DmC: Devil May Cry demo review!! Does Ninja Theory bring it?!

Did I mention that I’m a Devil May Cry fan? No? Well …I AM!! I just tried out the demo for DmC: Devil May Cry and I’m excited even more for this game. Combat is as fast-paced as ever; however, the mechanics may take some getting used to, especially if you’re new to the series. But once you learn them, you’ll be demon slaying in no time. Dante can switch in between weapons during combat just as in Devil May Cry 3, except the secondary weapons aren’t set to stay permanently. Instead, you have to hold down a second button while pressing the action button to access it. This is a nice incorporation of an element from the Darksiders games. The switch between weapons is almost seamless. Grappling plays are a part in both combat and traversal through the stage. Switching to a specific secondary weapon allows Dante to grapple enemies and designated platforms along with other environmental hazards such as the cameras that constantly watch him. By illustrating this, the demo suggests that Ninja Theory’s take on the series will have puzzle solving much in the way of other hack and slash titles such as God of War and Darksiders, both of which use grappling mechanics.

The Unreal Engine gives this demo the neo-cyberpunk feel that works well for this version of Dante. There are two stages available in the DmC demo. The first is the demo stage that has been shown at E3 this year as well as other events. The city comes to life in an attempt kill Dante. Buildings are closing in, the street comes apart to reveal a bottomless void and you got to high tail it out of there or be destroyed by your surroundings. One sequence did take me by surprise. Dante enters what looks like a church which leads to a way out. As he runs toward to exit, sections of the floor suddenly shift back, creating environmental hazards. He has to jump and use his dash maneuver and grapple ability to make it across. The second is a boss battle with a really gross and foul-mouthed horror.

After playing the demo, I have high expectations for Ninja Theory’s take on the popular series created by Team Little Devil. There are folks out there giving the company and new Dante a whole lot of smack. Hopefully, they have played this demo and realize their folly. As Devil May Cry fan, I only care about using super cool demonic powers to hack my way through hordes of demons with stylistic flare and a cocky attitude. January 15 can’t come fast enough but I like the building anticipation so I can wait.

Jeff & John: Let's play Sonic.EXE (Mature Audience Only)

Late last night, myself and Sekretsu did a quick run on Sonic.EXE, on his twitch.tv channel. For those that don't know what I'm talking about.... a little should be explained with this "thing".


Before:

After (aka "NIGHTMARE FUEL!!!"):

History:

"Sonic.EXE originated as a Creepypasta. Though it's origin of date is not know (at the moment), this writer was first introduced to the pasta, a month 1/2 ago. For those that want to read the aformentioned creepypasta, here's the link: Sonic.EXE (creepypasta)"




Without further ado, here's the run that myself and John (@Sekretsu) did late last night. Hope you guys like this little playthrough and Welcome to the start of "HORROR MONTH", right here on The broken infinite.





(WARNING: due to the game itself & to some statements we made in the recording, this video is Rated M (ESRB)/Rated R (MPAA) for gratuitous violence  and suggestive themes/tones.... YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!)

(WARNING: due to the game itself & to some statements we made in the recording, this video is Rated M (ESRB)/Rated R (MPAA) for gratuitous violence  and suggestive themes/tones.... YOU'VE BEEN WARNED!)



Want to see more playthoughs in the future? "LIKE" the video and post a comment in the comment box below, and stay turned to the broken infinite for future let's plays, walk-throughs or random streams."



Source:- YouTube



twitter:- @sekretsu
- @16bitJeff




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Devil May Cry Anthology Pt. 2

Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Platform: Playstation 2
Genre: Action, Hack and Slash
Release: January 25, 2003
Rated: Mature

Devil May Cry became an instant hit when it was released in October 2001, selling over two million copies in its first year. It had taken the survival horror genre of gaming to a new level with its over the top action and compelling storyline. So it was likely that a sequel was just around the corner. As we all know, two has been the magic number for Capcom’s most prestigious series—Mega Man, Street Fighter, Resident Evil—so when I heard about Devil May Cry 2, might first thought was “cool, this is gonna be an awesome sequel”. But before we get into that, how about we take a look at what went on when this was being made. And then we’ll talk about the fun stuff.

