E3 2001 Hands-onDevil May Cry

Devil May Cry's Dante is dangerously close to becoming the video game world's coolest killing machine. If you'd gotten a chance to play through the E3 build, then you'd probably agree.

Capcom's E3 build of Devil May Cry didn't treat us to any new areas in the game, unfortunately. It did, however, allow us to battle the giant lava tarantula that Dante encountered at the end of the Japanese demo. The creature is vicious--he jumps around the battlefield like mad, and he indiscriminately breathes magma in a bunch of different ways. He can summon pillars of molten rock, for example, that rip through the floor and scorch you for staggering amounts of damage, as well as breathe a terrible stream of steam, rock, and fire, which sends you flying. It likes to assault you with its pincers, too, when you get too close. Needless to say, the battle is very challenging. In order to defeat him, you have to attack him in areas that aren't protected by his chitinous exoskeleton--the areas of exposed muscular magma. Shooting him with your gun will only damage him slightly, but doing so while you're simultaneously evading him doesn't hurt. Sword attacks are definitely the way to tame him, despite the crazy risk involved in getting too close. One good strategy is to jump on his back and slash at his exposed back and tail. Again, the risk in doing so is very high, but it's almost the only way to defeat him.

Rest assured that, as you battle him, you'll be forced to leap, dodge, and dash out of harm's way on many occasions. Dante's mobility proves to be a crucial asset in this battle--wise players will make much use of his various tumbles in order to increase their chances of survival.

Several of the game's systems have been slightly changed. You can now execute a screw attack in devil mode, on top of the bolts of lighting you can hurl. The dash attack has also been tweaked a bit. Though it's no longer the default sword attack, you can still perform it easily by going into your offensive posture, pressing forward, and attacking. The three-hit chain is now the default attack, in case you were wondering.

In short, Devil May Cry is still insanely impressive. While it's a shame that Capcom didn't include any new areas in the demo, the boss battle did much to increase our anticipation of this great game.