DmC Devil May Cry Demo Impressions

The demo of the new Devil May Cry game (spelled as "DmC") with the new emo Dante just came out this week and I tried it out.

The demo includes a short campaign segment called "Under Watch" where in the game teaches you how to pull off attacks and demonstrate Dante's new platforming tools to go about the environment. I like the combat in this game. It still stays true to the whole "make your own combo" asthetic that made the older Devil May Cry games so fun. Comboes are easier to pull off than in the older games but is complex enough for you to put in a bit of effort if you want to keep the combo going. Aside from the standard sword and dual pistols, Dante has access to two weapons. The Osiris (scythe) and the Arbiter (axe/hammer) which are mapped to the L2 and R2 buttons respectively. Dante doesn't switch with the two weapons but instead, the buttons act as a sort of move modifier. The Osiris acts as the "crowd control" weapon, dealing multiple hits while covering a wide horizontal space. The Arbiter acts as the hammer type weapon, with earth shaking strike powerfull enough to break shields or launch enemies in the air. You can switch between all 4 weapons (sword, guns, scythe and axe) at any point during move strings which lets you mix and match and create your own combos. And yes, the guns do keep opponents airbourne ala the first Devil May Cry.

Aside from that, the demo also includes one boss fight in a mode called "Secret Ingredient" which pits you against a large larvae like creature that knows how to drop the F-bomb. There's actually a challenge room to the left of the area before the boss that asks you to defeat a wave of enemies before the timer runs out. The twist being that the enemies only take damage when they are above the ground. It's a good little way of telling the player that thinking of creative ways to combo enemies can benefit you instead of just hammering away at the attack button.

I have to say that I liked the demo. Combat is fun, the environments look nice, and even though the punk "I can swear in a video game" theme doesn't rub me the right way at the moment, I have to say that DmC will surely be one of my game purchases in 2013.

I played on the "Devil Hunter" difficulty which I'm guessing is the normal difficult level. The game offers your 4 difficulty levels, with the 4th (Son of Sparda) being initially locked. At the end of each game mode (after the game trailer plays out) you are given a rating on how you performed in combat. I don't know what the required rating is to unlock the Son of Sparda difficulty but I believe I got rank B in both Under Watch and Secret Ingredient and got access to Son of Sparda in both modes.

If any of you are on the fence about the new DmC, then by all means try the demo out and remember, Dante's new look does not define the game, gameplay does.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8V_6dFprU4[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjYiXFWaEWc[/youtube]