The Bottom Line: Devil May Cry 2's overly-simplified difficulty and gameplay elements blended with a boring game overall makes this a pretty disappointing sequel and an experience
NMD85's Full Review: Devil May Cry 2 for PlayStation 2
If you're trying to find more positive reviews on Devil May Cry 2 amongst the slew of negativity towards the game, you may have to look further. Although general critics tend to be harsh on some games (and if you're IGN, you're most likely a little too easy on them), I'm just going to lay it down the line when describing Capcom's sequel to be one of the most surprising franchises from the company. For once, Capcom designed a game that was completely devoid of anything Mega Man, Street Fighter, or Resident Evil - alright maybe Devil May Cry takes off on Resident Evil just a little too much for it's own originality (especially since the original was intended to be RE4). Well if you've read my original Devil May Cry review a while back, I vehemently exclaimed that critics were taking the game over the top, generally I suppose I was among the few that saw Devil May Cry to be overrated. Now I didn't dismiss the game simply because it was a little too difficult for beginners (a little too much to enjoy it), but the game obviously needed more time in the development chambers before it came out.
Well like the first game, Devil May Cry 2 follows in the trend it left off of, except it's not at all anything of an improvement. In most cases, sequels are suppose to be an improvement set to remedy the original's flaws in creating a more perfect experience. Being that it left off in a certain trend, you still have Dante, his duel-gun slinging, sword-swinging, and tons of hideous beats to fend off while trying to obtain key by key, amulet by amulet to advance onto the next "missions". There are many improvements to be had there as well and in most of the departments things are "improved" - just not to a liking. For some reason, Capcom really made Devil May Cry 2 more of a giant step down rather than an improvement due to all the new ideas and alterations (due to mainly complaints from the original game).
One of Devil May Cry's biggest complaints were that it was too overly difficult, and I believe it was. Personally, it took me over fifty tries to kill the lava spider in the original game. I consider myself to be a pretty advanced skilled gamer, and I kept having trouble defeating it so I came to the conclusion that maybe Devil May Cry was difficult to hide behind the short game that it was. Well many of us could be happy that Devil May Cry 2 is almost so easy, it makes it like they completely retarded the A.I. and everything around it in order to make it an experience a ten-year old can beat. It's pretty bad, I could recall fighting one of my first bosses in the game, which was a giant mutated Guerilla. Even though it looked mighty threatening, taking him out was only a matter of time - not skill or wit like in the first game. What was even more laughable was how they kept slinging out health regenerations left and right making it like the designers said something like "we just want to make sure you beat it". What makes things even worse is that you know you'll defeat a boss despite how difficult he looks, they make it so enduring and drawn-out that it becomes boresome and hum-drum after the first minutes of fighting it. Same goes for the enemies, they come in endless numbers (like old NES games, enemies return incessantly after leaving the screen) but are merely just annoying obstacles.
Although the game is easy, you'll be able to dance around using Dante's slew of fancy moves. Unlike before, Dante can now run up walls (kung-fu style), side-run upside walls, and conclude with a rain of bullets or a fierce sword dive. He also has new evasion moves like backflips and my most preffered - the cartwheel. The same button that allows Dante to roll forward now performs all these new fancy tactics that try to make sword and gun-slinging a bit more inviting (as it already was before). What I am a little disappointed about though is how much easier they've made things - you don't even have to L1 lock-on anymore to attack and enemy for example. Not only that, but Dante can't even fire his pistols quickly anymore - it's been watered down to a two-round firing between pauses. Not only that but if you don't even want to give your thumbs a workout, you can hold down the button and it will do everything effortlessly - without any way to turn all the training wheels off. It's almost patronizing to see how much they've stooped it down, making the game seem like it was created for a child audience - seriously any kid at a Pokemon skill-level can probably beat this game. It all turns out to be an effortless button-mashing fest, where skill and tactics is no longer a prerequisite to advance.
As in the first game, you had the ability to upgrade your abilities - even though you probably don't need to to survive in the game, Capcom has broadened the ability to now upgrade more than just your special abilities but now you can upgrade individual abilities like your swords and guns in an attempt to make them more powerful. This is of course by simply collecting orbs from vanquished foes (like the first game) and is sadly just a matter of how many enemies you feel like defeating. As I've said in the first game, this system is simplistic, cliché, and pretty uninspiring - just another test of how long you'll play to compile the right amount of orbs to buy upgrades and enhancements. As you'll know through playing the original, you'll eventually uncover new items and weapons, such as you're trusty double-barrel shotgun, and the new sub-machine guns as well as a rocket launcher. Sadly, the game is nothing beyond a Resident Evil game in terms of gameplay: you'll just fight, find keys and things like it, fight more, and advance while the game throws in cinematics and story points throughout the game's two-discs.
