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| Dante happily kicking a demon in the face |
The
combat style for each of the titles of the Devil May Cry series have stayed
pretty much the same throughout with only a few exceptions to each new
installment for example the transition from DMC3 to DMC4 with the introduction
of Nero’s devil arm. Each game has been mainly supported on the its stylish
combat using long sweeping sword strokes as well as different weapons including
nunchucks dubbed ‘Cerberus’ in the series and scimitars dubbed ‘Agni &
Rudra’ as well as many other weapons. Gun play also plays a large role in the
combat as the character can keep an enemy aloft by using their bodies as bullet
cushions. The game could be said to be a generic hack and slash game and
players could easily complete the game with mindless button mashing but the
main idea is to rack up combo’s and stylishly tear apart enemies. In DMC3 new
types of combat was introduced to make the fighting even more exciting in the
form of role types that the character could adorn. These included the ‘Trickster’
ability which is used for dodging enemies attacks and agility; the ‘Swordmaster’
ability which adds extra abilities to melee weapons; the ‘Gunslinger’ ability
which adds to firearms; the ‘Royal Guard’ ability which helps the character
defend oneself; the ‘Quicksilver’ ability which reduces enemies speed giving
the character more of a chance to slash enemies to piece’s; and lastly the ‘Doppelganger’
ability which allows the player to have a shadow double of himself to fight
alongside Dante.
To
begin with lets talk about the original trilogy that was released soley on the PS2
up until recently when the DMC series received its much deserved HD remaster.
DMC 1 was developed and published by the by Capcom the multi-million Japanese
company that released the Resident Evil series, Dead Rising, Lost Planet as
well as many others. The story has Dante as the main protagonist and centre
character, Dante himself is a half-demon, half-human warrior who hunts and
kills demons in pursuit of those who murdered his mother. As the game begins he
is attacked by Trish (main female protagonist) in his office and after he
swiftly dismisses any sign of her winning she tells him that it was a test and
that she has word of the Demon Emperor Mundus’ return. Mundus is the man/demon
who Dante blames for the death of his mother and so he sets forth to confront
Mundus.
The
second game in the series, DMC 2 was released in 2003 after the huge success of
DMC 1 and received mixed reviews due to many differences of the previous title,
the main issue with the game was the excessively reduced difficulty. The game begins
with Dante and new female protagonist Lucia entering a museum, each through
separate ‘entrances’. Lucia is attacked by a horde of demons within the museum
which as subsequently dispatched by Dante who is then invited to Dumary Island
and is entrusted with the task of confronting Arius, a businessman with demonic
power who wishes to conquer the world.
Devil
May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening was released in 2005 for the PS2 and was based as
a prequel to the very first DMC title. The game itself is set in modern times
with a younger Dante being the main protagonist yet again and is centred on the
the seemingly endless battle between him and his twin brother Vergil who is the
main antagoist along with the mysterious man named Arkham. The first battle
between Dante and Vergil results in Vergil walking away victorious but unknown
to him awakens the demonic power within Dante. This game was highly praised in
reviews as it far surpassed its predecessor in gameplay as well as other
aspects.
Devil
May Cry 4 was the first game to show Dante in a more dimmed light and bringing
new comer Nero as the protagonist of this title.DMC4 was also the very first
title to be produced for the Dante is
still a large part of the game and is still a playable character for half of
the game. The arrival of Nero to the video game series brings a new technique
of fighting style using the power of his demon arm to grab, lift and toss
enemies across the battle field other than this new fighting technique the
combat is the exact same as previous titles. The game opens with Nero making a
dash along city streets hacking apart demons along the way to what seems like a
church praising the demon lord Sparda (father of Dante). Upon his arrival the
high priest is murdered by none other than Dante himself looking much older
than he did in previous games. Nero challenges Dante and and in the ensuing
fight Nero reveals his demonic arms powers in an attempt to defeat Dante.
Eventually Nero manages to subdue Dante but is shocked by Dante’s immediate
recovery. Before Dante disappears he informs Nero that the guards of the church
are in fact demons themselves and this leads Nero on his journey to find out
what caused the events. The story of this game follows Nero hunting down the
leaders of the church to find out the truth of their treachery and to
ultimately save the woman he loves (Kyrie) who has been caught between Nero and
the demonic cult. Devil May Cry 4 got an overall great response upon its
release due to its fluid battle system and slick design.
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| New Dante is the new Reaper! |
And
finally the upcoming release in 2012 of DMC 5 the prequel to the entire series
which completely throws the character design of Dante on its head. Dante has
still got every part of his old attitude and is still incredibly cocky and
still enjoys his awesome one liners from what is seen in the trailers thus far
the only real difference being that his traditional white hair has been changed
to black and his overall style has been changed to something that resembles an
emo kid. Well, more like an emo kid gone completely badass. This story takes
place in Limbo City where Dante is a fugitive on the run from both demons and
government officials alike. The ‘Public Enemy’ trailer seems to suggest that the government are hunting Dante as a terrorist and the
demons hunt him due to the fact he is the son of Sparda, the demon warrior who
imprisoned the strongest of the demons within their own realm. In this trailer
Dante is seen hacking enemies apart in
the similar fashion to the previous games the difference being that Dante’s
movements seem much more swift and fluid, air bourne combo attacks have also been
added to the title and the when the player is attacked it is said that it will
hold true to the same ideal that the environment will close around him into
some sort of arena.
The
new installment to the series has so far seen only negative responses where as I
myself am more than excited to see what Ninja Theory can do with such an
outstanding game franchise. Negativity towards this title has went to the
excess of the lead producer personally receiving death threats due to the
changes to the series. These changes may very well be for the better as a new
reboot of the franchise is most definitely necessary to bring a new generation
the marvel that is Devil May Cry!
If you don't believe me see for yourself with the most recent trailer Ninja Theory has to offer!