Devil May Cry 2 was set to take the series in a new direction. In the game, Dante returns as a more mature more experienced Devil Hunter. This new wiser appearance meant that Capcom was going to give him even more outrageous, acrobatic moves, combos and powers. Dante new abilities introduced us to the wall run, twosome time and bullet rain. The wall run gave Dante more versatility during combat. He could start a combo on the ground, run up a nearby wall to continue it in midair and finish with a downward slash. He was also given some serious hang time to better fight airborne foes. Twosome time (as it will become known in later sequels) allowed Dante to target two enemies at once. He can shoot one enemy in front of him and plug another one either behind him or off target to his left or right. Dodging was made easier this time around so even novice players can save their skin when needed. Unlike the first game, you can dodge whenever you wanted without using the lock-on feature. Another unique feature was the weapon change button which allowed players to switch ranged weapons without going the inventory screen. This was an upgrade from the R3 button used to switch between Alaster and Ifrit in Devil May Cry and a precursor to the much beloved ability in Devil May Cry 3.

The biggest feature, however, is certainly the addition of another playable character. The reason behind this was because people complained in the first game that they wanted to play as Trish and use a heroine. Enter Lucia, a character with a mysterious past. Lucia is just as versatile as Dante and uses two medium range swords and throws darts instead of using guns. However, her move set and combat abilities are just the same as Dante. The only difference is that Lucia possessed the ability to triple jump. Throwing her dart-like projectiles while jumping propelled her higher into the sky. Couple this with a second midair jump to take her even higher. Lucia’s story was set apart from Dante as was the enemy set. She had fewer missions which were fairly easy to complete. Of course if you complete the game on a higher setting you will unlock Trish who plays exactly like Dante and carries the Sword of Sparda with her.

Another complaint from fans was the camera, especially during boss battles where various objects obstructed the view. In some cases, the boss was simply too large to view fully on screen. To correct this, new producer Tsuyoshi Tanaka made it a point for each angle to provide an optimal perspective while keeping the camera fixed. Players got the full view of Dante or Lucia without missing the action. Honestly, in my opinion, the camera wasn’t that big of an issue. The complaint is most likely relevant to the battle with Phantom inside the Chapel and Nightmare in the same location later and in the Underworld. That’s only three battles. All the other battles, i.e. Nero Angelo and Griffin, were in open areas where the camera could move freely. Another reason that it wasn’t a big issue is that the objects became transparent so you could see your enemies. I saw no problem with this. But some people want their hand held.

As mentioned earlier, two seems to have been the magic number for Capcom’s most prestigious series—Mega Man, Street Fighter—however, lightning did not strike again for the company. Despite the improvements and the addition of another character, fans were dissatisfied with Devil May Cry 2. First complaint: the gameplay. Being able to shoot in two directions and run along walls were welcome additions but, fans felt that Dante wasn’t as quick or moved as smoothly as he did in the first Devil May Cry game. His Stinger move was greatly slowed down as was his sword swinging where both were quick and smooth in the previous title. This was a poor attempt to have Dante move like an actual person would with a sword in hand. Also, the having to move the left analog stick for extra strokes, to me and others, wasn’t all that useful and it made it difficult to combo. This also applies to his guns. Before, your thumbs got a workout from pressing that firing button to keep Hang Time going. In DMC2, all one had to do is just hold the button with one hand and eat a bag of chips with the other. Heck, you didn’t even have to use High Time in the sequel; just start firing your guns and the enemy lifts right off the ground. Yeah, where’s the fun in that?

The second gripe was the open area exploration. What made Devil May Cry and its birthparent game Resident Evil so enjoyable was the claustrophobic feeling you got from fighting in close quarters. Putting Dante out in the open was not becoming of the character or what made the series so popular. This is not even becoming of a Resident Evil game. In a lot of cases, the enemies were placed too far apart to work out any good combos, or combos, period, for that matter, and smaller enemies were still off screen despite the improvements in the camera angles. Racking up a high combo and cashing on bonus red orbs as a result are what made playing DMC enjoyable. Because of the placement of enemies, this was difficult to achieve, especially with the highly priced weapons and items available at the God of Time statues. Lastly, the devils in Devil May Cry 2 were not as tough as the ones in the first game. I was surprised at how easy a lot of the enemies were to defeat including the bosses. The challenge of fighting has been taken down a few too many pegs thanks to complaints from fans that played the first DMC. Ironically, those same folks complained about the lack of challenge in DMC2. Guess you can’t satisfy everybody.