Another thing I'm a little struck by is the new sound effects they implemented in the game. Some of the old effects have returned, little ones here and there like the shotgun blast sound, but there's been a slew of newly implemented and very awful ones added to the mix. For one, they've changed the sounds Ebony and Ivory (Dante's pair of pistols) made when firing them, and the original sounds were amongst one of the sleekest gun firing sounds from any game - they now sound cheapened and shoddy. Even the footsteps, maybe consisting of two different soundbites, are loud and annoying through every bit of Dante's marching. Even when Dante rolls forward, like the handgun sounds, it just sounds like a cheap overblown Sega Genesis soundbite - almost like they didn't have the time to record better ones or keep the older ones. Speaking of the costs in Devil May Cry 2, it just seems like Capcom spent the entirety of the budget making the graphics finer and implementing a new character that makes the game span two discs. Thankfully, the music is still grunge-rock filled when in the heart of battle, and felicitously eerily creepy when not battling which fits this games atmosphere perfectly.
Now let's discuss this whole new character ordeal - you have Dante, who is probably one of the gaming industries most admiring new characters (especially to the goth crowd), and this new mysterious half-masked female named Lucia. Dante has been redesigned with more of a different ensemble then the first game, and they've added many more polygons to his face making him look more realistic. Even his sword, guns, and Devil Trigger animations are newly styled and look even more marvelous than the first game. Lucia is an interesting addition to the line-up since she invites a more hands-on playable experience (unlike Trish was) to a character who is unlike Dante in that she doesn't tote around guns, but a pair of scimitar-looking scythe instruments. Players will find out what part she pays in Devil May Cry 2 fighting alongside Dante as Trish once did in the original. What many may not understand due to the original's rather disappointing ending where Trish should of died (it seemed like it was meant to be before her apparent resurrection) is why Trish is indeed not fighting alongside Dante nor is really mentioned in the entirety of the game. Playing through the game will answer such questions, but it remains a mystery until you play on. Getting back to our beloved Dante - I don't know what happened in this one but he seems to have lost the inspiring personality he had in the original game - where they've kept his dialogue to a minimum. You'll even notice this where in the first five missions, you won't hear Dante say more than a few words if that. Lucia, however, gets her fair share in the spotlight as you learn more about her.
One thing that did succeed in being a more notably better portion of the game was certainly the graphics and design. Much originated from the first game, the environments are run-down, gothic, and quite old-century looking. Most of what's created looks typical to any Capcom game that being that the graphics are simply marvelous in the intricacy of design aspects. Sadly, the graphics are a tad low in contrast, making the environments looking a little too dreary for the eyes. Not only that but the graphics could have used a higher-resolution appearance since they suffer from their fair share of above-average looks and aliasing. Unlike the first game, the motion-blur effects that tended to help the graphics out a bit have removed - which is too bad since the graphics can't help looking dull otherwise. One of the most annoying elements that helps give the graphics more depth and style is the Resident Evil-style camera. The camera usually just sits in a corner or hovers in all the oddest places sometimes not focusing enough on the action making this of course another camera-problem laden game. Although there are some stylish, unique looking effects there - especially when the camera tilts itself in a spiral fashion, it becomes far too annoying since it tends to accentuate the environments more than the (more important) battle sequences. Finally, the game runs at a steady framerate, which is indeed a perk to keep the action fluid.
Whether you liked the first game or not, you'll quickly notice something went direly wrong in Devil May Cry 2. It almost seems like they've gotten a new director - between the dumbing down of the difficulty, and watering down Dante's much liked personality, I only found that the game was increasingly more uninteresting and boring than the first game was. Even the menus and interface look quickly done and pieced together like the first game. As we all know, Devil May Cry 2 was hyping to be something that would absolutely break the doors down from the first game but ends up being a really just a mediocre sequel that can't seem to succeed in being worthy to the first game. But this could be something of a perk for the fate of the series - by all means I know we'll be seeing another Devil May Cry in the near future since this series has about as much of a following than most of Capcom's big time franchises. Let's just hope they don't get too cocky and screw it up - like they've already done with many of the Mega Man series. Although it's painful to give Devil May Cry 2 two stars, it's inherently a boring game that feels more like a chore to play through than a decent experience. I feel that Devil May Cry 2 will only appeal to the hardcore fans of the series, then those like me who gave it a chance but didn't quite like it. I suppose this is a game I will leave it for those who are enthusiastic about the series and might accept it's shortcomings due to their interest for it. Lastly, I recommend that above all circumstances, it's certainly worth renting at that.
FINAL DECISION
(on a basis of Epinions' stars ratings)
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