Zero Punctuation: DMC: Devil May Cry

[major_chaos]

the writing and story are just as good as any of previous games and better than at least two of them.

Except I'm fairly sure the last two games weren't written by a 12 year old who just discovered the word "fuck" and an obsession with emo melodrama, nor was Dante so utterly obsessed with being "cool" in that unique way that just make you come across like a massive twat. I have heard plenty of people complain about games being dumbed down to appeal to the shooter bro crowd, but this is the first time I have seen a franchise dumbed down just to appeal to the 15 year hot topic dweller crowd.
(disclaimer: basically never played old or new DMC all this is based off watching other people play, and the fact that 10 minutes of playing DMC4 didn't make me want to kill the protagonist, while the DmC demo sure did).

OT: Gameplay looks fun if way to easy, but I refuse to buy a game where the PC looks and acts like he was formed from some kind of liquid emo that was scraped off the floor of a HotTopic.

 

[Yahtzee Croshaw]

Meeh... some people are soo ridiculously childish.. I wonder what it is with zealotry.. you have nothing important to get defensive about, so you go out of your way to prove that people liking something different than you are WRONG? At least the game clearly has an interest in actually commenting and expanding the mythology of the universe, and remains coherent with the tennants that the originals pursued. Grow up, or alternatively, if that doesn't work, get over yourselves.-

I personally have always had a soft spot for the dmc series, even tried my best to enjoy DMC2, and although I was hesitant, I found this FUN. Dante, and the game narratives have always been a ridiculous pastiche of cliches, and I'd even say that this is probably the most likeable and understandable that he has ever been. But it's not like they trampled over the whole concept.
NO,it's not the best game in the world, but DMC has never been the best game series in the world either. There are still many aspects of the game that are a definite improvement over previous entries. And others are a matter of preference.

Sure, the challenge is not the same, but you can still crank it up if it's boring you, and even if that's not enough, DONT WORRY! now we have leaderboards where you can insult everyone else for sucking! and playing the game altogether! (if getting a SSSS and bragging rights was so profoundly important for you)

the writing and story are just as good as any of previous games and better than at least two of them.

Except I'm fairly sure the last two games weren't written by a 12 year old who just discovered the word "fuck" and an obsession with emo melodrama, nor was Dante so utterly obsessed with being "cool" in that unique way that just make you come across like a massive twat. I have heard plenty of people complain about games being dumbed down to appeal to the shooter bro crowd, but this is the first time I have seen a franchise dumbed down just to appeal to the 15 year hot topic dweller crowd.
(disclaimer: basically never played old or new DMC all this is based off watching other people play, and the fact that 10 minutes of playing DMC4 didn't make me want to kill the protagonist, while the DmC demo sure did).

OT: Gameplay looks fun if way to easy, but I refuse to buy a game where the PC looks and acts like he was formed from some kind of liquid emo that was scraped off the floor of a HotTopic.

so you haven't played it, but you are having a big melodramatic rant/cry/sook about it?
who is the emo kid now?

 

[Lillowh]

The engine just doesn't allow enough enemies on screen at once, and it sucks that they just stand there if they aren't on screen.

Just for knowledge's sake, I can explain that bolded part specifically for you because I feel it was a really clever piece of game design on their part that wasn't talked about much. While it may seem like they're just standing there, they're actually on nearly the same combat routine, but with lessened aggression. Ninja Theory did this because they believe it prevents the "unfair" false difficulty of the previous games where enemies would still be full-on aggressive and would blind side you, which was especially an issue due to the close position of the camera in segments, unlike in fixed camera angles where you can actually see the enemies coming to hit you from behind. If you still stand with your back to the enemies, they will hit you if you're not careful. It's just seasoned DMC players who are used to that previous AI routines and thus are usually making sure there's not a chance to hit us from behind by mentally tracking enemies and making sure to move with some combos.

 

[Polite Sage]

Meeh... some people are soo ridiculously childish.. I wonder what it is with zealotry.. you have nothing important to get defensive about, so you go out of your way to prove that people liking something different than you are WRONG? At least the game clearly has an interest in actually commenting and expanding the mythology of the universe, and remains coherent with the tennants that the originals pursued. Grow up, or alternatively, if that doesn't work, get over yourselves.-

Yes. Because perfectly valid criticism is your definition of "childish" and "zealous".
And what the hell are with the comments essentially telling "DMC was never a good series to begin with, so DmC is completely excused even if it's a shitty reboot"?

Sure, the challenge is not the same, but you can still crank it up if it's boring you, and even if that's not enough, DONT WORRY! now we have leaderboards where you can insult everyone else for sucking! and playing the game altogether! (if getting a SSSS and bragging rights was so profoundly important for you)

Like many former DMC players have said, the game has next to no challenge even on the higher difficulties. The enemies are slightly less brain dead but you're still rewarded the most for spamming the same buttons and the cutscene laden, 1 second parry window copy pasta boss fights are still awful. It's not about bragging rights, it's about Ninja Theory taking out all the good points out of the former, challenging combat system of 3 and 4 then replacing it with Heavenly Sword's simplistic controls.

