Zero Punctuation: DMC: Devil May Cry

[anti movie bob]

I was thinking of getting this, but Ninja Theory acting like a bunch of cunts has put me off it

 

[chozo_hybrid]

So is this going to be the next big gaming controversy now?

The harder difficulties are still difficult, it plays like a Devil May Cry game (in fact, I'd say it plays better than all of them with a possible slight exception for Devil May Cry 4), the writing and story are just as good as any of previous games and better than at least two of them, and while the level design may not be as convoluted and intricate as DMC3, it's at least better than other games in the same genre like God of War III and the art direction completely blows it out of the water.

And really, anyone who says the first Devil May Cry was better than this hasn't played that game in a long time. It's got the worst camera angles of the entire franchise, practically a non-existent story, and slow, tedious combat that yeah, bears some resemblance to the rest of the franchise, but was quite obviously the first implementation of the system.

Playing through with the Classic Dante skin is a laugh and a half in itself, though.

Hey I knew a rational person would show up sooner or later! After playing through DmC, I picked up The HD Collection. Admittedly, I haven't gotten very far into the first one, but so far what I've seen is slower, uglier (Not talking graphics, just the generic castle asthetic), and in general duller than DmC.

If this is how you "ruin" things, Ninja Theory, do you think you could "ruin" some other franchises?

Agreed, while I had fun with the previous games, this one I feel has breathed a new kind of life into the series. Plus it's a complete restart, I'm glad it's changed things, you want the old games? they're still there, this new one doesn't ruin the previous ones.

Glad to see I'm not the only one looking at this thread that thought like this.

 

[Sheo_Dagana]

I enjoy this game and have been playing Devil May Cry since way back when. Maybe I'm just used to reboots, but I don't typically end up comparing them, because what's the point? Every single game is going to have fans that complain that the new title isn't as good as the last one. Every game, even if it's not a reboot. I guess I'll never understand why people complain when a sequel/reboot is not 100% like their favorite installment, but maybe that's because I play too many games to care.

Devil May Cry has never been a stellar series for me anyway. It's just always been a fun filler sort of game that I play for the hell of it. I'd rate them as follows:

Devil May Cry: Good

Devil May Cry 2: Terrible

Devil May Cry 3: Great

Devil May Cry 4: Okay

Devil May Cry (DMC): Great

So I've liked most of them, but none of them have really blew me away and I probably wouldn't even put a DMC game in my top 10 games ever played list.

 

[General Twinkletoes]

the writing and story are just as good as any of previous games and better than at least two of them.

Except I'm fairly sure the last two games weren't written by a 12 year old who just discovered the word "fuck" and an obsession with emo melodrama, nor was Dante so utterly obsessed with being "cool" in that unique way that just make you come across like a massive twat. I have heard plenty of people complain about games being dumbed down to appeal to the shooter bro crowd, but this is the first time I have seen a franchise dumbed down just to appeal to the 15 year hot topic dweller crowd.
(disclaimer: basically never played old or new DMC all this is based off watching other people play, and the fact that 10 minutes of playing DMC4 didn't make me want to kill the protagonist, while the DmC demo sure did).

OT: Gameplay looks fun if way to easy, but I refuse to buy a game where the PC looks and acts like he was formed from some kind of liquid emo that was scraped off the floor of a HotTopic.

Yeah, it was pretty obvious you haven't played it without you saying it. Are you sure the videos you watched were actually DMC, or were they some random game with the wrong title? Because old Dante was exactly all those things you said makes the new one bad. Some of them, even more so than the new one. Old Dante appeals way more to teenage power fantasies, and his clothing was a lot more stupid.

 

[Arcane Azmadi]

So was that a positive review or not? Yahtzee seemed to praise quite a lot of the game's elements which is usually a sign that the game has at least some redeeming value and a lot of the complaints were nitpicky things like "I can't master the intricacies of the combat system", but his final issue with the difficulty seems to be a bit of a deal-breaker, considering that the original DMC was hard and DMC 3 was the game that tore off my skin and made it into an Arcane-suit. That's a pretty big complaint.

Then again, I don't really care anyway, since I won't be buying this game. I never beat DMC 3 so I've never really had the urge to pick up any more sequels. I'll get there some day (FUCKIN' AGNI AND RUDRA!).

 

[xPixelatedx]

Probably the best Hack N' Slash I've played in a good long while. I had pretty much given up on the genre after the snore fest that was Darksiders and Bayonetta.

No offense, but the best hack N' Slash? Were you looking for something that would reward you with the highest score just for pressing attack repeatedly without any effort or concentration needed? Again, not trying to offend, but I am really trying to discern how you judge that genre of games. If it is a relaxation thing, I can understand. I like Contra for it's brutal difficulty, but sometimes I just like to unwind and pop in Metal Slug instead.

I guess I'll never understand why people complain when a sequel/reboot is not 100% like their favorite installment, but maybe that's because I play too many games to care.

You might be surprised to realize people don't hate on things just because they're new. I don't mind change; I didn't dislike the characters because they were different (they could have been turned into cartoon rabbits for all I care), I disliked them because they were awful. The game play wasn't bad because it was new, it was bad because it was lacking. The level design wasn't bad because it was new, it was bad because it was boring (in structure; it's actual appearance was beautiful). The boss fights weren't bad because they were new, they were bad because the tension level was 0. Some people like to be excited when playing a game.

To say something is good just because it's new is an even shakier platform to stand on then the people who hate things just because a series went in a different direction.

 

[AgentLampshade]

I still think the only thing this game did well was divide the fanbase to a degree that's only detrimental to the franchise (and the DMC community, now that half of them hate each other.) Love or hate the game, there was no chance it was going to sell as well as it was predicted.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

[
Yes. Because perfectly valid criticism is your definition of "childish" and "zealous".
And what the hell are with the comments essentially telling "DMC was never a good series to begin with, so DmC is completely excused even if it's a shitty reboot"?

