Well I just beat DmC and my hats off to Ninja Theory bc that was an AMAZING game. Truly the best game Ive played in a long time and by far their best work to date. Screw the haters that bash this game before/without playing it bc it was REALLY well done and even taking away that its a reboot to an established franchise, it stands up quite well on its own. Dante could have been named Bubba and this been a completely new IP and we'd still have a pretty fantastic title. Its too bad it was automatically written off bc of its origins. Anyways some thoughts:
Graphics are pretty amazing here. Granted I played on PC so its supposed to be better than the consoles. NT games are always rich in color and have very vibrant environments and assets and this is no different. I really all the special effects associated with the combat system, how world just changes on you, cutscenes etc..
This game has the best level design by far of any DmC game. The others dont even compare. I love the shift from limbo to the real world and how the environment literally changes around you and how you can affect it with your abilities. Absolutely no backtracking across missions is a welcomed plus
The missions have a lot more diversity to be found here and aren't simply the same formula of beat X amount of enemies before proceeding while searching around for an item to unlock a door. I loved the platforming sections where you have to swing around while pulling things and gliding. Now that was fun and Id welcome DLC which focused exclusively on providing courses that you can do more of that like in those secret missions. I really felt like Spider-man, especially the mission involving the car chase
The combat is friggin fantastic. Best gameplay out of any of the games. There is SOOOOOO much you can do. I really thought you'd only have the two extra weapons assigned to the shoulder buttons going into this but was pleasantly surprised to see even more show up and they were all very varied and fun to use. The amount of combos you do do is ridiculous and they made it so easy here by being able to switch to anything on the fly. It not only makes things faster, but it feels very intuitive. The only thing lacking was losing the targeting button, but now that I think of it, it was probably to simplify the combat as adding another button may have unnecessarily complicated things.
As far as this thing goes as a reboot, I loved how it was an original story and not merely a rehash of DMC1 with updated graphics. The more modernized take was pretty interesting, especially how it was adapted to a real world scenario setting. I think NT did a good job with the story telling
I loved the new Dante. He was a really well developed character from beginning to end. Early clips really don't capture him bc he's pretty deep. The moment that got to me the most was when[BLACKOUT] Vergil wanted to leave Kat behind and Dante stayed to reassure her and help talk her into surrendering so she wouldn't die. She did exactly as he said but she ended up being shot up anyway. He looked horrified and I was too. I was shocked to see she didn't die. Probably would have made for a bigger impact if she did die, but she was needed for the end.[/BLACKOUT] That was the moment you could see he really cared and wasn't merely some punk. The guy was a hero. Im kinda upset at his hair change at the end as I actually prefer the black on him. I think that was mainly done to appease those against this. Id have left the white hair for his devil form.
Speaking of which, I didn't dig devil trigger here. I loved the special effects and how the screen changed, but HATED that it amounted to time slowing and the characters floating up in the air. Most times I couldn't even jump high enough to reach them and the entire thing would go to waste. It also took way to long to build up. I think they could have done more to balance this
Another thing that could have used balancing was the ranking system. I got an S (and SS on some) on most missions without trying. I think they were a bit too liberal with the points and you didn't really feel a sense of accomplishment as they let a lot of things slide.
My favorite part about DMC3 was the relationship between Vergil and Dante. Its featured in this game of course with alterations. At first I went into this expecting 3s take to be the best but by the end of this, I thought DmC was equally as good but in a different way. I loved the banter between the two brothers. I always got a sense that Vergil really did care deeply about him. [BLACKOUT]At the end, I did not like killing Vergil. I wanted Dante to take that sword out and thankfully he did. The relationship between them is fractured but Vergil didn't look pissed at him; more like he was disappointed. [/BLACKOUT]I hope he doesn't show up as a villain in future games as I hope there's a chance that they can repair the damage that was done here.
I also LOVE the stat tracking. Its so deep and I wish all games were like this. I also like that finally you can go back and forth with the difficulty after you've started a game instead of being stuck for an entire walkthrough.
Anyways, yeah as you can tell I love this game. I think Id give it a solid 9.0. I just finished playing through all 5 games and I definitely had the most fun with this. I feel so compelled to go back and replay it. Im thinking of tracking down a PS3 copy when its a lot cheaper for the trophies and I don't mind going for the platinum in this bc its so much fun. As dissapointed as I was at the end of DMC4 knowing that there wouldn't be a continuation of Nero's tale and that universe continuing, Im fine now and am excited at the possibility of whats to come in this new one. Hopefully NT do get to make a sequel. I'll have to remember this come December when Game of the Year comes around. Hope it doesn't get forgotten since it came out so early. It wont stand up against the likes of GTA5, but as of now I can see it being a strong contender for best Action game of the year. Its that damn good