DmC Devil May Cry - The RebootDmC Devil May Cry is a title for the PS3 and X360, which is supposed to be a reboot of the franchise many of us have come to love. This love lead me to write this review, however this time it will not be all flowers and candy like most of mine, as I generally only do games I truly love. I personally did not care for the direction they took Dante, nor did I like how they changed his back story. Overall I wasn't a huge fan of this game, and it left me wanting more in quite a few ways. But... Enough talk, time to review!
Graphics 8 / 10 -- There's really not much to complain about here. Though the design has a slightly more light-hearted feel to it, the overall theme is still as dark as always known in the franchise. The way they depict Limbo, the demon realm on a parallel plane to our own, is actually pretty neat. It's like our own world, but distorted in numerous ways. For instance, the structures and land around you will twist and contort, creating the playing field for your battles with enemies, and also creating a platformer element for the game. In terms of design, the enemies look great, as well as the rest of the cast I haven't already ranted about. Dante's brother Virgil is probably the best designed character of the game, which is not a good sign when the main playable character isn't the best in this regard. The bosses are all phenomenal, especially how much gross detail went into the succubus you must fight. Everything visually looks fantastic, whether I like the direction they took in some aspects or not.
Sound 8 / 10 -- Again, not much to complain about here. Overall, the soundtracks are fitting, and keep you good and pumped for the fights you take part in, as well as the intense cut scenes. I like the eerie feel many of the tracks have when exploring Limbo outside of combat, giving you the right feeling for being in a realm infested and controlled by demons out to kill you. The voice acting is well done. All the characters sound spot on, as well as performing their parts very well. Again the succubus is something of note, as her shrieks can be quite an earful. Dante's voice actor does the job very well, though the writing for his dialogue is a little over the top (as in cheesy enough to be cringe-worthy). The sound effects are all in order, though nothing to really rave over. They're about what you would expect from all the actions performed.
Addictiveness 7 / 10 -- This score may be a tad bit generous, as I'm biased toward the franchise. The game play is pretty fun overall. It still has your signature sword and guns hack'n'slash game play that the franchise does so well, though there are some alterations to this entry. One of these being that Dante not only has his sword, but two other weapons you can switch to on the fly, each having it's own "element" (light or darkness). For certain enemies, you need to use a particular element to damage them, so you must learn to wield these weapons effectively, though each element has multiple weapons to choose from. The combat, as usual, is fast paced, and you are awarded for using stylish combos to take down your foes. Another feature unique to this entry is the addition of something like a grappling hook you can use to either pull enemies in, or launch yourself towards them. This entry also adds White Orbs, which are a currency separate from Red Orbs. White Orbs are used for upgrading / unlocking Dante's abilities and equipment, while Red Orbs are used for items that heal, increase maximum health, etc. This is one of those games that after completion, you'll probably put it down for a good while before making a return trip, if doing so at all. Other than going for collectibles, there's extremely little replay value, especially considering you can choose to replay missions at will, in turn accumulating White / Red Orbs, as well as collecting anything you may have missed.
Story 6 / 10 -- This being a reboot to the original, Mundus (the main antagonist from the origin title) makes an appearance as the game's main bad guy. The intro is along the lines of Dante minding his own business, indulging in every sinful pleasure he can get his hands on when he is attacked by a demon bounty hunter hired by Mundus. Mundus was at odds with Dante's father, so killing his sons seems like a good way to get back at him I guess, or maybe just to eliminate him as a threat. He is approached by a girl who can see into Limbo who offers her aid since Dante was dragged into the parallel reality by the bounty hunter. From here things follow your typical escalation most stories follow, and there's nothing really of note here to speak of. It's all pretty mediocre really.
Depth 5 / 10 -- This is another area that leaves you wanting. Other than a few collectibles and secret missions, this game doesn't really offer much outside of the core game play. There are plenty of collectibles to find along the way, and many of them are an extreme challenge to find, or to be able to reach. There are bonus missions, each with their own objectives to complete. These award you with Cross Fragments, 4 of which increases your maximum health. The objectives can range from taking down a group of enemies under a certain time limit, completing an obstacle course while timed, creating a certain number of hits chained together (sometimes trying to do so while airborne), or simply surviving the assault of enemies the mission throws at you. Outside of these, there isn't really anything the game offers, other than maybe unlocking every ability, and upgrading Dante's arsenal to it's maximum capacity.
Difficulty 4 / 10 -- Overall the game is pretty easy to beat. I was a little disappointed in this regard. Generally the DMC franchise offered a good challenge without being overly tough, yet this game did not hardly provide any challenge at all. The enemy AI was sluggish, offering way too much time to beat them down before reacting to my movements, as well as being easy to take down in the first place. Even most of the bosses were a joke, taking 2 rounds at best to defeat, only dying due to environmental causes over them actually taking you out through their own attacks. Also the option to replay each mission at will, though not an issue in of itself, further decreased the difficulty allowing you to grind up your levels until you were overpowered if you so choose. The hardest thing about this game is the secret missions and collectibles, which I found to be insanely challenging. Nothing in the difficulty aspect was balanced right, either being too easy (core game), or way too hard to accomplish (collectibles / secret missions).
Overall 6.7 / 10 -- I wouldn't go so far as to say this is a bad game, but it's definitely not a great game either. All in all, it's pretty mediocre. If you're a fan of the franchise, it's worth checking out, but don't feel like you're missing anything special if you choose not to do so.
Hope you enjoyed the review :)
Graphics
9 Sound
8 Addictive
7 Depth
5 Story
6 Difficulty
4
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