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PreviousDevil May Cry 4 First Impressions
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First Impressions
by
Kristan Reed
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Even by Capcom's legendary standards, the Japanese veteran is taking its sweet time getting Devil May Cry 4 out of the door. Following on from the E3 2005 teaser video, we got to play the game in Tokyo last September - normally a sure sign that game's a few months off. And then, last month we got the chance to play an even more fleshed out demo at its annual Gamer's Day in San Francisco. Surely the game must be out soon? Not so. Fans have a further nine months to wait until it finally emerges sometime in "Q1 2008", our Capcom rep regretfully informs us.
Hopefully the lengthening development cycle will be worth the wait. The last game, 2005's Dante's Awakening, was, after all, the best game in the series to date, and beloved by the hardcore for its varied, flexible and punishing combat system. But as great a game as it was, after three games in little over three years, it felt like a good time to put the series out to pasture. The arrival of next generation consoles would Capcom the perfect chance to reinvent the series, and come back with a game that will not only keep the die-hards happy, but attract a whole new audience too.
It's a shame, then to find that the 30 minute demo demonstrates precious little in the way of new ideas or a meaningful progression for Devil May Cry. At best, the game is an impressive refinement of what was already in evidence last time around, but mostly it just screams "more of the same" throughout, as if Capcom is content to stick to the tried and trusted formula and give it a delicious high def makeover. Is that really enough to get us palpitating with excitement?
Devil May not be much different to last time
Berial's carbon footprint was off the scale.
Objectively, there are no major changes in literally anything we came across in the demo, from the delightful gothic art style to the often unhelpful camera system to the well-honed combat mechanics. In much the same way as Capcom stuck doggedly to the same gameplay template in Resident Evil for almost eight years before finally freshening it up, Devil May Cry is heading down that same tried and trusted path. By the time the game hits the shelves in 2008, the series will be heading for its seventh year in existence: a sobering thought.
Nevertheless, Capcom producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi was on hand during the unapologetically bombastic demonstration to run through the new fighting styles, and some of the new weapons which will feature in the game. In case you've missed the ongoing coverage of the game to date, the main character goes by the name of 'Nero', although at first glance you'd be forgiven in thinking it was Dante. To all intents and purposes, it may as well be Dante, mind you, because the look, feel and move set is consistent with our platinum blonde devil hunter.
But, as they say, the devil is in the detail, and the real DMC buffs will notice the new lead character only uses a single revolver (called the Blue Rose, fact fiends) instead of the usual dual wield. On his back, the traditional gigantic sword (the Red Queen) makes an appearance, and can be powered up in the usual way via the collection of the red orbs which spew forth from the souls of your slain enemies.
More interesting is the unique new power Nero harbours in his right arm, the Devil Bringer, a technique that allows him to grab enemies from afar and launch them. With three major weapons available at once, Capcom has managed to offer even more combat flexibility without disrupting the fluidity of how the game feels when you play it. Unlike last time out, you can switch between fighting styles on the fly, so there's hopefully no sense of missing out on any element of what the game offers.
Devil May have pretensions to being a superhero
Fire...ice...a veritable who's who of gaming cliché await!
The first major new power we saw during the demo is Snatch, which basically allows Nero to reach out further away than usual and take out enemies with the usual stylish aplomb. Another new athletic technique which you gain within the first few minutes is Hellbound, which enables the main man to leap vast distances by grabbing hold of glowing orbs floating in mid-air. As a result, the game looks and feels more akin to a dark superhero adventure, with an even greater degree of improbable athleticism and supercool swordplay, gun pyrotechnics and frantic close quarters melee mayhem. As ever, you can't deny the spectacle is another feast of balletic brilliance.
Equally undeniable is how architecturally stunning the whole game world looks in high definition. Remember how much of a technical leap DMC 1 was when it first came on the scene in late 2001, at a time when developers were really struggling to get the most out of the console? DMC 4 does a similar job of creating picture postcard environments, only with added next gen sheen, luscious lighting effects and the benefit of pin sharp resolution. As per usual it's a Gothic overload, with intricate architecture, and moody, discordant tones echoing around the magnificent locations as you run and leap to the next face-off with a rag-tag gang of hades minions. Emerging out onto a harbour at sunset is a moment evidently designed to remind you that this is a new generation of technology. The sunlit reflections and the water effects bathe the scene in a rich golden glow, and as Nero strides purposefully across the pier, and launches himself across large gap with his Hellbound leap, the panning, swooping camera angles do their bit to heighten drama and tension. The gothic ballet never lets up.
