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Devil May Cry, or as Capcom is now calling it, DMC, is finally playable to the public thanks to a public demo on Xbox Live and Playstation Network. My enthusiasm for the game is no secret. I have found myself on the opposite side of public outcry ever since Ninja Theory was revealed to be the team behind the controversial project. My enthusiasm remains strong but there are definitely a few things that any fan of the series should know (and subsequently accept, and get over) going into this game:
- Dante is strange and familiar at the same time - Outside of the obvious visual updates to the character, Dante remains true to the character by being as cocky and snarky as one should expect.
- DmC Runs on the Unreal Engine - While prior Devil May Cry games were designed on Capcom's sexy MT Framework, Ninja Theory has chosen to work with Unreal Engine on this project. As a result, the game looks drastically different by handling framerate, lighting, and physics differently than previous efforts.
- On a related note, DmC runs at 30 FPS (Frames per Second) - This is perhaps this biggest roadblock for a lot of fans of the series. Ninja Theory has developed their most competent combat system to date but has failed to achieve the famed 60 FPS that the original games are known for. A bit of the fluidity and grace that the original games possessed has been sacrificed but not necessarily at the cost of fun. Many may abandon ship because of this but the game that is there is still fun to control for those who give it a chance.
- Plot is important now - Devil May Cry has always been ridiculous. Of course, that has been part of its charm since the beginning. I love the over-the-top characters but the writing has never walked in stride with the action on screen. I can only assume that Ninja Theory was chosen because of their knack for developing strong characters and interesting plots to go with their games. Like it or not, the plot will play a bigger role in this game than previous efforts and we may even be expected to care about the characters. Not an easy task by any means but if anyone can do it, Ninja Theory can.
I spent the better part of my Sunday toying with the combat system, finding secrets, and testing out both console versions of the demo (I personally preferred the Xbox version on both a technical and gameplay level). On our most recent podcast, I expressed my continued enthusiasm for the title despite my concerns regarding the less than stellar boss encounter. I still fully support the new visual and thematic stylings that Ninja Theory has injected into the series because it was starting to feel stale to me. The combat is fun but the continued development and complexity beyond the demo remains to be seen.
Enough About That, What Did You Think?
I asked members of the community what they thought about the demo on twitter (You can follow me @nickh0630) and here are some of the responses:
Tony from Germany said:
"The combat feels like it has more weight to it and it actually helps, that the camera is closer to the character, compared to previous games. The new Dante is cool and more serious, I like the fresh take on the series.
Also the higher difficulties are cool, e.g. the Son of Sparda let's the enemy use different tactics."
Simon says (hehe):
"The demo seems to suggest this will be a more than compotent action game, but it's not a Devil May Cry game. The old DMC gameplay is fantastic, and one of the main draws of the series, of course, but it's only part of an overall experience. Cut out the other important elements and replace them with something completely different, and that appeal diminishes."
Christopher says:
"As a fan of dmc 1, 3 and 4 I was one of the people afraid of ninja theory taking over. After playing the demo, my fears have completely dissipated. The combat is there, it feels quick enough and deep enough and I think it measures up pretty well to the predecessors. I think the story and character/world design will be a point of contention among fans but to me it is a breath of fresh air and not the same old thing we've seen 4 times now."
Jackson says:
"Very satisfying but the X button being the gun button kind of messed me up."
Aaron says:
"DmC finds itself in the same category as MGRising in that they are two unnecessary games that are stylistically incompatible with the rest of the franchise, very much on purpose but back it up by being high quality games. DmC's demo has shown good combat with potentially pace breaking Uncharted style storytelling and while I don't know if it will work out, it has certainly earned a preorder to find out."
Thank you to everyone who wrote in with their thoughts. The opinions have been all over the place though I am pleased to see that some of the more pessimistic people out there have warmed up to the game. If you have opinions based on the gameplay in the demo, please share them in the comments section below! DmC launches on January 15, 2013 on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC.
