Platinum Report: DmC: Devil May Cry

I got the platinum for DmC: Devil May Cry. I had been looking forward to playing this game for a long time and let me tell you I was not disappointed! Here are some of my thoughts on the game.

First of all, let me address the issue of the reboot/Dante redesign. Like many hardcore Devil May Cry fans I was skeptical about Capcom’s decision to redesign the DmC characters and reboot the series, but I figured as long as the combat and gameplay were top notch I would enjoy the game just fine.

Once I had the game in hand and started playing, I actually started to appreciate the reboot. The newly redesigned DmC world is a world parallel to our own, but the twist is that demons are controlling the populace with subliminal messages and media propaganda. So you spend the game fighting demons and eventually face Mundus, whose appearance and role in the series has been completely revamped. Plot-wise the game draws elements from Devil May Cry 1 and 3 and I think it really sets the foundation for future successful DmC sequels.

In terms of the combat, this game offers the same addictive gameplay that is expected of a Devil May Cry game. Most of Dante’s signature moves and weapons are back, which makes the combat instantly recognizable. The problem for me and most fans of the series is that the difficulty this time around has been severely reduced. I think that maybe the developers were trying to keep this game from being overly difficult so as not to scare away new players to the series. To give you an idea of the difficulty reduction (and this is entirely my opinion), I would say that playing DmC on ‘Dante Must Die’ mode is easier than playing Devil May Cry 4 on ‘Son of Sparda’ mode. While the game is easier this time around there is still challenge to be had on the upper difficulties should you wish to attempt them. DmC isn’t as brutal as past Devil May Cry games, which may be a plus or negative for you depending how much of a gamer you are.

Surprisingly, the shining star in this game is the level design. The game offers some of the most creative levels and backdrops I’ve seen in a while, there are even some fun platforming sections that do a good job of breaking up the combat. DmC also has great bosses, some of which I found genuinely disturbing my first time through the game.

All in all, I liked this game a lot. Sure there are things that I would like to see changed for DmC2, but I am just happy that Devil May Cry is back and getting the attention it deserves. To me, this game will always be the king of the hack ‘n slash genre.

Platinum Update

It dawned on me that I haven’t gotten around to posting about a couple platinum trophies I got recently: Red Dead Redemption and Demon’s Souls! Here are some thoughts.

Red Dead Redemption is a great game. The single player mode has a great story, a huge world to explore and an immersive atmosphere that really pulls you into the game. I am not even really a fan of cowboys/Westerns and I really liked this game. I liked it so much that once I had finished the story I decided I wanted to platinum the game. The single player trophies were very manageable if not easy but then I jumped into multiplayer mode. I found the multiplayer modes to be fun but many of the trophies themselves are very time-consuming to get. For example, grinding your character up to experience level 50 takes way too much time, so much so that I got completely sick of the game and stopped playing entirely. Months later, I found myself monitoring Rockstar’s Twitter account looking for triple XP announcements and thanks to that I was finally able to to grind my character up to level 50. All in all, this is a great game and the online component is very fun, especially with all the newly added online modes. Just be prepared for a grind if you are looking for that platinum trophy.

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Demon’s Souls is a game that I was unsure of when I first bought it but quickly became my favorite PS3 game. Seriously, there are so many awesome things about this game. It is one of the most atmospheric games I’ve ever played and because of that there are some very tense moments. At times, this game had me screaming obscenities at my TV in anger, but I loved every minute of it. It’s difficult to describe, but Demon’s Souls is a really satisfying experience. It’s an old-school type of game in that memorization and trial and error are pretty much required to make it through. It wasn’t easy but I am very proud to finally have this platinum after many, many playthroughs. See you on Dark Souls!