Devil May Cry HD Collection Review

Devil May Cry will always hold a special place in my heart. It was the second Mature-rated title I ever played, preceded only by Resident Evil. When the Devil May Cry HD Collection was rumored, I was ecstatic. I had known it was only a matter of time. When it was not shown at E3 last year, my heart dropped. When it was finally announced, I cried tears of joy. The game was scheduled to be released on April 3, but when the release date for the title was dropped, and the game could be purchased as soon as stores got them in, I rushed to my local GameStop.

The Devil May Cry series has always been a mixed bag. Fans will say that Devil May Cry and Devil May Cry 3 are the best, although the fan base between the two are fairly equal. The second game in the series is not the worst game ever, but compared to the other two (of the original trilogy) it is fairly negligible. The Devil May Cry HD Collection comes packaged with the first three games in the series and for the first time Xbox owners can enjoy the series. The collection stays true to the original games and even includes the Devil May Cry 3 Special Edition as an added treat.

The biggest non-gameplay complaint I have is pretty minor, but I still was not happy about it: the presentation. After loading the game there is the standard HD Collection menu that lets you pick which game you want to play. Upon selecting which one you want to play you are then stuck in that game until you decide to quit to the Xbox Dashboard or the PlayStation 3’s XMB. Menus and the CG cutscenes have not received any sort of visual upgrade, retaining the pixelated grainy look as they did ten years ago.

The games follow demon slayer Dante as he meets the most random cast of characters that has ever existed in a series of games. The dialogue is mostly cheesy, but still retains some of the humor it had ten years ago. The stories have always seemed like another language to me. With all of the odd plot twists it has always managed to elude me.

Devil May Cry follows Dante in his pursuit to kill the demon Mundus, who killed Dante’s parents. Devil May Cry 2 features a slightly older Dante trying to defeat Arius, a demon attempting to take over the world using demonic power. In Devil May Cry 3, a prequel to the first game, Dante is trying to defeat his brother Vergil for helping bring a demon tower into the real world. As I said, the stories are incredibly convoluted and the basic plot lines are about all I can manage to understand.

The biggest update in the collection is obviously the graphics. Upon seeing the title screen for Devil May Cry I was nervous about what the game itself would look like, considering the menus were not updated. Once I was finally in the game, however, the character models were crisp and animations were smooth. Some of the textures could have used a little work, but each game consistently got better and better looking. These dated titles seemed to have gotten a lot more work than most Capcom games I have played in the last three or four years.

All of the content from the original games has made an excellent transition into the collection. Unfortunately, this also means the miserable camera is back. The static camera angles featured in Resident Evil games are similar to the camera angles in most of the Devil May Cry games. Devil May Cry 3 features some movable camera angles, but the majority of the game lacks that feature.

Combat is where these games have always shined. The Devil May Cry series is known for its difficulty, and these remakes are no exception. Brutal difficulty and strong combat make up for the bad camera. Players are awarded a style rating for performing combos, and how you perform in each mission awards a rating at the end of each level. The higher the rating, the more bonus red orbs you receive. Red orbs are the game’s form of currency used to purchase extra items and bonus abilities.

If you are a Devil May Cry fan, or enjoy hack and slash games with heavy emphasis on combos, buying the Devil May Cry HD Collection is a great idea. Featuring all of the content from all three games at a forty dollar price tag is a great deal. What the game lacks in presentation it more than makes up for in style and should be a part of any gamer’s library.