Video Game Review: DmC Devil May Cry (PS3 version but can apply to other consoles)

Well can't start this review without addressing the controversy that it has had. When the game was put into development, Capcom wanted Dante completely redesigned while maintaining the things that fans love about him and thus we got a western looking Dante which got negative reviews when he was first seen by the public. Over the course of the game's development, fans later gave a positive reaction to the redesign, possibly after having a play with the character in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale or from the many demos that were made for the game at various press events (such as E3). OK so with that out of the way, I can now carry on. The game possibly starts a brand new series of games in the DMC series as it takes place in an alternate reality from the past games and has been developed from a western perspective (hence the redesign of Dante), as requested by Capcom who helped out with the development of the game (which was done by Ninja Theory, which to my surprise, is quite local to me). Does it do the franchise justice? Let's find out:

As I said, the game takes place in an alternate reality from the other games. Having recovered from a night of alcohol and sex (a hangover in other words), Dante discovers that he is in Limbo City, which starts out as being a calm and dreary city, before being turned into a twisted parody of itself (which to anyone who has watched The Nostalgia Critic, would call it a mind f**k) with demons and various other monsters who attempt to kill Dante whenever he sees them. He meets a girl named Kat and has him recruited into The Order, which the press have dubbed as terrorists and is led by Vergil, Dante's twin brother. Dante reluctantly joins them having been convinced and together, they set out to put an end to the demon's leader, Mundus, who frequently mocks Dante through words that randomly appear.

I've never actually played any of the other games, so this will be based purely on what I've seen in the game. You get quite an arsenal of weapons which Dante will acquire over time. These include firearms, Rebellion and specific weapons that while similar, are used for different purposes (Angel and Demon weapons in other words). You get to perform combos as you fight demons and bosses and over the course of the game, you can upgrade Dante's abilities and weapons as well as purchasing items that can help you along the way. There are some well designed levels in this game and some of the boss battles are quite fun and over the top, despite them have a health bar which is what a typical boss in any game would have (no certain hit bosses here so that's a plus as they are really annoying). In each of the levels, you can find lost souls, keys, secret challenges (which reward you with an extended bar of health and demon power) and breakable objects that can give you demon heads which are used for different purposes. At the end of each level, a ranking system is used to show how well you've done in the level and in between levels, you get the chance to purchase upgrades and items (which you can also do in the level when you reach a particular point of it, but this tends to be more convenient) and change the looks of Dante and his weapons (when they are unlocked during the game or purchased via the console's online store).

Overall, despite that I haven't played the other games, this is actually a pretty fun game. The levels are designed well, it pays tribute to past games and it's quite easy to play (depending on the difficulty of course). If there's any cons that I can identify, there should be a online mode and the possibility of co-op (with players  choosing who to be out of Dante and Vergil). Oh and as the music is mostly heavy metal, I would avoid turning the volume up as it may give you a never ending headache and might disturb the neighbours. Other than that, the game is great and all credit goes to Capcom and Ninja Theory for a well developed game. 9/10