Devil May Cry 2

"Not the kind of game you would expect..."

Prologue

This review is a bit late in fact. Okay, so it's been 15 months ever since the original Devil May Cry released by Capcom came to retail stores. As of January 2003, Capcom now releases their next stylish action sequel to the original smash hit which is now known as Devil May Cry 2. Surprisingly, this game did not live up to the expectations of its predecessor. What a disappointment. Here are details explaining why.

The creators of the original Devil May Cry did not bring you this game.

No, it's not Shinji Mikami and Hideki Kamiya type of people. In fact, Capcom switched development teams for the sequel. They gave this project entirely to Tsuyoshi Tanaka and Noritaka Funamizu. In case you don't know who these people are, Funamizu is the Producer of all the Street Fighter Alpha's and Tanaka is just some new guy ready for developing. Somehow, this team is very inexperienced when it comes to action games like Devil May Cry :P.

Who's in this game this time? What's their story?

Eventually, after seeing the intro as the game starts, the game will present you with the main characters you will be controlling during your quest. Returning from the original game is Dante, your typical shoot n' slash type of guy. However, he's not the Dante we wanted and he's not the Dante we saw in the first game. In fact, he is(referred by many DMC fans who were disappointed with this game) Bob, Dante's stunt double. He doesn't have the coolness and stylish rates of the original Dante. As a standalone character without comparing, he's not bad with his skills.

Another character, as this game spans two discs(one for each character), is the new and sexy Lucia. She is referred by Capcom as the Protector. If for some reason you play her side of the game first, you will most likely spoil some of Dante's story. After I played the game for about a few hours, I didn't have a clue of what's really going on. I seemed to memorized some of the scenes, but that's about it.

Does this game live up to the S Rank on a Capcom grading level?

No, I wouldn't quite say so. Seeing how Dante lost most of his stylish effects, this deserves a C at most on their ranking level. Let me explain why.

The gameplay of Devil May Cry 2 is quite interesting. However, the difficulty has been toned down a lot seeing how Capcom said the first game was too hard. The game now has a scalable system. For instances, if you're not doing well, the game might incarnate fewer enemies. There is good and bad to this. The good side is that you wont have to get cornered so easily by a bunch of enemies who wants you dead for sure. The bad side to this is that Capcom programmed it so you will quite get hit more often than you do in the original game(except this time they do puny damage to you). Seeing how it's more possible for you to get hit, it's seriously more difficult to obtain the best rank possible for your stylish combos.

Another aspect that brought our tears out, is that Dante isn't the guy you expect to keep his old equipment. Only this time you get new swords(in which they all look the same), new weapons(which has the traditional ''Infinite Ammo'' style to it), and new elements. This is the game where you DO actually perform basic sword-fighting and shooting your foes down until you finish the game by saying, ''Piece of Cake!''. My sources say Capcom rushed on releasing this game and forgot the most important type of thing that would turn this game around to look better..... And that would be the system where you learn new abilities so you can have fun with them. However, this game does not feature the type of gameplay. It actually is a system where you just upgrade your swords and guns so they can become more powerful once you max it out. In the original, it was a much different story. In this game, upgrades cost expensive as well as items. My guess for this reason was the game is refraining you from abusing valued items.

And finally, knowing why Capcom has done this, they toned down the speed of the game. Yes, this game is incredibly slow-paced. Why?? Because Capcom designed this game so that you can get hit as easy as it looks. Also, about the Devil Trigger this time around, it gives you auto-guard(which actually is quite good), heals you a excellent amount(no matter which difficulty you're on), and it extremely overpowered. Only this game it will take longer to replenish your Devil Trigger gauge to the maximum.

The visuals and presentation of the game.

The visuals, such as the backgrounds, and detailed characters do look quite amazing. In fact, most of the graphics you'll see in this game does look better than the original. As for special effects, well, what would you what to see? A enemy that can regenerate from its waist all the way up to the head or a enemy that can change shape and become thrice as fast? Well, it doesn't really matter, considering the fact that they are just enemies. We shoudl be talking about Dante, who definitely lost all of his unique abilities that were present in the first game. And I'm talking about very good-looking abilities. Throwing Lightning or Throwing Daggers? Spinning around in the air or shooting in the air?

The musical and sound presentation.

Actually, this game does span quite good music. However, most of this game's music doesn't quite live up to the original games' music. However, the ending theme in this game is surely a masterpiece. This time there are no vocals around, but that's not a problem with me. After hearing the whole game from beginning to end, I say to myself, ''The ending theme just sounds brilliant, but the rest of the music..ehh.. just not as good as the first.''

Controlling Dante. There's good and bad....

Quite good. The controls are basic just like the first one. One button to shoot, another to jump, another to attack, and so on.. In fact, Capcom nearly used all of the buttons(except for L3) this time around. In fact, there are quite new extra moves this time around. You can use the Left Analog Stick to move Dante/Lucia around the environment. The camera is actually worse this time around. Half the time it zooms incredibly far away from you not allowing to know what you are doing and what the action is really like. Another problem is the auto-targetting system. When you try to hit the enemy that is about to approach behind you, you'd have to press R3 to switch to the desired target, which is a pain to do. Most of the time you end up hitting the wrong enemy and get hit. This will take some time to adapt to, but it's how they programmed it. Pressing R2 will switch the camera to a fixed-camera. This allows for your character to hit whichever direction they are facing at that time.This game supports both the Dual Shock and the Dual Shock 2.

Is this game difficult? How does it compare to the first Devil May Cry?

As previously mentioned, the hardness of this game has been severely toned down. This game, in fact, is a much simpler version of the first. Also, the gameplay speed has been toned down as well. It is no longer fast-paced as like in the first game. The returning difficulty names has been implemented in this title. You have the traditional Normal, Hard, and the ''Must Die!'' modes. It's the same as the first, where the Must Die mode enemies use their version of devil trigger. This time, it's quite different, as you are no longer timed before they go berserk.

The Replay Value? Well, although this game does have several unlockables, only one of them is worth it. In the original DMC, all secrets are worthy. :) You'll probably get through Devil May Cry 2 much slower than the first, seeing how you have the complete both discs and the speed of the game being toned down.

The Ups and Downs of the Disappointing Sequel.

Pros:
+ Cool Music
+ Perfect Control
+ Better Visuals(in some cases)
+ Improved ''Devil'' mode.

Cons:
- Storyline??
- Difficulty has been watered-down
- The game that doesn't make you cry
- Non-Stylish Gameplay
- Where is the Real Dante??

Why the low rank??

Why did I give it a 6??? Huh??? Well, I rate it as a standalone game without comparing to the original Devil May Cry. If I did compare it, I would rate it at least a 3 or a 4. Out of 10, of course.:)

Believe me, if DMC2 was DMC1, and DMC1 was DMC2.. guess what I would say? That's one hell of an improvement, Capcom!

Rent or Buy.

Devil May Cry 2 now costs $29.99 at retail stores. I suggest you rent it and use it as training ground for practice. This game isn't worth it as much as you like the original DMC. But seriously, it's your choice. Once you've made it, it's all you.

Only one question now remains: Will Capcom make up for such disappointment? Will they make a next DMC or equivalent? Only time will tell.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 10/31/03