DmC Devil May Cry -- Not the End of the World

With the announcement of DmC Devil May Cry (henceforth known simply as DmC -- The little m matters.) came a surge of emotions from the dedicated Devil May Cry fan base. "What happened to Dante?" was the question on everyone's lips.

"That little black haired punk isn't the real Dante" was usually the answer. I know, I think I said it once or twice. I grew up with the Dante and this new faux slayer of demons wasn't welcome. Now I feel stupid.

On January 15th, Capcom published the newest iteration of the genre-defining series; a reboot done by British developer Ninja Theory, the same folks who gave us Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. Lo and behold, this isn't the worst thing that has ever happened to gamers. Actually, it's good. Damn good.

Despite all of the hate spewed towards the developer, specifically the director, Tameem Antoniades, they proved that the franchise is in good hands. And you know what? I'm glad that Ninja Theory didn't give in to all the people crying to get their old series back. It's different now and, I think, that is ultimately for the better.
 
Change is refreshing.

Of course, that doesn't mean that this release is without flaws.

Gameplay -- 7.5/10

 After playing Enslaved, which I quite enjoyed, I was a little on the fence about how Ninja Theory could handle the combat and gameplay side of DmC. The combat in Enslaved was stiff and very repetitive and I feared that would seep into the Devil May Cry franchise, but it seems that Ninja Theory's collaboration with Capcom really paid off.

The combat here is very smooth and the controls aren't hard at all to familiarize yourself with. This leads to a great overall feel, but unfortunately, NT decided to tone down both the depth and difficulty of this release to open it up to a wider audience. While not necessarily a bad thing, it's a bit jarring coming from the older DMC games.

Throughout the game Dante gets access to both angelic and demonic weapons which can be switched on the fly. This opens the floodgates for a lot of basic, on-the-go, death-dealing creativity, but the lack of moves with the weapons (especially of the demonic variety) really limit the maximum potential of the combat engine.

That said, the combat is still extremely satisfying and should please anybody that isn't looking to make DmC combo videos for Youtube.

The hard lock-on system from the previous installments has been ditched in lieu of a new automatic lock-on, which tends to work surprisingly well. Small tilts of the analog stick influence the direction of Dante's attacks and grapples, and there are really only one or two circumstances where not having a hard lock-on is missed; Damn Witches.

The freedom of movement with the new lock-on system was more than welcome and I feel like if I had to choose between better movement and a couple targeting problems or more precise targeting and clunkier movement (like in the older games,) I would have to choose the former.

As expected, Ninja Theory added a lot of platforming to the franchise and it is SSSensational. Using Angel Lifts and Demon Pulls, Dante is able to manipulate the world around him to more easily get from point A to point B. Not only are the controls intuitive but the shifts in environment are a hell of a spectacle.

Design -- 9/10

Whoever is responsible for the level design in DmC deserves to be immortalized in stone. Seriously, it's that good. Much of the game takes place in Limbo, which is not unlike an alternate dimension where demons run rampant and gravity just isn't quite right. This place, though, is sentient and it's after you, kind of. Because of this, the stages will twist and contort to halt Dante's progression -- And yes, by 'stages' I mean the walls and floors of the city our (new) favorite demon hunter is walking around in.

This level design mechanic takes the aforementioned platforming and elevates it to one of the game's key strengths. It also puts this game into a league of its own as far as everything else concerning level designing goes.

Did I mention that the entire world is vibrant and uses a beautiful range of textures and colors? No? Well it does. It also talks to Dante and, speaking of vibrant and colorful, uses some really choice words to hint to him that he won't be making it far.

Well, at least he wouldn't if the enemies weren't so damn easy.

While most of the enemies fit into the modernized DmC world as far as appearances go, their actions and behavior certainly aren't befitting of the DMC universe. They are dumb and offer little challenge. Especially the bosses who, with the exception of a guy named Bill O'Reilly Bob Barbas, are all mostly uninteresting and all play out to be a bit too much like a God of War bosses instead of DMC bosses, which is a design choice that probably should have been reconsidered.

For the sake of not spoiling much, I'll refrain from further detail on the enemy design.

Characters, Plot, and Writing -- 7/10

There has been a ton of controversy surrounding the characters and story of this game. A lot of people are upset that Dante has changed so much. He's no longer a cheesy by-product of 90's leftovers and instead we find him as we find many super-characters since the reboot of the Batman series -- Gritty and realistic.

It suits Dante, if you ask me. We still get a cocky, big-mouthed, demon slaying son of a bitch, but without all of the dated dialogue and poor (albeit entertaining) writing. That's a win for everyone.

Ninja Theory has a knack for making characters that are easy to get emotionally invested in; That doesn't change much with this entry into their catalog. The narrative and character development are never top notch here, but they are good. They succeeded in making me care about Dante, Kat, and Vergil and, story spoilers withheld, did a solid job expressing common themes like friendship and betrayal.

The dialogue, though laced with obscenities, isn't at all bad, but the superb voice acting and industry-best facial animations make it seem a bit better than it is. There are a few incredible lines, however.

The plot leaves a little to be desired -- There are definitely interesting ideas flying about, but there are too many untold elements that prevent it from being something better than it is. Basically, demons are playing the role of Big Brother and humans are being kept like livestock, brainwashed by the media and energy drinks so that the Demon King, Mundus, has souls to feed on and it's up to Dante, Kat, and Vergil to put an end to it.

Nothing groundbreaking and at times it seems a bit preachy, but it's a great deal better than what we see in most games; Something I am very excited to see evolving, by the way. The ending leaves a ton of wiggle-room for a sequel, which I hope Ninja Theory will get the chance to do.



