Another reboot to a popular franchise, Devil May Cry has been changed, now with a different or at least younger Dante. I was able to get my hands on the most recent demo displayed at the Capcom booth. It featured two levels, a tutorial level and a boss level. Unfortunately I was only able to play the tutorial level but it taught me the basics about how the game plays which is perfect for impressions.
Combat
This version of Devil May Cry brings back the same frantic
action than the originals brought as well as stylish moves. Dante has access to
several different moves and abilities (Note that the notation for these moves
is on an Xbox 360) . He has a basic sword swing attack (Y button) , the X
button to fire his dual pistols, and another button that acts as a launcher (B
button), knocking opponents into the air. When knocking opponents into the air,
he can hold the launcher button to follow them up (or by pressing the jump
button which is A) and continue with attacks in the air and launcher button
again to knock them straight back down. He also has access to a dodge roll to
avoid enemy attacks and can be activated to cancel attacks.
Devil attacks
These should all sound fairly familiar to DMC players but he
also has access to two other weapons as well. By holding the Right Trigger, or
the Left Trigger you can access Dante’s Devil and Angel attacks respectively.
For the Devil mode, his attacks become slower, more brutal and more damaging,
wielding a fiery demonic axe for these attacks as well. His launcher button also becauses a much more
brutal smash but does not allow you to follow up the same way as your sword
does to opponents in the air. The X button will now grapple opponents towards
you instead of firing his pistols, allowing you to unleash your attacks on
them. You can also grapple environmental objects towards you this way too. If
you have grappled them, you can immediately knock them back by pressing the X
button with Right Trigger again. Note that you can also switch between Devil
mode attacks and normal attacks on the fly and at any time.
Angel Attacks
His angel mode will give him access to a scythe with holy
energy, which has a broader range than the axe and even the sword, and are
extremely fast attacks. These are great for dealing with crowds but the
launcher attack is takes longer than his normal sword attack. The X button will
also grapple you towards enemies opposite of the Devil Trigger and also grapple
you towards environmental objects as well.
By hitting enemies you also gain meter, which can be used to
activate Devil Trigger mode, which enhances all the power and speed of your
attacks greatly. All standards enemies also become slower and/or helpless to
your attacks and the entire environment because a grayish hue, while you and
your enemies are highlighted with a glow. You still have access to angel and
devil attacks for grappling and the weapons as well. Pressing both triggers at
the same time will end devil trigger.
Walkthrough
The demo itself was basically a tutorial, teaching you
everything you need to know about the game. This part took place in a city of
European architecture, probably western European. Dante is accompanied by a
female companion who is helping to guide him through the city. Soon enough
Dante is trapped in “limbo” where demonic entities begin to pursue an attack
you in a separate dimension from the real world (as is my understand of it) and
the game teaches you basic attacks.
After defeating the first wave of enemies, Dante has to pull
out several platforms from the walls of the buildings around to make his way up
to a demonic eye camera and destroy it. A combination of angel and demon
grapple are used to pull out the platforms and launch Dante up to them.
Eventually destroying the camera area allows you to progress onwards.
The rest of the area uses the same buildings around, so the
environment does not vary too much throughout the experience save the last
area. You enter into a church area where the environment begins to crumble and
collapse around you. Luckily you don’t have to fight any enemies but you still
must travel from platform to platform via use of angel grapple and an air dash
activated by holding left trigger and the jump button. The demo ends with Dante
stylishly exiting through the glass of the Cathedral and rejoining his female
companion as the Cathedral collapses behind them.
Final Thoughts
Overall the demo was very fun and I like the addition of the
angel and demon attacks to give even more variety to the combinations of moves
you can perform. A lot of people complained about the new Dante’s personality
and I haven’t had enough time to see whether or not those complaints are valid
but so far he seems fine to me. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to fight in
the boss mode which was available but I only got to choose one or the other and
didn’t come back to the demo booth to try for the boss mode. But it was still a
lot of fun and I hope to try it again sometime soon.
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