Theres just something
incredibly cool about Devil May Cry. Once scheduled to be a chapter in the aging Resident
Evil series, Devil May Cry was reconceptualized, reworked, and reborn to revitalize the 3D
survival horror genre. Rest assured, Devil May Cry shames the Resident Evil
lineup in virtually everyway imaginable.DMCs hero, Dante, is the
half-human, half-demon descendant of the legendary knight Sparda who defeated evil and
saved the world. Now Dante must confront the evil that has returned to destroy the world.
Whatever. The point is, Dante can do a bad-ass back flip, whip out his dual fisted
handguns, bounce off of a wall, blow away five demons, hit the ground and immediately bust
into a smooth roll while taking out his supercharged sword--and begin to massacre
screaming demons, scattering chunks and various pieces across the terrain. Its cool,
and Dantes superb combat acrobatics are a refreshing change from the jerky, immobile
combat system found in the Resident Evil series. The mobility and simple joy of combat in
Devil May Cry is also vastly superior to Onimushas excellent fighting system. DMC
combines the excitement of a 2D action platformer with the brilliance of a 3D adventure
game
Much
like the Onimusha and the REs, Devil May Cry uses a fixed camera. I like the style this
brings to the game. It allows for creative perspective, cinematic brilliance, and variety.
The only drawback being the occasional awkward angle can make jumping difficult. This
isnt a huge issue, and its a good trade off in any event; the graphics in DMC
are vibrant, colorful, well-designed and just plain cool. Enemies range from killer
puppets to gruesome gigantic spiders. While the variety of monsters could have been
better, the quality of foes and sheer number of baddies to vanquish more than make up for
it.
DMC is
divided into distinct missions as opposed to a continuous narrative like the oft mentioned
REs. This isnt a bad way to go, but it was hardly necessary since the missions are
linked in a direct linear line. It does give the game a unique feel, and it highlights the
arcade action, finger-twitching component of the game. As you progress through the levels,
you defeat various demons and boss characters. Each one releases a number of red orbs once
vanquished. At the end of each level, and at some points within levels, you may spend red
orbs to buy new combat moves for Dante, which is absolutely essential to progressing in
the game. Red orbs can also be used to buy special items that do things such as increase
the Devil Power gauge or refill health. This component gives DMC a bit of RPG
spicemuch more so than the similar system in Onimusha because Dante is actually
increasing stats and acquiring new abilities.
When
the going gets toughthe rule not the exceptionDante can kick it into overdrive
by invoking his devil power. The Devil Power gauge is essentially a magic bar. It
represents the amount of time that Dante can spend in the supercharged state that gives
him greater attacks, resistance to damage, the ability to heal slightly, and increased
mobility.
Other
than the superb combat system, gameplay moves along in a fairly predictable fashion. In
typical survivor horror fashion, there are keys to find and "puzzles" to solve:
"This door wont open. A rusty key might help./ You found the rusty key. Will
you take the rusty key ?/ Will you use the rusty key? You used the rusty key." Now as
much fun as DMC is, thats a sorry excuse for a puzzle; its not entirely the
developers fault I guess. Its the industry standard, but I say its time
for a change. First of all, we should start using the right word. These are not puzzles;
theyre tasks: "Go get the sacred lions head to open this door" is
not a puzzle, despite what developers would have us believe. Still, task based games are
not entirely bad, but the occasional puzzle or mystery to solve would be nice.
While
DMC doesnt take cognitive brilliance, it does require solid tactical thinking and
muscular thumbs. DMC is a difficult game. Monsters are powerful and plentiful, and some of
the boss characters are outrageously tough to beat. If you die on the first few levels DMC
will give you the choice to switch to Easy Automatic mode. This allows you to hold down
the fire button instead of pushing the button every time you want to fire. It also reduces
the power of the monsters you face and gives you increased stats and abilities. On the
downside, once in this mode you can never switch back. You also cant unlock any of
the special bonuses in Easy Automatic mode. When you beat DMC you start over at the
beginning with all the ability increases and items that you finished the game with. This
means if you can just squeak by the first time through you can whoop some behind on the
second trip through; this makes it easier to unlock all the goodies. Whats more, DMC
is such a joy to play that expecting several trips through is more than reasonable.
Unfortunately, even after beating the game in Easy Automatic mode, you still cannot switch
back. This is unfortunate because DMC is so difficult that the easy mode would have made a
nice starting point before going on to try the tougher levels with increased items and
stats. Perhaps the nicest part of easy mode is the automatic fire. Successful combat
requires copious amounts of button pushing, and the auto fire is a godsend for aching
thumbsan option for autofire in normal and difficult modes would have made a
significant difference to me, and it would have been very much appreciated.
I guess
one cant complain too much about trivial matters, and DMC is extraordinarily fun. I
just really have a soft spot in my heart for beating the crap out of things with a sword
while also shooting them until they explode. This is easily my favorite game thus far on
the PS2. If you enjoyed either Onimusha: Warlords, or any of the Resident Evils then
Devil May Cry is a must play. Likewise, fans of action/combat games will also find DMC
rewarding. Theres just no substitute for vanquishing evil in style.