TL;DR

• Fluid combat and very fun platforming.
• Some of the best level design in gaming.
• Solid characters, solid dialogue, superb voice acting and facial mocap.
• High replay value.
• New Dante is great, no need to worry!
• A bit short and pretty easy, even on higher difficulties.
• Mostly uninteresting boss battles. (Bob Barbas was amazing, though)
• Preachy plot.
• Flock off, Featherface.

Overall I give this game an 8, because that's how old I was when motorcycles and pizza stopped being cool.

Just kidding, motorcycles and pizza still rock.

Overall Score -- 8 out of 10

Review -- Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition

After the release of FromSoftware's game Dark Souls for the PS3 and XB360 in October 2011, many fans of the game and interested parties clamored to have a PC port made so that they may indulge in this incredible title known for its unforgiving difficulty and dreary atmosphere.

On August 24th, 2012, they got their wishes. Namco Bandai released Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition -- A direct port of the original content with a few extra areas, items, bosses, and balance changes tossed into the mix.

The computer port succeeded, for the most part, in bringing all of that original content to the soul-thirsty PC gamer demographic without flaw. On a competent rig, the game runs as well as it does on the console, with the occasional frame rate chug that plagued some areas of the other versions. As long as you have a 360 or PS3 controller to play this port on, the controls are identical, and there really is no sense in playing the game without a controller.

Many PC gamers were upset that the frame rate was locked at 30 FPS for the port and that there were limited resolution options, but there have since been fan-fixes for those problems. The console versions were capped at 30 FPS as well, so I have a hard time striking points from the score for that.

My new Wanderer wielding the Demon Great Hammer after fisting the Asylum Demon to death.

As far as the original content goes, I don't feel it needs a great deal of explanation. If you're familiar with Dark Souls on the consoles, then this is identical aside from a few things, primarily balance changes (ultimately for the better) and a new item and enemy, allowing you to access the additional content.

If you're not familiar with the original content, I'll try to keep it brief. The atmosphere is lonely, grimy, dark, and utterly gorgeous. The items are many, allowing for a massive character customization; though some items are markedly better than others. And the difficulty -- Well, the difficulty feels like if Super Ghouls'n'Ghosts were made for the consoles of this generation. At first it's hard, and frustrating, and sometimes you just want to quit but you don't because you know it's worth your time to continue. But after you've familiarized yourself with the controls and the general gameplay mechanics, you realize that it's really not that hard, it just tests your patience and intellect. Step back and analyze the situation before you continue and you'll do much better.

Well, there are a few areas and bosses that can prove to be truly difficult and brutal, but you'll just have to suck it up and L2P for those segments.

Also, despite the game having little to offer in the way of traditional story-telling, it is rich in lore. The dialogue, item descriptions, item placement, and even the locales themselves all tell the story. And that feels refreshing since I'm an adult and I can gather context from those kinds of things. It isn't always necessary to force feed your audience with story and I think that FromSoftware should be applauded in this endeavor.

But that's enough about the old content, the real reason for the review is to talk about the new stuff.

FromSoftware was kind enough to give their PC audience early access to new areas, items, and bosses; Perhaps as retribution for withholding the sweet, sweet nectar that is Dark Souls.

The content, officially called "Artorias of the Abyss," takes place several hundred years ago in the Oolacile Township (and other, familiar and not-so-familiar areas.) And man is it awesome.

Straight chillin' in some garden.

 It is clear that just as much love and devotion went into making this additional content as the original game. The areas are memorable and invoke exactly the right emotions, the items are all interesting, even if they aren't all terribly useful, and it all just feels... right. The atmosphere, especially in the Oolacile Township is nothing short of incredible; Sometimes harkening back to The Tower of Latria from Dark Souls' spiritual predecessor Demon's Souls.

Catatonic from the sight below, our beloved hero is helpless; and loading his trousers.

 The entire area is frightful, nerve-wrecking, and entirely unforgettable. The background audio accompaniment is, perhaps, the best part of this new area. Full of shrills, laughs, and blood-curdling screams -- It's best experienced through a nice pair of headphones.

There is a very natural progression to the atmosphere of the new content, it starts light and gets darker and darker yet the further you venture into the Oolacile Township. It is truly a testament to the FromSoftware teams devotion to quality in the series. As a bonus, the lore attached to it all is just as interesting.

But perhaps the greatest part of the new content, something that all Dark Souls fans should be proud of, are the new bosses. Fantastic in design and harder than many of the existing Dark Souls bosses, these enemies should be a real treat to fight, both for the Dark Souls veterans and the newcomers to the series. The final boss of "Artorias of the Abyss" may even get my vote as hardest boss in the series.

FromSoftware has also included a new 1v1, 2v2, and free-for-all PvP arena for those who want to satiate their thirst for griefing and human competition. The format is a bit strange, but also very promising, since organized PvP can occasionally be a pain in the original game if you don't roll with the right crew.

Surely with all this good, there must be evil. Well there is, just not much. The absolute worst part of this entire experience is that FromSoftware decided to use the Games for Windows Live servers for this port -- and they're atrocious. Connections to other players for a bit of jolly co-operation are unstable at best, so the game feels a bit like a ghost town, where it is livid and exciting on its PS3 counterpart. You can also only save your game and play with the same characters while you're online, where in the console versions you can use the same character in both online and offline play. Those are, truthfully, my only complaints.

Okay, I lied, the 360 controller d-pad was atrocious as well, but that isn't FromSoft's fault.

In summation, I think that this port is worth every penny -- but only if you do not have access to the console versions. Since Games for Windows Live servers just don't mesh with this title, I really recommend just waiting for the console DLC due out in late October, if you can. Otherwise, buy it and fall in love, just as many others have.

I give it 9 out of 10 Estus Flasks, because that's how many I had left after I punked out Ornstein & Smough.

Score: 9 out of 10.