DmC: Devil May Cry, A Review

Capcom's Devil May Cry series has always been one of my favorite beat'em up series. There has always been something so satisfying about beating the crap out of demons while the main character Dante spouts off one-liners and acts like the total bad-ass that he is.

So, when I heard that Capcom was rebooting the franchise and saw the revamped look of Dante, I will admit I was a little hesitant. While this new game could be great and fit right in with the rest of the series, it could also be a piece of crap and replace Devil May Cry 2 as my least favorite game in the series. So, is DmC: Devil May Cry a horrible mess of a game or is it a game that will make the shit-talking fans take back their words?

The gameplay in DmC: Devil May Cry is extremely fluid and fun. Finding different ways to chain combo after combo is incredibly fun and entertaining.The camera is also great and almost never gets in the way. My only major complaints with gameplay is the lack of a lock-on trigger that was present in the old games and the weakness of Dante's guns Ebony and Ivory. Whenever a flying demon appeared, I wished I could just lock on it and take it out with my pair of guns so I could get back to beating the crap out of the other demons with my sword and scythe.

Like in all of the other games, there are a number of different difficulty modes that make the game more challenging for the player. There are three "default" modes (Human, Devil Hunter, and Nephilim) and four modes that you can unlock (Son of Sparda, Dante Must Die, Heaven Or Hell, and Hell And Hell). The number of modes add some replayability to the game, which I managed to beat in about 8 to 9 hours.

DmC is also does great in the sound department. The voice actors do a good job of delivery some rather corny lines and not making them groan worthy. Tim Phillips, the voice actor of Dante, delivers a good performance and felt true to this new characterization of the main character. The music is also fantastic. The beats really get you pumped to kick some demon but and it never really go repetitive (which is a bonus for me).

The graphics in the game are absolutely amazing. When you're running around in Limbo, the colors are so vibrant and the level design is laid out very well and is just a sight to behold. The character models are also well done, even the much maligned re-design of Dante. While I wasn't happy with it at first, it quickly grew on me and I'm now rather fond of it.

Like the other games in the series, the boss battles are incredibly fun and looks just as amazing. Each boss battle is different from the other and it feels great when you finally beat them. However, some of the bosses do telegraph their attacks a little too much, but that's only a minor complaint.

Finally, there's the story. In this game, the demons have secretly taken over the world and control almost every aspect of human life. An organization know as "the Order", which is lead by Dante's brother, are trying to take down the demons, but are labelled as terrorists by the media. After being attacked by a Hunter Demon while nursing a hangover, Dante joins the fight against the forces of hell. While there are a great number of predictable parts to the plot, I still enjoyed the story and felt like it really fit the style of the game.

While some die-hard fans of the series might decry the game for changing Dante's appearance, DmC is still a good game that easily lives up to the other entries in the series. If you like a good action/beat'em up game with gorgeous graphics and great music, I suggest giving DmC: Devil May Cry a chance.

Recommendations

Purchase: Buy DmC if you love hack & slash games with good graphics and great sound. 

Rent: Rent it if you like hack & slash games, but aren't a big fan of the Devil May Cry series and you aren't going to try the different difficulty modes. 

Skip: Skip it you really aren't a fan of hack & slash games or you are a die-hard fan who won't be able to get over the changes Ninja Theory has made to the series.