DmC: Devil May Cry - Honest Opinions

[anthony87]

Haven't played the game yet but I really enjoyed the demo so I'll be picking it up soon enough. As much as I'd like to see a legit DMC5, fact is the "story" was going nowhere fast and they screwed the pooch entirely in that regard with DMC4 so it'll be interesting to see what the future of the series is after this.

 

[Artemis923]

I don't know what's worse: how awful this game is, or how fans' opinions are trashed about because "derp yer a fanboy".

 

[Tohuvabohu]

The story they came up with is the kind of juvenile power fantasy that you would expect out of a middle-school student, with boring and trite dialogue and some of the worst one-liners you're ever going to hear in a game. Worse still is the cast of characters, one of whom is effectively a cardboard cutout, another who is cartoonishly inconsistent in his actions throughout the run of the game, and a protagonist who seems to go out of his way to Poochy is up, only to result in the most unintentionally loathsome player character in recent gaming history.

If you take it all as a farce then you may be able to get some enjoyment out of the story in this game, but that's a defense mechanism. This is, far and away, Ninja Theory's worst game from a storytelling prospective, and I continue to be shocked and appalled that such a formerly outstanding studio would release a product of such low quality.

From what I understand, the stories of their previous games were not entirely written by Ninja Theory staff. They brought in writers, to basically 'fix' the stories they had written.

I remember when they brought in Alex Garland, the writer for Enslaved, he claimed what NT currently had was pretty bad. Namely in regards to Monkey, who in NT's original draft, was a callous loathsome dick.

For example, I think the first serious discussion we had about narrative was on the very first day that I, Tameem and the level designers all sat down together. We got to a section where Monkey was walking down a walkway, and he sees an escaping slave trying to pull himself up to the walkway. And instead of helping the guy up, Monkey kicked him in the face and sent him to his death. They thought this projected the idea that Monkey was a badass. Whereas, to me, it projected the idea that Monkey was a bit of a ****.

http://www.edge-online.com/features/interview-alex-garland-part-two

Here's what Rhianna Pratchett had to say about her involvement in Heavenly Sword

My job was to brainstorm the story, characters, relationship, themes, etc. with Tameem Antoniades (creative director) and Andy Serkis (dramatic director) and then write up profiles, revise story documents, and completely rewrite the script (without changing the basic spine of the story too much) with those ideas in mind. From that the cutscenes were drawn and visually scoped out.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2007/09/rhianna-pratchett-talks-heavenly-sword-sony-and-andy-serkis/

It seems like DmC is what happens when Ninja Theory is left to their own devices. As evidenced by the previous iteration of Monkey, they have a very bad impression of what a "badass" is supposed to be.

 

[Beryl77]

I don't really like it and before some ignorant just shouts that I don't like it because of the hair change, then shut up. It has nothing to do with the hair.

My problem is that they took the things out of a dmc game that made dmc games good in the first place. It's not a bad game but it's not a good dmc game. It took a step back from the other games in the gameplay department.

The games were always really fast paced. Quick combos, switching weapons, continue combos, switch powers, etc. All that went really fast and if you wanted a high style score in the hardest difficulty setting, that's what you had to do. That feeling of speed is gone a bit here.
Weapon changing is too sluggish for example. They also don't encourage to use different combos. Just pick one and keep using that. What makes that even worse is that some enemies can't even be hurt by certain weapons and you can't use whatever weapon and combos you want against the enemies, you're forced to use a certain weapon. That takes the creative freedom out that previews games offered.
The game is also too easy. I managed way too quickly and easily an SSS rating on the highest difficulty. It's now based on damage done. I've mentioned this above, you can just keep using the same attack and get a high rating. Switching weapons and styles isn't necessary anymore. Once you're in the air, most enemies can't do anything anymore to you and it's easy to stay in the air for a long time.

One more thing. Dante and a 1200 old worm just saying fuck you and other childish insults you to each other a couple times? I know that the dialog never was a strong point of dmc games but that's just stupid. It sounds like they hired a middle schooler to write the dialog (and the story sometimes).

 

[Mister K]

I will not say anything about actual gameplay, because I have not played the game or demo.
But I am currently watching a playthrough of it, so here is what I think about other aspects:

Graphics: looks nice, but playing vidiagamez for graphic is like watching porn for a story.

Aestetics: also nice, but too many acid colours, which hurt my eyes.

Music: not really liking it. While in previous instalments music had suiting rhythm, this one does not, which hurts the flow.

