rAge 2012: DmC: Devil May Cry Impressions

It positively irks me when someone says something along the lines of, “Remember when games were…”

“Remember when games were difficult?” ; “Remember when games were challenging?” ; “Remember when games were impossible to complete without dying hundreds of times and eventually raging so much that you broke out into a tantrum of rage mixed with tears as you smashed your hands down in a forceful way before storming off and sobbing to yourself in the corner, curled up in the foetal position, slowly rocking back and forth while sucking on your thumb?”

The Contra crew know exactly what I’m talking about, and I’d wager any Devil May Cry fan might know as well.

Crying is indeed what some devils may have been doing ever since the reboot of the series was first announced and the new Dante, displayed. Let’s get one thing straight out of the way. Yes, he is a douche-y anorexic teenage junkie looking person who wears a black jacket with the United Kingdom’s flag on its sleeve, but the new Dante’s personality is not the sum of the experience, just like the old Dante’s personality wasn’t the sum of the experience.

Sure it was cool, but was it really the be-all and end-all of the series? No. There was also that thing about the combat.

Having played the new Devil May Cry at rAge 2012, I can happily and without any reasonable doubt whatsoever proclaim that the reboot of the series is a true progression and one that should be embraced rather than shunned.

Okay so the new Dante is a dick. He’s just the old Dante (also a dick) but with some Western orientation, and really you all only have yourselves to blame for that. As far as the rest of the game goes, though, it’s great. In fact, it’s pure SS-rank awesome.

The world of Limbo is truly alive and not just hinders your progress by shifting walls and floors as you move along them but creates enemies for you to battle and will try its utmost best to get you killed. Along for the ride is a female companion character of sorts, I don’t particularly care about her right now but she seems to be akin to Elika from Prince of Persia, but without the insane reliance on you to do everything for her.

The combat. Oh the sweet, sweet combat. It’s not easy to mix flair with ease. Previous Devil May Cry games required intricate key presses in order to pull off the sexy combos that they boasted, and improve your rank. The new Devil May Cry is of a level where button mashing ‘can’ get you some way but not far at all (try a constant D rank) however if you put in a little effort, you get rewarded for it and of course if you master the system, you’re getting that SS rank whether you like it or not. I love it. It mixes friendliness with a mastery curve so that nobody is left out, and that’s half the battle won with regards to Capcom’s hopes for making the game more popular without sacrificing on the core elements.

Sure you serious types who love difficulty might grimace and scoff and so on, at the idea of having a newbie-friendly Devil May Cry game, but it’s really not. You see, the combat system is still the same as you remember. It’s just more accessible this time around. More entertaining as well. And I dare say, more sexy than anything the old Dante could pull off. That said, a lot of older combos have returned such as the hail of bullets in a spiral move that I sorely missed in Devil May Cry 4, as well as weapons that feel a lot better than that silly hand of Nero’s. If only Nero’s hand was actually a scythe…

The enemies are your usual score of demons and the like so by now we’re no strangers to love all of that, but the beauty is in the dispatching of those cretins. And boy oh boy, is it as beautiful as Devil May Cry has ever been. Add to that the beauty of the game’s location.

I would say that if you’re an absolute die-hard Devil May Cry fan who resents Capcom and Ninja Theory for this reboot, then I would recommend you work on dying regardless of how hard it is. The rest of you, even those extremely skeptical, I urge you to lay your fears aside and trust in my judgement. This game was easily my favourite of the entire show, and you all know what else was at rAge, so that’s enough said right there.

It’s a great game with great gameplay regardless of how great the main character is not. And you’ll have a blast playing it, regardless of your skill level.

Remember when games were fun?