With a new developer in Ninja Theory, Capcom breathes new life into its Devil May Cry franchise.
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Dante. He's changed, but the script brings out the cheekiness that many fans were fearing lost. The storyline keeps to a small cast of characters, and refrains from overwrought plot points. Dante's exchanges with his twin brother Vergil can get crude, but in an unapologetic way (that's the only way to pull it off, right?). His dialogue with bosses gets filthy, and tables some measured and truly satisfactory use of the F word. That's no simple science (seriously, don't step into the battle with the Succubus if grandma's around. Or a nun).
One could accuse DmC of being a little easy. There are no maps, for instance, because none are needed (no multi-storied dungeons here). There's also just the one late-game puzzle; at least it's clever. On the normal difficulty setting, I beat the game in around 15 hours and only died a handful of times out of mild laziness.
But what isn't easy is acing those report cards at each mission's end. You'll be judged on style (how varied you were in your demon-squashing), how much secret stuff you found, and how quickly you finished up.
Beating the game unlocks Son of Sparda, a difficulty mode that takes enemy groups up a notch. Here the very first batch includes a Hell Knight. Another difficulty mode has Dante die in one hit. I'm looking forward to playing as Son of Sparda, especially since a lot of the hidden unlockables aren't available in the first play through.
It's Ninja Theory's way of goading me into another play through. It doesn't need one. DmC has carved a little hellhole in my heart (that’s a good thing). To fans of the series, no matter how preliminary disappointed with the change of direction you might be: give this game a chance.
Score: 9 / 10
