I stayed away from information about this game for a long time – I can’t remember exactly why, maybe it was because Ninja Theory were developing it, I’m not sure. I really hope it wasn’t just because Dante had black hair that I wasn’t that interested! My first hands-on with the game was via the demo that was released late last year. I was not impressed. The lack of a lock-on button annoyed me more than the new Dante. It annoyed me so much that I never actually finished the demo, I’d always get halfway through, try to hold a trigger and do a Stinger or a launcher and fail, and turn it off in disgust. The games release date rolled around, which was so near payday that I felt it’d be rude not to give it a whirl. Maybe they had snuck a lock-on feature into the full version without telling anyone?
The first thing that struck me was the art direction. The funfair setting was striking to say the least, with neon flairs clamouring against demonic reds, then everything losing contrast when Dante came out of Limbo… The visuals continued to impress me throughout the game. The mansion level really set the visual tone for the rest of the game, and established the environment as an antagonist, with corridors lengthening and whole sections of the building tearing themselves off in an effort to prevent Dante from continuing. The city of Limbo extended upon this, with the houses lining the streets crushing themselves together, and floors falling out from under our hero. The levels themselves go to crazy lengths later on, both visually and structurally. The gauntlet-style level set in the club was a highlight. So colourful compared to the previous games, and the way the demon world just didn’t obey the laws of physics was mind-blowingly delightful. While the game did eventually fall back to gothic underworld stylings, with rocky caves and arcane mechanical contraptions, it was only for a couple of levels very late on in the game, and quickly reverted to the poisoned real-world aesthetic once you were out of the Furnace of Souls. Overall I was very taken with the visual aspect, and extend my respect to the creators for bringing such a distinct and vibrant world to life.
The story and characterisation was pretty good – not at all cheesy or overblown like the Japanese games – but gritty, with a heavy dose of humanity. That the characters were rendered so well helped – DmC is second only to Halo 4 in that respect. And it was great to see that certain characters remained true to form, even in a reboot.
In terms of enemies, DmC did a lot of things right. The rank and file Stygians were easy to hack away at, while tougher, more versatile enemies required more advanced strategies. Shotguns to remove the wings of flying enemies, charged up punches to stop larger enemies in their tracks, spinning your scythe to deflect enemy projectiles, Demon pulling heavy bad guys so they topple over, pulling groups of enemies towards you with throwing blades, Ninja Theory made sure you had to make the most of Dante’s abilities to win. The swapping of triggers from Angel to Demon mode was tricky at first, especially during the platforming Angel Lift/Demon Pull/Angel Glide combo shenanigans. I think they are what helped me nail it in the end though – either that or the Witches shields being a priority to get rid of. Seriously, the big fellas who run and jump on you may have killed me the most, but I distinctly remember there being a Witch there on every bloody occasion distracting me! The lack of a visible lock-on icon didn’t bother me in the end – Angel Lifting and Demon Pulling alleviated the lack somewhat, and at some point it just clicked – double-tapping forward to Stinger and holding B to launch felt more natural. I’m glad that a version of Nero’s Devil Bringer not only made it through, but was expanded upon. It was great fun in Devil May Cry 4, and even more fun in this game. I felt it also made the platforming more interesting, almost like real-time QTE’s, if such a juxtaposition were possible. I have mixed feeling about the inclusion of enemies that can only be harmed by Angel or Demon aligned weapons – on the one hand they add a layer of tension to proceedings, but on the other hand, they can feel cheap when you have to cut the (already small) move-set in half to deal with them, repeating moves that you know work because you don’t really have many other options.
In terms of combat – less was almost more. I was slightly disappointed at the lack of imagination in the weapons. Don’t get me wrong, the weapons in DmC are great, but are slightly dull and lack personality compared to Devil Arms from the previous games such as Pandora, Nevan, Cerberus, Agni & Rudra or Gilgamesh.
Rebellion is Dante’s standard sword, a gift from his father. As it is balanced between speed, power and the amount of targets it can hit at once, it is very versatile. Holding the left trigger gives access to Dante’s Angelic weapons, Osiris and Aquila. These have lower attack power, but are swift and can hit a lot of targets at once, making them ideal for controlling crowds of lesser enemies. Osiris is deadly in the air, as it can keep your enemies up there with you until they die, even dragging others up from the floor to join their friends. Aquila is also deadly in the air, rushing and focusing quick attacks on one enemy, or is arguably more devastating as a facilitator on the ground – it can drag enemies towards you, stunning them for a vital few seconds leaving you free to unleash fury. The Demonic weapons, Arbiter and Eryx, are accessed via the right trigger, and tend to have slower, more powerful attacks that deal massive damage to single enemies. I was unsure of Arbiter at first, but once I learned to slash twice quickly with Rebellion, then pause, hold the trigger and use the third part of Arbiters combo, it became a mainstay. Eryx bears a similarity to the gauntlets of old Devil May Cry games, only with a reduced move-set. Specifically, no kicks. And no multi-hit combo madness, either. I never used the guns as main damage-dealers, more as handy situational weapons, which set up attacks from the melee weapons. Ebony and Ivory were useful for chipping away at far-away enemies, or interrupting those who were winding up an attack. The Revenant shotgun came into it’s own against the Harpies, and could destroy all of Vergil’s Summoned Swords at once, which was nice. Kablooey was useful when I remembered it was there, and sometimes added an extra dimension to a combo. I feel I would need to practise to make the most of it though. The firing rate on it is hideous, but a neat trick to get more shots off quicker with it is to jump immediately after firing off a dart, then firing off another, then double-jumping to get another quick shot off.
