Devil May Cry

The Good
overall, I loved this game. the atmosphere is perfect, the controls are easy, there is more then enough variety in attacks, with more moves and weapons added as you progress in the game. this is good because most of the game involves little more then hacking, or blasting countless enemies. still, the game remains fun and replayable. there are several hidden missions to find, and different levels of play to unlock. the levels are great, and puzzles are never too hard. in fact they would be too easy if this were a puzzle-solving adventure and not just excuses to make you run from one room full of monsters to another room filled with monsters. as it is, the puzzles add variety, and lead the game along without distracting from the gameplay.

The Bad
for minor complaints: the game, at normal difficulty, is pretty difficult. there is an easy mode which should make the game fun for just about anyone but the jump from auto/easy to normal is pretty steep. over all the camera is fine, but there are a few places where it can be difficult to see where you want to. I would have preferred more control over the camera. the only major complaint I have are the is dialog, which is sometimes to bad, it distracts from the game. some of the lines are so cheesy I'm almost embarassed to be playing the game, at least until I get back into action and start enjoying myself again, but nothing breaks up the mood more then the script.

The Bottom Line
overall this game is great. the music, and the graphics, are wonderful. more than once I have come back to this game, run through it over a week or two and put it back on the shelf only to bring it back out again a month or two later. if the atmosphere suits you and you love slashing away at bad guys, I would check this title out.

The Good
Devil May Cry might be a relatively simple game at its very core, but it's also an incredibly polished one. The controls are smooth and Dante's movements feel free and very precise at the same time. Attacks you can perform strike the perfect balance between variety and convenience - they're varied and creative enough to make the combat genuinely engaging throughout the entire game, yet not too difficult or overwhelming. The difficulty is very well-balanced too, combining a gentle learning curve with actually challenging enemies and providing the player with many different ways to deal with occasional difficulty spikes. As a result, gameplay in Devil May Cry feels great and satisfying pretty much all the time.

What stands out the most - apart from the delightfully over-the-top acrobatics and aerial combat - is the inclusion of two main weapons with very distinct movesets and fighting styles. As mentioned before, their moves aren't too overwhelming or hard to master, yet they provide the player with multiple options in handling each fight and add an element of experimenting, finding your own playstyle, and adapting it to the game's various challenges.

In an action game, combat and character movement are crucial, but they're not everything. Thankfully, the presentation in Devil May Cry doesn't disappoint either. Immersing yourself within ultra-gothic environments of the castle is a true dark delight that's difficult to deny, and descending into Hell later in the game is as fascinating as it is disgusting. The music, combining an orchestral score, dark ambient soundscapes, heavy guitars, and trance or breakbeat beats, adds to the atmosphere of both mystery and intensity.

The aspect of the game which combines the most intense elements of both gameplay and presentation is obviously the boss and miniboss encounters. From the swift, cat-like beast Shadow and the elusive Death Scythe to the bizarrely mangled giant bird Griffon and cute yet deadly scorpion Phantom, from the mysterious yet sassy Nelo Angelo to the shapeless abomination of Nightmare, they're all very different and distinct in terms of both gameplay mechanics and audiovisual design. They all present a challenge and require you to adapt without being actually unfair or overpowered.

The Bad
The flaws of Devil May Cry are minor and usually linked to merits that overshadow them. The levels might be a bit too straightforward and the game as a whole a bit too short, but that also adds to the tight, focused experience which ends up being extremely satisfying. The first-person diving segments might be out of place and slightly awkward to control, yet they provide a very interesting change of pace. There are some isolated moments where fixed camera angles work to the player's detriment, but they're also an integral part of the game's brilliant visual style.

The Bottom Line
Devil May Cry is a game that's iconic and influential, but first and foremost ridiculously fun to play. It's a tight, focused, and meticulously polished piece of hack-and-slash gaming that's a must-play not just for fans of the genre, but for anyone who appreciates action games in general. 9/10

[based on the PC port in the HD Collection]

The Good
Resident Evil has grown stale. I could summon no enthusiasm or excitement for the recent revival of the first RE on the Gamecube. There are a number of reasons for my malaise - the fact that it's fundamentally the same game, the fact that RE2 still stands as the masterpiece of the lot - but looming above all of those is the sad, sad fact that the RE control scheme remains unchanged, and therefore terrible. "Frustrating" does not begin to describe my feelings while playing Code: Veronica as I watched my characters slowly, ponderously turning about, feebly dashing this way and that from equally feeble zombies. So thank sweet Christ for Devil May Cry. Devil May Cry is like Homo sapiens to Resident Evil's Australopithecus. Most of the same genetics are there, but the former has grown so far beyond the latter as to represent an entirely new species. In DMC, Dante, the hero, has broken the "spin, spin, move forward," control scheme. This guy can go wherever he wants. And if a monster is charging him, he just leaps out of the way, double jumps off the wall, and then cleaves the bastard in two with his sword on the way back down. Cool. Dante isn't fettered by ammunition restraints - his guns have infinite ammo. And his sword, unlike the feeble knives of REs past, is a truly kick-ass weapon. I still love hacking an opponent up into the air and then blasting the crap out of it with Dante's twin handguns. DMC is an action game that doesn't attempt to scare you, unlike RE. DMC tries to evoke "cool," and succeeds admirably. There are still few PS2 games that can rival DMC for pure action-cool.

The Bad
The plot stinks like crap. So do the voice overs. So what's new?

The Bottom Line
It's survival horror taken to the next level. Absolutely don't pass this one up if you own a PS2.