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Devil May Cry 2 Review - PS2

Sequels are part and parcel of today’s entertainment culture. They are where the real money is made. It is for this very reason that most sequels also suck the big one. Movie moguls, game developers and the like usually churn out exactly the same as the original- playing it safe, knowing they have a built in market that will send sales through the roof. But once in a blue moon there is an exception to the rule- can Devil May Cry 2 buck the trend and go one better than it’s excellent predecessor? Or will it join the growing pile of sequel crap?

Gameplay

Devil May Cry 2 starts oddly. An old lady and her daughter, Luica, summons Dante, the David Beckham look-a-like hero of the first adventure, to a little village where strange creatures lurk. Here he is asked to destroy a corrupt business mogul- who is trying to harness the power of the devil in order to rule the world. In return the old lady will tell him a tale about his famous father, Sparda. Despite not knowing what a fair deal is, Dante doesn’t bat an eyelid and sets off to save the day once more. The game spans 2 discs and this time around you get to control Lucia in her “own” adventure. But more on that later.

DMC2 is a 3rd person actioner and the action comes thick and fast. Each character has 2 primary weapon sources: guns/swords for Dante and throwing knives/cutlaseers for Lucia. Though the weapons differ, both are essentially the same. Controlling your character is very basic and easy to master and helps create some epic battle situations. You can now lock onto multiple targets meaning you can fire at targets in two different directions! Very cool.

Both characters have a lot more moves at their disposal this time and Dante can now cartwheel and fire simultaneously while locked on to a target. But all the new moves are more of a cosmetic upgrade than serving any real gameplay purpose. Both characters can also enter Devil Trigger Mode (DTM) and this feature has also changed a bit. Instead of using your orbs to upgrade your DTM, you now have an amulet. There are 3 slots in the amulet with 3 different skills for each, ranging from recovery, speed, the ability to swim and more powerful attacks. These upgrades are littered throughout the levels of the game. While it is quite easy to use- it could have been utilized a lot better. The only skill that is required to progress is the ability to fly- it’s a shame they didn’t utilize these skills a tad more.

Throughout the game, dispatching baddies is rewarded with red orbs, which can then be used to upgrade weapons or buy potions/upgrades. The way you dispatch the devils minions determines how many orbs you collect. There is some degree of puzzle solving in DMC2 but this is quite basic, from ... (continued next page)