Devil May Cry

The Good
How it got me... or how I got it
The reason this game got into my collection is by pure accidence. I actually went to local retail store to purchase Onimusha (or was it Veronica X, can't remember), but they were off-stock and I didn't wanna get back home empty-handed, so I ended up buying DMC. I had some high expectations towards the game as I played a demo from an extra disc I got with Veronica X (ah, that means I went to buy Onimusha after all). I didn't know what I missed by not getting Onimusha that very day only until I later got that game... but that's another story. Capcom here, Capcom there, it's all Capcom so I had no lack of trust in their titles. This one is no bad one either... but I was kinda expecting it to be good, then, which I also can't say with certain clarification.

Controlling your demon
One thing is absolutely fantastic when it comes to this game, it's its the sheer speed and velocity of the various moves Dante can make. Camera is static and doesn't let you to control it, but it rotates as you walk, and it all works with such a speed and smoothness I can't say I witnessed in many games (can't think of any up to date). Devil May Cry II isn't any slower either, by the way. So I'd say gameplay itself is the finest hour this game can provide you with, aside from loads of fun blasting your way through various demon hordes with either your sword or guns (either is upgradable and you get bigger and meaner weapons as you progress).

Not quite a saga
So, you're Dante, you're a P.I., and you're half-human (on your mother's side, duh). Lucky guess would be your father was a demon. Well, was, because it was ages ago, the name's Sparda, and he fought some really badguy when trying to help the human kind. Now, you're doing the same. Although, more like a Tex Murphy, sitting in your office, and trying to earn for a rent... or not. Until, one night, a mysterious woman blasts in on a motorcycle and all hell breaks lose. After she fails to kill you, you decide to render your services to her inspite of what just didn't happen (weird huh, but Dante wouldn't take any less of a case). There really isn't any of the meaningful dialogues to encounter and very little of exploration or chit-chats, maybe every 10 levels when you run into Trish. Other than that, you're battling constantly, and quite often with the same bosses you humiliated but not defeated in your encounters.

The Bad
Not a survival horror for sure
Unless you consider Rambo movies a horror-survival, this game ain't either. It's too fast to be considered one, and enemies seem to be afraid more of Dante then vice-versa. It's pretty much action action action, and very little exploration or puzzle-solving. Now why is this a bad thing? It isn't, but aside from mindless action, this game doesn't deliver other goods. The story is just enough to keep it going, and occasional conversations are just there so you're aware it features voice-acting. The world itself is... well, it's beautiful in the artful sense of the matter, but it all kinda seems... small and pretty much the same (uh, this brings ICO to mind). Hm, yup, good comparison actually, this game is no more fun than ICO, so if you liked that game, you may like this one (in whichever way may someone even see them as comparable, though). But no, really, there is something with the world game takes place in that bothers me. It lacks of some attraction or interest. It doesn't look like Dante is on some investigation case, but more like he's on some mayhem of blind justice mowing down anything he encounters and ask questions later. And all that to eventually lead to the final battle and story revelation which is just as interesting, duh. Also, the whole boss battles which were quite too often got you to think there aren't many things in this worlds, so those that are are automatically called bosses. But some were irritatingly hard to defeat (especially that last slimy thing), whereas ending boss was rather easy to pass, so you'll be able to replay the ending cinematic at your leisure.

The Bottom Line
Technicality over personality
This game is so obviously meant to technically show what PS2 is capable of, and how games can run pretty darn fast on that black box as they can on a powered-up personal computer. You can say it has a certain attitude and even a bit addiction to it (hey, I bought a sequel so go figure... even though for like $7 only, but shrinkwrapped new, was a special discount on that item, though), but isn't anything too serious. Don't expect it to be as entangling as any of Capcom's real horror-survivals, this is a mere stress releaser and a neat one to compensate instead of getting yourself a Doom or Quake.