Devil May Cry 2 (PS2)
01/12/2003 . Source: Phil Jones 
pub: PlayStation 2 computer game: pub: Capcom. Price: £39.99 (UK). 1 Player ELSPA: 15. check
out website: www.capcom.com
For those of you who haven't played
the first 'Devil May Cry' game, a quick recap. Developed by the director
and the producers of the 'Resident Evil' games, the first game was
a refreshingly new blend of game styles.
 Dante,
a devil/demon fighter the son of a devil knight, stopped the Devil
emperor from destroying humanity is placed in the same position
as his father. He again is pitted against the Devil emperor and
his puppet minions.
The first
game blended old style 2D gaming into a 3D environment with fixed camera angles.
What lifted it though was the control system, graphics and storyline. Dante, both
equally adept with guns as a sword, was easy to control through a series of missions
based in a gothic landscape.
Onto its sequel, we now meet Lucia and,
like later 'Resident Evil' games, she has her own disc and 13 of her own missions
(18 in total on each disc). Both Lucia's and Dante's path cross periodically and
some of each version of the game share similar environments and bosses, etc. The
Devil trigger has been improved (the devil trigger is a mode where you morph into
a 'devil' form and have improved abilities and moves. A bar slowly increases as
you fight until when you have enough on the bar you can use the trigger). You
can run up walls 'Matrix' style and there is still a range of moves available
to you like shooting in mid-air. There is also a new amulet system that with pick-ups
throughout the game open up new abilities such as increased speed and flying but
only in devil trigger mode.
Graphically, this is still above most games
(with fixed camera angles, it should be) but although animation and particle effect
are good the background textures are not quite up to par sometimes. The cut-scenes
are still artistically impressive but this brings me to one major point I'd like
to make. The storylines are not as good as the first. They just don't seem to
captivate you in the same way as the first game did. The intro cut-scene is just
down right confusing and it doesn't get much better later on.
All the
meat and two veg are here in this game, but to me it just doesn't engage like
the first. Yes, there are new impressive moves, the environments are bigger but
they just seem a bit of a mishmash of styles and locations. You go from a gothic
castle (with barbed wire fencing) to a New York-style street and skyline. It seems
to me to have lost that cohesiveness of the first game.
To get anywhere
with this game, you need a strategy guide and get an S rating for each mission.
You need to find secret rooms to get the best pick-ups. If not, you're left with
extremely long battles with bosses and very sore thumbs.
There is plenty
of longevity to be found: two discs extra missions and there is always trying
to improve your mission ratings.
You may after all this think I really
didn't like this game. No, I still enjoyed it but I think it's unfortunately a
missed opportunity. We know Capcom can do better and I think this pales in front
of the first game and the 'Resident Evil' series. Fans of the first will still
enjoy it. It still has incredibly fast gameplay and control system. On
the whole, graphically it's very good. I think it has just drifted away from what
made the first game so good to play. If this was a school report for Capcom it
would read, 'Must try harder.'
Phil Jones 
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