DmC Devil May Cry from Capcom is out in a few weeks time and I have been playing it, so here is my preview.
In this retelling of Dante's origin story which is set against a contemporary backdrop, DmC Devil May Cry retains the stylish action, fluid combat and self-assured protagonist that have
defined the iconic series but inject a more brutal and visceral edge.
The Dante of DmC is a young man who has no respect for authority or indeed society in general. Dante knows that he is not human, but also that he is not like the demons that have
tormented him throughout his life. Caught between worlds, he feels like an outcast.
Thanks to his twin brother Vergil, leader of the anti-establishment group called "The Order", Dante is now discovering and coming to terms with what it means to be the child of a demon
and an angel. This split personality has a real impact on gameplay with Dante being able to call upon angel and demon abilities at will, transforming his Rebellion sword on the fly to
dramatically affect both combat and movement.
For DmC Capcom has teamed up with UK development studio, Ninja Theory, renown for delivering action titles with compelling characters and narrative coupled with high production values.
The combination of Ninja Theory's expertise and Capcom's unrivalled heritage in producing combat focused action titles will ensure that this latest addition to the over 11-million selling series will remain true to the Devil May Cry DNA so cherished by the fans, while bringing a new level of cinematic quality to the title.
I have to be honest, I haven't really played much of the previous DmC games, so I am going in fairly cold here, but I have seen a few demo's and played a little at Gamescom and so I was exciting to finally get to play with it properly.
So the game starts of with a naked Dante standing outside his trailer where he gets pulled into Limbo City and then gets attacked by a Hunter Demon. There is a rather amusing sequence where his trailer gets pulled away and he flies in slow motion through the trailer getting dressed as he goes, all the while his modesty is covered by a variety of flying objects, including a slice of pizza. Hopefully this gives you a little insight into the humour in the game, which keeps it from getting too dark!
It's pretty much then straight into the fighting - there are many moves to learn and button sequences that perform a multitude of attacks.
This is where fighting game fans and fans of DmC will love this game. The fighting mechanics are amazing, as I mentioned there are lots of moves to learn and different techniques and combos to use. At the beginning of the game Dante only has a limited number of sword attacks but as time and the game moves on he quickly learns new abilities and acquires new weaponry from both Angel's and Demons alike.
One nice thing for someone like me who hasn't played much of the previous DmC games is that this gave me time to get used to the different weapons and combos rather than just throwing me in at the deep-end.
A don't worry, Dante's twin pistols, Ebony and Ivory make a welcome return.
The battles are quick and ferocious, and there are a lot of cut scenes. Sometimes this gets a little in the way of the action, but it's all part of the story, so hopefully players won't be too put off! But I have to say those cut scenes are very cool and are worth watching.
Oh, did I mention that there are a lot, and I do mean a lot, of different enemies so it's not just a case of the same enemies turning up and fighting Dante. The boss battles are also pretty spectacular as each one has a certain theme.
One area of the game that occasionally frustrated me though was the platforms. During these sequences Dante runs and jumps between platforms, and I found that after a while it became a little tedious - primarily because at times it was really difficult to make the jump because of camera angles and other elements. Every time I thought I had made the jump I seemed to just miss it and have to start again. I did however find myself getting better at it as time went on though.
There is a lot of music in the game, and I can see it being an area that you either love, hate or tolerate. Although it certainly takes a little getting used to!
There are many different difficulty levels you can play in the game - Human (which is the easy level), Devil Hunter (which is medium) and finally there is Nephilin (which is the hard difficulty level). There are also a number of others that are even harder.
I have played the first ten levels and I have to say that I did enjoy it, a lot - I am continuing on with it for the full review, but for now I will say that both Capcom and Ninja Theory have a dark, but fun fighting game worthy of the DmC name - so for those people out there who were concerned about this reboot, don't be!
DmC Devil May Cry is released on the 15th January for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and later in 2013 for the PC.