Devil May Cry looked good at E3 this
year. It looked real good. Whats more important, it looked cool. It looked real
cool, and by cool I mean the styling, ass-kicking, suave kind of cool, which was
apparently a major development goal. Shinji Mikami, the reknowned creator of Resident Evil
and all around videogame jedi, is about to paint his next masterpiece on the PlayStation 2
canvas. The unvieling of Devil May Cry at the Sony press event brought cries of joy mixed
with giddy giggles of excitement from the gallery.
Devil May Cry
tells the story of Dante, descendant of a legendary swordsman, who is unwittingly thrown
into the mix of a two-thousand year search for vengance. Dante is a private investigator
of the supernatural who realizes that the devil is rising to destroy mankind. Dantes
quest leads him on a one man war against the demon world, and on a search for his own
place in the overarching mystery.
The combat
system on Devil May Cry is amazing. Picture Onimusha with even better looking sword
attacks, and more intense magical blasts for wicked combos; now add a kung fu flipping,
dual pistol packing, John-Woo style ass-kicking demon killer. The result is a battle scene
from Devil May Cry. The combos produced between the sword, magic, and firearms is
impressive. Dante will uncover different swords each with a different elemental power,
much like Onimusha. Among other firearms, Dante will uncover dual pistols and a shotgun to
dispatch enemies in maximum style.
The graphics
looked awesome during the Sony press event, but less impressive on the show floor.
Nevertheless, based on their history in the genre, I have total confidence in
Capcoms ability to deliver a superb final product. Based on the incomplete version,
I expect improvements over Onimusha in light sourcing, particle effects and animation.
For control
reasons alone, Devil May Cry excites me vastly more than the prospect of another Resident
Evil game. The movement and combat is fast paced and precise. The story is also much more
interesting than another struggle against the Umbrella corporation. No word on game
length. Hopefully it will be longer than Onimusha, but we wont know until November.
Look for a demo copy of Devil May Cry with Code Veronica X in September.