Devil May Cry

For review of the Vergil's Downfall DLC , click HERE

 Yet another DMC game is up for grabs . Well my initial reaction was yippee , Its time for some hack and slash ..But when they said it was a reboot of the game by a new developer , Ninja Theory I  expected it to be disappointing . What have you done  Capcom , I will always wonder . But still the game has a few highlights that makes it memorable and a real good experience , So lets plunge in .

Beauty of Limbo 

The story takes place in a real world which is nearer to our timeline within a city which is controlled by Mundus , a Demon Lord who hides the demons in a parallel  world called the Limbo . The concept of alternate dimension which is existing parallel to our world is beautifully shown . Hats off the idea behind that . And Limbo never had looked so beautiful and breadth taking . I mean we all would have come across Limbo in other games who had their own views of how it will be . Now Ninja Theory not only made it beautiful but also a little believable (i.e) at least according to the story line . Now tat really has to be appreciated .

Beauty of Limbo  2 - Bob's Lair

Dante gets a new look who looks like a sissy Girl , rather than the formidable , cool and stylish Demon Slayer that we know of .Although they have tried to provide the new Dante with the same character traits , hmmmmm ,  with his new looks it fails to hit the mark a little bit . He still has his ever favorite Sword ' The Rebellion ' and his guns ' Ebony and Ivory ' . The story is just a normal revenge slob where Dante and Vergil try to take down Mundus who was responsible for their mother's death , who was an angel and his father , a demon , to eternal banishment . So therefor the children who are born to them are Nephilim , Half Demon + Half Angel . And of course they are the only one who have the power to destroy Mundus , blah blah ..the Usual S**t ..

DreamRunner - This guy can slash you to bits 

Gameplay :: 

Crumbling Limbo

The hack and slash is the same as the previous versions . But Hard core fans of the genre will definitely feel the difference in the speed of the gameplay . DMC 3 was the best sword play game that ever came into time . I mean it was fast , really really fast . The way you juggle combos with heavy attacks , Guns and demon power etc were so awesome tat it made Gamers go crazy over it .
DMC 4 slowed down a little bit , but still the dramatic Cut scenes and the huge finishing moves that you get to execute when you battle a boss were immensely satisfying . I loved the game for the awesome cut scenes alone :D

Even though its still all there in this one , Something is lacking  . I mean the enemies were a little slow moving even in hard mode that you can easily dodge their attacks . I mean whats the fun in tat . Again I felt that the game has been dumbed to make even noobs play good :( .

The way everytime you get pushed into Limbo the world around completely changes is really cool to look and experience . An ordinary room in real world would look like a bottomless pit in Limbo ;-) cool huh . and Kat is the only person who can cross into the limbo because she is a psychic . World shifts and changes as you move on is really deadly to watch and experience  .

Beautiful Psychic KAt

Graphics :: 

Game looks beautiful but it doesn't tax your GPU that much any decent card is going to get you an average Frame rate . ( Mine was utilizing about only 34 - 40 % of GPU memory )Because The game is  a port of console version and there are no settings for you to tweak .But still you need a entry level card of this generation if you want your gameplay to be smooth without any lockups and slow downs .

Weapons ::

Be it DMC 1  , 2 , 3 and 4 the New weapons were never sparse . Well you start with your basic Sword Rebellion and Ebony and Ivory , and as you progress you get

a) Arbiter  ( Demon ):: 

A huge Axe which provides you huge stopping power again waves of enemies , especially powerful enemies with Shields . This huge smashing attack can break their shields into pieces . What is more cool is the way they need not be selected through weapons cycle  . All you need to do is to hold down your Right Trigger in your controller and Vola you can use the Arbiter , Release it and you immediately switch back to your Sword . Cool huh ;-) that was really impressive and New , I have to say.

Very useful to break down doors that can be smashed open only with the arbiter .

b ) Osiris ( Angel ):: 

The Osiris is nothing but a huge Scythe that can be used to provide round about attacks to dispel minions when they are around you completely . The way Dante handles it is really so cool to look . As you upgrade it can be used to cause a Whirl wind attack that can be used to slice through Veins that block your pathway .

c) Eryx ( Demon ) :

These are like the same ones Used by Kratos in GOW 3 where he gets it from his brother Hercules .
Its has very effective stopping power against charging Ravagers . Time it right and you can hurl the ravager away as it charges at you . But warning , It may be tricky to execute . But you can get easy style bonus with this . And also quite awesome in delivering killer Blows to Rage Spawn , Nastiest enemy you will ever come to face in this game .This is the one who was capable of hitting  me even with dodging and weakening me .

