Devil May Cry Retrospective

Capcom [before they became the joke that they are now] used to create some of the best video games ever. Games like Mega Man, Street Fighter, Resident Evil, and my personal favorite Devil May Cry. While the series is not as widely popular or held in high regard like other hack and slash action games, the impact the series has had on the action genre cannot be underestimated. This series is all about stylish action while playing as the badass Son of Sparda, Dante. So in order to celebrate my favorite action series of all time, I've decided to write this retrospective in order to share my love with all of you.  So without further ado, let us begin.



Devil May Cry 1

The original Devil May Cry, while a revolutionary game that left a heavy impact on the 3D action genre, has sadly not aged very well. And its somewhat to be expected since Devil May Cry was originally supposed to be Resident Evil 4 before it was changed mid development. The game itself is rather limited with its arsenal and there are balancing issues regarding certain enemies, and the famous style meter is at its weakest. But for all these flaws, you also got a game with action  that was entertaining to behold, an incredible soundtrack, and the beginning of the Devil May Cry's famous style system that would go on to become a crucial element of the series. In addition Devil May Cry's influence can be seen in hack and slash action games that would come out later down the line, games like God of War, No More Heroes, and naturally Bayonetta. Whether its the ability to level up weapons, various enemy types with radically different tactics, or the style system that would encourage players to improve their skills and vary attacks when dealing with enemies, despite its flaws Devil May Cry remains as a pillar of the hack and slash genre.

3/5



Devil May Cry 2

Ah I can already hear the sounds of keyboards clicking away as fans of the series and gamers in general demand that this game is crucified for the millionth time. How it completely goes against the series, how Dante no longer makes his trademark wisecracks, how the presence of two campaigns only serve to draw out a supposedly "boring" game. Well I have news for you. I don't think Devil May Cry 2 is a bad game.


Before my comments section is over-flooded with people saying I'm a blind fan boy, at least know my reasons for why I like Devil May Cry 2 while I first address the common criticism of the game being nothing like any other game in the series, while first letting you all know this. Shinji Mikami, who worked on Devil May Cry 1 had nothing to do with this game. An entirely different studio was reponsible, and that same studio would go on to make Devil May Cry 3 and 4.That being said, the  complaint that this game isn't like any other game in the series doesn't apply since the Devil May Cry series didn't have a fully established formula yet, so comparing it Devil May Cry 3 and 4, for lack of a better word is lazy. And as for comparing it to the first game? Well 2 does certain things better than 1. There are a wider variety of enemies for example, at least 30 enemies and at least 10 unique bosses. Devil Trigger has been expanded on since the first game and can be customized with various different gems, such as increasing running speed, gaining the ability to fly, and adding different elemental bonuses to weapons, adding a layer of depth and preparation to battles. In addition Devil May Cry 2 actually lay the groundwork into the Style combat system in Devil May Cry 3 by introducing gameplay elements that would lead into the different styles seen in the series. Different swords and move inputs leading to the Swordsmaster style, being able to pull off different attacks with your guns [Gun Slinger style] and even parkour and aerial manuevers to help avoid attacks [Trickster style]. As for Dante being almost completely silent and making no jokes? I always just assumed Trish had died or something horrible had happened to reduce Dante to what he was. Something that might have been addressed in a later game. But for what it was, Devil May Cry 2 was a solid game at the very least and while it may not have been what people were expecting, that doesn't make it a bad game.

2/5.



