013
I was browsing my local Blockbuster, then I saw it
I saw Dm C with a big ol' sticker on it saying;
"2 NIGHTS FOR £2"
Something just clicked in me. I rummaged through my pocket and found 2 pound coins and I scrambled for my wallet to find my Blockbuster card and then took it to the front desk
I was gonna rent it, I was gonna prove to the world and myself that this was a godawful pile of shit that shouldn't exist. I had to do it, I had to experience firsthand how godawful it was.
I took it home, stuck it in my XBOX and played it
30 minutes in, I was pissed
All this time, all this time spent hating on the damn thing and yet...I was wrong
It was good
It was DAMN good
I was slashing things like there was no tomorrow and loving every second of it.
And then it hit me, it's a Devil May Cry game, OF COURSE IT'S GOOD
This is DMC, just with a new story and a new haircut
This isn't "Devil May Cry 5", this is "Devil May Cry 1: Version 2", so seriously.
Coming from this guy who DESPISED THE GAME WITH A BLIND PASSION until he played it, just give it a shot
VideoGame Forgettable
Gameplay: Largely, the things that have changed are for the worse (With the exception of the grappling hook and the angel jump abilities), the lack of lock on, besides the obvious targeting problems this gives you, it also means that combo's have been made to feel very samey and repetitive, since the ability to use the analog stick to pull off differing attacks is gone. The removal of the style system also stings a fair bit.
The lack of a fixed camera is also a negative, since moving it about when slicing enemies up is a pain and it ends up being harder to keep an eye on whose attacking.
The enemies themselves meanwhile are incredibly dull to fight, they are either very easy to put away, courtesy of very easy to predict attack patterns even later on in the game or just a plain chore to fight (The colour-coded demons come to mind), nothing really fits the middle ground of an enemy that's challenging, but not irritating, doesn't help that the bosses are also very predictable and can be beaten with ease.
Visuals and Sound: Artwise? The best part of the game, it's very clear that the art department was on point with this game, every environment is very well crafted and varied, the fact that the majority of the game takes place inside a demon dimension gave them a ton of room to play with, and it was well used, while the facial animations are very well done throughout, the voicework is generally solid, with the exception of Nu Dante, who at times sounds downright bored, with awkward inflections all over the place, the music is forgettable, I've never cared for the heavy metal soundtrack of DMC, while the only part of the Noisia section that stands out is Devil's Dalliance.
Story: The worst part of the game, the main characters themselves are utterly lacking in memorable personalities, with Vergil suffering the worst of it, losing all that made him work so well in DMC 3, the villains are devoid of any menace or character, while the story itself puts up a ton of idea's and themes, it totally fails to properly develop a single one of them, Nu Dante's relationship with Kat and Vergil, the idea of demons using the media to control the world, the entire half-angel aspect as well as many other character interactions and story elements, all of it is done in the most dull, lousily developed manner you could imagine.
VideoGame Sloppy *SPOILERS*
Writing: Dante is unlikable for the most part and stays that way. Kat is bland and her backstory incredibly uninteresting. Vergil is more about control than power this time around, but then the game tries to sell he and Dante as good brothers and fall short. Sparda and Eva's backstory being less than half written and lazily glossed over. Dante's character development having absolutely no pacing to it and just suddenly happening, multiple scenes that add nothing to the story, at all. (No build-up and no follow up, it just happens and is promptly forgotten, at the most it MAY get a single other mention.) The Final Boss fight with Vergil had absolutely no reason whatsoever to actually happen and pretty much any emotional value the scene would have had is promptly ruined by the a for mentioned lack of convincing brotherly growth.
Graphics: Good to look at. Decent for it's generation.
Gameplay: The gameplay has been really simplified so that anyone can pull of combos but this means that the combos do not require skill and therefore are not satisfying or worth bragging. The enemy AI has been severely dumbed down so that they stand idly for 10 seconds and telegraph their attacks 2 to 3 seconds earlier. Weapons are imbalanced, some are too weak while others too powerful. Many weapons and moves are never needed throughout the game and a player has no reason to invest time in them. Style ranking system is broken and can be exploited easily to reach SSS ranking within 3 attacks.
Overall: 6/10. A mediocre title on it's own and really disappointing compared to it's predecessor series. I would only "recommend" this game for anyone who never liked the originals Devil May Cry titles. Thanks for reading my review.
VideoGame Decent game for rental, don't buy full price.
Alright, it's no mystery that this game has been getting a lot a flack for changes in gameplay and story, I wasn't intending on playing as soon as I did but I decided to borrow it off a friend and give it a fair shake.
The gameplay isn't very changed in terms of general combat besides the new controls and more accessible combos and making it easier to switch weapons on the fly. Difficulty is one change that DMC veterans will notice right away as the game has been more or less slightly watered down and bosses don't put up nearly as much fight as in previous titles and this makes it's way throughout the game to the Very last boss with simple attack patterns and parry being your best friend in the fights.