Its an important Power and is useful / Essential while battling Bob Barbars .

d) Aquila ( Angel ) :: 

Just like Agni and Rudra , the dual wielded blades from DMC 3 these are like huge shurikens which can be thrown like a Boomerang at enemies . Its very fast and can be very effective in taking down swarms of  enemies who are around you . The charged power of this one can be used to keep an enemy engaged while you concentrate and kill another and then going for the one whom you had engaged with a charge shot  , Bcos two at the same time can be very dangerous to your health as one may require a Angel Weapon to deal a hit and other may require a Demon weapon to make a dent .

e) Revenant and Kablooey : :

These are the other two guns you get in the game and allows you to cycle between all of them . Revenant has a style shot which looks so cool to see and can take down Younger Rages easily .

Kablooey is very hard to handle as it fires darts with explosives which explode only after you press a button  . Unless you press the button to explode you won t be able to fire another dart ..Sheesh !! Avoid it all cost ..

So tats it about weapons and lets get to ,

Upgrades & Unlocks 

Dante comes into the game with the double jump and basic attacks of Rebellion and his guns unlocked . And as you deliver stunning and stylish blows to your enemies the Style meter keeps track of your points and hits  .If your hit is too repetitive it will slowly start to decline . On the other hand if you juggle weapons and score hits by chaining combos it will go from Brutal to Anarchic to SS . You have to keep a high count in you style meter for you to get a decent average at the end of each level .

Limerick Criticizing new Dante

And of course based on the style meter you will get upgrade points which can be used to upgrade your weapon skills mostly . Dante's skills does not require any upgrade as it comes with everything . The only thing you can do is to collect Red Orbs as usual and use them to get a green vital star ( Although I am not sure with the difficulty so dumbed down you won t be needing it at all ) or you may use it to buy you an extra health bar .

Although keep in mind that the upgrade can be done only while starting the missions or with the help of Vitality statue that you may find in some recess of each level .

Limerick Criticizing new Dante Look :D

There are a lot of collectibles available in every mission that may itch and interest a compeltionist . Especially the collection of Bronze / Silver /Golden Keys which can be used to unlock Challenge Rooms in each level . Once you finish the challenge you will be awarded with a part of Star which when you collect and make a complete star can be used for increasing your life . This was really nice part in the game which i loved  . But some areas are really confounding , Bcos you will be able to see the key or the door but you won t have any clue as how to reach it . GoD!! its frustating .

Abilities :: 

Along wit the double jump you also have other abilities which can be performed with the help of your weapons

i ) Demon Pull  ::

As soon as you get the Arbiter you will be pulled off into a dream where you will be granted this power and an opportunity to practice it too .This can be used to pull environments and platforms to you . although it starts innocently easy at first , at the later stages it will get complicated . Useful while battling bosses .

ii) Angel Lift :: 

Exactly opposite of the demon Pull the Angel Lift pulls Dante to a glowing Blue point . Help in traversal around the broken world of Limbo .

Angel Lift Execution

iii ) Demon Power :: 

As usual the Demon Power gets Dante into Demon Mode for some amount of time where he can deal huge damage and becomes invincible . But compared to the older games this looks somewhat silly and odd .I can t put my finger on it  , but  nope I didn't like it .

Bosses :: 

First Boss -The Hunter

Boss Fights were always the best part of the DMC series. Because you get the awesome visuals and cutscenes at first and then then huge and dramatic Finishing moves which Dante performs with a Flourish . And I have to mention Nero who made an appearance in DMC 4 , who along with his Demon Hand had the best finishing and fight/ Brutal moves of all time . I really loved him .

Poison - who gives you Eryx Power 

So coming to Boss Fight in this DMC , I have to say that I was disappointed . Because for one , And as i have said before, they are too Damn easy to defeat . God I still remember the fight of DMC 4 Frog Boss and Final Boss fight where I had to fight like days and days to complete it . But here boss fights are so silly and easy and most of the time you wont feel as if you are doing anything at all . And the dramaticity was also not that effective  .When the slo mo camera starts and your heart leaps up in expectations only for it to fall back short when the cut scene ends bcos it was not what you were expecting at all . I don t even know how Capcom accepted this anyway .

Dante's  Twin Bro Vergil with Yamato 

Pro's ::

1. Experience the stark differentiation between the real world and Limbo . Limbo has never looked so beautiful and at the same time deadly .
2. The controls are easy to configure and looks so smooth when you get to execute on screen.
3.No big GPU required to run the game .
4. First time DMC fans / Beginners are going to love it for sure

Con's :: 

1. Game is too damn easy with missions too Short . Bosses too easy to kill.
2. No Dramatic Cutscenes for which DMC was famous for .
3. Gameplay is horribly slow when you compare to it the older versions of the game .
4. The upgrade system is such a joke because once upgraded it can also be removed and used for another upgrade ( I mean what the hell is tat ).
5. Dante looks a little girly :D

Overall:: 

A must play game for the beginners of DMC franchise but once again I reinforce that Hard core DMC fans are going to be awfully disappointed .

Rating : 7.8 / 10

Regards 

Ram