 

[shrekfan246]

If this is how you "ruin" things, Ninja Theory, do you think you could "ruin" some other franchises?

It's quite funny how all reviewers and DmC defenders compare the new title to the old and dated game instead of it's vastly more challenging and fast-paced sequels (namely 3 and 4, 2 is absolute dogshit) and feel like they can weigh in on the subject.

3 is slow and clunky as hell. Dante moves slower, the combat is much slower paced, and the camera angles have a way of hiding enemies from you until they streak in to attack you. I know this because I tried playing it again alongside DmC over the past few days. Switching between weapons is awkward, chaining combos is slow and easily screwed up, and while getting "SSS" ranked combos is more difficult, part of that is because half of the time you end up half the screen away from an enemy with no way of closing the distance before your style meter has gone down. The boss fights are a lot better though, I'll give it that.

4 is a lot better, and arguably the only one I'd say compares on a gameplay level, but purely from a pacing perspective the game plays slower still than the newest one. Not that that's a bad thing, but it doesn't keep the adrenaline pumping nearly as effectively. And while the gameplay is the best of the four original titles and keeping up stylistic combos is easier and more fun because Nero has the Demon Grab and Dante has a lot more maneuverability overall, it stumbles drunkenly over the level design and makes the second half of the game backtracking through the first half of the game.

I've been a fan of Devil May Cry for a long time. You're damn right I feel like I can weigh in on the subject.

 

[BehattedWanderer]

Nice to hear Ninja Theory is keeping their terrible traditions of collectibles they don't let you collect because you went exploring and accidentally progressed the level forward. Also, wow, quite the cockstravaganza this week. Was this just barrel scraping, or did you fail to miss last year's obligatory dick joke quota, and vowed to do this year's all in one go?

 

[Kingjackl]

This is a good one to watch first with the sound muted and try to work out based on the images alone what the fuck he's talking about.

 

[anti movie bob]

I was thinking of getting this, but Ninja Theory acting like a bunch of cunts has put me off it

 

[chozo_hybrid]

So is this going to be the next big gaming controversy now?

The harder difficulties are still difficult, it plays like a Devil May Cry game (in fact, I'd say it plays better than all of them with a possible slight exception for Devil May Cry 4), the writing and story are just as good as any of previous games and better than at least two of them, and while the level design may not be as convoluted and intricate as DMC3, it's at least better than other games in the same genre like God of War III and the art direction completely blows it out of the water.

And really, anyone who says the first Devil May Cry was better than this hasn't played that game in a long time. It's got the worst camera angles of the entire franchise, practically a non-existent story, and slow, tedious combat that yeah, bears some resemblance to the rest of the franchise, but was quite obviously the first implementation of the system.

Playing through with the Classic Dante skin is a laugh and a half in itself, though.

Hey I knew a rational person would show up sooner or later! After playing through DmC, I picked up The HD Collection. Admittedly, I haven't gotten very far into the first one, but so far what I've seen is slower, uglier (Not talking graphics, just the generic castle asthetic), and in general duller than DmC.

If this is how you "ruin" things, Ninja Theory, do you think you could "ruin" some other franchises?

Agreed, while I had fun with the previous games, this one I feel has breathed a new kind of life into the series. Plus it's a complete restart, I'm glad it's changed things, you want the old games? they're still there, this new one doesn't ruin the previous ones.

Glad to see I'm not the only one looking at this thread that thought like this.

 

[Sheo_Dagana]

I enjoy this game and have been playing Devil May Cry since way back when. Maybe I'm just used to reboots, but I don't typically end up comparing them, because what's the point? Every single game is going to have fans that complain that the new title isn't as good as the last one. Every game, even if it's not a reboot. I guess I'll never understand why people complain when a sequel/reboot is not 100% like their favorite installment, but maybe that's because I play too many games to care.

Devil May Cry has never been a stellar series for me anyway. It's just always been a fun filler sort of game that I play for the hell of it. I'd rate them as follows:

Devil May Cry: Good

Devil May Cry 2: Terrible

Devil May Cry 3: Great

Devil May Cry 4: Okay

Devil May Cry (DMC): Great

So I've liked most of them, but none of them have really blew me away and I probably wouldn't even put a DMC game in my top 10 games ever played list.

 

[General Twinkletoes]

the writing and story are just as good as any of previous games and better than at least two of them.

Except I'm fairly sure the last two games weren't written by a 12 year old who just discovered the word "fuck" and an obsession with emo melodrama, nor was Dante so utterly obsessed with being "cool" in that unique way that just make you come across like a massive twat. I have heard plenty of people complain about games being dumbed down to appeal to the shooter bro crowd, but this is the first time I have seen a franchise dumbed down just to appeal to the 15 year hot topic dweller crowd.
(disclaimer: basically never played old or new DMC all this is based off watching other people play, and the fact that 10 minutes of playing DMC4 didn't make me want to kill the protagonist, while the DmC demo sure did).