However, that’s not to say that Devil May Cry 2 was a terrible game. It does have its moments and Dante is still pretty cool even though a lot of his skills have been gnawed down to where even the most inexperienced player can drag their devil hunting carcass through the Underworld and survive. Unfortunately, this did hurt the series and left fans disappointed. Luckily, a bright spot is about to shine on what became a dark shadow of this series.

Darksiders II review!

Developer(s): Vigil Games
Publisher(s): THQ
Platform(s): Playstation3, Xbox 360, Wii U, Windows, Cloud (OnLive)
Genre(s): Action, Hack and Slash
Release: August 14, 2012 (PS3, Xbox 360, Windows), Late 2012 (Wii U)
Rating: Mature

You have not seen the story of the Apocalypse or the Four Horsemen told like this before! Darksiders gave us a vision of the End of Days in a way we could only imagine. The sequel delves further into the game mythos. Darksiders II follows the story of the most feared of the Four Horsemen, Death. The sequel coincides with the storyline of first game but follows what occurred in War’s story. The Charred Council has detained War for bringing about the Apocalypse and wiping out humanity to which War proclaims his innocence. Death, knowing War to be the most noble amongst them, rides to clear his brother’s name and, in turn, restore humanity.

The Pale Rider starts off already on his horse Despair with Scythe in hand as he rides hard into battle. You are thrown to the wolves in this opening tutorial to get you familiarized with Death’s combat mechanics. Let me tell you, the way that Death fights he might as well be called the “Pale Ninja”. The Reaper is far more agile and swifter than his brother War. He comes equipped with two small Scythes that he uses to dispatch enemies with ease. War was more of heavy hitter, exhibiting power rather than speed. Death is a contrast with his speed and agility. However, what really sets him apart from War is how customizable he is. Where War had only a few items and weapons, Death can use a variety of secondary weapons, such as an axe or hammer to deal massive damage, and items, like armor to increase his defense. The enemies you battle drop these materials upon their defeat. Customization in Darksiders II takes a page from RPGs. Outfitting Death with different weapons and armor changes his stats, giving you the freedom to make him into the awesome Harvester of Souls he is known as. Some materials will actually change Death’s appearance.

The world of Darksiders II is far more expansive that in the previous title with bigger environments allowing players more exploration. Since Death has his noble steed Despair with him right from the gate, traversing this open plane is more appreciating than in the first game where this could not be full explored since War is reunited with his horse Ruin late in the game. Graphically, the sequel is just as impressive as its predecessor if not more so. Bigger environment means greater attention to detail and very little was spared here. There are more puzzles and dungeons to solve than before that allow Death to continue his journey so long as he solves them properly, think of an RPG crossed with God of War. The element of side-quests also exists which play on the expression “scratch my back and I scratch yours”. Some NPCs will give Death a special gift or upgrade only if he completes their task whether he likes it or not. Some of these gifts are useful and some are not but all-in-all, the job has to get done.

PRO: Darksiders II takes several pages from other titles. Let’s start with customizing. I’m immediately reminded of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night when I saw the customize screen and how different items change different stats. Even the layout closely resembles SotN. Death can also use items to change his stats. Their effect varies upon the item used and the same goes for Death’s weapons and armor. Like Alucard did with swords, Death uses a variety of Scythes each with their own attributes. As awesome a game as the first Darksiders was, War felt limited in this aspect. He should’ve had a much larger arsenal than what was given to him. Another problem that was corrected was dodging. Death moves like the wind when avoiding enemy attacks AND he can do it mid-strike even with a heavy item. Thank Dante or Kratos for this one. War was pretty quick on his feet too, but his heavy strikes left him open for counters. Another detail in the combat mechanics is the seamless transition between primary and secondary weapons while fighting. Starting a combo with either one and finishing it with the other will lead to variety of attacks including Death combining his two Scythes into one and sending it whirling about, punishing his enemies with multiple strikes.

CON: There aren’t too many complaints about Darksiders II except sometimes the background graphics tend to lag when focusing especially in the forest area. The controls are still a bit lacking when riding on horseback and do not feel as tight as they should be.

OVERALL: Darksiders II is a fast-paced hack and slash, beat ‘em up that falls well into the genre along with games such Ninja Gaiden, God of War and Asura’s Wrath. Death is an amazing character with crazy combat skills, a wicked cool Reaper Form and a mean looking ride. There is so much going on in this game between the puzzle solving and open world exploration that, rest assured, you won’t be bored to…well, you know.

