DmC-Devil May Cry - PS3 demo review

 

 

 

Change is not always a bad thing? Why then, were fans of the Devil May Cry series so pissed off at the handover of the latest game from Capcom to Ninja Theory? I know why. Because Capcom done such a good job developing all the Devil May Cry games and the series had a lot of dedicated fans; unfortunately a lot of those fans threw a hissy fit when concept art of the new look Dante was made public, it was that drastic change that poked the beehive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even though I wouldn’t describe myself as a big fan, I have played all the Devil May Cry’s and even though I enjoyed them, I didn’t really care when I found out that the 5^th instalment was to be developed by Ninja Theory because I truly believed that the series needed an overhaul, a fresh start. You can’t drag a good thing out for too long and in my opinion that is what Capcom was starting to do.

I won’t bother going into the story or even bring up the old Devil May Cry anymore, because right now it’s all about the rebirth. And what a rebirth it is!
Upon starting the demo I was greeted with the option of 2 levels to choose from, the first is called Under Watch. After selecting this you then choose your difficulty setting - Human, Devil Hunter, Nephilim (the offspring between an angel and a demon) or Son of Sparda which at first is locked until you complete the demo under the Nephilim difficulty. So, Nephilim it was.

After the loading screen you are shown what is probably one of the best looking cut scenes I have ever seen in a game. It gives you a brief overview into the DmC universe, where the city of Limbo has been taken over and ruled by demons, turning the citizens into brainwashed slaves.
Dante lives outside this society, a rebel to the demons and considered a terrorists to the humans. He is contacted by his twin brother Virgil, leader of the Order, an organisation dedicated to slaying the demons that rule the city of Limbo. You later learn that the demon called Mundus, who as well as being the one responsible for Dante's angel mother’s death and his demon father’s imprisonment, wants to see Dante's head roll as well.
The lighting, voice acting, facial expressions and the overall style and atmosphere made me feel like I was watching a high budget movie trailer and the same can be said when the actual game starts.
You are accompanied by a member of the Order in the city streets when you are suddenly spotted by the demon infested security cameras and are pulled into limbo, the alternate demon world.
And it is here when the games graphics and stunning environments really kick into gear.

The environment looks amazing, really amazing. The buildings and city streets deform, black ink like tentacles cover large areas, heavy gusts of wind send litter and debris flying past your face and remnants from the other side sometimes flicker into view. There is just an unbelievable amount of detail and mood put into everything.

It isn’t long before you encounter the first fight, and the fighting in this game is on par with the visuals, you battle gruesome enemies with a great control system. You have a sword, twin pistols (Ebony and Ivory), a scythe and an axe. You can seamlessly switch between them during battle and even when button mashing (like I was for the first few fights) the moves that Dante pulls off make you look like a pro, because every move flows perfectly into the next, giving you a good amount of combos to pull off and play around with. You can swing at a demon with your sword, thrust him into the air with your scythe then blast away at him with Ebony and Ivory before jumping up and slamming down on the demon with your powerful axe all in one smooth action.

Subtle touches such as Dante’s stumble after swinging the blade really give weight to the controls and add an element of realism.

Staying true to the original games, you still have things to collect, such as lost souls which when freed increase your mission completion bonus, Keys which unlock doors to special trials and red skulls which act as in-game currency to upgrade Dante and his weapons.

Your weapons can also be used to traverse the environment; you can pull out chunks of the buildings with your axe then hook your scythe onto the ledge to quickly pull Dante up and onto it, although there were some parts where this was quite hard to pull off. It seems that you have to be in an exact spot in order for the weapons to find the attachment point and it can get a bit frustrating when you have to swing from point to point in mid-air, only to find that the scythe refuses to detect the clearly visible attachment marker.

Another very small nit-pick is the issue with using items, like the other games you must open the menu and scroll through lists to find what you want. But why is this still the case? You have 4 perfectly decent arrow buttons on the PS3 controller going to waste, it would just be much easier to press the up arrow button and have Dante instantly use a health star.

The second mission in the demo pits you against a giant maggot like boss, living in the sewers beneath the city; once again the well written and well-acted character dialogue shines through as Dante and the Demon exchange a lot of arguing and fuck you’s before the fight begins.

I won’t go into the details of the boss fight because there isn’t really much else to say. It’s a great, well thought out sequence and like the rest of the demo was a joy to play.

After playing this demo, DmC – Devil May Cry has me itching to get the full game on its January 2013 release and I highly recommend you download the demo, even if you aren’t familiar with the Devil May Cry series.

 

Reviewed by Mark Wilson – 12/12/2012