DMC
When Ninja Theory’s bold and radical reimagining of the Devil May Cry franchise was announced at Tokyo Game Show back in 2010, it ruffled more than a few demonic feathers. Long-time fans of Capcom’s hack-and-slash series cried out in anger over the modern interpretation of Dante, the game’s protagonist, criticising the sudden departure from the pearly white hair and the decision to introduce a younger Son of Sparda. For the first time, a Devil May Cry title was being manufactured by a British developer, and as the gun-toting demon slayer came West, Ninja Theory crafted the all-new Dante with a particular coat of sardonic paint.
Granted, the story may have been a little trite, and some missions felt like they were spliced in to meet the series’ signature twenty level structure — the level where you navigate the human world alongside Kat as a spectre, for instance. Nevertheless, DMC’s core campaign was fun, challenging and dripping with style. As you’d expect from any Devil May Cry release, dialogue and set-pieces are incredibly sarcastic and Ninja Theory excelled in their handling of the franchise’s legacy. The relationship between the characters, for example, felt genuine thanks in large part to the impressive voice acting which, coupled with the game’s modern, electronic score, brings the darkly satirical Limbo City to life brilliantly.
Perhaps the lynchpin of DMC, though, is the game’s combat system. Ninja Theory may have fine-tuned the fighting mechanic to make things more accessible on the surface — the simplified ranking system and overpowered demon weapons in particular — but there’s still a lot of depth to the familiar system. Much like Devil May Cry 4, switching between weaponry on the fly is deliriously empowering, and bludgeoning hell spawns with angelic and demonic weapons seamlessly as you grapple with airborne enemies is a hyperkinetic thrill ride.
Also, it drops F-bombs flippantly and pokes fun at fanboys while managing to comment on modern society with its tongue firmly in cheek. In fact, from the moment you pick up the controller, it feels like DMC has had one too many cans of Virility. And while Devil May Cry 3 remains as the pinnacle entry in Capcom’s series in my book, Ninja Theory’s fiery reboot explored a lot of the franchise’s finer details and brought a pragmatic approach to characterisation that, up until this point, wasn’t necessarily considered.
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