DMC: Devil May Cry Review

14 Jan, 2013

Dante is back, although you may not recognise him. This Dante is a young outcast who lacks respect for anyone and while he is also found sporting a new haircut, some things never change, as he still kicks demon arse, perhaps in more style than ever before. I'm pretty sure I was in the minority, but when I first found out Ninja Theory were taking over the reigns for the DMC: Devil May Cry reboot I was overjoyed.

Having loved every minute of past titles from this developer, such as Heavenly Sword and Enslaved, it was a bit difficult for me to see where things could go wrong. Sure, die-hard fans of the series may not like change, but sometimes change is what's needed and there is no better proof of this than Ninja Theory's excellent entry into this popular series.

The story of DMC: Devil May Cry takes us back to Dante's origins, allowing us to see how he came to be the demon slaying powerhouse that he is. Obviously this involves learning how Dante got his powers in the first place, with the first ten levels of the game in particular allowing you to learn the ropes and get used to the sheer amount of new skills which Dante acquires along the way. In order to learn of his origins, early in the game Dante meets up with a mysterious character known as Kat while being attacked by a large hunter demon.

After escaping, our hero soon finds out that Kat comes to his from a group known as the Order who is out to take down the demons of Limbo City. Once at the headquarters of this group, Dante meets someone named Vergil, who in an attempt to convince Dante to join takes him through his past, it is here that Dante discovers that Vergil is his twin brother and they decide to work together in order to kill Mundus, the king of the demon world.

One of the main twists of DMC: Devil May Cry is that Dante can only fight when he has been pulled into Limbo, this is a dangerous place where demons spawn from all places with the task of killing Dante at all costs. To counter this, throughout the game Dante gains weapons and abilities which help him to take the demons down. To begin with, Dante has his trusty sword known as Rebellion which helps him to crack some demon bones, however soon it becomes obvious that this alone is not enough, which is why he soon gains access to more powerful weapons such as Ebony & Ivory (his trusty guns); Arbiter, a demonic axe which delivers almighty blows and breaks through enemy shield and Osiris, an angelic scythe which slashes through enemies with precision and speed. As you advance past level 10 things become a lot tougher, which is why even more powerful weapons such as Aquila (Death Stars) and Kablooey (Shotgun) appear, both of which are handy for taking enemies out of the sky.

Combining these weapons is the aim of the game, with points being awarded for combo variety, parrying attacks, evades and killing streaks. Should you get hit during a fight or use any health boosters then you'll lose points. The main aim is to finish the level in the most stylish way possible and if an 'S' rank pops up once complete then you know you have done your job properly.

The enemies in DMC: Devil May Cry are definitely the main highlight, although there are plenty of others too. As you work your way through the 20 levels you'll come up against all manner of beast, each more ghastly than the last. While each enemy is challenging enough to defeat in the normal difficulty modes, things ramp up even more once you complete the game, thanks to the unlocking of new difficulty modes such as Son of Sparda, Dante Must Die and the Heaven and Hell, each of which will have you whimpering back to Nephilim mode with your whip between your legs. As you work your way through each level, Dante will earn the ability to upgrade his weapons, allowing gamers to unleash all sorts of customisable combos on the enemy.

There are plenty of skill sets to unlock, each of which adds a little variety to Dante's attacks. In order to unlock these new abilities there are statues spread throughout the various level within the game, often before a major set piece. Once you enter this section you'll be met with the aforementioned upgrade options as well as the option to buy health boosters and golden orbs (which allow you to continue from where you left off should you be killed).

As far as presentation goes Devil May Cry certainly does not disappoint. Ninja Theory has always been a top notch studio when it comes to high production values, with titles such as Heavenly Sword and Enslaved showing us how much talent this particular developer has at its disposal. Devil May Cry mirrors a lot of what's great about these titles, providing us with some spectacular graphics and set pieces.

All of this is complemented by some fantastic acting and storytelling which provide plenty of special moments and the occasional scene which will crack a smile or two from fans of the series. At around 20 missions long, DMC: Devil May Cry provides plenty of value for money; however the main hope for the developer seems to be that people invest a lot of time in the game by delving into the higher difficulty modes. This is clear by the included leader boards and stats, which are there to entice the perfectionist into doing just that little bit more.

When DMC: Devil May Cry was first revealed fans of the series certainly made their feelings clear about certain points, however thanks to its excellent production values, high paced action and sense of humour, Ninja Theory's title is as good as any which bare the Devil May Cry name.

(Version Tested: PS3)

Pros

- Excellent presentation

- Plenty of replay value

- A great entry into the series

Cons

- Story not the most interesting

- Combat can get repetitive

Edited On 14 Jan, 2013

Joe is the Editor in Chief at Shopto news, he loves gaming and regularly writes news when sitting on the train to events even though he has a 3DS in his pocket.