Presentation: Clusterf*$k. Opening sequence did it to me. You may make main character a womanizer or an innocent sheep, gentle lover or lust hungry beast, but you do NOT start any game, movie, whatever, with shots of female reproductive organs and two females making out. Class people. Class!

Main character: I can't say that I REALLY dislike him, he may be as rebellious as devs want, it is their right (too much swearings, though). But what I DO find revolting is NT's treatment of heritage. Example: during one of the cutscenes, a white wig lands on Dantes head. He looks in the mirror and says: "Not in the million years". That is just a big Screw You aimed at fans of the series. No matter how much potential client, potential buyer annoys you, you always treat him/her with respect if you want your stuff to be bought. Also, why couldn't they simply change his name to, for example, Caesar? The whole controversy would have been avoided. Imagine, that if you like, for example Stree Fighter series, it gets rebooted and suddenly Ryu is a brash, cocky street punk, who learned his skills from his father. Now it doesn't sound to horrible, but imagine if it really happened. But change his name to, for example, Shiro, and negative reaction is soothed.

Minor: I like how guns shoot, I dislike that gaining SSS rank is a lot easier.

OK, here is something to lighten up the mood:

 

[ex275w]

-snip-

Great post, though I would disagree on some points.

I don't Nero is really hated for whining, it's more the fact that he's a carbon copy of Dante, who while he makes the same insane stunts, he's not really enjoying them, making the player angry, kind of Max Payne in the 3rd game. He's a serious guy in a cheesy story, which breaks immersion.

Devil May Cry 4 also has problems with how limited Nero seems to Dante, all solutions to the problems Nero has is, use your arm to become Zangief. It should've been a weapon with it's own combos and the grappling, maybe the grapples as a finishing move only.

My problem with DmC is the dialogue and the fact that most of the world doesn't care about satire about America since I don't live there. I don't care about the Glenn Beck/Bill O' Reilly/Skrillex guy since I really don't know who they are.

Also what I've seen of the game play makes me just want to play god of war, but I can't comment on it.

Still 1 and 3 had a easy and cheesy plot and awesome action choreography (OK maybe 3) using moves you can pull in the game. They should've made DMC with Dante again as the protagonist and Nero as the new Vergil, make him possessed or something.

I haven't played 2, since I've heard it's horrendous.

EDIT: I love how the defenders and haters of the game are equally fervent and childish in their insults. I'm siding with the haters since they usually have more constructive things to say than: "You don't like ti cause of the black hair."

 

[Burst6]

I think the issue people have with anything like this is the fact no one likes change; yet we complain and complain about things that don't.

No, that's not it at all. No one likes change if it changes something well established. Most people don't want too much change in individual IP's, they want change in what new IP's are created.

My final thoughts so far (I haven't beaten it) is that this game is Ninjas theory take on a established franchise that was lacking innovation and creativity. They choose to do something different with it instead of just cashing in and trying to make something that followed the originals (ex. Halo 3 to Halo 4). Capcom as a publisher took a risk on the project and it worked in my opinion.

I could bend this another way. Perhaps they didn't take a risk by changing it. Perhaps ninja theory wanted to make something new but Capcom didn't want to take the risk so they gave them the DMC name to coast on. That's just as bad as making minimal changes to a series.

Everyone who is complaining about the storytelling, the gameplay, or the mechanics are just unwilling to accept change and are the reasons we will always have COD, Halo, and constant sequels that never evolve over the period of there existence.

Really? So people can't have legitimate criticism for the game, they're just being stubborn. That's not really something to say if you want a legitimate discussion.

 

[Vidiot]

-snip-

Great post, though I would disagree on some points.

I don't Nero is really hated for whining, it's more the fact that he's a carbon copy of Dante, who while he makes the same insane stunts, he's not really enjoying them, making the player angry, kind of Max Payne in the 3rd game. He's a serious guy in a cheesy story, which breaks immersion.

Devil May Cry 4 also has problems with how limited Nero seems to Dante, all solutions to the problems Nero has is, use your arm to become Zangief. It should've been a weapon with it's own combos and the grappling, maybe the grapples as a finishing move only.

My problem with DmC is the dialogue and the fact that most of the world doesn't care about satire about America since I don't live there. I don't care about the Glenn Beck/Bill O' Reilly/Skrillex guy since I really don't know who they are.

Still 1 and 3 had a easy and cheesy plot and awesome action choreography (OK maybe 3) using moves you can pull in the game.

