DmC: Devil May Cry

As far as revamps go, DmC: Devil May Cry didn’t get positive responses from the original Devil May Cry fans prior to its release. How has Ninja Theory keep up with the pressure with  this release? Let’s find out.

Presentation & Plot

Gone is the original Dante and the entire storyline, this current Devil May Cry brings about a world much closer to ours, with demons making use of drugs, media and corporate debt to control the human population. Mundus the Demon King, already existed in this world in human form at the start of the story.

You control Dante, who is hunted down by demons into the alternate dimension mirroring the real world known as Limbo. As Dante is a Nephilim due to his Demon dad and Angel mom, he is one of the two that can stop Mundus’ rule over the human race. Through his journey he met up with Kat from The Order, an organization created by Dante’s twin brother Vergil to stop Mundus. With his memories jolted by Vergil, Dante vows revenge against the demon who imprisoned his father and killed his mother.

Cheeky humour with dollops of coarse language, DmC is definitely not child friendly. Boss fights are often filled with swear words directed at Dante and of course, Dante towards the bosses as well. Loads of references to the original Devil May Cry series were made, both dialogue and game play. Compared to its predecessors, DmC’s cut scenes are mostly plot-driven and less on flashy. Best of all, level layouts are thoughtful and progressive, unlike the frequent area track-backs the previous suffer.

As you progress, you gather red orbs to purchase items that will heal or increase your health bar or your Devil Trigger gauge. You can also obtain white orbs which will provide you with upgrade slots for learning or upgrading your weapon’s abilities. Fans will be familiar with the various modes in DmC, though there are more trophies and achievements, such as collecting keys to unlock doors to various challenges.

Graphics & soundtrack

DmC has one of the best visuals a third-person action game we have seen so far. The world of Limbo has what it seems a demonic hurricane hurling the real world buildings and settings into outer space. Putting real world buildings and objects and twisting it like a murderous kaleidoscope makes DmC’s setting refreshing and fun. Limbo’s representation of a soft drink factory, a media tower and a nightclub is disgusting, vertigo-inducing and psychedelic; of course not all at the same time.

The electronica and synth tunes are noteworthy as they mash together with the fast game play and fluid graphics. The PC version is -the- version to play DmC on, more so that the PS3 and Xbox360; the fluidity is remarkably better than its console versions due to higher frame rates.

Gameplay

When it comes to Devil May Cry, hardcore battles and flashy combos are standard affair. This reboot is no different, but not without a few adjustments. Weapon switching and usage involves holding the right and left trigger buttons; the slow and damaging Devil arms and the fast but weak Angel weapons. This makes weapon switching a lot easier, leading you to create many chain combos and tactics to suit your battles.

One gripe we have is the lack of a lock-on function; we are unable to grapple flying enemies to the ground first as a result. While the previous Dante rakes up Stylish points by constantly switching different moves and weapons, this one emphasizes more on damage, which could be disappointing to some veteran players of the Devil May Cry franchise.

Traversing Limbo is sheer pleasure despite some of the easy puzzles littered throughout the game. Just imagine a flight Kratos from God of War, minus the cinematic quick time events. Even as you complete the game, finding the hidden copper, argent and gold keys littered throughout the 20 levels and its corresponding doors is a challenge in itself, with one of the keys require to do an air lift or using combos to create a double-jump loop to get to those hard to reach areas.

“I’m a hardcore Devil May Cry fan. Why should I play DmC?”

If you are looking to entertain yourself with a solid third-person action game, DmC is the one for you. But if you have some prejudices against this new Dante due to the new look and style, we say give this Nephilim a chance and try the demo out. All in all, DmC: Devil may Cry is one of the top action games we have seen it quite a while, from a Western perspective courtesy of Ninja Theory.