A wonderful cross-genre title, equally suited to fans of survival horror and action games.
"Survival horror" has been, for me, somewhat of a sticky issue. I'll admit that I was impressed with Resident Evil when it was first released on the Playstation so many years ago; impressed with watching the game. The control scheme, the overwhelming emphasis on item micromanagement, and the general slow pace of the game was definitely NOT to my liking. Since these complaints deal with conventions of the genre and not the game itself, I found most of survival horror (with the notable exceptions of Silent Hill and Onimusha) to be vicarious gaming experiences via my more patient friends. Luckily, the director of the original Resident Evil, Shinji Mikami, decided to separate himself from his brainchild and go in a new direction. The result of that direction is Devil May Cry. And while Devil May Cry mostly escapes the conventions of its roots, it retains just enough character to appeal to those fans, as well as to a much wider audience.
When playing Devil May Cry for the first time, it's difficult to even associate it with games like Resident Evil or Silent Hill. While the latter games move at, and indeed rely upon, a leisurely pace to build moments of suspense and vulnerability, Devil May Cry is frantic and chaotic in comparison. Enemies throw themselves at protagonist Dante with ferocious abandon; and instead of calmly standing and taking aim, he leaps, rolls, charges and dodges, unloading from his arsenal of guns, swords, and demonic magic with equal ferocity. With a bottomless supply of ammunition to fuel Dante's arsenal, the game feels more like a traditional action-shooter. The atmosphere of an action game is further enforced by the strictly linear mission-based system of the game and the VERY light story elements, which are polar opposites to survival horror games' free-roaming environments whose very direction is dictated by twists in their plots. And finally, with special weapon attacks, mid-air and juggling combos, and even a rating system for how 'stylish' you are in dispatching your foes, Devil May Cry often appears to be anything BUT a survival horror game.
But on a closer inspection, Devil May Cry does contain a few hints in its gameplay structure that keep it from making a complete transition to an action game. The most obvious (but probably most trivial) is the perspective from which the game is played. Unlike its parent games, Devil May Cry has environments that are fully rendered in 3-D. In spite of this, however, there is still a strong reliance on pre-determined, uncontrollable camera angles. One of the primary functions of the fixed camera angles has been to heighten suspense, but when characters are as consistently well armed as Dante, suspense often takes a backseat to impatience. Thankfully though, there are only few completely immobile angles, and the transitions between shots are rarely as jarring as Resident Evil's. Slightly less noticeable, but more significant than camera angles is the plethora of survival horror-like fetch quests. Just like Chris Redfield or Harry Mason, Dante spends a large amount of time finding rusty keys for locked doors, or fitting colored orbs into statue's heads. But since these for the most part simple puzzles, their presence has little bearing on slowing the pace of the game as a whole (which is their role in previous games). What does have a strong bearing on the pacing of the game is Devil May Cry's most significant similarity to survival horror--item management. While it is true that Dante doesn't have to worry about running out of shotgun shells or grenades at an inopportune time, and there are no magic item boxes or typewriter ribbons to be found, players must still pay very close how often and when they use the game's life or magic healing items. Even on the simplest difficulty level you are limited in the number of these items that you can carry. This problem is compounded by the generally high strength of even the most common enemies, and the fact that getting these all-too valuable items becomes more and more difficult as the game progresses. For fans of the Resident Evil series, this is old hat and can be taken in stride. For those unused to such strategies, it's an unwelcome inconvenience that could have just as well been done away with. Luckily though, it doesn't really detract from the rest of the game's presentation and execution.
And what a presentation it is. Graphically, Devil May Cry stands tall and proud alongside ZOE, Silent Hill 2, Final Fantasy X and even the upcoming Metal Gear Solid 2 as examples of the Playstation 2 at its best. Incredible amounts of detail and animation fill Devil May Cry, and even some of the simplest effects (such as the humble lens flare) are put to jaw-dropping use. The frame rate is constant and solid 60 fps, with almost non-existent slowdown. There are a couple of issues with polygon clipping, but these are limited to very small bits of clothing flapping through the bottom of a sword or pant leg, and are only noticeable if looked for. Character designs are over-the-top as only Capcom can do it, from Dante's long red trench coat and white mop of hair to monsters such as the Phantom, a spider made of stone and magma, and the Griffon, an enormous demonic eagle.
Coupled with the awesome graphics is equally awesome music. The tunes in Devil May Cry are a reflection of the game itself: hard, fast, and angry. Background music is mostly situational, with some of the loudest and most blood-pumping themes reserved for fading in and out of combat. There is a tangible chemistry between Devil May Cry's action and its music; boss encounters are sub-consciously more foreboding thanks to heavy guitars pounding, and it's simply easier to blast and slice your way to long, complex combos with a racing and harsh electronic backdrop. Sound effects are handled with equal aplomb; a profound sense of satisfaction is felt when the roar of your shotgun turns the cackling of a reaper-like ghost into an unearthly scream. And the voice acting, while incredibly cheesy and sometimes awkward, is delivered with the proper amount of emotion and gravity to keep the eye rolling to a minimum.
In the end, does Devil May Cry break the mold that Resident Evil (yes, and Alone in the Dark before it) was poured from? On one hand, yes; there is really no way that Capcom could get away with toning down the game’s action and accentuating puzzles and exploration in almost inevitable sequels. But on the other hand, the new changes prevalent in Devil May Cry don’t really belong in future survival horror, as they would destroy those games’ pacing and style of play. What it does manage to create is a wonderful cross-genre title, equally suited to fans of either genre. And with its higher than average level of difficulty, hidden missions and unlockable secrets, it’s also a game that fans will surely be returning to after the credits finish rolling. So make sure that you get this newest feather in Capcom’s hat; you’ll have a hell of a good time with it.