But as glorious as the game looks throughout, it's one of those elements of the game that you quickly tune out from. More likely, once you're engaged in furious blade swinging combat you'll be reminded of the irksome frustration of the way 'dramatic' camera angles never seem to prioritise the player's viewpoint, and at times can make it a real pain in the arse to see what you're facing at crucial moments. If you're hoping that DMC 4 will fix these series bugbears, then think again - the game hasn't changed one iota in that respect. It's also a game world lacking a sense of interactivity. The scenery might look beautiful, for example, but there's no sense of being able to wreak havoc on it and smash it to bits - apart from, say, during a boss encounter when it suits the game to do so.
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Latest Screenshots
16 January, 2008 [27]
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Comments: 1-45 of 45 in total
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deepmenace
23/05/07 @ 10:22
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played the first 3 but never completed them due to getting bored. never understood what all the fuss was about really.
jump, shoot, slash, slash, shoot, jump... |
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souljacker2000
23/05/07 @ 10:28
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All tho its just a glorified hack n slash... ive always been impressed by the sheer scale of the levels n the huge bosses.
CANT WAIT |
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kissthestick
23/05/07 @ 10:48
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cant wait for this, i'll probably own both the ps3 and 360 versions just to be a nerd :)
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"Fans have a further nine months to wait until it finally emerges sometime in "Q1 2008", our Capcom rep regretfully informs us."
Might be delayed because of the title going multiplatform. Read an interview with the developers, from before the multiplatform announcement, in which they stated that the game as it was back then couldn’t be done on anything other than the PS3 because it was specially designed for it. I took that to be a big piece of crap after the announcement, but maybe there was some truth in it in the end. Multiplatform sucks, shame that people keep buying those games. |
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""as if Capcom is content to stick to the tried and trusted formula and give it a delicious high def makeover. Is that really enough to get us palpitating with excitement?"
Hell yeah!" Indeed. Bloody la-de-da journos expecting the wheel to be re-invented all the time. Not ALL of us play games 24/7 and get jaded as quick as you guys y'know! |
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kissthestick
23/05/07 @ 10:50
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wait i just re read it, 2008?
damnit, i wanted my super cool melee fix for winter :( oh well at least i can save up for something else then |
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zeprovinho
23/05/07 @ 11:54
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I like DMC3 , this one looks cool,
but still ...they are just milking the cow...(once more) |
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JediMasterMalik
23/05/07 @ 12:08
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@disc - It went multiplatform. If it was still an exclusive I reckon they could've had it done for '07.
Still looking forward to the game, even though it doesn't sem to change things muich, the combat looks just as good or maybe even better than before. |
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JediMasterMalik
23/05/07 @ 12:28
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@Area88 - Are you a complete idiot?
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 23/05/07 @ 13:28
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Introspectre
23/05/07 @ 16:34
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"as if Capcom is content to stick to the tried and trusted formula and give it a delicious high def makeover. Is that really enough to get us palpitating with excitement?"
Hell no. Seen the footage released so far. It looks ok, like a hi-def version of DMC3. Why does that have to take so long to get onto the SHELVES? Lazy. |
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NegativeZero
24/05/07 @ 01:17
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I've never played any of the DMC games, despite having owned a PS2 for years. Should really get around to picking up a few of them.
On the camera angles problem, apparently Japanese players have trouble understanding how to play games with fully controllable camera, which is why most Japanese-developed games don't have a lot of camera control. |
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AlexiusYindor
24/05/07 @ 11:12
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DMC is just too frickin hard for me. Barely managed to beat the first one. Still, great game.
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I can't see how this one is going to surpass DMC3 (beside of the visuals of course). The rival devil brothers thing with Vergil in DMC3 was just too good IMHO. And the combo system was (and still is!!!) the best I've ever experienced.
Knowing that DMC4 is planned to be more mainstream I already prepare for dissapointment... |
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Just a few quick comments. First off, I never thought fixed camera was that much of a problem as the preview states. I am by no means a weasel when it comes to twitch based action games but I was able to play DMC titles and feel unhindered with the camera. The third game especially was pretty good in making sure locking system was taking care of targeting the enemies you could not see. Sure, you were often shooting at enemies off screen but it never felt detrimental to the experience. Where it counted, the game was very up to the task of giving you good look and precise controls over your actions. Remember boss battles with Vergil, remember how you needed per pixel precision and per frame reaction time to beat him and tell me honestly you felt dragged down by the camera.
Japanese developers do sometimes make games with a free camera. Need I mention Shadow of the Collosus and Okami? Two of the best PS2 games in the last couple of years. Hell, need i Mention Mario 64? Sure, most Japanese games have locked camera, you can tell it's a trend, but it's just a question of whether the games need free or locked camera. I felt Yakuza would have been better with free camera but Devil May Cry 3? No way. The game is so fast and demanding in twitch department that adding a controllable camera to the fray weould be just too much for me (and indeed you can control the camera to some extent in DMC3, it's just not very important for the gameplay). I mean, remember that God of War does not come wit a free camera, thank you very much and, speaking of combat, that game is notably less complex than DMC3 in terms of hand-eye coordination. DMC is practically the only fighting game I can think of where you spend almost equal time moving along each axis and controllable camera would be very difficult to implement. Hell, even games that I played and enjoyed on PC, like Max Payne for instance were almost unplayable to me due to the free camera... (OK, maybe I'm just a spazz)... |
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I can understand the camera being fixed for combat, as the poster above stated that it would be too hard to control both Dante and the camera while fighting simultaneously. But what about when you're just exploring or trying to solve puzzles, why lock the camera? Give me fixed for the former and free reign for the latter.
