I'm playing on PS3 and I haven't had any frame rate, audio, or texture problems. Not sure what the review is talking about.
DmC: Devil May Cry Review
Game Emblems
The Good
Well balanced game play, keeping of some elements. Evolved narrative but lacks that dramatic strength and anticipation
With assured storytelling, great combat, and imaginative design, DmC: Devil May Cry is a fun reboot, despite some frame rate issues and audio bugs.
The Good
- Tight, enthralling, and deep combat
- Big variety of weapons and enemies
- Imaginative demon designs
- Convincing voice acting
- Reboots the series without compromising its soul.
The Bad
- Erratic frame rate issues, audio bugs, and texture pop-in
- Boss battles aren't nearly as fun as regular combat
- Ending doesn't live up to the rest of the story.
There's a point in DmC: Devil May Cry where everything just falls into place, a point where--after being mollycoddled through hours of gentle combat--you're finally let off the leash. And at that point, chaos ensues. The gates of hell are opened, once-timid demons become tremendous horrors, and Dante transforms into a fighter of glowing theatrics and tense technical wizardry. Immense, over-the-top combos flow from the fingertips, unleashing all manner of visually enticing carnage with a precise, fluid feel. It's a shame the PlayStation 3 version suffers from numerous issues, including an erratic frame rate and audio bugs, but there's still plenty to like about Dante's lastest adventure.
The story, for instance, is light-years ahead of previous games in the series. Where they were schlocky, B-movie tales of adolescent fantasy, DmC has a sense of restraint, and maturity. Not that it's entirely evident from the off. A slew of half-naked bodies and raucous rock music make for a less-than-enticing introduction to the new, modern-day Dante's world, where he lives the playboy lifestyle of booze, nonstop parties, and sleazy sex. It's only with the arrival of the hardened psychic Kat and the emergence of a frightening demon horde that Dante, and the story, begins to grow up.
What follows is a tale of evil, world domination, and love that weaves in touches of conspiracy theory and religious dogma to great effect. There's no denying that there's still a drop of Devil May Cry lunacy to it all, particularly in Dante's cheesy quips, but underneath that over-the-top exterior lies heart. There are real moments of drama and excitement that are coupled with some well-realised characters that walk a fine line between good and evil. It helps that they're backed by a terrific voice cast--especially the truly frightening villain Mundis--that delivers even the maddest of dialogue with the utmost sincerity.
DmC's greater focus on storytelling comes at expense of some freedom, but the game is no worse off for it. Gone is the tedious backtracking and repetition of Devil May Cry 4, replaced with an adventure that--for the most part--propels you forward at a breakneck pace. One moment you're escaping a blood-red city that's folding and crumbling around you, and the next you're infiltrating the offices of a famed TV network where the earthly world and that of Limbo have collided in an explosion of vicious demons and ghastly black ooze that drips from every wall.
Such is the variety in your adventure that it does an admirable job of glossing over the linear nature of the story. It helps, of course, that the action is exciting too. Dante is a man with some impressive physical skills that are augmented by an equally impressive range of deadly weaponry. Initially that weaponry takes the form of Rebellion, a sword with a medium speed and attack range that serves as the bedrock for combos.
With just a few taps it's easy to perform simple combos that cut a sharp path through enemies and launch them into the air where you can deal more damage before they explode into a wonderfully satisfying mess of gory blobs. It's not long before you reach the limits of what you can do with a single weapon, though, which makes the time it takes to gather new ones a tad grating. Still, once the game finally lets you loose with a bigger arsenal, the combat takes a rewarding turn. What opens up before you is a vast set of moves that can be smoothly chained together for some technically impressive and oh-so-gorgeous-looking combos.
The combat is done in a way that cleverly plays to the strengths of each weapon, and that of your opponents' weapons. For instance, lighter, angelic weapons like the Osiris scythe are geared towards juggling enemies in the air and dealing spinning swipes that take out large groups all at once. Heavier, demonic weapons like the Arbiter axe focus on all-out strength, pummelling demons into the ground with a hefty brute force, albeit at the expense of attack speed. Combine the two, and you can knock out enemies with the swifter, lighter weapon before neatly finishing them off with a deadly demonic blow.