Comments

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“ i got mine saturday and ive only done the first 2 chapters but i have to say im loving it to be honest and i find the story interesting atm so i presume from your review it slows down... all in all as a DMC fan anyway i think its totally worth getting ”

Shep 5 months ago

“ I though the story was good throughout but then i suppose thats just down to the preference of the reviewer i mean not everyones going to like the same thing. ”

Zombieflamingo 5 months ago

“ I've played it almost to completion, and it was the story that kept me going back, as with the gameplay. The best fights are when they overcrowd you with normal enemies, and shove in an angel-only and devil-only enemy into the crowd so you have to mix up your attack or face getting destroyed. I'm only doing it on Nephilim just now, so can't wait to give it a go at the higher levels. ”

DynamiteWhyte 5 months ago

“ great review did they have atleast an unlockable old dante skin? ”

Brett 5 months ago

“ You get a costume with white hair after you complete it on normal still the same jacket and so on but his hair is white. There may be different ones on the different difficulties to unlock though. ”

Zombieflamingo 5 months ago

“ This game looks fantastic, really tempted now ”

Pyroloveridge 5 months ago

“ Great review, I like the idea of the leaderboards to encourage a second play through. I know the graphics and combat are quite good though after playing the demo. Also would like an unlockable Dante skin, the white hair one sounds ok. As long as this game isn't as much of a let down that 4 was then i will be happy. ”

LFC Bywater 5 months ago

“ May pick this up at some point, the rumor of the next gen looming makes me want to save my pennies. ”

iMerle iDixon 5 months ago

“ Not too hot on DMC games in general, but Ninja Theory have done a decent job with this game if the demo is any indicator. Shame they've had to take so much crap over it for things out of their control though. ”

PrometheusFan 5 months ago

“ I am loving every minute of this game :) I'm glad the game Is getting good reviews. ”

need4speed 5 months ago

“ I take it that means its a good game then? :p Would love to have it right now aswell/ ”

Rachael 5 months ago

“ Really looking forward to playing this one... it looks amazing and exciting all rolled into one! I wonder how it compares to the previous four incarnations, which I've played throughout (4th one was the worst) ”

Beazi 5 months ago

“ 3 > 4 > 1 > 2 IMO. 3 was easily the best. Miles ahead of the rest. 4 gave new life to the series in terms of hte abilitys Nero had. 1 was the start, but it didn't bring out Dante as well as 3 did. And 2 was just a game I'd rather forget. This new one is right up their with 3 though. ”

DynamiteWhyte 5 months ago

“ For me one was the best, then 3,4,2. Just really couldn't get into 4. This one looks crazy though, and also there's the Vergil DLC which will be awesome too. ”

LFC Bywater 5 months ago

“ Haven't played any DMC since the first game! Are the problems in the PS3 version over-exaggerated - I'm trying to work out whether to get it on PS3 or 360. ”

shiny miller 5 months ago

“ I have it on the PS3 and it has been playing perfectly fine. The only problem I've had, and I've cleared the game, is that about twice in my playthrough, the sound randomly dropped, but picked up a second later. Only happened twice, and not at important dialogue moments. But still a bit annoying. ”

DynamiteWhyte 5 months ago

“ Brilliant review Joe, Made me even more excited to play the game. Only thing i am a little bit worried about is the combat getting stale. 20 missions sounds like a very good length though. ”

Rachael 5 months ago

“ It has to be better than DMC4 though. That was the definition of stale and repetitive. You had to play through all the levels twice! Not optionally! ”

ali cat 5 months ago

“ I cant wait to give it a proper go. ”

Beazi 5 months ago

“ Excited for this to arrive today. I've heard the PC version looks great running at 60fps. ”

ali cat 5 months ago

“ I got this game day 1. I was happy with the game overall. I never had any beef with the new look or studio because any team can make a good or bad game, it all depends on the product at the end of the day. The action was fun, high flying like it needed to be. The story, although not great, was better than the other entrants in the series. It had political undertones, a much broader scope and good way to make you think for the next game. Dante himself is still badass, only even more of an A-Hole than before. Vergil actually has a personality, not just a monotone feel to him. He even makes for what good be a good villain if need be. Kat is..... weak, she's mainly there to provide inspiration to Dante and nothing more. Princess is in another Castle type of thing. Music is rocking, as it needs to be, and the techno remixes for certain levels were great. Level design AWESOME, the look and scale of what was going on was just pretty to look at and certain levels like Bob Barbus boss fight and the Nightclub were crazy. Overall it was fun, but not without flaws like no Lock-On for some reason, glitches here and there and less like-able characters that don't grab you to care about finishing the game. BUT I DID ”

Tim 5 months ago

“ Loved this. Had one full playthrough and will DEFINITELY be keeping it for further goes. The combat was good, a wide range of weapons and skills, and I thought the story was pretty cool, and did a good job in telling the back story intended. ”

CookieMcCrumble 4 months ago

“ Looking forward to picking this up. I really enjoyed DMC4 and feared the worst when Capcom changed developers as I didn't like previous Ninja Theory games, but reviews have been positive and it looks awesome so will definitely give it a go. ”

Oli 4 months ago

“ I remember getting so frustrated in the demo on that jumping puzzle, im not sure if i should pick it up due to my lack of patience when it comes to that ”

Daniel 4 months ago

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