Devil May Cry 2

"Many people are disappointed ? Okay, but I'm not !!!"

Before getting to know Devil May Cry, I had heard tons of news and discussions about this game. At that time, I was still a dying fan of Resident Evil. I had liked that series too much, and I was extremely shocked after finding out that the series would be completely ported to GameCube exclusively. And I didn't want to care about the ''worth-hated'' Devil May Cry which was one of the reasons why Resident Evil 4 for Playstation2 had been cancelled. But anyway, I had just got PS2 after having passed tons of difficulties. And Devil May Cry was one of the hottest PS2 games at that time. So I tried it anyway, along with Onimusha : Warlords, Final Fantasy X and ICO. Wow, after playing this game, I found a new excitement. Since I was disappointed by the rudeness of Resident Evil series, I thought that I had already got an interesting game to love. I was extremely stuck to it, and wondered why the game was too damn short. I just hoped it would be longer. Some months later, I was glad to hear about Devil May Cry 2 which was being done. And I has been waiting with tons of feelings and hopes... And now, I have already had the game and I'm playing it. Although it has received tons of bad ratings from professional critics as well as gamers, I still find Devil May Cry 2 interesting for me. And I like it as equally as I do with the first one. But I also admit that there are really some thingies which make this game hated by some people. However, let's go to the detailed review.

Gameplay 10/10
I can't understand why some people dislike the new gameplay of Devil May Cry 2. But for me, it's very cool and exciting. As the battle system has changed, the characters have more new and unique moves that alter the gameplay style from the original one. And that doesn't mean it's less fun. I really like this battle system, and I don't find it so suck as many people do. It's moderated and easy enough to use. Dante in DMC2 has been changed compared to the first one. He has cooler look, and his moves are more lively. Along with auto aim system, Dante can make different shooting poses like TwoSometime and crossing besides normal pose. And he can do more than that while being in the air. The same with other characters, depending on their fighting styles. I think this is really a cool new creativity which needs to be promoted. Besides, the game environment has been enlarged a lot. The players have more places to go, more adventures to try and more secrets to find. I think this one really satisfy those who have hoped the game to be longer, unless they so much hate this game. Some critics have claimed that a few secrets are so hidden that players can beat the game regardless they exist. This sentence is not right, since it's no more a secret if you can find it fairly easily. Even though they can be unnecessary, they can make the game a litte more interesting. I'll discuss more about this in later parts. One of the new thing is that the game has two discs, as you have two separated characters to play : Dante and the brand new chick Lucia, and secret playable character, like Resident Evil 2 for PSX. Well, this is pretty freaky since it affects your ''munny'', but for me, it's really pity without playing this game thoroughly. You may think that Dante's and Lucia's scenarios are 90% similar which is very boring, right ? So let me tell you that you're going wrong. I agree that there are some similarities between these two scenarios, but 50% of them are not the same. Even the number of missions in each one's scenario is very different too, as they have separated story. For example, Lucia has water travelling missions and some unique explorations which Dante doesn't have. The same rule with Dante, he can have some unique explorations which Lucia doesn't do. Besides, one of the greatest things of the game is that it has variety of secrets, especially the Bloody Palace which is a pretty interesting ex-scenario. Generally, I think DMC2 completely has great gameplay, unlike some people criticize so badly. You can think that I'm just a vulgar gamer who doesn't know the real enjoyment of a game, but here I just write my true opinions.

Storyline (-)
Hey well, it's not fair to discuss about this to rate this game, since story in an action game like Devil May Cry 2 is not really remarkable, just like the original one. Dante's storyline seems to have no change, as he is still on the way to inherit and continue his father's career as a devil hunter. This game is just another adventure of his to save the humans on the earth. New things is that the new chick Lucia also gets her own story. She is the protector of Via de Marli island who possesses unwashed power which can destroy even gods. But in fact, her true identity is still a terrible mystery which she has to find out during her journey. I should not spoil it more, but as I said, storyline is not a fine criteria to estimate such a game like Devil May Cry. Let me get over now.

Controls 9.5/10
Although the battle system has been changed much along with this control system, as the creator's promise, it's easily accessible and you can get used to it soon. The attack and jumping buttons seem to have no change, except some extra actions like dodging, rolling or air-hiking. However, I also think this new control also requires players' practical skills though, since it's not very easy to use the analog stick to make some good-looking actions, such as TwoSometime. But I'll analyze more carefully in Battle System section. I'm very glad that the rolling has been represented by the single Circle button, along with climbing wall. It was always a pain for me to use the trigger buttons and the left analog stick to roll in the old DMC. One more good thing is that Directional Buttons can be used in this game, as well as the left analog stick. This gives choice for those who can't get used to the moving stick. But for me, after playing DMC, I have agreed that the analog stick is more suitable in such an action game more than the Directional Buttons, as your hand is freer and it's easier to make slender moves, while the buttons can stun your hand if you can't chase the speed of the game. Anyway, my topic sentence : The control of this game is very good, since it can be accessed by most players, unlike the one from DMC which was a little difficult to get used to.

