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In 2001, just a year after the Playstation 2 launched, a small gem of a game dropped down called Devil May Cry. The game was originally conceived as another Resident Evil but went so far off that it became it's own thing. The result was a revolutionary game that helped reshape gaming and redefine a genre for quite some time. While Devil May Cry isn't always remembered for that now the point is simple: In 2001 we simply hadn't seen a game like it. It was fluid and smooth. It had great action and cheesy one-liners. But most of all, it had stylish combat, the likes of which had never been seen in a video game before. The original Devil May Cry came out at the perfect time. Not so far into the PS2's life to be too big of a ripoff, and early enough that it could be considered innovative because no other game COULD have done what it did before it.
Let's be frank, most of what Devil May Cry is remembered for is hardly the story. In fact, until I popped in the HD collection I had pretty much forgotten what the games were about. The only thing I remembered (as I'm sure many people who played the game just over ten years ago remember) were the crazy moves in combat, the cheesy one liners and the incredible effects you could watch. Who doesn't remember watching the opening scene of the original Devil May Cry for the first time? It's laughably cheesy and then you feel content because it's supposed to be. This was our introduction to the game. By having a girl ride in on a bike and then immediately attacking our protagonist by impaling him with a sword before throwing the very bike she rode in on at him... to which he blast it away with his gun and it explodes. This was the make it or break it moment. If you could go along with this ridiculous action you were going to be rewarded. If it was "too much" for you then you were not likely to dive in beyond that. It's a great opening cinematic because it perfectly illustrates what Devil May Cry is. The story isn't what's important. It's the style, the action and the gameplay.
And for the most part it's still fun. All three games play rather identical. The first one is a charmer, but the real show here is definitely Devil May Cry 3 more so than the other two. In fact, because of how things are set up, even newcomers can jump into the third first seeing as how it takes place before the first game. The combat in all of the games is rather simple and yet... still complex. You have an assortment of weapons to use (although most times you'll be using a sword) where you can perform combos or hit enemies into the air and blow them away with your guns. You can perform special moves or go into Devil Form where your abilities and defenses are improved. It's an interesting system. The monsters which attack you throughout the games are fierce. And as you tackle them you generally hear heavy metal music in the background. You've got guns, tricks, juggles and a lot of variety. Your moves are ranked as Dull, Crazy, Bravo, Awesome and Stylish to give you a sense of how well your doing. When you dispatch enemies they drop red orbs for you to use as currency to buy even more crazy moves. Devil May Cry was, in a way, ahead of its time. Still using some of the same things which came before it, but using all of it to provide so much variety for the game in and of itself. Variety that still serves as a strength today.
Make no mistake, however, these games are tough. They included the Special Edition of Devil May Cry 3, for those wondering. Primarily because including the original I'm sure would've rekindled memories of pure frustration for some gamers. Regardless, all three games are fairly tough. They're unforgiving at what they do. If you need a moment to readjust to the controls the game is likely to give you a rough start.
Devil May Cry 2 is perhaps the one that has aged the worst out of all of them, and it's mostly because it already had a lukewarm reception upon release. The game felt like a step backward. It was not only easier, but it was shorter and didn't feature nearly as much creativity, detail or even some of the cheesy action we'd come to see. The combat wasn't bad, though, but it's often considered the weakest of the trilogy by fans.
The third one, however, is by far the best of the lot. And because it's the Special Edition you get all the extras of the special edition. Likewise, the third game just has the best flowing combat of all three games. Not to mention a few interesting tweaks that give Dante four different styles to go into each mission as. It's overall the best experience.
I'd actually recommend playing all three. Not only do you get to experience gaming history but you can see how these games really helped to shape and influence the action games which came after it. That being said though, you also can't help but notice how dated some of Devil May Cry is. As good as these games are, gaming has progressed quite a bit since then. The first and most glaring issue is that the camera angles really get on ones nerves. The fixed camera angles are going to mess you up. You're going to miss a couple of jumps because of some of the camera angles. With no control given to the player and some strange angles you're more apt to mess up some good timing. Likewise, some of the awkward camera angles can screw up with how you're actually moving. You'll be running away from the screen only for the angle to change and you're suddenly running toward the screen instead which will sometimes cause you to do a weird awkward turn around before pressing forward. Simply put, Devil May Cry doesn't control as smoothly as it used to.
