Devil May Cry 2

The Good
This might be a weird thing to point out as something deserving praise rather than an obvious requirement, but the discourse around Devil May Cry 2 is so broken and filled with mindless hate that it might need to be said: this game works. The controls are responsive, the hitboxes are precise, the combat plays out as intended by the developers, there are no major glitches or game-breaking bugs. And at the very core, this is still a Devil May Cry game, with the series' trademark combination of melee and ranged weapons, stylish acrobatic movements, varied enemy types to fight, and a dark visual style.

An element that may seem like a minor addition at first but turns out to be DMC 2's centerpiece as you go on is the ability to roll. The game still places a heavy emphasis on vertical movement, with Dante getting even more air time while firing guns than in DMC 1 and Lucia being even more acrobatic than him, but its motto could very well be the Limp Bizkit quote: "keep rollin', rollin', rollin'". Since DMC 2, as opposed to the first game, mostly takes place in open areas or really large rooms, and the character's (especially Dante's) attacks push enemies back quite a bit, the game requires you to be constantly on the move to keep your stylish combo going. There are also some enemies and bosses, such as the Abyss Goat or Bolverk, who will require you to dodge their attacks by - you guessed it - rolling. And by itself, this is a pretty good gimmick - designing the combat around quick reactions and fast movements adds even more intensity and excitement to the already fast-paced combat from the first game, providing a great core for the experience to build upon.

The Bad
Unfortunately, another change to the combat system made to improve the gameplay's flow and intensity was significantly worse. Devil May Cry 2 gets rid of separate fighting styles stemming from the first game's electric sword Alastor and fiery gauntlet Ifrit along with their distinct movesets, instead providing the player with a much more basic choice of a regular sword, a strong heavy sword, and a long lighter sword. Instead of spending your Red Orbs on specific moves that allow for more variety in your playstyle, you use them to simply level up your swords and guns, with no distinct perks and abilities. An attempt to provide some variety was made through the amulet system, which allows you to customize and adapt your Devil Trigger perks, but it's pretty barebones and nowhere as integral to the game as Alastor and Ifrit were before.

Another limitation in DMC 2's combat is its targeting system. Dante and Lucia always lock on to a specific enemy (not only when you press the lock on button), which makes quickly reacting to the situation on the battlefield more difficult. While some people might have found the more freeform movements in the first game somewhat inaccurate, they were undeniably better than an arbitrary lock on system that actively fights you.

Possibly the biggest disappointment of Devil May Cry 2 in relation to its predecessor is its approach to bosses. Even though they still have some interesting visual designs, the battles aren't anywhere as creative as in the first game, and - with some exceptions like the intense sword fight against Bolverk or the exciting return of the cute arachnid Phantom - they're often limited to shooting your guns at the enemy while avoiding its highly repetitive attacks. And while most boss encounters aren't as bad as the absolute slog of a fight against Trismagia, they are definitely the most underwhelming aspect of DMC 2.

A minor mistake that still takes away from the experience is that while rolling helps pacing and mobility during fights, Dante is still pretty slow when simply traversing the levels. It feels as if some areas, especially in the town streets, were designed for Lucia's speed and used for Dante's missions without adapting them to his movement at all. It's not a major problem, but it makes the game feel more awkward to play than it would have otherwise and could have easily been avoided with more playtesting.

The Bottom Line
Devil May Cry 2 is an uneven yet overall decent experience that can be really fun once it clicks, but never reaches its potential and becomes especially bland and underwhelming during most boss fights. 6/10

[based on the PC port in the HD Collection]

The Good
Devil May Cry 2 is an action game. Unfortunately, action is all this game has to offer. But the good news is, the action really is great. Whether you play as Dante or Lucia, you will use, interchangeably, a long range and a short range weapon. Both the long range and short range weapons offer you an assortment of special moves and acrobatics. You can shoot in two directions at once, run on walls, and double jump your way to victory. Not to mention the Devil Trigger. They updated it for DMC2, and it really paid off. Not only does it look a whole lot cooler, but you can collect different "Devil Hearts", which allow you to do even more in DT mode, like elemental attacks and flying. And if you are interested, there are harder difficulty modes after you beat it on normal, and unlockables for beating each difficulty level. There is also a new feature called "Bloody Palace" where you just fight in a room level by level.

The Bad
Like I said, action is all this game has to offer. Fans of the original know that the first didn't exactly have an award winning story, and the second made no attempt at improving this. In fact, the story was a lot worse. The thing that really bothered me the most, though, was that they changed Dante completely. He looks different, talks different, and has a completely different personality. I felt like I was playing as Dante's wannabe twin brother, and it pained be on the inside every time I heard him talk. And then there's Lucia. I still don't even know what her purpose was in the game. I mean, it was fun to play as her for a change, but I don't know why she was there. Aside from the characters, boss battles are incredibly predictable and boring. I found myself doing the same exact thing in most of the boss battles. Most of the time it consisted of jumping ad shooting...continuously. Boss battles really lacked compared to the regular fighting.

The Bottom Line
I'd have to say that this is just a good mindless hack-n-slash for someone who needs a good dose of demon slaying. If you are a fan of the original, don't expect anything nearly as good, and for everyone else, pick it up if you like this kind of game and can find it on sale.

The Good
Devil May Cry 2 is fun, stylish, and graphically great. The voice acting is good, the visuals are near perfect, the gameplay is addictive, the levels are a-plenty, and the son of Sparda, Dante, is as cool as ever. Secrets and cheats abound, along with the new addition of CG cinemas, which were absent from the first game. In the in-game cinemas, Dante sometimes rides a motorcycle and flips a coin, which make him even more cool. You can now do awesome evasion moves, run along and up against walls, and you don't have to learn any new abilities (which is good and bad). You can still level up your swords and guns, and now equip amulets to add special characteristics to your Devil Mode, which looks truly cool. The loading times are fast, too. New baddies and bosses are here, along with a new character, Lucia, who has her own disc! It's like getting two games for the price of a new one (And you can also unlock Trish, from the first DMC, as a playable character). Sound good? It is.

The Bad
A few problems arose when playing DMC2. The first is the story... The game begins with Dante, who apparently got a call from the mysterious Lucia, helping her gather some Arcana artifacts before a corporate businessman, who is using devils and evil powers to gain the Arcana's, which will give him the power of Argosax, a most powerful demon (who is actually a combination of the bosses throughout the game) and allow him to rule the world. Dante, I assume, has never met Lucia, the businessman, or Lucia's grandmother (who plays a small yet significant role) before. However, he acts as though he's known Lucia for quite some time, and done random tasks for her grandmother as well. It's all messed up, so I don't really qualify this as a true story. It doesn't seem to concern Dante, and he is only linked to it by Lucia's distress call. However, it's his job as a devil hunter at the Devil May Cry. No explanation is given as to what happened to Trish, but you can play her if you beat the game on Hard mode with Dante.

Now, I can ignore this story-thing because the game is so darn fun. But what I can't ignore is how easy the game is. I mean, sure, DMC was mindnumbingly hard, but that doesn't give them room to make DMC2 fit for a two-year-old's video game playing level. Maybe I'm being harsh... I mean, the giant orb-shooting monkey was moderately tough the first time I fought him. Then again, maybe I'm not being tough enough; I completed the game in 3, maybe 2, days!

The Bottom Line
DMC2 was a fun and awesome experience. I strongly recommend it to the fans of the first; That is, if you don't mind the absense of story and the low level of difficulty. It's a perfect rental, and a good buy. Go out and play it.

Oh... what? "Is it better than the first"? Well..... I guess I'll leave that up to you.