As you gain more-advanced weapons and abilities, the combos that are open to you become more complex. Chains that let you pull yourself towards enemies, or pull them towards you, result in some explosive combos that see Dante zipping elegantly between enemies, dealing out brutal punishment between each throw of a chain. Then there are Dante's guns, Ebony and Ivory, which are ideal for dishing out short, sharp bursts of bullets and filling in the gaps between other attacks. Combine your moves, and the combat turns into a harmonious ballet of sword slicing, swinging, and all-out carnage that's not only impressive to look at, but delightful to perform too.
By
Mark Walton, Senior Staff Writer - Reviews
Writer, riff maker, purveyor of fine foods. Mark currently spends his days trying to overcome his small (large) obsession with high-top trainers and mobile games. He's known to respond well to Long Island Iced Tea, falafels, and karaoke, but not necessarily in that order.
136 comments
DmC: Devil May Cry is an excellent, very well thought and engineered game. But a great game does not come without it's set of flaws.
When it comes to the characterization, Ninja Theory usually delivers a solid performance, and this is no exception : Every character in this game is well done, believable and different. There's a different and deep story behind all of them, and as the story unfolds while you progress through the singleplayer campaign, you'll most likely grow fond of one of the characters, since they all feel real and understandable.
When it comes to the main character of this game, I have to say that I disagree with what is said about it, I think that this "new" Dante is over the top. And as a character, it is A FACT that much more thought went into it. Let's take a look at the previous Dante : Typical bland anime character (even his fashion sense is eastern) that kicks ass and shoots out lame and overly cheesy jokes. Poor voice acting, poor background story and poor personality, as all he does is kill demons, he never really asked why or got sick of it.
Now let's come to the present Dante : Angry young adult, confused and childish. He does what a person of his age usually does, he's human, he feels real. He's stubborn and he dresses in a more realistic, western way. There's only a few things that he likes, which are alcohol, bitches, partying hard and killing demons.
I'm not going to mention combat as the gamespot review already told you everything there is to say, but i'm going to add that it is insane, sick and fluid.
Also, one of the game's greater bits is when you get rid of a large group of enemies, and in a short and fluid animation Dante grins at you. But this is just one of them, as the game features many in-game treats and eye candy. It's great to see the objectives and enemy shouts appear written somewhere on the scenario.
The story itself is far greater than the previous games, no doubt about that. Not only in the story line but also on the scenario - You never backtrack like in the previous titles. The storytelling is fast, believable and great, it finally makes you understand why Dante and Vergil don't get along - and even better than that : It shows you how vergil became the demon lord that he is. I won't spoil any more, so you better grab the game and get it spinning in your xbox, PS3 or pc.
Well, there are many things in this game that are worth telling you about, but i'll just sum it up and end with the OST, or soundtrack. Please - this has got to be one of the greatest synchronizations between gameplay and music, featuring speed metal and dubstep tracks, you'll never lose pace nor momentum when in a fight, and that's just awesome.
There's many more great aspects about this game - but I will start with the bad things now.
There's no backtracking in the game, which is very nice, but also leads to a linear game, and it's sad, because the levels are slick, and you'll most likely want to repeat them, and you can in the main menu, but you CAN'T backtrack during the game.
The lack of a lock on button is also a let down. The auto lock on is usually effective but it fails sometimes, not frequent enough to aggravate the gameplay or annoy you, but sometimes ruins your combo, and everyone wants those SSS ranks.
Well, there are many more things to go in-depth, but I won't get onto it. Instead, i'll give my personal opinion about this game : Everyone's been talking about how bad it is because Dante's hair isn't white anymore or about the new gameplay... If you're one of the people who says this, you're either oblivious to the fact that his hair DOES turn white later in the game or you haven't played the game, or you're just ignorant and close minded. The game no longer feels like a low-end, low budget title, featuring stunning visuals and an awesome soundtrack this is easily one of the best action titles of this year yet. I personally rate it an 87/100, which is a near perfect score. Don't be stupid and let go of the past - No one's saying that past DMC's suck, we're just saying that this is a complete reboot of the series, and does very little wrong, so grab a copy of this game and shut up.