Devil trigger in this game is slightly reminiscent of Witch time from Bayonetta, Dante slows time down to a crawl and launches all on screen enemies off the ground, during this time you can pull off some air combos or drag them back down for some ground combos, all of which grant you bonuses to your Style meter while you slowly regain health. In a pinch this is very useful especially against some of the more annoying enemies later on that rely on using the weaker foes as a distraction while they get a good hit or two at you.
Visuals are nice for Unreal Engine 3, Only complaint I have about them is that the shadowing and lighting on characters and objects throughout the game look off from time to time.
Now onto the story, there's not much to cover here as anyone familiar with this games pre-release hype or hate knows about it, Thankfully Dante is not as swear happy or cocky as they made him out to be in pre-release trailers and he gets some decent character development along the way, Only true character I had issues with in the story is Vergil which is funny because he seemed to be the most interesting character here. He does nothing worthwhile after restoring Dante's memories besides barking orders at you and continues this until the penultimate segment of the game.
In the end, it's not up to standards set by it's predecessors (and it's fans) in terms of difficulty but it's still good fun if you want something to kill the time.
VideoGame Sometimes Change is Good
I think that a reboot was a great way to revive the series. Between DMC's tendency to have a Kuduzu plot, the anachronistic storyline between games, and the tendency to ignore less liked parts of the franchise (DMC 2), I think another sequel would just alienate new fans and create flame wars between the existing fanbase over continuity. While the game has flaws, that doesn't mean it isn't worth a look.
One of the most controversial changes in the game is the new Dante.In the trailers, he's crass, obnoxious emoteen... that doesn't really resemble himself in the actual game. He actually has several of the traits of the old Dante with many of his more rebellious scenes taken out of context, largely to gain publicity for the game. The new Dante is more emotionally open and willing to accept the help of others which makes him more relatable than his previous incarnation. Dante feels more like a person than a superhero, though YMMV if that is preferable.
The plot is linear but does well to keep the player on their toes, as well as throw a few curveballs. The story uses a few political elements as a backdrop but they never feel invasive, simply reinforcing traits within the characters. Mundus poses as a high-powered executive with a silver tongue and does a great job of commanding whatever scene he is in. Regrettably he doesn't show up much until the final quarter of the game and I feel they could have been a lot more creative in his boss fight than the standard molten rock monster. Vergil is also likely to divide fans as his character goes from Awesome Ego to Well-Intentioned Extremist though this could be rectified in the DLC. My favorite character is Kat, as while she is sexy, she isn't oversexualized, with her character like Dante's coming off as more realistic. She serves to be great foil between the brothers,since she is a representative of humanity through the chaos between demons and Nephilim.
The gameplay is very fast-paced but fair with difficulties accommodating to new players and hardcore alike. One of the mechanics I liked was style grade not demoting over time, meaning I did not need to recklessly charge in order to maintain a decent point average. I also liked how seamless it was to switch through weapons on the fly allowing me to smash through defenses,then fire off various combos. Dm C is decent start to a new exciting series.
VideoGame Don't believe the hate... (Definitive Edition)
DMC 3 will always be the best in the series, but Dm C deserves praise too. First, it eases up the learning curve for newbies (this should not be seen as a negative for older fans, since it welcomes more players without scaring them off), and improved the atrocious platforming of the series. Controls are still customizable but are smooth like the previous entries.
Even with the easier set up, the game provides opportunities to reach SS Stylish, or rather SS Sensational. Using L2/LT and R2/RT, Dante can switch between fast, crowd-control Angel weapons, slow, powerhouse Demon weapons, and the neutral Rebellion. Gunplay is still great, with twin pistols Ebony and Ivory, shotgun Revenant, and sticky detonator Kablooey, which works like Lucifer in DMC 4. Like Nero's Devil Bringer, Dante can pull-in or zip towards enemies with the Ophion Chain, which is also mandatory for platforming/exploring.
You will acquire new Angel/Demon weapons later, Revenant and Kablooey are also obtained later on. The ability to bring every weapon into combat at once serves as this game's fighting mechanic innovation. Using the D-Pad Up for Guns, Left for Angel weapons, and Right for Demon weapons, switching between the 8 weapons available is frantic and rewarding.
Combat shines in midair, lifting several enemies and subjecting them to flashy, explosive moves is breathtaking. New moves can be purchased along with various items to help you along the way (separate currencies for items and skills). Collectibles and Secret Missions are there, per DMC tradition.
Vergil is available too (Vergil's Downfall), and his playstyle is similar to the older games.
Story-wise, Dante is initially a jerk, but his character develops throughout the story. The story has funny moments, and is less anime-ish. The "fight-for-freedom" premise is mostly background plot, as the story is really about Dante's development, and he is actually less escapist and more relatable this time.
The music, composed by Combichrist and Noisia is insanely headbang inducing, and stands out in the series' music.
For the hardcore, old fans, the Definitive Edition adds Hardcore mode to rebalance the game to emulate the older games. (Style System Rebalance, Evade/Parry window adjustment, etc. It also affects Vergil's Downfall)
Satisfactory in most ways, this is a great game for old and new fans.
9/10