So, while there were less styles and weapons to choose from, and thusly, less moves, the ones included did tend to be the staple Devil May Cry techniques. Sure, they could’ve put a few more in there (double-tap forward then hit B instead of Y, make jumps damaging with certain Devil Arms equipped, RT+A in the air could’ve done something (an Air Raid-esque move would’ve been nice), Devil Trigger exclusive moves), but as far as I’m concerned, this is where the lack of a lock-on hurts most – less moves. Every move in DmC had a distinct purpose or role and felt useful, something that you couldn’t honestly say about Twosome Time.
I got the feeling that Ninja Theory chickened out a couple of times – this game was threatening to be a big “FUCK YOU” to those people who didn’t like the new “emo” Dante. Early on in the game, a white wig lands on Dante’s head, while he is conveniently stood next to a recently displaced mirrored surface. Stopping in his tracks, taking a good look at his long, white (and decidedly “old” Dante) locks, he comments “Not in a million years”. A teasing dig, suggesting that the black cropped hair was here for good. Subtly, around half-way through the game, and after activating his Devil Trigger a few times, a patch of white hair manifests itself, and his usually black jacket took on a distinctly red glow. By the closing cut-scene, after he is forced to activate his Devil Trigger to put a stop to Vergil’s rampancy, his hair is totally white. That wasn’t how Ninja Theory chickened out though. I quite liked the subtle origin story of the white hair – it was the DLC costume of “Classic Dante” that proved they were capable of pandering to the whiners. Long white hair, long red coat, it was straight out of Devil May Cry 4. The other example of them giving in was in the name. Originally, this was simply DmC. A drastic shortening of the Devil May Cry name, with the link to the past only there for the eagle-eyed, or those who had it spelled out in magazines or the internet. When the game finally made it to shop shelves, it was DmC: Devil May Cry.
DmC was quite hard in places, but it was that kind of fair-hardness, the kind where it’s your fault if you die, you never feel as if the game has cheated you. I am looking forward to the DLC, both the Bloody Palace and Vergil’s Downfall, not only because I have got 1000/1000 Gamerscore from this game, but I’ve completed all the modes. I started on Devil Hunter, to get to grips with things and enjoy the story without too much frustration. Completing this mode unlocked the Son of Sparda difficulty, which I dove into without a second thought. The waves of enemies were quite a step up from Devil Hunter. It wasn’t so much the combinations of enemies, but the several waves of bad guys. Sending out a Ghost Rage and a Blood Rage, dealing with them, then immediately sending a Butcher and a Dreamrunner, and then spawning a Witch and some Harpies and a Tyrant? It was quite tricky, in a good way. After I finished Son of Sparda, I did a whole run on Human (the easiest setting), taking my time and exploring the environment for keys, doors and trapped souls. I’m pleased to say I found them all without a guide. The secret missions were quite easy too, the only one that gave me any real trouble was extreme traversal – racing the wrong way through the Virility warehouse, hitting checkpoints as you go.
Heaven or Hell is a tricky one – all the enemies may die in one hit (Heaven!), but the thing is, so does Dante (Hell!). The most challenging part was quickly removing the shields from the enemies that carried them and shooting them before any of the other enemies hit you. I then moved on to Dante Must Die – the hardest standard mode. Featuring the hardest combinations of bad guys right from the start, and a good few waves of them per fight, it was tough. I alternated doing missions on Dante Must Die and Nephilim difficulty, in an attempt to get an SSS rank on every level. They were both challenging in their own ways. Getting enough style points on Nephilim to pass the SSS threshold was just as hard as surviving the DMD onslaught at times. I did them both in the end, and thought I’d have a crack at Hell and Hell, it’s like Heaven or Hell in that Dante dies in one hit… But the enemies have Son of Sparda levels of hit points. Mundus was surprisingly tough, while Vergil was as tough as expected. You can kind of troll him a little, jump in with a shotgun blast to shatter all his swords, then drop the Arbiter on him, so he teleports to the sky. If you run under him then he’ll drop down on you, which you Demon-dodge (obviously), then Y-Y-pause-RT+Y for nice, boosted damage.
Then, when I had finally completed Hell And Hell, I felt I was able to write a review about this game with authority. And there it was.
