Maybe Capcom knew they couldn't duplicate what made the original DevilMayCry formula so great.
So they figure toss something together, slap the namesake on it & see what happens & maybe nobody will notice or care because they figure if you're a fan of the namesake then you'll automatically continue loving the brand.
Actually, from playing DmC, Capcom seemed to have wanted the game to be smooth and not robotic. They wanted us to have as many options in the sky as on the ground. The formula that made the original Devil May Cry isn't something extraordinary, Capcom could do it again and again. It just would be dull like DMC 4's combat is. I never enjoyed seeing gamers do expert combos in a Devil May Cry game because it looks so detached. Everyone seemed to have been doing the same combos as the other guys. I believe Capcom saw that and challenged their team.
If people don't know who worked on DmC's combat, it was the same team that worked on previous DMC games. So to even go there and claim that DmC is not as good as any of their past work is ignorant. They made the game more accessible "Devil May Cry style". This phrase is used by me, because of the creativity they allowed gamers. DMC has not been accessible like this, the DMC series had restrictions and Capcom cleverly removed those shackles by allowing more freedom to choose what moves go together. The entire design of DmC's combat is to not make it linear. By linear, I mean, each time you fire up a combo you can do one to three moves before variation. Yes, in DMC you can switch weapons but those weapons do not transition smoothly. It's not gracious at all.
For example: Rebellion
standard combo is around 3 hits in all DMC games. When you do these combos you can switch weapons mid combo. DMC 4 has it where if you switch mid combo, into the
standard combo of Beowulf, you get it's starting move.
For button heads on DMC 4: It's triangle, triangle, switch weapon, triangle, triangle, triangle ( Beowulf finisher).
Now DmC's Rebellion has 4 hits in it's standard combo. So let's switch from Rebellion to Osiris and mid combo switch over like in the DMC 4 example.
In DmC this would play out like: triangle, triangle, triangle, switch weapon, triangle, triangle (Osiris finisher).
If DMC 4 were to implement DmC's combat system it'd go: Triangle, triangle, switch weapon, triangle (Beowulf finisher).
So it's not about the game being dumbed down, it's about the game's combat not resetting anymore. That's frustrating to people who want to enjoy the game and do cool stuff. That's what would've set DmC and DMC's gameplay apart. Also, DMC has Hard Lock On and DmC has soft lock. Alot of gamers know this is a major thing in gameplay and it was done on purpose. DmC is meant to have a distinction from DMC. It has it's own formula and feel.
I was hoping people would feel the same way as I did when Megaman Legends came out and just did so many things different and familiar to the franchise that I loved the options I had in gaming. Megaman 1-8 is not what made me a fan. It is Megaman X that reeled me all the way in. I think alot of people are missing the fact that you can't believe that one version is going to please everyone because you like it so much.