Preview: DmC: Devil May Cry

Recently, I was given the chance to have a go at the E3 build of DmC: Devil May Cry by Ninja Theory. Seeing as it wasn’t in its final state, it only had 2 options you could choose from, Underwatch and Secret Ingredient which allowed me to experience two big aspects of the game.

For those who haven’t played the previous DmC titles you basically play as Dante the protagonist who is a half-demon - demon hunter and has incredible agility, strength and packs twin guns and swords. He switches between his weapons after a string of moves that results in a flashy looking combo. The game is set in a parallel universe where the story is focused on a teenage version of Dante going through what may seem a calm city, until it starts to alter and break apart. I've got to be honest I haven’t actually played any of the previous DmC titles, so I was excited to see what the game had to offer.

Sword and Whip slashing action!

In the Underwatch mode, you could explore the city and battle enemies. As you encounter the first enemy, hints on what to press appear on the screen whether it’d be how to attack or how to dodge an attack. This will keep popping up for each new thing you have to do. The combat is good and very fluid as you could do extended combos when you combine the sword attacks with the whip like move, which can bring the enemy back to you each time you knock him away. An interesting addition to the game is the demon like cameras spread around the city that seem to alarm bots when ever Dante was spotted. After defeating the bots you have to find a way to get up to a platform near those cameras and destroy it using the whip that Dante has. Whilst playing through this game it somewhat gave me the feel of when I was playing Ninja Theory’s previous title, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West e.g. how you could use the environments around you to get to certain areas. The game play here so far certainly uses the city very well as Dante has this whip like move where he is able to drag objects and enemies closer to him, while also being able to pull himself towards an enemy or platform.

There are even certain moments in the game where the city all of a sudden begins to collapse and distort and your mission is to just keep jumping and running away before you get trapped and die. This made the game interesting as it evoked a sense of urgency and panic for the player. There is also a ghost like girl who helps Dante navigate the city. How they've done that is quite interesting as there is a trail like effect of her, which shows which way she ran off to.

One of the most ugliest monsters!

In the Secret Ingredient mode you face a demon boss; prior to engaging in combat, there is a hilarious cut scene where Dante has a heated discussion with the boss. The voice actors and animators did a really good job expressing their emotions as it was both believable and entertaining. The boss is a huge demon so you have to use your speed, reaction, and memorize the beginning of each move it does. One of the moves I had to watch out for was when it began to vomit toxic waste, since you have to be fast and move to another platform as soon as it held its hand to its mouth. The boss battle is very imaginative and creative because the difficulty isn't too easy or too hard and the time to kill the boss isn't too long.

When the development of this game was announced, there were many negative reactions concerning the choice of having a young Dante. However after having a brief play through, I've got high hopes for this and  look forward to the entire experience in the final version. The game so far certainly has strong points as it provides entertainment and strong game play, such as the use of the whip that Dante has to utilize to complete certain objectives. So good so far and I hope this title will fulfil its potential and silence the critiques with its awesome combat and great cut scenes. This game will be available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in January 2013!