Game review: Devil May Cry

Despite the time I put into previous Devil May Cry games, I never managed to finish any of them because of utter frustration.

Respawning enemies when returning to already defeated areas drove me nuts so I put the console down, never to return.

Realising that the franchise had grown stale, Ninja Theory has rebooted the series - reimagining the main character and the world he inhabits.

DmC is accessible to newcomers to the series, and it's easy to cruise through the game relatively unscathed. Button-mashing combos will only get you so far, however, as there are a handful of enemies who can be harmed only susing Angel or Devil powers.

The core of the Devil May Cry combat system has been retained, with the exception of manual lock-on being swapped for a dodge manoeuvre, and stringing combos together is aided by a Kratos-like grab-and-pull move. The game seems to work out who you're attacking without having a lock-on system.

DmC presents a much younger Dante and, in all honesty, he's not a particularly likeable character, which isn't helped by the decidedly average, often downright crass, dialogue.

Despite the deliberate accessibility of the game, there are several challenging difficulty levels for veterans of the series. The most entertaining is Heaven or Hell. It requires some smart choices between stealth and all-out attack modes. Even though the story is a little lacklustre, DmC is a success because of amazing visuals and thrilling combat.

Review courtesy of Fatso Games Club

DmC: Devil May Cry

From: Ninja Theory

For: Xbox 360

Rating: 4.5 / 5