I had always heard about how bad Devil May Cry 2 is. In fact, I actually had some first hand experience with it. I watched some friends play it in primary school, and I think I actually picked up the controller at one point. We all got bored of it, and I actually remember thinking that the way the game played was pretty off, because we had played a little bit of the first and the third in the same day. Years later, I've come back to it to see if it is really as bad as they say. The fact that is has such a low rating on here in particular really caught my attention, like I knew people didn't like this game, but a 1.6...that is low. So I booted it up, with my expectations low and...my God, I fucking HATE this game.
I didn't intend to play all the way through it at first, but I eventually forced myself to (as Dante at least). I got to the stage where I thought that I had already wasted more than and hour on it, so I might as well commit to it. Who knew that what sounds like a brisk 3 hours and 24 minutes could feel so long.
I can't believe an actual studio made this, and that this is a sequel to a succesful and critically lauded game. Don't get me wrong, it isn't like there haven't been any bad sequels to good games over the years, but I'm not sure if any sequel from a big studio (from the past two decades at least) comes close to being this bad.
This game is fucking braindead. It is mostly devoid of challenge, and whenever there is a challenge it is practically never fair. The level design is confusing and maps are often way too big for their own good (not to mention empty and really dull to look at), and as a sequel not only does it not do enough to build on the mechanics of the previous game, it actually strips them down and regresses them in lots of ways. You only need to hold down the square button and most enemies will be evicorated before they have a chance to hit you (if they actually decide to hit you, which they don't always do), yes that's right, in this sequel to a game with an emphasis on combat, all you need to do for most encounters is hold down a single button. Melee weapons are all swords with the same limited moveset, and the upgrades pretty much only go as far as making your weapons do slightly more damage and you can go the whole game without so much as upgrading a single thing. The level design is confusing and clearly unfinished, each mission feels like it was the bare minimum they could do to get the game out the door, the fact that most of this game's actual development took place over the course of 4 months is telling. That's all just scratching the surface when it comes to the list of things that are wrong with Devil May Cry 2.
I don't usually play games like this for the story, I really don't expect it to be amazing and I don't care as long as what surronds it is good gameplay, but Devil May Cry 2 has neither of these things. I know next to nothing about these character's motivations (or lack their of, in Dante's case), the game has told me nothing about the world (as far as I can tell nobody lives on this planet outside of Dante, Lucia, the old woman and the evil guy), and generally speaking I have next to no idea why any of what happens actually happens. It is the epitome of complete nonsense.
Oh, and fuck the final boss. Put the heads of each of the bosses of this game and a couple from the last in a circle so you can't dodge without being hit by a different projectile, give them moves that really aren't designed for this fight in particular, and also make it so that Dante won't lock onto them unless he is standing directly in front of them, making him vulnerable to attacks that he mostly can't avoid. I do not think I have ever fought a more tedious, boring and completely uninspired boss in my life (maybe that fucking helicopter), and this is in a game that is filled to the brim with boring and uninspired bosses.
If one good thing comes out of Devil May Cry 2, it will be that beating it will enhance my appreciation of Devil May Cry 3.
I didn't intend to play all the way through it at first, but I eventually forced myself to (as Dante at least). I got to the stage where I thought that I had already wasted more than and hour on it, so I might as well commit to it. Who knew that what sounds like a brisk 3 hours and 24 minutes could feel so long.
I can't believe an actual studio made this, and that this is a sequel to a succesful and critically lauded game. Don't get me wrong, it isn't like there haven't been any bad sequels to good games over the years, but I'm not sure if any sequel from a big studio (from the past two decades at least) comes close to being this bad.
This game is fucking braindead. It is mostly devoid of challenge, and whenever there is a challenge it is practically never fair. The level design is confusing and maps are often way too big for their own good (not to mention empty and really dull to look at), and as a sequel not only does it not do enough to build on the mechanics of the previous game, it actually strips them down and regresses them in lots of ways. You only need to hold down the square button and most enemies will be evicorated before they have a chance to hit you (if they actually decide to hit you, which they don't always do), yes that's right, in this sequel to a game with an emphasis on combat, all you need to do for most encounters is hold down a single button. Melee weapons are all swords with the same limited moveset, and the upgrades pretty much only go as far as making your weapons do slightly more damage and you can go the whole game without so much as upgrading a single thing. The level design is confusing and clearly unfinished, each mission feels like it was the bare minimum they could do to get the game out the door, the fact that most of this game's actual development took place over the course of 4 months is telling. That's all just scratching the surface when it comes to the list of things that are wrong with Devil May Cry 2.
I don't usually play games like this for the story, I really don't expect it to be amazing and I don't care as long as what surronds it is good gameplay, but Devil May Cry 2 has neither of these things. I know next to nothing about these character's motivations (or lack their of, in Dante's case), the game has told me nothing about the world (as far as I can tell nobody lives on this planet outside of Dante, Lucia, the old woman and the evil guy), and generally speaking I have next to no idea why any of what happens actually happens. It is the epitome of complete nonsense.
Oh, and fuck the final boss. Put the heads of each of the bosses of this game and a couple from the last in a circle so you can't dodge without being hit by a different projectile, give them moves that really aren't designed for this fight in particular, and also make it so that Dante won't lock onto them unless he is standing directly in front of them, making him vulnerable to attacks that he mostly can't avoid. I do not think I have ever fought a more tedious, boring and completely uninspired boss in my life (maybe that fucking helicopter), and this is in a game that is filled to the brim with boring and uninspired bosses.
If one good thing comes out of Devil May Cry 2, it will be that beating it will enhance my appreciation of Devil May Cry 3.