1 Like this is much better than the old one,. i know people hate it becuase dante's hair is black not white. just like in final fantasy.. people like cloude because he got spiky hair =)
1 Like SLIGHT SPOILER ALERT: It's a good game! I think it has added more of a back story to the other games in terms of how Virgil and Dante created this 'disliking' to each other and also loved how their were references linking to the original/older Dante. I don't think there is any doubt that the old Dante is a better all round character in my opinion, i feel he is more of an elite character within the game. i hope they lead these games on to the original series of DMC.
@tukiya14 well, the frame rate issue happens in PS3. it doesn't in XBOX360. the review for PS3 and XBOX360 are divided.
I know why some people disliked the game, it's Dante's hair. If it was white, they would love the game. Game is awesome and not boring. You feel whole devil theme. Soundtracks are awesome. Gameplay is great, controls are easier and fun to play compared to other devil may cry games for pc and i'm talking about keyboard controls. Voice acting is good. I disliked one thing about the game and it's VSYNC problem. I don't know why the FUUU i can't turn on VSYNC in almost all Unreal-Engined games on my ATI HD 6850. It's completely bullshit. Fortunately i use third party program for that called "D3DOverrider". It forces VSYNC on. 8.0 is solid score for the game.
1 Like This fresh spin on the series has great visuals and a very cool gritty urban art style, a fantastic story and polished to near perfection game-play that never ceases to be fun and engaging. While it?s a reboot of the series it retains the spirit of what made the original series so great and improves it with a deeper story, fighting mechanics and replay value with loads of extras.. its a shame people are so scared of change and criminal that this didn't at least get a 9.. one of my fav's this gen.
2 Like on my ps3, finishing 4 or 5 missions of the game and i didn't face a single frame rate issue!!!!! what are you talking about?
I liked the new dante . At least he is not that cocky and careless as we found him in the rest of the series . Better story BUT not the best in the series .
Saying this game is bad will mean that the oppinion is that others in its category is better. So pleased to hear which games I should look at which is better and of the same nature right? Or are we reading reviews from the same bunch of people saying the each DMC after the first one was the worst game ever made??? Please - love to hear what other games besides DMC games are better in this category - suppose everything with a rating higher than 7.5 should be seen as a better creation??? Really ppl I dont think you ar understanding wrong, I dont think you understand at all!
Only played the demo so far. Loved the combat, loved the visual style and presentation. HATED the cocky attitude and dialog of Dante. I cringed during the boss battle scene in which Dante and the worm creature took turns saying "F*** You!" to each other. It's like Capcom thinks we are still 8 year olds...sigh
1 Like @VicViper99 I have to agree with you -- the game is beautiful to look at and play, but the swearing and over-the-top dialogue is simply too much. A more reserved character would have been more appropriate.
There was another game that came out last year, plagued by way too much swearing and bawdy humor -- Shadows of the Damned
2 Like This game is such a pice of.... what waste of time to play. gamers must be pretty ignorant to call it good. This Dante is a wonna-be-cool hero. man, this guys a nobody, he´s not even close to Dante. Looks like .... behaves like... seriously, what a waste rof money is that...? After playing dmc 1-3, seriously, this story, this charcters, the main hero, all of it is such a waste of time... I seriously would like to ask the game makers what wrong with them...
2 Like @Shinobi-Neo Calling other ignorant... yeah... you must really know what you're talking about...
2 Like @Eraldus @Shinobi-Neo yes, I do. Most of them play games since two days and think to know DMC. If long time gamers can´t tell their opinion about new meaningless games already, I wonder what we can say at all.
@DavidMorais @Shinobi-Neo @Eraldus Totally agree with you, except I liked DMC 2. I don't see why it got so much hate.
