Devil May Cry 1-5 & DmC

[AndyKurosaki]

Picked up DMC the other day, I've loved the series since the first game. People were worried that it wouldn't be a "proper" DMC without Capcom making it. But seeing how brilliant Enslaved is made me think Ninja Theory are a safe pair of hands.
And this is absolutely brilliant, they've definitely done themselves proud.

[Sean]

So, guys.

The Bob Barbas fight.

Do I need to say anything more?

[NokkonWud]

So, guys.

The Bob Barbas fight.

Do I need to say anything more?

You don't.

[Sean]

So far, the only thing I'm not liking about DmC is the Eryx. I'm never a fan of fist weapons in this kind of game. Similar to Hercules' gauntlets in God of War 3. Its too slow, and, Dante with really big fists just looks goofy.

[Scrustle]

I agree. I always tend to prefer bladed weapons in most games, so I've stuck with the Arbiter and only use Eryx when I have to.

[NokkonWud]

So far, the only thing I'm not liking about DmC is the Eryx. I'm never a fan of fist weapons in this kind of game. Similar to Hercules' gauntlets in God of War 3. Its too slow, and, Dante with really big fists just looks goofy.

I felt that way, but as the game progressed I used the Arbiter mainly for crowd management and the Eryx in one on one combat (I believe it's actually quicker than the Arbiter). Combined with either Angel weapon the Eryx fists are lethal!

[Sean]

I did grow to like the Eryx, but, I wonder if my dislike for that weapon was just replaced by the Kablooey. Felt like a lame and unnecessary final weapon. Why give us a third gun, but, not a third angel/demon weapon? The Revenant is all you need, anyway.

The last couple levels themselves are a bit of a letdown in comparison to the crazy highs found earlier in the game, but, they're hardly enough to bring the game down that much. Can't wait for a sequel. I can't imagine Ninja Theory would want to go through all the shit they went through again, but, I hope they come back to it.

Pretty fucking awesome game.

[Dante Fireseed]

for those who are enjoying DMC, did anybody play and enjoy the demo? The thing is for me, I hated the demo, but it may be one of those games that just didn't demo well. A good example of that was Vanquish, as again the demo didn't sit with me at all, but when I tried the full game recently as it was on PSN+, I played it through and loved it.

I played the original DMC back in the day, but none of them since.

[Sean]

I liked the demo. Felt like it was a pretty decent example of what you'll find in the game. There's a lot more depth to the combat, though. Tons of upgrades / challenges and stuff like that.

And, the story is actually really well-told. I'd say it's NT's weakest, but, it's nice and cinematic, which, I don't think you really get from the demo.

As an example, my fiancee watched me play the entire thing, which, she hasn't done since Mass Effect 2.

[James]

I tucked into Devil May Cry today - no, not that one... the first one - for the first time since I played it in 2005. I say "played", but reaching Phantom and getting stuck doesn't really count, does it? Camera aside, it's great fun. Took a couple of attempts to get past Phantom this time, but it wasn't that tough.

My plan is to play 1 and 3 in the HD Collection and then dance around replaying 4 (I haven't decided yet) before starting DmC. Question is, do I pick up DmC when it is released on Friday or wait for a price drop? I should say that I'm waiting for the PC version and it's currently £22.99.

What do you think? Is it worth going through the older games before starting DmC?

[NokkonWud]

DmC is a re-imagining so you don't need to know a single thing from the previous 4 games, so there's no need to play through the previous games. For my money the new one is better too.

[James]

I know. It's more a desire to know what came before for informational or cultural purposes, rather than narrative. Like watching the Bond films to get a feel for the history of the character before watching Casino Royale.

My patience may dictate how far I'll get with this anyway; I'm up to Mission 6 of Devil May Cry and running out of steam.

[Scrustle]

I know. It's more a desire to know what came before for informational or cultural purposes, rather than narrative. Like watching the Bond films to get a feel for the history of the character before watching Casino Royale.

My patience may dictate how far I'll get with this anyway; I'm up to Mission 6 of Devil May Cry and running out of steam.