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By fixing the camera, you can always be certain that certain graphical elements are never visible after switching angles, thus enabling the developer to increase background detail in separate angles and churn out nicer backdrops than if you allow a free camera. It's an old trick used by many games and really not that hard to get used to - if you're willing to put in a little practise. This discussion reminds me of Resident Evil, where so many punters have had trouble with the controls even though a bit of practise can come a very long way.
If you play a game like, say, soccer, you might notice that it's kind of hard to get the ball to do what you want. So, do you complain to the referee about how FIFA should start making proper player-friendly balls because you were aiming at the goal but the stupid thing flew over it, or do you practise and put in the hours to get this whole dribbling-passing-shooting deal under control? |
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The problem is that many including myself feel that from a gameplay perspective, it feels old fashioned and unnecesary. The fixed cameras are very rarely perfect and it's simply a pain in the ass when you get hit off screen or can't fully explore your environment when trying to complete puzzles or simply navigating the level while the second analogue stick sits there redundant.
Edited 1 times,
most recently on 25/05/07 @ 20:31
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Design and gameplay decisions are made by the developers - not by the consumers - based on how they planned out the game and how gameplay balancing turned out during testing. If their choices mean that certain elements are technically out of the question, then you can petition for those elements 24/7, but it won't happen. Their game, their rules, simple. Now, Capcom loves making money and dev teams do love to look at feedback. If they had any reason to believe that adding free cameras instead of fixed ones at the cost of less detailed graphics/enemies would substantially increase sales, then they would have done it, I'm sure.
In this case, the DMC4 dev team chose fixed angles so that they can either get increased background detail or free up enough polygons to get more enemies onscreen. Whatever the case, it was a technical decision they took in an effort to heighten the experience/get prettier pictures. They have probably been discussing this issue as early as DMC1 since it has quite fundamental effects on the game. Sure, even with technical issues in the way, they could still add a small radar screen with blips showing the enemies so that you don't get offscreen hits. But they didn't, and you know why? Gameplay balance. Because they want to challenge you. They want you to learn and adapt. First time I played DMC1, I got hit from all sides. After some practise (basically learning to track all enemies and read their attacks from audial/visual clues), I very rarely encountered the phenomenon again. And when it did happen, it was usually my own silly fault, not the game's. Same with Resident Evil - at first, the whole changing angles deal and tank-like controls were a bit weird. Today I can position any character wherever you want him/her with pixel-perfect precision. Then, Metal Gear Solid came along with free-directional controls. After some adjustments, that was also mastered. I never moan about the game system, I learn it and get good enough at it to enjoy and beat the game the way the devs intended it to. Discussing whether or not gameplay elements are "old-fashioned" or "unnecessary" is completely irrelevant. One because it's a wholly relative matter and two because developers choose them consciously as part of the challenge they offer you. Online poker is so efficient, fast and easy, it makes hand-played poker old-fashioned and unnecessary from a gameplay perspective. Yet, some still seem to enjoy hand-played poker with its outdated human interaction, psychological trickery from yesterday and *gasp* use of real playing cards. What's more, others even enjoy watching them play! Silly, isn't it? |
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smoothn00dle
26/05/07 @ 08:35
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I don't like Hiroyuki Kobayashi game design. He screw up on DMC2. DMC3 is good but is not in the same league of DMC1. DMC3 is very hard and some awful stage design. His game design is based on "Give the people what they want".
Which explain why DMC4 is multi-platform. Give it to the mass and design for the less. Exclusive games are better than cross platform games because they can focus on one platform instead spending the resources and time to balance different systems. "Give the people what they want" is a design concept that think about what gamer want first and then make it. Gamers want action - trick! Gamers want good graphic - trick! Gamers want to play Dante - trick! Sexual imply dialogs - no trick because we don't want to offense 11 to 14 yrs old kids and their parents. Those games has no soul, definitely no surprises. Corby Barlog the designer of God of War2, he is so fucking believe in the Greek mythology world. It shows in every detail of the game. He told interviewers the history of the cities in GOW2. GOW2 take a lot of risks. Heavenly Sword will release before DMC4. The bar of action/adventure game will rise higher. I hope for Capcom and Hiroyuki Kobayashi's creditability sake, take more risks with DMC4.
Edited 2 times,
most recently on 26/05/07 @ 09:42
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Comments: 1-45 of 45 in total
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