OT: Gameplay looks fun if way to easy, but I refuse to buy a game where the PC looks and acts like he was formed from some kind of liquid emo that was scraped off the floor of a HotTopic.

Yeah, it was pretty obvious you haven't played it without you saying it. Are you sure the videos you watched were actually DMC, or were they some random game with the wrong title? Because old Dante was exactly all those things you said makes the new one bad. Some of them, even more so than the new one. Old Dante appeals way more to teenage power fantasies, and his clothing was a lot more stupid.

 

[Arcane Azmadi]

So was that a positive review or not? Yahtzee seemed to praise quite a lot of the game's elements which is usually a sign that the game has at least some redeeming value and a lot of the complaints were nitpicky things like "I can't master the intricacies of the combat system", but his final issue with the difficulty seems to be a bit of a deal-breaker, considering that the original DMC was hard and DMC 3 was the game that tore off my skin and made it into an Arcane-suit. That's a pretty big complaint.

Then again, I don't really care anyway, since I won't be buying this game. I never beat DMC 3 so I've never really had the urge to pick up any more sequels. I'll get there some day (FUCKIN' AGNI AND RUDRA!).

 

[xPixelatedx]

Probably the best Hack N' Slash I've played in a good long while. I had pretty much given up on the genre after the snore fest that was Darksiders and Bayonetta.

No offense, but the best hack N' Slash? Were you looking for something that would reward you with the highest score just for pressing attack repeatedly without any effort or concentration needed? Again, not trying to offend, but I am really trying to discern how you judge that genre of games. If it is a relaxation thing, I can understand. I like Contra for it's brutal difficulty, but sometimes I just like to unwind and pop in Metal Slug instead.

I guess I'll never understand why people complain when a sequel/reboot is not 100% like their favorite installment, but maybe that's because I play too many games to care.

You might be surprised to realize people don't hate on things just because they're new. I don't mind change; I didn't dislike the characters because they were different (they could have been turned into cartoon rabbits for all I care), I disliked them because they were awful. The game play wasn't bad because it was new, it was bad because it was lacking. The level design wasn't bad because it was new, it was bad because it was boring (in structure; it's actual appearance was beautiful). The boss fights weren't bad because they were new, they were bad because the tension level was 0. Some people like to be excited when playing a game.

To say something is good just because it's new is an even shakier platform to stand on then the people who hate things just because a series went in a different direction.

 

[AgentLampshade]

I still think the only thing this game did well was divide the fanbase to a degree that's only detrimental to the franchise (and the DMC community, now that half of them hate each other.) Love or hate the game, there was no chance it was going to sell as well as it was predicted.

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

[
Yes. Because perfectly valid criticism is your definition of "childish" and "zealous".
And what the hell are with the comments essentially telling "DMC was never a good series to begin with, so DmC is completely excused even if it's a shitty reboot"?

It is kinda funny how people try to deflect criticism away from this game by either.

A) Saying the old series was shitty, as if that somehow eliminates the fact that what NT farted out was average at best. Plus say what you will about Dante, Nero, Lady, and Trish's adventures, they were never pretentious.

or B) Play critics up as strawmen, usually by oversimplifying arguments or bringing up facts that have been irrelevant for awhile (like people are only pissed because of the hair). Funnily enough, this strawman strategy is also used by one of the villains in the game in order to demonize Dante.

When these are the only tools you have left, you should probably reevaluate things. As it stands this game is just going to be forgotten in a month anyway when bigger games like Dead Space 3 and Metal Gear Rising roll around.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

Never cared for Devil May Cry so I don't really care about this reboot.

 

[Hyper-space]

...cause that's what a 12yr old thinks is cool.

Was that not just DMC in a nutshell?

I mean, let's not pretend that Dante looking like a hot-topic-reject-circa-2000 was any better. Now he just sort of looks like a hot-topic-reject-circa-now.

 

[Smolderin]

I want to burn every copy of this game for nothing more than "He's the product of a demon and angel"

Sounds like it could be one of those terrible paranormal romance novels written by Twilight obsessed girls who still don't know that Stephanie Meyer is a terrible author. Come to think of it, I wouldn't be surprised if there was already one written....No..No...I really don't want to know it's name. Though I do admit every time I go to Barnes and Nobles I go straight to that section and read the synopsis's for a good laugh.

 

[anthony87]

Devil May Cry 4: Okay

This is why I think that a reboot was needed, I honestly couldn't see the series going anywhere after Devil May Cry 4. Sure it was a good game but it really wasn't well designed, the backtracking, the repeat boss fights, those fucking dice rooms, Nero in general, hell even Dante was just Dante from Devil May Cry 3 again with some added stubble and a watered down Dark Slayer style chucked in. Then there's the mess of questions and plot holes that we're left with by the end...