I've been playing the original three DMC games for the first time recently too with the HD Collection, and my advise is that I wouldn't worry too much about playing them all in order. If you listened to the recent podcast on DMC3 then you'll have heard that from my experience of DMC1 is has aged very badly. It's really clunky, ugly and shallow in comparison to more recent games. So I gave up on it and went straight to DMC3 since I heard 2 was an abomination. That was a really good decision. DMC3 is a brilliant game and miles better than DMC1. Way more enjoyable and much better put together. It's also probably the one you should play the most, since it's the one that everyone regards as the pinnacle of the series. I think it's not going too far to say it's the only game that's really worth your time in a "cultural" or "historical" sense. It would probably be good to at least play the others to see what they're like, but DMC3 is the one that's really worth spending an extended time with.

[AndyKurosaki]

for those who are enjoying DMC, did anybody play and enjoy the demo? The thing is for me, I hated the demo, but it may be one of those games that just didn't demo well. A good example of that was Vanquish, as again the demo didn't sit with me at all, but when I tried the full game recently as it was on PSN+, I played it through and loved it.

I played the original DMC back in the day, but none of them since.

The demo was what made this a "Day One" for me. I was pretty sure Ninja Theory would know what they were doing, the demo sealed the deal for me.

[Dante Fireseed]

hmmm, fair enough - I may wait for it on rental then.

[Ghost World]

Well I hope all you guys are right about DMC being great because I just Pre-Purchased a copy for the PC that will hopefully unlock very soon!

It's no good me declaring my love for Ninja Theory and then not supporting them with cash, It's a risk as I didn't really enjoy Devil May Cry (PS2) or Devil May Cry 4 but I have played the first couple of levels of DMC via a Love Film rental which I found entertaining.

Anyway I couldn't resist as it was only £22.99

[dezm0nd]

You're gonna love it, man. I'm sure.

[mikeleddy83]

Tried to take off the new game glasses with this one, wasn't certain to pick it up based off of the demo (I personally think it undersold the game, I'd have just put the first level out there, that'd sell it to anyone) but having just completed it I'm pretty optimistic for 2013 if this is the quality of January releases. I'd rate it over 2 and 4 but (not far) under 1 & 3 so I guess the odd number release rule still applies. Great game!

I'd suggest anyone who has played a previous game in the series should ramp up the difficulty, I played on devil hunter difficulty and had just 2 deaths in the game (stocked up on gold orbs) but I'm no expert and as the difficulty levels show there's a good amount of unlockable difficulties so I'm not even sure if I played the 'normal' difficulty.

[Ghost World]

Well I'm 8 missions in and I'm pretty impressed thus far. To be brutally honest with you though I'm finding the combat just an entertaining distraction from the real star of the show which is the visual intensity and imagination of the level design. The way the world forms and collapses around the player combined with the silky smooth animation is a step above much of what the genre has offered before.

Another thing that has surprised me is I'm actually engaged in the story being told. Don't get me wrong, it's no Monkey & Tripp adventuring across the wasteland but its also not "hey I'm Dante and I kill shit! Lets go!" I'm genuinely intrigued about how the Kat and Virgil relationship is going to evolve.

Combat wise I'm enjoying the Heavenly Sword style stances where certain weapons are needed to kill certain things and the hook abilities that allow me to draw myself closer to the enemy or disarm them, yet as with just about all combo heavy games I finding myself overwhelmed with choice and I'm too readily falling back on YY (pause) YYYY move and I'm really struggling to get air combos chained together. Also, I'm no expert of the genre but shouldn't there be a lock on ability to make it easier to focus on a singular target.

Anyway, after playing the PC version of DMC I'm left with this thought: Enslaved 2 would look incredible next gen and with Ninja Theory's new found combat expertise it would be one hell of a game

[James]

Finished DmC today. I ran through the whole game on Devil Hunter in two sittings - it's that good!

Tony is spot on to credit the level design; throughout the game the ingenuity of layout and variety of environments is exceptional.

However, I found the combat to be equally as good. Not only was it a vast improvement over Enslaved (itself not bad, by any means), but I enjoyed it every bit as much as any other Devil May Cry game and almost as much as Bayonetta. The degree to which I was able to switch up weapons and play styles on the fly was truly astounding to me. I'm still no great shakes due to my poor timing and decision making mid-combo, but I felt like I was pretty effective.

I couldn't have imagined that I'd have had this much fun with DmC, but I want to dive right back in to Nephilim or (*whispers*) Son Of Sparta difficulty. Bring it!