Battle System 9/10
As I said, the battle system has been changed as the control modification, but the basic is still preserved. For Dante, he can use both swords and guns at the same time, and your hits are put in auto-aim system, so you don't have to worry about missing the targets. This is similar to the first game. As for Lucia, her main weapons are double knifes. And she has the ''arsenals'' which do the same role as Dante's guns, as throwing weapons. Like DMC, you can create several combos of Dante and Lucia by adjusting the directions with the left analog stick. The characters' attacks and combos look cooler, too :) The Orbs and the Statue of Times are all brought to this part two, so are the stuffs bought from the statues. The new thing is that you can get status abnormalities in battle (like Poison), so it gives birth to a new healing item. Bad thing is that the price of items is truly a nightmare. The battles become more fun with the dodging actions like air-hiking and rolling. As the air-hiking system in DMC2 has been modified a lot from the original one, you can have some great minutes of aerial battles with your guns/arsenals. If Dante can strongly slash his sword down on the ground, Lucia can make long combos in the air before she lands. In this game, you don't have to purchase new techniques anymore. Instead, you level up your equipments, buy necessary orbs, as the price is much higher. Like the previous game, ranking system still depends on your attack performance as well as your damage. In DMC, it's divided into : Dull-Cool-Bravo-Awesome-Stylish. Now it is Don't worry-Come on!-Bingo-Are you Ready ?-Showtime. But I feel that it's more difficult to do in DMC2. Although the battle system has been changed from DMC, I think it's generally good and accessible. The only thing DMC2 doesn't satisfy me about it is Defense system. There's no other way to defend besides dodging. I hoped the characters could shield or protect themselves from enemies' hits, like Onimusha or Enigma.

Characters 10/10
Hehehe, this is my most favourite part in this game. Well, I need a feedback. When I played DMC, one of the reasons why I like it was the main character. For me, Dante is undoubtedly one of the best video game characters ever. He had a cool look, the cold-looking silver hair, the tough eyes, and blood-red trenchcoat. Being a half-demon man, he has unusual personalities, but it can't cover the deep emotion inside him : his eternal respect for his mother and his humanity. I did hope he would re-appear in DMC2 as the main character again. And it has come true. Dante now looks more serious, muscular and experienced, with the slender trenchcoat. Although the game just takes place some months after DMC, he seems to lose his young amazement from DMC. But in compensation for that, he grows the real style of a true fighter. He rarely talks, as he acts more than he says. He just secretly helps the others without any benefit. I really love Dante's new look and persona in this game, no matter how much he has changed. His new image and behaviours completely suit the situations of the game, while in DMC, he was a little joking. About the female character, Lucia is not kind of my favourite styles. My most favourite chicks of all time are Claire Redfield from Resident Evil and Aya Brea from Parasite Eve, these girls have both the feminile beauty and a strong heart. For me, Lucia is not really hot, and she bears such strange characteristics. But anyway, she is still beloved with her style, being a fighter. That's completely acceptable, as Lucia is more like a warrior than a normal woman. Generally, the character designing in DMC series is always great, and should be kept going and going up.

Enemies 9/10
Well, I think I don't have to say much. The enemies and bosses are always impressive, especially the designs. They neither look horrible like Silent Hill series, nor look ''funny'' like Kingdom Hearts, nor bizarre like Shadow Hearts. Instead, their images leave some mysteries in our sight, and suit the game too. In DMC, the enemies look pretty old and ancient, as the game itself took place in an old castle. But now in DMC2, you have to travel in a large city with skyscrappers and modernity, so the enemies also have the same look. But then DMC2 is weaker than DMC at the fact that enemies have less attacks and poor variety, or I can say ''low-qualified''. Although the entire game is not easy, some enemies, and even bosses are surprisingly simple to be defeated.

Camera Angles (-)
Now I begin to criticize the media part. At first, this is the ''worst'' point which terribly reduces the quality of DMC2 : Camera Angles are not placed at right locations. This is the disadvantage which I have to admit, no matter how much I love this game, as I myself get confused with it too. In DMC, the angles are right enough for you to observe the places and know where to go. Of course, angles for secrets have to be a little tricky, since you have to find them more difficultly than anything, and it's legally acceptable. But in DMC2, everywhere is all tricky. As DMC2 has much more complicated environments, the creators have to be more experienced in placing cameras. I really get upset when playing Mission 1, when I have ''tear'' my eyes to observe the ways and the orbs, especially on the roofs. Aerial battles get much more difficult as the angles are confusing. And it's really the players' calamity in boss battles. Sometimes they are so freaky that I can't even see my character in the screen, or even mistake an enemy. The entire environment of the game is large, but the cameras don't seem to be placed enough. That's really a serious bug. And if Capcom wants to get back the fame of this series, they should fix this soon, at least as well as they did in DMC1. At present, DMC2 would be better if there were a button used to adjust camera angles, like Squaresoft did with the miraculous Kingdom Hearts. In my opinion, Kingdom Hearts is a game which has such kind of complicated angles, but the angle button has fixed all, and the good result is that nearly no one complains about its camera angles. Why didn't Capcom think about that idea when making DMC2 ?