Ah but then there is Devil May Cry 3. Almost everyone who has played the series can agree that Devil May Cry 3 is the series zenith. The best game in the series and hands down one of the greatest action games ever made. This is by far my favorite game in the series, and my favorite action game of all time. Every single thing in this game has been honed to near perfection, a large roster of enemies, each one unique and requiring different tactics to defeat while being as stylish as possible, the style meter finally having purpose in being an indicator of the players skill and technique during combat, widely different weapons and different styles to utilize in combat to give the player the chance to create their own unique fighting style. That is perhaps the greatest thing about this game, the fact that the game designers made the game so that players could truly experience the feeling of being a powerful demon hunter armed with a large arsenal of weapons. Combine that with the best soundtrack of the series, a story that is actually worth mentioning [which is something very special for any game in this series] and you have what is easily the best game in the series. It only has two flaws worth mentioning. The first being the atrocious platforming which has always been a problem in the series due to the completely locked vertical leaps the characters make when jumping, and the fact that when the game was initially released, it was EXTREMELY difficult to the point where Normal difficulty was the equivalent of Hard difficulty and so on. A Special Edition had to be released that lowered the game's difficulty, but on the plus side it included a mode where you could play as Dante's brother Vergil. Back when Capcom wasn't the greedy slimy corporation it is now.

5/5, play it.



Soooo.... yeah. Devil May Cry 4 is kind of hard to review. This game puts an emphasis on graphical presentation, cutscenes, story, and exploration mechanics utilized by the Devil Bringer [The blue demon arm you see on Nero's arm]. Instead of being all about stylish combat with multiple weapons, Devil May Cry 4's combat was simplified while playing as Nero and seemed to be an afterthought since the Devil Bringer was mostly used to break up combos and explore the levels. All in all, Nero's story was boring and the gameplay wasn't varied enough to be much fun. Dante's campaign on the other hand, is a marked improvement over Devil May Cry 3 in terms of how Styles work. Despite there being less weapons than  3, the ability to swap between styles on the go requires the player to master each style in order to flourish. However this game's greatest flaw is how much backtracking and recycling of bosses there are in this game. There are not nearly as many unique areas or bosses in this game as there are in the other Devil May Cry games and indeed you only fight the same three bosses for the majority of this game. Despite improving on the feeling of playing as Dante, this game has too many problems to overlook and as a result earns a mediocre score.

2/5.

Overall series score 4.5/5

To be concluded in the next review.....

Dead Space Retrospective

The Dead Space series is my favorite survival horror franchise of all time. A sci-fi horror franchise whose inspirations are some of the greatest science fiction horror films ever made, Alien, the Thing, and Event Horizon. Since I just finished playing all three games I thought it would be best to write down my feelings regarding the series. Consider each entry in this retrospective to be a mini review as each game will receive a score with a final rating and score given to the series as a whole. So now without further ado, let us begin.

 

The original Dead space is undoubtedly a classic of the seventh console generation. Basing itself off of Resident Evil's 4 gameplay, an over the shoulder third person shooter with the minor difference of actually being able to MOVE WHILE YOU SHOOT. Dead Space was built on the gameplay concept of "strategic dismemberment". This is because the Necromorphs [ the main antagonists of the Dead Space series] are creatures that can only be stopped by literally ripping them to pieces. Shooting their heads is completely useless. Certain Necromorphs require a very specific body part to be cut off from their bodies, and there are even Necromorphs where shooting them in the wrong spot can be catastrophic to the player. Keeping a calm head and a ready trigger finger is required as these deadly alien life forms can kill you in seconds, and that's not counting the fact that most times you'll be walking through empty hallways or in large rooms where you can hear the Necromorphs crawling through the ship stalking you, or other survivors, while the noises of the ship also reverberate in the background. The flickering lights, dark brown and gray coloring, ambient noises in the background that may or not be caused by Necromorphs all convey a sense of claustrophobic dread that you really are trapped on a derelict ship in the middle of unexplored space. No help is coming and the noises you hear could be the sound of a hostile alien life form stalking you, or the sound of a piece of machinery giving out due to age or disuse. It is this fear of not knowing, this fear of the unknown that helps convey a sense of terror at what may jump out at you next. The game also manages to perfectly blend gameplay with cinematics. The inventory menu is a holographic screen you can bring up that still has you in gameplay, the health bar is on your back and changes colors depending on how low or high it is, and your ammo count appears when you're aiming your gun. It feels natural and adds a movie like feeling to the game, without taking away control from the player. Add that with exceptional sound design and you have a game that every survival horror fan needs to play at least once, my favorite game in the Dead Space series, and my favorite survival horror of all time.