Some of the controls can throw you for a loop for a brief moment. For example, in 2012 most of us who play a game that involves using a gun in 3D space are used to pressing one trigger to raise the weapon and the other trigger to fire. Devil May Cry has you press one trigger to raise the weapon, but square to fire. You'd think this wouldn't take time to readjust to... but it actually does. It doesn't keep you out for very long, but it sort of provides an idea for just how much even some of the basic foundation of control schemes have changed. At the very least, however, Dante always locks on to the nearest target automatically and there's no need to make sure you have enough ammo. Dante's weapons never run out of ammo.
These aren't huge issues by any means. They're merely what you'd call "state of the art." This was just how a lot of video games were when Devil May Cry came out. None of that is changed here, although you do wish that at the very least CAPCOM would've added in the ability to rotate the camera.
As far as the HD itself goes, that's a tough one. The gameplay actually looks great, but some of the other moments not quite as much. You'll see some ugly textures from time to time, but what's more daunting is how CAPCOM opted not to touch some of it. CAPCOM left the menus in regular Standard Definition so some people are bound to notice a few strange textures (particularly when you go into the options menu in the first Devil May Cry). This is really not that big a deal, although with how other games had their HD collections treated it just seems somewhat lazy not to go the whole nine yards. HD Collections like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus or Metal Gear Solid just did a better job. Some of the pre-rendered cutscenes also look like they weren't really touched at all. Again, you're gonna notice a few ugly textures. During actual gameplay, though and during the cutscenes that aren't pre-rendered the games actually look quite good. Again, it just seems very odd that CAPCOM wouldn't go the full nine yards with some of this stuff. It only takes booting up the original Devil May Cry to see this. The pre-rendered cutscene at the beginning of the first Devil May Cry is in standard for instance, yet the first meeting between Dante and Trish (because it's not pre-rendered) is in HD, but then the next pre-rendered scene that plays in which Trish talks about Mundus is in standard. Perhaps this is most noticeable when you boot up and watch the pre-rendered cutscene at the beginning of Devil May Cry 3 and then the in-game cutscene that's immediately after it. It's clear CAPCOM wants you to focus on the gameplay more than the story but... again, why not just go the whole nine yards with it?
The other strange nitpick with this collection is when you select a game. When you boot the HD Collection up you can choose which Devil May Cry you want to play, but once you go into that game, you can't exactly get back to the main menu to let you select a different game. You have to quit all the way out and then boot up the collection again. It's another moment that just seems lazy.
I wouldn't shun anyone away from this collection. It's actually a good one. You get three games for a decent price. And while not EVERYTHING is in HD at least the gameplay itself is and that's not so bad. There are a few parts of Devil May Cry that haven't aged as well, but the games are still good in and of themselves.
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So, I'll start the review by saying that I have never played the original SD versions of these games. I own them, but every time I tried to start them I got discouraged. Probably because I've been spoiled by too many new games with amazing graphics and because I came too late to this series. But I've always wanted to play.
Enter the DMC HD collection. I pre-ordered it the instant I heard about it and have been itching to play it. From the moment I got it into my console (ordered PS3 version, BTW) I have been pretty glad that I waited. I was rewarded with HD content that, for the most part, made me feel like I was playing a newish game. That's not to say it's on par with GOW3 or anything...but there are definitely improvements. Speaking of God of War, much like the HD re-release of that series, cut scenes have not been remastered in HD. This was maddening when I saw it in GOW, and I'm equally thrown by it now. I'm not expert, but I would have thought it would be easier to re-render a pre-programmed cut scene than an entire world of objects and bad guys. If anything, the cut scenes serve to remind you of how playing this game USED TO look, and can make you feel better for having the HD version. (Gotta find the positive here folks).
The gameplay seems pretty smooth and not glitchy at all (freezing, camera plowing through walls, etc.) other than what I state below in regards to the camera angles.
I can't speak to any bonus content, because I don't know what's been added from the original version.
With all that being said, it would seem that camera issues from the original series have likely found their way onto this re-release. Not surprising since it's likely just a direct port with slightly better graphics. I remember reading soooo many complaints about the camera during DMC1 and DMC2. So far I haven't been absolutely frustrated that I've wanted to thrown my controller, but there are a few times when you're like..."What the?..." because it's hard to see the baddie or where you're supposed to go. I mean, the first boss fight (some crazy lava spider thing) is maddening because as you go around this room camera angles keep changing and it's hard to tell where you are, if there's a pillar in front of you, or if you're walking into the jaws of the boss. The weirdest part is that, say you're pushing left to go forward in the game and the camera flips around 180 degrees. You're still pressing left (forward originally), and moving forward....but with the new point of view, left should actually be taking you backwards. Sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn't. (Don't know if that makes sense) A little odd, but as I said, I haven't pulled my hair out completely....yet.
