TWOxACROSS
Hot-blooded God of Guns
So, I've played DmC for somewhere near 80+ hours, and even replayed the whole game on a friend's console on Nephilim because he wanted to see it, but doesn't have the aptitude for action games like this (we're going through Metal Gear Rising right now). The game has been out for a little bit now, and there's so much, all the b!tchin' combo videos and awesome mods that I just found out about (which really makes me wish I had a better PC).
Disregarding all the bullsh!t, any perceived controversy, pretentious and elitist views for or against, the fact that it's not a carbon copy of the DMC I grew up with, I'd like to take a moment and just unabashedly gush like a little girl. Join me, will yah...?
I absolutely love this game's combat system. The Mode Triggers are such a fun way to increase the amount of abilities available at my fingertips, and even if they were just "stance" triggers, at least that gives me more stances than just your generic two Light and Heavy attacks that pretty much every modern hack 'n' slash models itself after. The Mode Triggers are a really cool, completely underrated mechanic that I'd like to see implemented in other games that want to give you a lot of options. Switching weapons and Styles in DMC is fine and dandy, but I find it clunky, compared to how it all works in DmC. While the game could have easily put a Lock-On feature on R3 (a la Demon's/Dark Souls), I still find the way they reworked the controls to be okay, especially making launches and evasion independent of a target. Dare I say the range of control over Dante turning about to address different enemies wouldn't be as good as it is if it had the standard R1 Lock. There's just something that I love about whaling on one Stygian and then just turning on a dime and High Timing another Stygian that tries to hit me in the back, and then turning right back to the other Stygian to continuing whaling on them. I wish there were a few more inputs (Up Up + Special / Gun / Gun Special, and maybe Down Up inputs as well, and even in the air), but what I've got is still a lot of fun to work with. I like the greater emphasis on aerial combat along with the ground combat, just because they make it a general challenge to stay in the air while you attack, using the right skills to keep you and the enemy aloft. I also love that I'm still learning new things, like what can be parried and what when parried shows you a little cutscene, like parrying the Hunter's grappling claw.
I do like the style. It's not that clean anime look you get from most Japanese games (which I still like), but I like this too, although I do miss Dante's original 2010 announcement look with the longer hair and flared jeans. I do like the hood more though
I also do enjoy the narrative, and the fact that DmC's lore puts Dante and Vergil at the forefront of the narrative, instead of just being "Sons of Sparda" that are just constantly berated by people who knew their father. I'd love to see more of Sparda in DmC, but I still like that DmC's narrative is more proactive in that the brothers do what they will, instead of mostly being reactive to Sparda's legacy. It really was more about freedom, and being able to find a place in the world, instead of being told of where to be, and what to do. That is the epitome of the punk movement the game was influenced by, and I liked the humorous parodies of societal ills. Just wish there was a level to confront a pop star, that would have been just...ugh...just perfect. But who to parody there? Beiber? Minaj? Or both, one opening for another. Hmmm...fanfic ideas
Speaking of, I did like the music that's associated with the game, Combichrist, Noisia, and One OK Rock for the Japanese promotions. It was great to constantly hear new music throughout so much of the game. It made it perfectly fine to hear a handful of tracks repeated. I loved the acting, and all the subtle things the actors did for their characters that made them less stiff when conversing.
I thought the characters were interesting, and I liked how Kat was a happy medium between that whole "stripper warrior" and "useless damsel." She wasn't some frontline warrior, but her strengths lied in another, equally (possibly more) important role as support. The fact that she wasn't just captured and held for a ransom to draw out the heroes, but actually survived torture. Even though she wasn't physically strong to actually fight, she still showed herself to be strong enough to roll with the punches. Claims of her being useless are pretty silly, considering when Dante says they would have failed without Kat, he was right. Dante was the muscle and things couldn't have been done without him, but Kat was his support, and was just as important. Dante was interesting, because it was fun to see how much he reveled in fighting, and how those rough edges of his got a little more smooth as the game went on. Vergil on the other hand, was interesting because how you look at him and his actions completely changes in the finale when he talks about how he really feels. It puts a whole new perspective on all that we watched him do. It's sorta like watching the Usual Suspects over again and noticing how the person who really was Keyser Soze acts, or a mystery where the killer was always present but you never knew. It's just cool to see that entire perspective on a character shift. Granted, you have to disregard the whole "Vergil was an antagonist in DMC3, so I expect him to betray me in DmC, too," but it was interesting how it was done in the end. It was also nice that it wasn't some big exposition dump like some antagonists, Vergil just says what he plans on doing, and if Dante doesn't like he can step aside. No grand philosophizing or justifications beyond "humans are weak," and seeing how Dante and Vergil became at odds because of their ideals regarding freedom was an interesting direction. Puts things in a more gray area overall.
