Friday, I reluctantly purchased the Devil May Cry reboot after playing the demo. I say reluctantly, because like many of you, I didn't believe the Capcom/Ninja Theory reboot was going to be any good. Turning classic Dante into an ugly punk demon slayer with a bad attitude wasn't my idea of a great game. All I could ask myself was "What happened to the Dante I used to know?" Thankfully, I have some good news.
I have played and beat the game in its entirety on the Human or easy level. Mainly, to learn the story line and game mechanics. Within the first mission Ninja Theory pays a big homage to the original Dante character design by landing a white wig on the younger version. "Not in a million years." Dante quotes, throwing the wig aside. But, this instantly drew the majority of my skepticism aside. Not only did Ninja Theory show major respect for the classic Dante, it also made me realize that their new punk character model wasn't that far off from the Dante of old. With the long white hair he looks almost exactly like the Dante we're all used to. So, take away the punk haircut and the younger features and you're still left with the classic. Not bad.
The world itself, another area that I thought would be an annoyance, is actually very unique and fresh. With all the strange level layouts I expected the game to be caught in a niche for players who are attracted to the punk genre, but the story arc makes this weird layout easily acceptable. Throughout the game there is the real world and limbo, the halfway point where demons walk the earth unseen. It is in this limbo that Dante mainly plays throughout the game. This gave the game developers free reign to create unique worlds and levels to keep you guessing as you play through the story. And although, some of the maps are quite creative, it is not a free world and the story leads you easily to where you need to be.
The game mechanics are also very easy to use and create an outlet for gamers to play almost any way they prefer. Dante, who acquires a series of eight different weapons, can kill almost anything with either variance. Albeit, there are a few demons that require a certain weapons to be used to break their shields or powers, fighting style becomes the control of the player.
Without revealing any spoilers, the story arc was very well put together and continues to draw back on classic Devil May Cry basics that we know and love. They had a lot of background to put into a short game and are able to catch up first time Devil May Cry players into the worlds history, game mechanics, and plot without leaving the player questioning. In the end, although this story has wrapped up, any player can tell it is open for many sequels to come.
Overall, for any of you who are still questioning if Ninja Theory ruined a good thing, I'm glad to say they haven't. The DMC reboot although very edgy has done a great job of reviving a classic and creating something new at the same time.
