One of the most iconic games in the industry has to be the Devil May Cry (DMC) titles. When the first one was released in 2001 it signaled a new revolution in gaming. At least in my mind, this was one of if not the first game I played where combat and art met. The interchange between combat styles, the sheer scale of the boss fights and the overall satisfaction of completing a level was immense. Capcom have given us all three of the DMC games that were available only on the PS2 in glorious HD and for the first time on the Xbox 360. Now all gaming fans can enjoy the demon killing fun that the PS2 gamers had. Add to that all new achievement support and you have a great chance to relive one of the best games series ever made.
On the disk you get DMC 1, 2 and DMC 3: Dante’s awakening (special edition). If your an old school gamer you know that DMC is all about Dante. A son of a demon who hunts demons, (that’s not good for the family) Dante blames the death of his mother and brother on the lord of demons named Mundus. So when a meeting with a woman called Trish turns demonic Dante heads into the castle to stop the resurrection of Mundus. Most of the game is in the castle and boy does it still look good. Of course the graphics have aged since 2001 but still they look pretty. This was the first game I played where you’re graded on performance, not only on the time of completion of a level but by how stylish you were at dispatching demons. The more combos you chained together the better your score. You went from dull all the way to stylish, the overall score for each level was from S rank to D rank. This game is all about the combat, the interchange between pistols and sword and how seamlessly this happens. This was and is a slick game, smooth and fast. The combos you can achieve look beautiful and still feel so sweet. The control system is similar to the PS2 and have been ported over perfectly. You can switch between styles in an instant and movements are responsive and fast. The issue for me was and still is the damn fixed camera. During battle the demons and myself seemed to hidden or shrouded behind pillars.
DMC 2 is sadly the worst of the three. This is in no small part down to the fact that the original team was thrown out and DMC2 was given to new people. They butchered the series and took a lot of the cockiness and brashness out of Dante. We play an older Dante in this installment but sadly one who decides his actions based on a coin flip? Just odd. There is no coolness in old Dante. This was pretty much a polar opposite to DMC 1 because the difficulty had been scaled back a lot and the enemies seemed to be scared of me. Whilst that’s good for the ego, in gaming terms not so much. A new playable character was also introduced which is present in this game as well, but sadly she follows the story in a linear fashion and offers very little replay value.
Thank god for DMC 3 though as this is the best of the three titles on the disk. Young Dante is back and boy is he kicking ass. We can cancel combos in mid air, use the devil trigger and have the fluidity, smoothness and swagger that the series is based around. One thing about DMC 3 was and still is the difficulty, this is one tough puppy. You really need to get your timing right and practise those combos as the bosses are savage. I especially enjoyed the fact that Capcom have given us the special edition as this is where we could play as Vergil, the brother of Dante. This gave us another option and slightly varying styles. The gameplay and specifically the combat is still, to this date, one of the best examples of what can be done as we could switch between two melee weapons and two guns on the fly. Combos are your friend and DMC 3 allows you to perform a seemingly endless amount to reach that amazing S rank.
The DMC series was and is still worth your time. If you haven’t played these gems then you have no excuse, as for the first time Xbox 360 players have it. The HD remake looks lush. True some of the environments and cut scenes look dog ugly, don’t let that put you off. DMC 3 is worth the price of the disk by itself so be happy you get all three. Granted the dodgy camera is annoying and the second game nearly made the hardcore fans turn away from the series. At its best DMC is a smooth, cocky, arrogant, stylish shooter with wonderful combos and perfectly balanced combat. At its worst it’s DMC 2. A gamer should have all the classics and all the best games in their library which means you need this game and all on one disc. Get ready action fans it’s time to slash away in HD glory and relive those demon ass kicking nights.
Score: 8/10
