Fantastic Reboot
Welcome back, Dante.
Now before I go on with praising up Ninja Theory's reboot, I have to throw in a disclaimer because of just how ridiculous all of the hate this game is getting, simply for being a different entry in this series. I'm not in anyway the biggest fan of the previous entry's in this franchise. I remember enjoying the original Devil May Cry, hating Devil May Cry 2 with the rest of the world, being frustrated as hell with Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening, and feeling indifferent about Devil May Cry 4, so someone rebooting this franchise sits pretty well with me at this point. But keep in mind, I don't hold the massive love for these characters as many seem to, and it seems to boil down to three general mindsets on this reboot. You have the following:
1. The people that will outright dismiss DmC Devil May Cry because it isn't what they wanted.
2. The people that are passive with the original series, and will enjoy this entry or at least give it a shot.
3. Those that never cared for this franchise, and will give this a try just for being different.
Now, with that out the way, let's talk about just how fantastic this game really is.
This is a different Dante then you played with for the last decade, that's for sure. While the game starts off pretty outlandishly, and I was ok with this, the game really didn't blow my mind until a certain boss fight, the second major boss fight for those curious. I really don't want to give away the details of that boss battle, because it is just so excellent, but rest assured, it is the breath of fresh air that a game like this has needed for years. In fact, if it wasn't for the excellent Bayonetta a few years back, I wouldn't have played a action hacker like this since the moderately decent Devil May Cry 4. Not to dismiss anything Bayonetta does, because that game is fantastic in its own right, but I have to say that DmC Devil May Cry is the best action slasher I've played in years. Literally everything I hated about these games mechanically has been fixed, and only besides a few frame-rate issues, (in menus, oddly enough), this game is as fluid as you could want it to be. The excellent use of motion capture voice acting works extremely well here as well, bringing to life this world and struggle of angels and demons.
Is the story of this reboot insane? Absolutely. Up until that boss battle, I rolled my eyes at least half a dozen times. My personal favorite story bit involves the use of a energy drink, which just seems so out there, however, this sat much better with me when it was all over and done with. Sure there are different about these characters this time around, with Dante, Vergil, and Mundus all making returns in sort of different roles, but they all work so well because this story is so over-the-top.
The mechanics are improved, but basically the same as you remember. There are a grand total of eight different weapons you can use at any given time, all with the right combinations can bring you some crazy combos. The combo scoring is basically the same, bringing S, SS, and SSS ranks back. You are still scored on time, number of combos, item usage, and deaths at the end of each mission. There are also the lost souls, keys that open secret mission doors, and other collectables that you'd remember from the previous entries in this series. But there's also enough decent stabs at the original game that will either make fans laugh or cringe, the most notable one comes at the very beginning of the game. I laughed, but others could view it as a giant "f*** you" to fans of the original franchise.
Your initial playthrough will take you eight to ten hours, if you are a hardcore fan probably less. There are enough cutscenes and an insane story to keep you going. But considering I was never a fan of the original core franchise game's crushing difficulty, I felt right at home here. The game was engaging enough that I actually am excited to go back and playthrough on Son of Sparda. Achievements/trophies for this game will cater to the more hardcore player, and that's fine too.
It is just amazing, at the end of everything, how well this game turned out. While I applaud Ninja Theory for going the direction they did, others will hate this game simply because it isn't what they wanted. All I know is that I enjoyed this more then any previous Devil May Cry, and I am extremely excited to see where they go for a sequel.
