Ether0
Nephilim Lover
I agree it's another missed opportunity by NT, for me it does not detract too dramatically from the game but I can see your point. I would like to know why they made the decision to not have more of what you were talking about as far as bosses and stuff pertaining to Vergil in the game. I highly doubt it was not ever discussed or brainstormed in all the time they spent developing the game. I enjoy the story in the game but can really see it has it's share of issues and could have been better especially when it comes to Vergil which we have discussed before on this forum.Due to the way that the plot and cinematics were developed separately from the gameplay and mechanics by an entirely different team, you can see why the gameplay does such a poor job of complementing the narrative and telling the story concurrently. The way a good game works is that it establishes it's mechanics and then goes about introducing set-pieces and scenarios that require the player to use the skills they've learned in a new context and adapt. The easy way to do this is to keep adding new enemies with unique abilities and behaviours, but then you get the interesting scenarios like in Uncharted 2 where you had to run from Zoran like a frightened kitten after the entire game has had you basically dominate every enemy you encounter, or when DMC3 had Vergil fight alongside you against SpardArkham.
In DmC you never run from any of the bosses in gameplay, so you never feel intimidated or that Dante is the underdog, which is the whole premise of his character. You never play as or fight alongside Vergil, so you never get an impression of how their relationship is strengthening or that Vergil is a powerful warrior to be respected and feared. Without fully using the interactive medium to tell the story NT has neglected the responsibility of every game designer; to advance the medium and push back it's boundaries.
The thing that's especially bizarre is that NT have used the interactive medium to tell their story in the past. In Heaven Sword the very first scene is Nariko fighting an entire army and being hopelessly overwhelmed, and her strength gradually fails her while you play, going from an unstoppable powerhouse into a frail weakling all within the span of the gameplay. It illustrated her power and vulnerability quite artfully.
I like this Vergil and for me at least he is not that different in terms of boss battle mechanics than the DMC3 Vergil, but the reason the old Vergil still remains my favorite DMC boss is because they built up the plot around Dante and Vergil's rivalry. Nothing really new but it was effective and I think this game could have spent more time creating that dynamic or even better just making Date and Vergil more of a close brotherly relationship and that would have made that final fight much more epic and dramatic.