I loved getting to see someone else's take on the DMC concepts and themes. It's like seeing all the different interpretations of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, or Peter Pan, or whatever. I do honestly think Ninja Theory did a great job. They made an action game that I absolutely adore, and that has a story I actually have more than a passing interest in.
In the end, I just love this game, for everything that it is.
Disregarding all the bullsh!t, any perceived controversy, pretentious and elitist views for or against, the fact that it's not a carbon copy of the DMC I grew up with, I'd like to take a moment and just unabashedly gush like a little girl. Join me, will yah...?
I absolutely love this game's combat system. The Mode Triggers are such a fun way to increase the amount of abilities available at my fingertips, and even if they were just "stance" triggers, at least that gives me more stances than just your generic two Light and Heavy attacks that pretty much every modern hack 'n' slash models itself after. The Mode Triggers are a really cool, completely underrated mechanic that I'd like to see implemented in other games that want to give you a lot of options. Switching weapons and Styles in DMC is fine and dandy, but I find it clunky, compared to how it all works in DmC. While the game could have easily put a Lock-On feature on R3 (a la Demon's/Dark Souls), I still find the way they reworked the controls to be okay, especially making launches and evasion independent of a target. Dare I say the range of control over Dante turning about to address different enemies wouldn't be as good as it is if it had the standard R1 Lock. There's just something that I love about whaling on one Stygian and then just turning on a dime and High Timing another Stygian that tries to hit me in the back, and then turning right back to the other Stygian to continuing whaling on them. I wish there were a few more inputs (Up Up + Special / Gun / Gun Special, and maybe Down Up inputs as well, and even in the air), but what I've got is still a lot of fun to work with. I like the greater emphasis on aerial combat along with the ground combat, just because they make it a general challenge to stay in the air while you attack, using the right skills to keep you and the enemy aloft. I also love that I'm still learning new things, like what can be parried and what when parried shows you a little cutscene, like parrying the Hunter's grappling claw.
I do like the style. It's not that clean anime look you get from most Japanese games (which I still like), but I like this too, although I do miss Dante's original 2010 announcement look with the longer hair and flared jeans. I do like the hood more though
I also do enjoy the narrative, and the fact that DmC's lore puts Dante and Vergil at the forefront of the narrative, instead of just being "Sons of Sparda" that are just constantly berated by people who knew their father. I'd love to see more of Sparda in DmC, but I still like that DmC's narrative is more proactive in that the brothers do what they will, instead of mostly being reactive to Sparda's legacy. It really was more about freedom, and being able to find a place in the world, instead of being told of where to be, and what to do. That is the epitome of the punk movement the game was influenced by, and I liked the humorous parodies of societal ills. Just wish there was a level to confront a pop star, that would have been just...ugh...just perfect. But who to parody there? Beiber? Minaj? Or both, one opening for another. Hmmm...fanfic ideas Speaking of, I did like the music that's associated with the game, Combichrist, Noisia, and One OK Rock for the Japanese promotions. It was great to constantly hear new music throughout so much of the game. It made it perfectly fine to hear a handful of tracks repeated. I loved the acting, and all the subtle things the actors did for their characters that made them less stiff when conversing.
I thought the characters were interesting, and I liked how Kat was a happy medium between that whole "stripper warrior" and "useless damsel." She wasn't some frontline warrior, but her strengths lied in another, equally (possibly more) important role as support. The fact that she wasn't just captured and held for a ransom to draw out the heroes, but actually survived torture. Even though she wasn't physically strong to actually fight, she still showed herself to be strong enough to roll with the punches. Claims of her being useless are pretty silly, considering when Dante says they would have failed without Kat, he was right. Dante was the muscle and things couldn't have been done without him, but Kat was his support, and was just as important. Dante was interesting, because it was fun to see how much he reveled in fighting, and how those rough edges of his got a little more smooth as the game went on. Vergil on the other hand, was interesting because how you look at him and his actions completely changes in the finale when he talks about how he really feels. It puts a whole new perspective on all that we watched him do. It's sorta like watching the Usual Suspects over again and noticing how the person who really was Keyser Soze acts, or a mystery where the killer was always present but you never knew. It's just cool to see that entire perspective on a character shift. Granted, you have to disregard the whole "Vergil was an antagonist in DMC3, so I expect him to betray me in DmC, too," but it was interesting how it was done in the end. It was also nice that it wasn't some big exposition dump like some antagonists, Vergil just says what he plans on doing, and if Dante doesn't like he can step aside. No grand philosophizing or justifications beyond "humans are weak," and seeing how Dante and Vergil became at odds because of their ideals regarding freedom was an interesting direction. Puts things in a more gray area overall.
I loved getting to see someone else's take on the DMC concepts and themes. It's like seeing all the different interpretations of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, or Peter Pan, or whatever. I do honestly think Ninja Theory did a great job. They made an action game that I absolutely adore, and that has a story I actually have more than a passing interest in.
In the end, I just love this game, for everything that it is.