Absolutely worth the money on a re-visit (or new visit in my case) of a great (if not slightly odd at times) series. If you are looking for a new hack and slash game, you should give this one a go. I won't get into the GOW / DMC / Ninja Gaiden / Your Favorite Hack-N-Slash Game debate here, as that is beyond me. I'm a casual gamer, not hard core. But, for the fun of a new story and some cool playability, I totally would recommend this for anyone. Should you get it if you have already played or own the original series? I'm guessing probably not, but maybe someone else who reviews the additional content can weigh in.
Looking forward to DMC3 as much as anything on this disc. Heard great things and can't wait to get there.
***UPDATE: Made a few clarifications above. I've been playing for about 2 weeks now and can't say as I'd really change anything above. Again, I'm happy with the game, happy with the price, happy to have the collection all together, and happy to experience all the good (and bad) from the original...with slightly better graphics. My apologies for not being able to say truly whether all of the camera glitches are still present, or if the new content is "worth it", because I never played the originals. I stand by my original statement...a fun series (so far) and worth getting if you've never owned it. If you already own it, not sure if there's a ton for you here. Shouldn't be too much longer until I'm at DMC3, which is the one that I've heard the most about. Looking forward to it.
***Update: Yeah....I never made it past DMC2 as I just got completely overwhelmed with school and work. I hope to revisit the game and my review, but with GOW Origins and GOW Ascension waiting to be played....it's not going to be soon. I really am looking forward to DMC3 though. Sorry 'bout that.
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Before Capcom's soul purpose in the video game industry is to annoy and piss off its fanbase (case in point, the cancellation of MEGAMAN Legends 3, re-releasing games at a content basis, shoving DLC that is on the disc you bought but can't access until you fork more dead presidents, and rebooting a franchise to a developer whose track record is iffy at best), they used to release their damn good (with the exception for one game in this compilation) games. Oh and may I add that they were complete games because game consoles then didn't shove DLC all over our faces.
Such reminder of these games from years ago are Capcom's latest HD upscale romp with Devil May Cry HD Collection. A compilation of the first three DMC games with newly added trophies and wide-screen 16:9 gameplay. One video game generation ago, these games (well, I have to emphasize, two of them) were at the center of the golden age of visceral action games. DMC along with Ninja Gaiden and Shinobi, were challenging action games that forced the player to move with lightning fast precision to perform stylish attacks and evasion maneuvers. These games often forced the player to learn enemy patterns or to master the game's assortment of special moves in order to get high marks or to barely pass them unscaved.
To say that this genre has died off this generation would be a complete farce. The Devil May Cry games (again, 1 & 3) are a legend in their own right and their HD reappearance only serves reason to why this genre flourished in the first place.
As far as this game is concerned, all three titles all preserve their features (including DMC2's outfits by Diesel). Though keep in mind that part 3 is the Special Edition version which brought down the difficulty to Japanese version standard. They look pretty good in 720p but a strange decision was made with regards to the way menus were handled. They left them in their native 4:3 perspective when I'm sure it wouldn't take more time to upscale them like what they did to the gameplay. The cinematics, because they were rendered in SD 480i, look grainy and ugly which seems to be a plague running amok in these HD upgrades. However, the added trophy support ensures old players with a fresh new experience to once again, sharp up their demon slaying skills.
You'll probably get the most mileage playing parts 1 & 3. Part 2 does suck, even without Devil May Cry in its name, its still a boring, worthless action game. In the tier of HD updates, the DMC HD collection sits somewhere in the 80% percentile in the way these games were treated. A bang for your buck at a relatively low price. The Devil May Cry HD is well worth your time and effort. Even if it has part 2.
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I originally played, and beat, the original Devil May Cry when it first released on PS2. Having never owned a Playstation until just recently, I got very excited when I saw this collection get announced for both the PS3 and the 360. I originally bought the DMC Collection for the 360. However, I quickly realized that I really did not enjoy the control scheme. Since these three games were originally PS2 Exclusives, the controls feel much more natural on the DualShock 3. So I traded in the 360 version and bought the PS3 version. All three games come on one disc, so no downloading is necessary. One minor gripe about the collection is that the cut scenes are still very much in their original format. It's a bit jarring going from the newly rendered HD graphics to the 10+ year old cut scenes. That said, this series is a true classic (I even like the much maligned 2nd installment) and for $20.00 or less, this can't be beat.
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For the price, you get 3 classic DMC games. Love this game.Would recommend to all DMC fans out there. Dont hesitate to buy it.