 

4/4. Go out and play it.

 

 

Dead Space 2.... is to Dead Space 1 what Aliens was to Alien. Moving from a slow paced, atmospheric experience based on horror, to an explosion filled, action oriented experience with one liners and a newfound emphasis on set pieces. What the game lacked in atmosphere and tension, it made up for with a newfound emphasis on combat and quick time events. And for the most part it worked. For all its flaws Dead Space 2 did feel like an expansion of the original Dead Space. While it may not have sought out to scare its audience it did manage to convey an atmosphere that was occasionally creepy such as exploring an elementary school where all the children had been transformed into Necromorphs. Dead Space 2 also introduced new Necromorphs like the Puker and the Stalker, with the Stalker being responsible for making the game having moments of genuine terror from time to time. It should also be noted that Issac is given a voice actor in Dead Space 2 and actually talks from time to time, and while it doesn't really add anything other than giving Issac a personality, its nice to hear Issac speak his mind from time to time. All in all, Dead Space 2 is a matter of opinion just like Alien and Aliens. Some people enjoy the more action orientated approach, some prefer terror and atmosphere. I'm one of the latter but I can still enjoy the former. And I will say this in Dead Space 2's favor. Its the best Iron Man simulator I've ever played. Though it must be said, the advertising campaign (Your mom hates Dead Space 2 advertisements] were beyond stupid. Dead Space 2 gets a 3/4. Not really scary, but still fun to play.



Last, and least, is Dead Space 3. If Dead Space 1 is equivalent to Alien, Dead Space 2 is Aliens, then Dead Space 3 is, you guessed it, Alien 3. Uninspired, good ideas but terrible execution, and the illusion of a conclusion to a franchise that has begun to be milked, when in reality the franchise will be exploited for years to come. Dead Space 3 abandoned horror entirely and instead seemed to devout itself fully to explosive action set pieces, enemies that charge you in ridiculous numbers and multiple waves. The formula becomes stale extremely quickly. You enter a room. The doors lock. Five to ten waves of cannon fodder enemies enter the room and you have to kill all of them. There is no sense of dread or tension because there's never any build up to anything even remotely terrifying. Combine that with human enemies that may as well be Necromorphs with guns [which are in this game by the way.] and you have what is clearly an attempt to turn Dead Space into a generic third person shooter. The problems from a technical perspective includes a cover system that has no point to it [enemies are such pushovers that they won't last long enough to worry about hiding behind cover.] a dodge button that has no purpose since the dodge button doesn't actually grant you any increased mobility or usefulness in combat even against enemies with RPGs, a weapon's crafting system that again has no purpose since all you need is to build one good weapon from a blueprint and you're set [meaning there is no point in experimenting since literally ANY weapon is more than capable of carrying you through the game], and the fact that there is universal ammo. Now I may be in a minority here, but I find the concept of universal ammo to be stupid. An assault rifle should not be able to use ammo used for a shotgun and vice versa, it's stupid in Mass Effect and its stupid in Dead Space 3. Combine that with a story that completely goes against the ending of Dead Space 2, destroys the mystery surrounding the Necromorphs and the Markers, and through one DLC causes Dead Space to do a triple axle flip over a shark, and you have one of the worst survival horror games in history, arguably the worst game of 2013, and the worst Dead Space game of the franchise. Dead Space 3 gets a 1/4.

Overall, the Dead Space series is a solid survival horror series. For someone who enjoys sci fi horror, its a dream come true. There may be better series out there, but if you enjoy the Thing or Alien, you'll love this series. Just stay far away from Dead Space 3. And bear in mind we may never see a Dead Space 4 due to poor sales and word of mouth, which I can't exactly complain about due to Dead Space 3. The series as a whole, earns a 3.5/4.

3.5/4

Red Vulture out.