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also available for PS3 & PC |
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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. So entertaining is the combat, in
fact, that it's easy to overlook what a wonderful achievement DmC is as a
whole.
But to do so would do the game a great disservice. 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.