Devil May Cry: Hands On Review (1 Viewer)

[JasonK]

Hey gang. I got this on Thursday, just sat down with it last nite. So far, it gets a big

I enjoy the fact that it is just a straight forward action game. Don't get me wrong, I like games with exploration, but sometimes the puzzles/exploration in games like Tomb Raider and -dare I say it- Soul Reaver get too long. I don't like it when I feel I have to wander around to find the next area.
That being said, Devil May Cry reminds me of the great action games of the 8 and 16-bit days. Castlevania, Contra, and so on. This is the first 3D action game that I've enjoyed to the point where the 3D view doesn't feel like a gimmick. (Like Castlevania 64 did, or the Contra games on PSX.)
With this, Silent Hill 2, and Ico recently out, and Metal Gear on the horizon PS2 owners are in for some great gaming.
Jason

 

[Aaron Copeland]

Thanks for the explanation, Dave S.
Aaron

 

[Morgan Jolley]

I've been playing it more and it is (like someone on GameSpot said) the new Castlevania. The action is top notch, there are some running around and puzzle type elements, and there are also rewards for your work.
One thing I should mention: the puzzles aren't really puzzles, they are more like "find this item to open this door." If anything, the boss fights should be considered puzzles (the whole find the weakness thing, which is executed quite nicely).
For anyone who is wondering what this game is like, imagine ICO, only the exact opposite. A huge, dark castle that is falling apart and filled with demon monsters. The hero is a bad-ass with guns and big swords, and the main chick is equally bad-ass. Pretty much the exact opposite of ICO.

 

[Peter_A]

I would not even qualify this as close to Castlevania, at least not Castlevania:SOTN. I think I'm in the minority with this game, but it's really starting to turn me off. The boss battles are fine(though really redundant), but the camera angles do handicap you especially when fighting in close quarter areas. And any relation to ICO!?(even the polar opsite) Hell no! ICO took problem solving skills, something this game does not. Also the story in ICO was much more involving and you actually cared about the characters. Devil May Cry though? I could really care less who lives or dies.
I guess I was just expecting something else from this game.
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Peter
[Edited last by Peter_A on October 20, 2001 at 09:29 PM]
[Edited last by Peter_A on October 20, 2001 at 09:29 PM]

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Peter-
You misunderstood me. I was saying that DMC was the opposite of ICO. In ICO, the castle is huge and you have to solve large puzzles. In DMC, the castle is falling apart and has small rooms with pretty much no puzzles.
DMC is an action game. What else did you want out of it? I don't play FPS games and look for complex puzzles and platforming elements, so why would you expect a deep story or characters you care about from an action game?

 

[Peter_A]

MGS2 is an action game, Soul Reaver is an action game. Maybe not as pure action as Devil, but still mostly action. In those tow games, the stroy really involves you. Not so much in Devil May Cry.
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Peter

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Actually, MGS2 is more like an Action/Stealth hybrid and the story is so well told because of its presentation. Actually, the only games that have such a good presentation besides this game are usually RPG or RPG hybrids.
Soul Reaver didn't exactly envelope you in the storyline. The story was not very tight and the game focused more on action than MGS.
DMC is pure action, so much that it doesn't really have puzzles at all. I never expected much more out of it than gameplay and graphics. Story, plot, character development, and some other elements are pretty pointless to me in an action game.

 

[Derrik Draven]

DMC is pure action, so much that it doesn't really have puzzles at all. I never expected much more out of it than gameplay and graphics. Story, plot, character development, and some other elements are pretty pointless to me in an action game.

This is why I skipped this game. Looks beautiful but, as I stated before, I need a bit more depth than the arcade-ish, shallow, near non-stop, action/fighting.
I will admit that Soul Reaver wasn't no where near as story driven as the original Legacy of Kain (Blood Omen), I thought that there was a decent storyline to it and, it sucked me in. (pun not intended)! Blood Omen, I thought, was one of THE best vampiric stories ever, this side of Anne Rice. Hopefully, Soul Reaver II is deeper in story.
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"...better to have a gun and not need it than to need a gun and not have it". - Slater, True Romance

 

[Peter_A]

The story in Soul Reaver pulled me in too. I was so choked at the end when Kain escaped!
But then again, I thought Silent Hill 2 was a major disapointment compared to the first.
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Peter

 

[Rob Varto]

How in the hell do you kill of the spider? This is ridiculous. The more I try to run away, the quicker I die - then I try to attack and I get killed. I don't mind a challenge, but come on... I used 5 saves and didn't even get half it's health meter down.

 

[JeffreyH]

When the spider shoots fire try to be behind a pillar of jump out of the way. When he makes fire come up from the floor just keep running until it stops. Hit him in the face only, if your not in Devil form then just hit him a couple of times and jump out of the way. If your in devil form just keep nailing him until you change back to normal.
Good Luck!
Jeff

 

[Morgan Jolley]

Well you fight the spider several times. I suggest jump-slashing his back many, many times until he dies (devil form works best). When you "fight" him in the hallway, keep running and dodging his attacks until you get to the end and go in the room there.
Each time I fought the spider (its more of a scorpion) these are the tactics I used.
Also thought I would mention that you can save anywhere. All you need to do is press Select. (to anyone who didn't know that: shame on you for not reading the booklet!)

 

[Tino]

Rob
In regard to killing the SPIDER in the hallway, you can just run into the room with the fountain as soon as you have control and just skip that battle.
Also you can save anywhere, however all progress is lost and you start from the beginning of the mission. I know because I saved after beating the spider and shadow lion
only to die when fighting Nelo. When I reloaded, I had to do it all over again.

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Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus.

 

[Rob Varto]

OK, I've had it!! How do you unlock the 'secret easy mode' ????

 

[Morgan Jolley]

After a few missions, they let you switch to easy automatic mode, but I don't think there is actually an easy difficulty.

 

[Drew Dockery]

OK, I've gone through twice on easy mode now, but I can't carry over anything when I start a Normal game. Am I suposed to be able to do that, or did I just misread something?
Drew

 

[Morgan Jolley]

When you finish the game, save it after the credits. Then, load the data and you should have all the stuff from the previous game and be on Hard mode (there is no Easy mode). You might have to beat the game without Easy mode to do this.