Devil May Cry 2 HD (PS3) Review

All The Way To Hell.

 Ah, Devil May Cry 2, what went wrong with you? A lot of things most likely. The sequel to the critically acclaimed hit, Devil May Cry, was released in 2003, to a mixed reception. Many criticized the slow-paced gameplay, shallow story, and toned-down difficulty. In 2011, it was bundled along with its predecessor and successor, Devil May Cry and Devil May Cry 3, respectively. Without further delay, let's review what Devil May Cry 2 features.


STORY- Chronologically, DMC2 is the last in the series for no apparent reason. The plot follows Dante as he takes on a job to help prevent a business man named Arius from resurrecting the demon named Argosax. He is joined by Lucia, a demon hunter with a connection to Arius. While one might think the story doesn't seem that bad, it's not so good either. It's not as engaging to that of DMC1, the characters, even Dante, feel lifeless and hollow. There is a plot-twist regarding Lucia that's revealed early in the game, which is disappointing since you just started the game.

The story is one of the weakest aspects of DMC2.

GAMEPLAY- Another weak aspect of the game is the gameplay itself. DMC2 still retains the hack n' slash and mission-based nature of the series, only dumbed-down. DMC2 features large environments for Dante and Lucia to navigate through and they're filled with hidden orbs, weapons, and secret missions. Also, the upgrade system gets an overhaul with the ability to upgrade Dante or Lucia's weapons via levels. Another new feature is the Amulet, which adds extra perks should the player collects any Devil Hearts scattered throughout the levels. 

 However, a major downside of the gameplay is the severely low difficulty level. The game's standard mode is "normal" and upon completing it "Hard" mode is unlocked, which isn't any much different than the default mode. The thing is that the enemies are weak compared to those of DMC1, the bosses take little to no strategy to beat, and the gameplay itself is slow-paced.


 The reason why DMC2 is vastly different from it's predecessor is that Hideki Kamiya and Team Little Devils, the creator and developers of the original DMC, were not asked to return by Capcom. As a matter of fact, they only knew about the game's existence during the localization stage. Sometimes Capcom makes completely strange moves.

 Returning to gameplay, DMC2 features a new dodging mechanic, good for obviously evading enemy attacks. Also, and this is a another major annoyance,  is the camera and lock-on system. The camera is disorienting since it tends to randomly zoom off somewhere leaving you blind for enemy attacks and the lock-on system is trash at best since it consonantly changes back and forth between enemies, leaving you open for enemy attacks.

 Unlike DMC1's Devil Trigger, which let's you turn invincible for a short while to deal more damage, DMC2's Devil Trigger has you stay for a brief long time killing every enemy you come across, depending on how much long the meter is. Since the areas are large in scale, I mainly use D.T. to speed up the walking process.


 In terms of extras, DMC2 features a mode called Bloody Palace. In this mode, which consists of over 9000 floors, Dante or Lucia fight waves after waves of enemies divided into levels until they reach the end. I found Bloody Palace more enjoyable than the main game and does pack a considerable level of difficulty.

PRESENTATION- For a AAA game one would expect some high production values, correct? Well, it's poorly executed here in DMC2. The visuals and environments aren't eye captivating and I would say that the original DMC looks and sounds far better. The cutscenes are good, nothing more. However, the character designs (especially for Dante) are good and probably one of my favorite aspects of the game. The sound is a mixed bag as well. The voice acting is cheesy and at times cringe-worthy, however, I found the soundtrack (especially the end credits theme "Heads Or Tails") to be good.

DMC2 packs some cool artworks.

OVERALL-  At best, Devil May Cry 2 is an average or even mediocre game. I don't blame it, DMC1 was so amazing that the sequel had a lot to live up to, and sadly it failed. If Capcom brought in the original developers it would have been just as great or even better than DMC1 and would have been a solid Game of The Year contender. Still, that's not to say it didn't bring some interesting, yet poorly executed concepts into the table. I did like some the content provided though the negatives far outweighs the positives. Devil May Cry 2 will be remembered by everyone as the black sheep of the series that failed to live up to expectations.

BORDERLINE