Cursing, like any element of story telling, can be effective and evocative if it's used correct. A character who uses profuse inarticulate cursing as opposed to spontanious wit illustrates who they are as a character and gives us insight on their background.
The cursing, much like the abortion scene, is an element that many players resort to when criticising the game because it's readily visible and saves on taking the time to adequately articulate what exactly is so wrong with DmC. It's just like how people complained that Anakin is "whiny" in the Star Wars prequel trilogy; it's a minor part in a much bigger miasma of problems that are much harder to put into words.
Because that game had a godlike storyline, and DmC storyline was only decent and had a few plotholes.
I'd have to disagree. Far Cry 3 and DmC are an interesting study in contrasts and similarities when put together. FC3 has an ambitious storyline with an excellent script which is undermined by some incredibly poor event decisions (Goodbye favourite villain, hello tedious final act...), whereas DmC has a fairly typical storyline with a awful script that doesn't take any risks with it's story telling at all.
People brought up Vaas earlier as an example of a character who curses and how it isn't fair that New Dante gets a bad rap for exhibiting the same behaviour. I think if you want an explanation for that you need look no further than Michael Mando's stunning performance itself:
SPOILER WARNING - FAR CRY 3 AND MICHAEL MANDO'S AWESOMENESS ENSUE
Notice how the sharp intercutting and bright colours of the first scene contrast with Vaas's introduction. His character is grounded in reality, even though his behaviour is eccentric and his actions unpredictable. The long take keeps us grounded in the scene along with him, feeling less like a film and more like legitimate first-person immersion, even though we aren't in any actual control over the scene. The set up allows Mr Mando to completely become engrossed in his characterization, play with the script and deliver a unique performance.
Contrast that with DmC's characterization. Despite having a massive budget and far more advanced MoCap technology when compared to Far Cry's team, NT's blocking and direction make the experience more cinematic and inhibit the actors capacity to address the player directly. When Vaas curses at you or the world at large it's more intimidating because he's doing it to
you, not the caricature Antonaides wrote with the insulting notion that we'd identify with him as the lowest common denominator.
Obviously we're dealing with very different genres here, but both studios are working with MoCap and trained actors to make an immersive experience for the player. The script and acting for Vaas make him seem like a nihilistic livewire on the brink of murdering you for no reason. The script and acting for Dante make him seem like a witless manchild on the brink of doodling pornographic graffiti on your car. Cursing is used in both characters, one has a more profound effect than the other.
