Maybe that's the case. Maybe hell gates in this universe are only conduits for their users to gain power instead of being full on portals to hell that DMC had. Without the user using its power, it's just a power source that can be shut down.
yeah this too, this is how i see it too, it's a different kind of hell gate, i remember the line where mundus draw power from it, so basically like you said, it's more like power source.. but then again, what was collapsing limbo to merge with human realm? mundus' defeat or hell gate shut down? i think this goes for another topic.. eh, gonna play the game again..
Mundus was drawing his power out from the Hell-gate (I remember TxA telling me it had something to do with Mundus' soul residing in Hell - therefore 'unreachable'), and when Vergil closed the Hell-gate with Yamato it cut off that connection. At least, I think it was something like that.
Anyway, it's not a long stretch to say Yamato in DmC does open/close Hell-gates, considering Vergil even says he'll close it with Yamato. That and the fact that we already know it could do that in DMC, and I don't doubt they intended it to for DmC also.
yes, it's about the physical body, with the hell gate shutdown, the physical body can't draw power from hell, so it's considerably mortal by nephilim standard..
i guess we go with your say, the original canon has it, so it should go the same route.. but DmC is actually irrelevant to discuss this topic, it only has one title with dante and rebellion getting more of the spotlight here, yamato was not touched at all even in VD, using only the line "i'm going to close it down with yamato" won't do justice..