Darksiders II gets 4 scythe slashes out of 5.

See you on the next level! BrianM.

Devil May Cry Anthology Chapter 1

With Ninja Theory’s reboot of the Capcom series due out in half a year, let’s take a look back at just how Devil May Cry and its sword-swinging, gun-toting, demon hunting Devil Hunter got started. Devil May Cry was born from the Resident Evil series. After the completion of Resident Evil 2, preliminary work began in 1998 on a title for the Playstation 2. Hideki Kamiya headed the project under the name “Team Little Devil” after series creator Shinji Mikami handed it over. The intention was for Kamiya to begin work on Resident Evil 4 but during the development stage Mikami noticed that the game was moving out of the Resident Evil mold. Rather than scrap the project, he decided to develop a new series and asked Kamiya to redesign the game from scratch and change it to a new franchise. Hideki Kamiya didn’t bite at first, but after some coaxing from Mikami he relented and agreed. And one of the most popular franchises in gaming came into the light.

The character Dante was modeled after the main protagonist in the Japanese manga “Space Adventure Cobra” who was known for always being cool under pressure not matter how dangerous the situation was. Given the direction Devil May Cry was going, this seemed to be the perfect fit for Dante. One has to have a ‘no fear’ attitude when hunting demons. When we think of Devil May Cry and Dante, automatically you think red trench coat, which has become his prominent feature more so than his white hair or the massive sword on his back. But early on in his design, Dante was outfitted with a tight-fitting vest. His signature coat was not added until the very end of the development process. If you take at Dante while playing, you can see that the back of his coat is a couple shades darker than the sleeves.

Though it became a stand-alone series, Devil May Cry did not stray too far from its Resident Evil roots. It retained the puzzle solving and exploration of its survival horror origins; however, these are downplayed with the emphasis placed on action. Hideki Kamiya removed the puzzles that can interfere with the action and instead uses them to aid progression through the game. One example of this was when Dante collected the Trident after defeating Phantom and used it to active a mechanism that allowed him to travel outside the castle. Another item found later would allow him back inside. While on the subject, remember the Coliseum and how you had to search for a set of items to gain access inside. This was a pure example of how puzzle solving was set aside from the action. Yes, there were enemies to fight; however, finding the items did not cross with fighting the devils. You took out the devils and you continued on to get your items.

Another aspect that set Devil May Cry apart from Resident Evil, mainly for me, was the elimination of the need to reload your gun or keep bullets in reserve. This took away from the action in RE. You had to pause the game and manually reload your gun. If you allow the character to auto-reload, they were vulnerable to attack which was sometimes costly. Playing RE, this can be a nuisance. Devil May Cry took care of that, giving players access to endless gunfire and the added bonus of maneuverability while firing your weapons. Here’s something that couldn’t be done with Leon or Jill—shooting while jumping. Taking a page from Tomb Raider, Dante was given the ability to fire his handguns and shotgun while airborne. Devil May Cry’s other innovation was a Style Meter and ranking system that encouraged players to attack more often. However, the best feature in the game is definitely the Devil Trigger. Once activated, Dante gained more power and speed, and he recovered vitality, thus eliminating the need to, once again, pause the game and use healing herbs (hoping you have them, otherwise, you were screwed) to treat your injuries. Now Dante does has the Vitality Star to heal, but if you use Devil Trigger with the added fact that enemies oftentimes drop Green Orbs upon defeat then there really would not be a need to access your inventory except maybe during a boss battle.

The battles in Devil May Cry were intense and frenzied at times. The Marionette demons overwhelmed Dante with sheer numbers while other devils, such as Shadow or Frost, use their speed and maneuverability. Squaring off against the King of the Underworld’s demon generals was something I never experienced before in a game. Looking back at the first time I battled Phantom in the Cathedral, I remembered how difficult it was because it’s not an open area. There are the structures of this place that, at times, obscured your view of your target and you had to maneuver around to get a clear shot him. The battles with Nightmare gave you the sense claustrophobia because of the tight confines you face it in. And the battles with Griffin and Nelo Angelo were just intense.

Well I hope you all enjoyed this little trip down memory lane, experienced players. For you new gamers, consider this a look in the past at one of many games that have revolutionized the action genre of gaming. However, player, this is not the end. In the meantime, share your DMC experiences or experiences with another title. Who knows? I just might have something to say about it. Until then… See you on the next level!