1 Like @Shinobi-Neo @Eraldus I played through every single DMC game, not now, but when they first came around. You're obviously ignorant, this game is fresh and slick, no one's saying DMC 1-3 sucked (actually DMC 2 did), we're just saying this is an awesome entry to the series.
@Rcr152 it's a good game! Although, don't feel it's the best in the series, i think the old Dante is better but not because of his hair.... :)
1 Like I?m a longtime hardcore fan of the series and not just some (?play games since two days and think to know DMC?, whatever that means) and loved the Third one the most but after giving this game a change despite the hate and my one reservations I think it?s the best in the series...Have you even played through the new one?...but what do I know I guess?lol
The one thing that is not mentioned in this review that kinda peeved me is how short this game is. I had it done in less than 15 hours, and that was with a few replays of earlier levels.
1 Like @trophywhore I had 17 myself but it has a lot of replay value with the new modes you unlock that change every fight and make it seam like a new game
1 Like I got bored of this series ages ago but as it seems to have grown up a little I might as well give it another try.
2 Like getting towards the end of DMC and i must say, this is my favourite Devil May Cry game. Great story, awesome gameplay (as usual), and pretty good graphics. Despite un-sync audio on several cutscenes, i think this game is still awesome!
1 Like Seems like gamespot gets paid by certain companies to give good reviews. .5 point deduction is ridiculous and while an 8 is acceptable, a higher score is deserved.
3 Like Why the hell does the PS3 version get 1/2 point lower than the 360 and PC version??? It's the same freakin thing. Getting sick of the 360 bias on this site. I own it for the PS3 and no way that game should get a 7.5. An 8.5 at the very least.
@metalgrinch i agree.. i never had a single issue with frame rate or anything.. and how did the new metal gear spinoff get a better review and less hate?
@Rcr152 @metalgrinch Because the new metal gear is metal gear rising, not metal gear solid. It's a completely different game, just done by the same team. It's like saying need for speed has to be equal to SSX 3 just because they're done by the same team.
@metalgrinch His reasons are in the second-to-last paragraph of the written review. I have the PS3 version myself and I have to agree with his complaints but I wouldn't rate it down to a 7.5 based off of just that. It's not that distracting but it is a little disappointing.
@horizonwriter @metalgrinch I don't see any of the issues described. But I just picked it up recently. Could it have been fixed with the updates/patches?
4 Like i swear no one gets this game, not even Mark Walton. "The ending doesn't live up to the rest of the story" WHAT? It's the first game of a totally rebooted story. Give it time to add and give more. Yes this Dante is different and he is following an arch closer to dmc 3. People are critizing Dante's weapons and his hair. SPOILER* Dante has white hair and since this is Capcom I'm sure they will add more later as dlc. Once again this is the first game so his weapons should be limited. The game play works a little different and it would be too much to give Dante 5 guns and 10 swords. Wait for DMC 2 and then give it what it deserves. Also the fact that Mark gave the PS3 version a 7.5 is a slap in the face. Erratic frame rate issues? Audio glitches? I've had this game since it came out and the only audio gllitch is when the load screen is working Dante's actions in. I have never noticed any frame rate issues especially since the game is reduced to 30 fps on consoles. Is that worth a deduction in score?
3 Like I agree that a 7.5 is a slap in the face. He should've just mentioned that the PS3 had a FEW very minor audio glitches (I'm on the 8th mission on the PS3 version and have yet to notice a graphical glitch of any kind), and keep the PS3 version at the same score. Why give it an entire 1/2 piont less for something that really makes next to zero difference? The importance is in the gameplay. The PS3 version is worth an 8.5 at the least, as well as game in general regardless of platform. Seriously gamespot makes some asinine decisions regarding reviews sometimes.
@Devil-boyz because this is a rebooted game. This means certain things change and the story is altered. He may own one later, but for now this is a retelling of the series.
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DmC: Devil May Cry
Not Following
- Publisher(s): Capcom
- Developer(s): Ninja Theory
- Genre: Action
- Release:
- ESRB: M
DmC: Devil May Cry Navigation