Graphic 9.5/10
For me, the graphic in DMC2 is very great, as great as DMC, or even clearer and cleaner. I really don't know why some people claim the graphic of this game to be bad. For me, it has nothing to be disliked. It just gets suck because of the tricky camera angles. For some players who think that this game is less mysterious and the textures are low-qualified, I also give my ideas : DMC was a big success. It took place in an ancient castle with beautiful design, on an isolated island. Of course, ancient castle must look better than the streets and ruins which are in DMC2, and the atmosphere there must be greater. I think that DMC2's graphic has nothing so wrong, or because it's not someone's style. For me, what I dislike is only the colour/hue. Except some in-water missions, the general hue of DMC2 is so hot. The hue in DMC was hot enough, but DMC2 is even hotter. This really easily upsets you when you are playing. The thing I like best is Dante's hair and his moves. Just look at the game carefully : Unlike DMC, his hair waves softly whenever he acts, and so does his trenchcoat. Due to my own experience of playing video games, there are not many games whose creators attend to the characters' hair, since making realistic hair in CG is not an easy task, as I'm a person who is studying CG now. It's much harder than making anything else and it takes tons of efforts. But in this game, the realistic hair is one of the advantages that make the character cooler and slenderer in his movements. The interactive objects in the game are smooth and realistic too, especially the item designs. They are splendid and as cool as their ''owners'' !

Music & Sound 10/10
Well, don't have much things to write either. At first, I was very fond of the track ''Shoot the Works'' which I heard from the Sound DVD Sacred Hearts, going as an additional promotion of DMC. And now I have already had DMC2, I have found that the music in this game is very good, just like DMC and has very the unique style of DMC : also the rock&roll music, the strong interesting melodies in battle. Needless to say, it's awesome !

Secrets and Sidequests 9/10
Again, DMC series has proved its true advantage of secrets and sidequests. Along with two playable characters with two main scenarios, there always hidden menus which are unlockable during your progress. The game has more secrets, and even an exciting extra scenario to beat. You have different costumes as well as the extra playable characters. Plus, there are tons of little secrets which can be found throughout the game, such as amulets, secret missions, secret orbs and weapons. What I can say is that I'm very satisfied with it. The only suck thing is that the rewards for beating Must Die mode are not as worth as Super Dante in DMC. But generally, this is the most important advantage of DMC2.

Replay Value 9/10
Well, for this game, don't worry about the lack of replay value. DMC2 has everything : high gameplay, cool battle system, rich secrets etc which are all worth for you to play again and again. One thing is that after you complete either character's all missions, you'll have an option to select any mission you like to beat, without taking the whole advanture again. Is that good ?

Rent or Buy ?
As for the true quality of this game, in my opinion, it deserves to be bought. But as this game has received tons of ratings which are very different from one another, it's a better idea to rent and try, before you really buy it. For me, it's always a great game.

Conclusion
I have nearly finished my review about Devil May Cry 2. This game is one of Capcom's greatest masterpieces, born after Resident Evil and Onimusha. And in my own opinion, its part two is still very impressive, as its original version. I guess it wasn't a rightful idea of Capcom to hand the series to another creator. This may be the most important reason why DMC2 fails compared to DMC. Until now, I really still wonder about this decision of Capcom. Since Resident Evil is still standing firmly along with its veteran creator Shinji Mikami, why doesn't Capcom do the same thing with DMC series ? Creator changing is always a problem for any game, deciding the game's future. As DMC has just been known by the first version, they shouldn't have changed its creator that early if they wanted it to benefit them. Except some serious bugs, I hope people will give this game a larger look, since the game is not as bad as people think. Well, finally...

Gameplay : 10/10
Storyline : -
Controls : 9.5/10
Battle System : 9/10
Characters : 10/10
Enemies : 9/10
Camera Angles : -
Graphic : 9.5/10
Music & Sound : 8/10
Secrets and Sidequests : 9/10
Replay Value : 9/10

Final Score : 9.5/10 (not really an average score)

Reviewer's Score: 10/10 | Originally Posted: 03/05/03, Updated 03/10/03

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