5HoursIn-DMC: Devil May Cry

New Dante with mandatory Ebony and Ivory

After far too long a hiatus, I thought I’d jump back into the New Year by having a look at DMC: Devil May Cry. Now for a reboot, it must be said that Ninja Theory (developer) did a fantastic job. Initially there was a fan base backlash because of the restyled Dante (side-note, there is an option to play through the game with the old Dante character model). However, it’s been out for nearly two years now and I must admit, I had to tear myself away to write this review.

Capcom (publisher) has handed the reigns over to Ninja Theory and they have done a great job in my view. I have been playing this on PC and like many hack and slash style games, I would advise using a controller to play…on a side note, there is also a port for Devil May Cry 3 for the PC, don’t touch it with a dirty stick, the control layout is indescribably atrocious. And back to DMC!

Totally no references to the old Dante look

Seriously this game ticked pretty much all the boxes for me. Combat feels fluid, as you progress you get a nice range of weapons. I would like to say that there is a variety in the enemies…but so far there’s been about 7-12 enemies, however there are different styles within that (kind of like a reskinned enemy that can only be damaged by angel weapons or devil weapons). Don’t get me started on the soundtrack…I don’t care what genre of music you are into, Combichrist blaring in the background will send shivers down your back as you  tear into the unholy legions.

Five hours in and the story is there, I’m kind of worried that it could end abruptly but I have to say it has been a thrill ride so far. Story-wise, it’s your typical reunited broken family, going after said fellow who initially broke up the family/ripped out your mother’s heart (as you do…). It’s a hack and slash revenge story with quirky protagonist who is borderline narcissistic. But hey, he grows on you!

The character models are pretty sweet too (Except Lilith....)

The level style is what you’d expect; get from A to B using new toys whilst killing enemy types 1a, 2c and 3a/b. But it’s the delivery that makes this game pretty damn fun….did I mention Combichrist playing in the background?

The game sounds good, looks good and it feels good. If it were cake it would be a sponge cake with jam and cream. Pretty basic but it’s got everything you want…hell throw some chocolate on there if you want.

My only qualms about the game is the lack of a lock-on function and the upgrade settings. When you have to use a particular weapon type against a certain enemy, leaping across the floor to hit said enemy with a useless attack when you meant to use it on his little buddy is a bit of a pain. The lock-on feature in Darksiders 2 is something that could be put to use here. Also I felt that a lot of the upgrades are…well unnecessary. In the middle of a fight I’m not thinking about unleashing the ultimate combo…I’m more along the lines of “gaahh take that! Yeah, now who’s next??” My attention span is more attuned to making things dead quickly than looking pretty whilst doing it (although I will admit I will play through it again and try to get a good score, I’ve been mainly single Ss so far).

DMC is one of those games where you can just kick back and chop some enemies up for an hour or two. The plot is not intensive at all, but it's not boring either. However, I will stay that people should watch all the cut-scenes. The character modelling and animations are fantastic.

This chapter will make you rethink bout buying energy drinks....

After five hours I can definitely see myself playing through this game again at some point to find all the hidden goodies.

I really recommend this game to anyone into action games or hack and slash style things. Seriously if you haven’t already, give it a shot. It’s one of those games you can just pick up, mash away at a controller and listen to some awesome music.

DMC for me is something I’ll stick with to the end. Gameplay is fun, it looks great, although Lilith looks…rather odd (anyone wondering she’s the one whose face is…rather saggy so to say) so give it a shot!

By the way did I mention Combichrist?