I haven't played 2, since I've heard it's horrendous.

First off, I completely agree with your first paragraph, (especially with the Max Payne 3 comparison)you hit the nail square on the head with that one. I also think that DMC4 could've been a much better game without Nero, and giving his Devil Arm to Dante as a... well... (I see what you did there, Capcom)Devil Arm.

I still disagree with you about the dialogue, as I think that the (admittedly spotty) dialogue in DMC5 is still an improvement.
As for the whole Fox News satire not hitting home with anyone not living in the US, I have to wonder if consumerist consumption culture isn't quit as bad/out of hand elsewhere, despite news outlets telling us that it's the same everywhere in the 1st world. (BTW, doesn't Rupert Murdoch own just as much of England, France, and Germany's media outlets as he does here?)
Also, if the thing about the banking system went right past you as an American problem, then you're probably not paying much attention to global economic trends over the past 15 years.

 

[DrunkOnEstus]

To me personally, I've already played this reboot. it was wonderful and nobody got pissed. Dante underwent a sex change. She was controversial, but made with enough tastefulness and empowerment that fans couldn't get upset. She, and the game, had soul. You can save a lot of frustration by looking for "team little devils" instead of the letters "DMC". Know where the heart of the series is, a name isn't enough to go on.

 

[ex275w]

-snip-

Great post, though I would disagree on some points.

I don't Nero is really hated for whining, it's more the fact that he's a carbon copy of Dante, who while he makes the same insane stunts, he's not really enjoying them, making the player angry, kind of Max Payne in the 3rd game. He's a serious guy in a cheesy story, which breaks immersion.

Devil May Cry 4 also has problems with how limited Nero seems to Dante, all solutions to the problems Nero has is, use your arm to become Zangief. It should've been a weapon with it's own combos and the grappling, maybe the grapples as a finishing move only.

My problem with DmC is the dialogue and the fact that most of the world doesn't care about satire about America since I don't live there. I don't care about the Glenn Beck/Bill O' Reilly/Skrillex guy since I really don't know who they are.

Still 1 and 3 had a easy and cheesy plot and awesome action choreography (OK maybe 3) using moves you can pull in the game.

I haven't played 2, since I've heard it's horrendous.

First off, I completely agree with your first paragraph, (especially with the Max Payne 3 comparison)you hit the nail square on the head with that one. I also think that DMC4 could've been a much better game without Nero, and giving his Devil Arm to Dante as a... well... (I see what you did there, Capcom)Devil Arm.

I still disagree with you about the dialogue, as I think that the (admittedly spotty) dialogue in DMC5 is still an improvement.
As for the whole Fox News satire not hitting home with anyone not living in the US, I have to wonder if consumerist consumption culture isn't quit as bad/out of hand elsewhere, despite news outlets telling us that it's the same everywhere in the 1st world. (BTW, doesn't Rupert Murdoch own just as much of England, France, and Germany's media outlets as he does here?)
Also, if the thing about the banking system went right past you as an American problem, then you're probably not paying much attention to global economic trends over the past 15 years.

Well I'm mexican, so I don't know who Rupert Murodch really is. (Gonna investigate him though)
Consumerist culture and banking problems, while still problems in other countries, aren't really focuses of countries like Mexico, since we kind of have other, you might say, important problems related to drug cartels. They are mostly looked as "stupid things gringos do", kind of like a wacky neighbor in a sitcom, that still end affecting us.

 

[Lt._nefarious]

Well, not played it yet. I bought the DmC HD C late last year and I wasn't blown away by it but the new DmC demo... I freaking loved it! And I prefer new Dante, he's funnier and... Well let's just say I'm going to get it pretty damn soon...

 

[Vidiot]

Rupert Murdoch (spelling?) is the owner of all things related to the Fox Network in the US. I have to agree that the cartels are a much more immediate problem for Mexico. Though you may want to keep in mind that attempting to control the global economy through strategic use of debt and at-interest loans to world governments is one of those "stupid things gringos do" and should any one faction succeed in "owning everything worth owning" it will create problems that would be far harder to deal with than the Mexican cartels in the long term.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

So how long do you think we'll have to wait for Ninja Theory to release a DLC pack with classic Dante outfit with the hair and everything? Because we all know it's gonna happen. And they will want us to pay for it

 

[TehCookie]

So how long do you think we'll have to wait for Ninja Theory to release a DLC pack with classic Dante outfit with the hair and everything? Because we all know it's gonna happen. And they will want us to pay for it

They already have one, I posted some of the costumes on the front page and the mystery one is a DMC3 skin. Still looks terrible since Donte looks like a hobo that desperately needs a shower and a laundrymat.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

I am not, in any way, shape or form, a fan of the previous Devil May Cry games. I thought that they were nice from what little I played of them, but I could never really get into them.

