Why is it that every time I hear about a game I have to got out and buy it before trying it out first? I don’t know, maybe I’m just a freak and an impulsive buyer. A while back a friend of mine told me to check out Devil May Cry 2, just for the plain reason that it kicked major ass. Well I was never into the first one that much so I didn’t give it much thought. But because I’m a freak like that I just went ahead and bought it. Well I am here to tell you that I am glad that I made that purchase. This game is full of massive demon slaying and crazy game play.
Let me give you a quick rundown of the games story line. You are a famed demon slayer named Dante that possesses the power of the strongest demon and the toughest street thug. You and Lucia, a fellow demon slayer, have to rid the world of the oncoming invasion of demons and all kinds of hellish creatures. You’re armed with a massive sword that can lop creature’s domes off with just a swing. Or if that doesn’t do it for you, then you can always use your automatic pistols that fire magic bullets. If you are asking if that’s all the weapons you get, don’t fret, throughout the game you get plenty more. Starting out playing the game you really need to know how to use your weapons to take out your enemy quickly. Your weapons are not that powerful to begin with, but during each level you can use these orbs that you collect to upgrade the power of your weapons. Orbs come in different colors, so each color can help you in many ways. The more you collect the better. So look out for those orb thingys. At the end of each level you have to face a boss. So if these weapons aren’t helping you take out the bosses then you can always transform into a magic demon that inflicts more damage than your normal self. Your magic demon self can either fly or run abnormally fast. In order to transform yourself into a flying or running demon, you have to collect an amulet. That amulet determines which demon you transform into, and each demon has a powerful strategy of fighting. You only have a few seconds of using your magic demon, so use it wisely. Again, the orbs and devil stars help you gain more magic devil time. The more stars and orbs, the longer you can be a demon. If you want to see how your doing on health and magic demon time, gauges will be provided for you at the top left of your screen. The great thing about this game is that on every level there are tons of health orbs and other helpful stuff along the way. This game really helps you out as you get further and further. Because of the different colored orbs, stars, weapons, and the such, the game will pause and always let you know what you have just acquired and how you can use it.
As a demon slayer you are probably thinking, “Well damn I need to do some really cool tricks to fight these things off right?” Well you do. The controls are a big factor to be able to kill tons of demons at one time. Being able to do combos with your acrobatic moves and using two weapons at one time is crucial. It’s obvious that your not going to be a pro in doing combos at once, so as you progress in killing demons you start getting creative. The more creative you get, the better the stylish combo points you get. My favorite move is the rainstorm. In this move you jump really high then turn your body like you were diving back down, but then you use your guns to shoot the enemy from above. Th
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the name comes from the fact that you are releasing a rainstorm of bullets on your enemy’s head. There are plenty of other cool moves that you can do with both characters. This then leads me to the fact that the controls are insane in this game. I had to look at the manual dozens of times just to get some of the combos down. Your analog sticks and your directional pad can be used to move and strafe. Pulling out your weapons and using them are pretty basic along with jumping and evading. These movements can be executed with your shape buttons. Getting into the combos is what really threw me off the freaking wall. I mean I wish I had a freaking third hand to help me out sometimes. Combining the top buttons with the directional pad and the shape buttons, I mean seriously… that’s a lot of work. This is one game that I really needed to continue to play just to get use to the controls. I’m still not used to them.
The game has some major flaws to it during game play. One thing that annoyed the crap out me was the camera angles. You have no control as to how the camera will frame your shot as you try and battle demons. So many obstructions get in the way if you move from your centered shot. Sometimes it will cut between a birdseye view to a close up if you move an inch. Because this game involves demons, castles, cults, and the such, then it’s simple enough to say that this game will have a dark overtone to it. This game is nothing but dark. I felt like I was in a Dracula film playing this game, which leaves the colors in the game to be dark and real mushy with no definition. Each level there are boundaries that are set up in certain locations. These boundaries block you from jumping onto ledges, buildings, or other things that might help you. It’s pretty much like running into an invisible wall. I hate that so much because it just cheapens your AI environment. Speaking of AI, the enemies AI is horrible. It takes them decades to fight back once you have destroyed half of their buddies. Again I was disappointed to see that part of the game being so unfulfilling. Going down the same lines of killing off massive amounts of demons, let me just add that once you start fighting, the music gets really intense and heavy which I liked. I would have to say the sound did not play a major factor in this game whatsoever. Fighting one of the first bosses sounded like a looping scratched record. It was quite horrifying hearing this monster screech. The sound was pitiful and very annoying. Ok Capcom, feel free to create more elaborate sounds for your hellish creatures in your Foley studios next time.
Overall, the game is a decent entertaining hack and slash game. It does get involving at times, but then it becomes very repetitive level after level. The more I upgraded my character the cooler things I did. The game does get challenging on each level like every game should. The numbers of demons just increase level after level with no creativity involved, and that’s when it gets repetitive. But I must say the game was entertaining and I really enjoyed spending some sleepless nights on it. I really thought a demon slayer with two guns who can jump off walls and do all kinds of cool tricks while killing the masses was sweet. Try this game out if you just want some old fashion hack and slash action. I’m Pretzel… peace out!!