Comments
11 years, 5 months ago
Maybe someone can educate me on why 60 fps is such a huge deal. I played DMC4 about a month ago on all several difficulties and s ranked 90% of the levels. Playing the demo, the combat still seems really fast and fluid and it seemed to have good enough depth, I was even finding attacks that weren't listed, so there has to be more. Hopefully you unlock more abilities and combos though. I feel like the 60 fps is more of an issue to the hardcore people that really just spend hours getting good. Like the guys on youtube doing a million jump cancels, switching between different guns, different styles and different weapons with Dante multiple times a second. Maybe my eyes just suck and I have a hard time noticing the difference. Also, minor gripe, why did they take out the taunt button?! It was vital to feeling like a badass. I was shocked and horrified :(
11 years, 5 months ago
I quite enjoyed the demo, to the point that I've played it at least 10 times so far. I certainly hope you can unlock more combos, though. (and i don't mean more weapons) And I've seen people in chat complaining about the lack of a manual lock on, but i feel that it helps to switch who i'm hitting a bit easier. However, I feel the dodge is a bit... I don't know... slow? It was useful during the boss fight, but i never had to use it on the other enemies, even on Son of Sparda. Also, the Angel and Devil weapons being on the triggers takes some getting used to. Kept hitting the bumpers to switch and messing up my air combos.
11 years, 5 months ago
You know what? I actually enjoyed the demo. I've played previous DMC's, but never owned them, so I'm not a die-hard fan of the series. I was still very skeptical of this "reboot" when I first heard about it, however.
Thankfully, the demo was rather good, and I feel like this game has a lot of potential. I definitely felt the 30 FPS during the action-packed cutscenes, but I generally forgot about it during any of the actual combat.
The characterization of Dante feels very true to the original, even though there are some major differences. (Not sure I can say the same for Virgil. I feel like he is supposed to be a tragic villain as opposed to Dante's mentor.)
And like Nick mentions in the article, even if I don't like some of the major differences in this game's story and lore, (like the aforementioned Virgil) Ninja Theory has the potential to really bring it together into a cohesive package, so I think I can give them the benefit of the doubt with this reboot.
11 years, 5 months ago
I really really enjoyed the demo, I played it multiple times on normal difficulty and up. It's made me much more interested in the game than I originally was. Highly anticipating the game now, before I was interested in it just because Ninja Theory is developing it.
I also really like Dante's new look, but I haven't played the previous games (will probably pick up the HD release sometime).
11 years, 4 months ago
I liked the combat, with the exception of some of the new command inputs and the entire grapple whip system. I find having to hold the triggers to switch weapons cumbersome and prefer the original system of the triggers being a full weapon switch button. I'm assuming this was done to accommodate for the third melee weapon. The lack of lock on also means that the dashing sword attack (stinger) can hit incorrect targets or even completely miss. The command for it is double-tap left stick+light attack, making it more inaccurate. Finally the whip system, while interesting, reduces aerial combat to mashing whip attacks to stay in the air.
11 years, 4 months ago
I miss my gothic themes and heavy metal trance. Though this game can still be a fun ride and its details of the world are amazing, the combat was a surprise. Coming from a hardcore fan with rank SS DMC1, 3, but not 4, combat is extremely easy, no more button mashing, no lock-on means minimum combat moves, minimum combat moves means you have to rely on the hooks to quickly get close to the enemy instead of something like the old lock-on stinger. So what they did instead was bundle everything altogether with two other quick access weapons. Enemies are not threatening, their attacks & design are very basic. Mmm....Devil trigger...mmmm....and stuff....
11 years, 4 months ago
eh its a lil different with the whole no lock on button, the air juggle button, the only thing i wish they kept was the control pad to switch weapons on the fly instead of holding a button to keep a weapon out and pushing the other button to use and swing the weapon, but lets see what happens. I know a lot of dmc fans are hating cause of the re-imagining of dmc but lets see where it goes. other than that the game does test you in remembering what weapons are faster, stronger, and also the dodge button thats always nice :]