I am, however, a fan of Ninja Theory's previous games. Loved Heavenly Sword, still defend Enslaved in spite of it's faults, all primarily because they had solidly told and interesting, if at times inconsistent, storytelling. Ninja Theory were supposed to take this game series that had previously been known for it's combat and take it in a new, story-oriented direction.

And they failed, spectacularly. The story they came up with is the kind of juvenile power fantasy that you would expect out of a middle-school student, with boring and trite dialogue and some of the worst one-liners you're ever going to hear in a game. Worse still is the cast of characters, one of whom is effectively a cardboard cutout, another who is cartoonishly inconsistent in his actions throughout the run of the game, and a protagonist who seems to go out of his way to Poochy is up, only to result in the most unintentionally loathsome player character in recent gaming history.

If you take it all as a farce then you may be able to get some enjoyment out of the story in this game, but that's a defense mechanism. This is, far and away, Ninja Theory's worst game from a storytelling prospective, and I continue to be shocked and appalled that such a formerly outstanding studio would release a product of such low quality.

Because Ninja Theory are actually a bunch of frauds when it comes to story-telling. They had to get other people (like Rhianna Pratchett and Alex Garland) to write their games FOR THEM. THIS is NT's actual talent and it's not a lot.

 

[theevilgenius60]

I'm playing it right now, I'm about to infiltrate the news anchor's prison. So far, it's been a hell of a fun game. The combat and levels feel very Devil May Cry. Using Eryx in conjunction with the scythe and whip is about as fun as it gets. I'm taking it kind of slow, as I've had work and Sir Hammerlock beckons, but so far it's been top notch( not that I expected anything else from the people who gave me Enslaved and Heavely Sword).

 

[mrhappy1489]

Is this reaction really necessary? I haven't seen much of the game nor have I played it, but the response from the fans is embarrassing to say the least, with the major complaint seeming to be, grar it's not the same as the previous games, therefore is shit. I have to ask how many of you have played the game itself, I mean seriously the amount of hate seems indirectly proportional to the amount who have actually played it and for what exactly, what are you hoping to accomplish? I'm mean lets pretend that it is as abysmal as some many of you are saying it is, what is lost? Someone took a chance on trying to add their own touch to a game and reinvigorate a series that from where I'm sitting looked dead since the release of number 4. It didn't work but at least they're trying something new and if they have to borrow the title of a series to actually try it then more power to them. The funny thing is though, it looks like a number of people have actually enjoyed it and thought it was pretty damn good. It's like those people who complain about the Hobbit not being the same as LOTR, it's a different product and should be judges on it's own merits not that of its predecessor. It is a reboot after all, shouldn't the judgement be based on what it was trying to accomplish not what you wanted it to accomplish? Also complaining about the appearance of the main character is stupid, pure and simple. If it was legitimately bad then yes I totally get it, but it's not even that poor, not the best but I've seen significantly worse.

 

[aguspal]

*edit* I am very sorry, I didnt meant to post that here LOL. Someone can delete posts maybe?

 

[Brainwreck]

I liked the old Dante. He was retarded and often obnoxious, but his voice acting was solid and he had a stupid charm. Unlike this one.
But that's not even relevant. DMC is hardly something you play for a story or characters. It's about one thing, and one thing only: combat. Gratuitous, difficult, lightning-fast, crazy combat. And they fucked that up.
I'll probably never forgive them and stuff.

 

[King Billi]

Because Ninja Theory are actually a bunch of frauds when it comes to story-telling. They had to get other people (like Rhianna Pratchett and Alex Garland) to write their games FOR THEM. THIS is NT's actual talent and it's not a lot.

Frauds? Seriously? Ninja Theory are just out to take credit for other peoples work is that it?

I can only speak in regards to Enslaved: Odyssey to the West but I recall Alex Garland being given massive dues for his work on the story for that game in nearly every piece of publicity I saw... His name is even listed twice on the back of the bloody cover for the game as Co-writer so I can't see how you can imply Ninja Theory being frauds..?

Are you just trying to say f**k it to any form of creative collaboration? Or just when it applys to Ninja Theory?