It is kinda funny how people try to deflect criticism away from this game by either.

A) Saying the old series was shitty, as if that somehow eliminates the fact that what NT farted out was average at best. Plus say what you will about Dante, Nero, Lady, and Trish's adventures, they were never pretentious.

or B) Play critics up as strawmen, usually by oversimplifying arguments or bringing up facts that have been irrelevant for awhile (like people are only pissed because of the hair). Funnily enough, this strawman strategy is also used by one of the villains in the game in order to demonize Dante.

When these are the only tools you have left, you should probably reevaluate things. As it stands this game is just going to be forgotten in a month anyway when bigger games like Dead Space 3 and Metal Gear Rising roll around.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Never cared for Devil May Cry so I don't really care about this reboot.

 

[Hyper-space]

...cause that's what a 12yr old thinks is cool.

Was that not just DMC in a nutshell?

I mean, let's not pretend that Dante looking like a hot-topic-reject-circa-2000 was any better. Now he just sort of looks like a hot-topic-reject-circa-now.

 

[Smolderin]

I want to burn every copy of this game for nothing more than "He's the product of a demon and angel"

Sounds like it could be one of those terrible paranormal romance novels written by Twilight obsessed girls who still don't know that Stephanie Meyer is a terrible author. Come to think of it, I wouldn't be surprised if there was already one written....No..No...I really don't want to know it's name. Though I do admit every time I go to Barnes and Nobles I go straight to that section and read the synopsis's for a good laugh.

 

[anthony87]

Devil May Cry 4: Okay

This is why I think that a reboot was needed, I honestly couldn't see the series going anywhere after Devil May Cry 4. Sure it was a good game but it really wasn't well designed, the backtracking, the repeat boss fights, those fucking dice rooms, Nero in general, hell even Dante was just Dante from Devil May Cry 3 again with some added stubble and a watered down Dark Slayer style chucked in. Then there's the mess of questions and plot holes that we're left with by the end...

 

[Farther than stars]

Yes, you can never get enough stabs at Fox News in, no matter how much "The Daily Show" you watch.

 

[FallenMessiah88]

For me the Devil May Cry series has always been a perfect mix of both style and substance. As such, the biggest problem I to have with DMC is that it seems to favor style over substance. Still, the first Devil May Cry is one of my earlist and fondest PS2 memories, so I'm probably going to check this out at some point.

 

[Second World]

As far as personality is concerned, I could see the new Dante maturing into the Dante of 1 or 4 better than the Dante of 3. He was immature, full of himself, swore a lot, and reckless in DMC, but he wasn't the clown with no personality that did a bunch of overtly long cringe-worthy stunts in cut-scenes. He is rightfully immature. He still has the ego, the taunts, and the combat prowess of his predecessors.

As far as the game goes, the wealth of options in fighting is nice. The style system stacks points rather easily and allows your combos to hang for 5 seconds before deciding they ended. But there doesn't seem to be much reason for the style system in this DMC anyway. The difficulty is lower, but considering Ninja Theory's past ventures, it's surprisingly palatable.

Pros
The camera is always on key, every attack flows smoothly (first time ninja theory made a good combat system), ordinary enemies aren't as immobile as the ones in DMC4 in its default difficulties, the environments are nice, the character is highly mobile, every weapon pays off nicely, and the upgrade system is a lovely change over past DMC games allowing trial-and-error while no longer punishing you for upgrading. May I also note that it's the first DMC game with a good fist weapon?

Cons
Story (one of Ninja Theory's strong-points) isn't as good as their past ventures; the yellow revive orbs (Extra Lives) are archaic; the point system is silly; the game doesn't penalize you enough in the default difficulties; there weren't enough bosses; and enemies do nothing when you can't see them (a far cry from the tell-tale noises and flashes that were done off-screen in DMC 3.)

Overall, I thought it was rather good as an entry-point to a series..

 

[Polite Sage]

Story (one of Ninja Theory's strong-points)

You do realise they hired outside writers to write both Heavenly Sword and Enslaved? Rhianna Pratchett, who wrote Heavenly Sword supposedly had to rewrite the majority of the script, and Alex Garland who wrote Enslaved had to rewrite their characterisation of Monkey. Both commented on Ninja Theory's writing "capabilities".

DmC is the first actual game handled by their in house writers. Guess twice why the "deep, satiric social commentary" in their newest title is so horribly ham-fisted and sounds like it's written by an emo middle schooler.

 

[Knife-28]

OMD Yahtzee actually liked a DMC game I should go look out my window and see if the world is on fire.

Well if your in Australia like Yahtzee in the world would more likely be underwater than on fire.

 

[sid]

Since nobody has mentioned this yet, I might as well.

Nice directing, Tameem.

 

[major_chaos]

and his clothing was a lot more stupid.

I would disagree simply because I have met insufferable morons people who actually dress like new Dante and think they are super badass looking (Which is admittedly a big part of why I find him so loathsome), I don't think anyone outside of an Anime convention ever tried to dress like old Dante. Second I'm fairly sure that old DMC didn't have the "swearing makes you kewl" problem nearly as bad because the older titles don't have the "strong langue" ESRB descriptor, also I don't think I ever saw a clip of DMC4 that had a conversation this horribly stupid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg18aG53nlU (conversation I'm talking about goes for the first 38 seconds. "I got a bigger dick" really? what are you 13?)

 

[CryoSynth]

I must be the only one who finds this iteration harder. I beat the first 3 games on every difficulty, but I feel like I won't be able to do so with this one. Maybe I'm just getting old.