Devil May Cry 2

"On its own, a great game; as a sequel, fills the shoes only halfway.."

I loved the gameplay-style of the first Devil May Cry. Fast-paced action mixed with a tiny bit of exploration mixed with the hack-and-slash gameplay I have come to love. It was something I don't experience all too often, which is why I went esctatic when I found out Capcom announced a sequel in the works. When I finally got my hands on it, I was both happy and a bit disappointed at the same time.

****GRAPHICS****
I must say that this game is graphically astounding, which I expect a majority of the time now with Capcom's games. The character models are very well done, with Dante's long coat moving whichever way it's supposed to move. Also, the environments are detailed and vary greatly. I must also say that the enemy models used in the game fit it perfectly, ranging from gargoyles to wolves, even to mutanted tanks and helicopters. With that said, I must admit that I love the bosses from the first game much better, though some of the ones in this game are good.

****STORY****
I don't play these types of games for their story, so I wasn't expecting much, in terms of story, when I purchased this game. With that said, I'll say the story is average; it's ok, but it's not really that horrible. Basically, the head of an international corporation is searching for some type of artifacts, or something, which, when collected, will grant him a great power.

****GAMEPLAY****
First, this game is separated into two discs, one for Lucia's quest and one for Dante's. Dante still plays the same, with a sword and Ebony & Ivory (his guns). Lucia has two short, curved swords and daggers to start out with, but she picks up bombs and longer knives later in her quest.

Combos can play an important role in getting a high grade at the end of a stage, along with the time taken, red orbs collected, items used, and damage taken. You have your basic combo, which is accomplished by just using the melee button. By pressing the left analog stick at various times within the original combo, Dante or Lucia can perform new ones.

You can't assign new moves to your weapons in this game, but you can upgrade your weapons to higher levels by paying a large amount of red orbs to the hourglass-holding statues located throughout the game or at the beginning of a new mission. You can also buy items for your use through the two methods mentioned above. Overall, it kind of stays true to the original, but tries some new things to try and make it better. You have the ability to run up a wall a little, then jump off of it, which is kind of cool to pull off in the middle of a battle but isn't really useful, in my opinion.

****CONTROLS****
For some reason, I think the controls in this game are much better than the ones in the first. One button attacks with your projectiles, while another is assigned to your melee weapon. There's also a button for quick dodging, one for jumping, one for disabling the lock-on if you please, and one for switching between your projectile weapons. For some reason, I'm better at pulling off the combos in this game than in the first, which is why I think the controls are better in this game.

****SOUND & MUSIC****
Not bad music in the game, though nothing really memorable that stays in my mind and has me frantically searching somewhere to obtain it. The sound effects in the game are great, with every noise being appropiate.

****REPLAYABILITY & CHALLENGE****
This is probably the weak point of the game. The game is rather short and normal mode provides not much difficulty. I can prove this by saying I went through Lucia's quest in about 4-5 hours with almost no difficulty, except for one or two bosses (the last boss was patheticly easy). I'm not done with Dante's story yet, but I've been hearing that beating both sides at first will unlock the harder difficulties, which the first game was notorious for. That's pretty much the only time one might replay this game; to beat the harder difficulties or you might just want to pick up one day, out of the blue, and want to beat up things, since this is kind of that type of game.

I'd recommend those that played the first game to maybe rent this one and see how you'll like it. To those who didn't play the first, then by all means, buy this one. It is a great game, but it has its shortcomings-mainly its length (DMC had the same problem) and lack of challenge in the beginning. If you can find it used or at a cheaper price than $50, then definitely pick it up.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/31/03, Updated 01/31/03