43M Posted January 1, 2023 Author Share Posted January 1, 2023 Rapid Review This is the first Devil May Cry I hadnt actually played before. I had heard good things over the years but nothing overwhelmingly positive. The glowing reviews for DMC5 is what actually resparked my interest back in the franchise, but I wanted to go through all of them (except for the "reboot"....which I heard is good, but kinda forgettable. Anyway, this game pretty was just as good as 3 from a gameplay standpoint, except you only play half the game as Dante. The other half, you play as Nero, who is okay, but definitely feels like a nerfed version of Dante. The story was decent but absolutely nothing special, but Im not docking it too many points for that since these games are like Michael Bay movies. What I will dock points for, however, is how lazy the 2nd half of the game felt. All you do in the 2nd half is go backwards as Dante, and face all the bosses you already faced once, again. THEN, you played through the bosses again at the end. So you end up essentially fighting the same bosses 3 times in essentially the same exact fights. Didnt appreciate that and considered just watching the ending. That major negative aside, the game is still good, but I dont think it was a major upgrade from 3 aside from graphics. Devil May Cry 3: 7.7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
43M Posted January 7, 2023 Author Share Posted January 7, 2023 Review This is really the game I wanted to get to after hearing about how good it was a few years back. As I said, I played DMC 1-3 years ago and enjoyed them, and ever since this game came out, I always wanted to eventually get to it to see if it lived up to or surpassed the other games. I am happy to say that, much like how Devil May Cry 3 was a huge leap forward from DMC1, the fifth game is certainly a huge leap forward in the franchise. The gameplay is pretty much the same, but much more polished and refined. The combat always is fast and chaotic, but its so fun taking on large demons and ripping off crazy combos. Alot of people arent fans of button mashers, but if you want to get the most out of the Devil May Cry games, it becomes more than that because you need to learn the combos and string them together for ultimate damage. I will say that the 5th game is probably the easiest in the series (not counting 2, which wasnt that good), which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Some parts in previous games got pretty frustrating, but USUALLY for the right reasons. This game didnt have much frustration, but that also kind of took away from the tension you have in battles. It was the first game where I felt like going to higher difficulty mightve been a better experience. In the other games, the normal mode was plenty hard enough. The story, much like the other DMC games, is very meh. Its not bad, but its pretty generic with cheesy dialogue. That seems to be a theme with Capcom, who never really puts great storytelling at the front of its priorities. For a game like this, maybe it doesnt need to be since Ive already said these games are basically like summer popcorn action flicks....but the story took itself seriously enough that I wish it was a little more coherent and done better. Not just for DMC 5 but pretty much every game in the franchise. The story across the games feels cheap and strung together, and I never really grew attached to any of the characters. The graphics are really nice on PC, and the environments were really done well. While 5 was the overall best looking game by far (as expected), the scope of DMC4 seemed bigger. Outside of all that, the character building and powering up were never a super strong part of the games. Yes, you can gain more power and buy new moves and combos, but none of them felt notably more powerful than others. Some were great looking and fun to pull off, but outside of gaining new weapons with Dante, I never felt like my characters really evolved much. Yes, I increased my health bar and demon bar, but thats about the extent of it. The rest is just buying combos and support items. Bottom line: Honestly, I think this is one franchise that would gain alot from reboot...IF DONE RIGHT. The story in this franchise is such a mess and I feel like starting over and focusing more on the characters and story like God of War did could really send this franchise into the next level. As it stands, Devil May Cry 5 was a really good game, but in kind of a cheap way. Its mindless fun action with not much story worth paying attention to. I enjoyed it, but Im not sure Ill ever return to it. Gameplay: 8.5Story: 5Graphics: 9Value/Replayability: 6Personal Enjoyment: 7 Final Score: 8.2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
43M Posted January 8, 2023 Author Share Posted January 8, 2023 Since its free this month on PS Plus, Im playing.... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shockwave Posted January 8, 2023 Share Posted January 8, 2023 ^ On my 3rd attempt to play through it. Luckily I had on old PS4 version saved so I didn't have to redo those first couple of early levels. The platforming in this game just drives me nuts. So many times I fall to my death when I def should have made it. Also the parry for me is so inconsistent. And why is it so damn hard to get back to my ship all the time????? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
43M Posted January 9, 2023 Author Share Posted January 9, 2023 On 1/8/2023 at 1:32 PM, Shockwave said: ^ On my 3rd attempt to play through it. Luckily I had on old PS4 version saved so I didn't have to redo those first couple of early levels. The platforming in this game just drives me nuts. So many times I fall to my death when I def should have made it. Also the parry for me is so inconsistent. And why is it so damn hard to get back to my ship all the time????? 😆 I agree with all of that. I jump to a pipe, land dead center, and still slip and fall below. I guess thats more realistic than being constantly perfect, but its more bad design than intentional hazards. Im enjoying it, but it certainly has a number of little issues that annoy me. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
43M Posted January 24, 2023 Author Share Posted January 24, 2023 Review As someone who is a fan, but not hardcore fan of Star Wars, I have never rushed out to play Star Wars games simple because they bare the name. I only played the 20 year old Knights of the Old Republic not long ago, and was not overly impressed, but I give it a pass due to age. Still, the story in that game was pretty good and I was hoping for more of the same here, especially since Disney has outright destroyed everything great about that franchise. Im happy to say the story IMO was the best part of this game, and one of the few Star Wars stories I have enjoyed since the original trilogy. I really liked the protagonist, Cal Kestis, and it didnt hurt that he was played by an actor I really liked as well. The story, while not perfect, offered enough Star Wars lore and feel to keep even the most hardcore fans fat and giggly. The graphics were really good and some of the environments were just beautiful and most of the environments oozed of Star Wars. I really loved the design of the characters and monsters too, even though I feel there could have been more variety in the enemy types. Gameplay was USUALLY really fun, although as I get older, I find I really suck at games until I get several hours to really play with it. I feel like if I played through it again, Id have a much more enjoyable time with the gameplay mechanics. There were alot of skills I underutilized or was sure when I could use them effectively. I feel like the game could have done a better job at teaching you those things, but I could have experimented more all the same. The lightsaber gameplay was so much fun, but much like the Witcher 3, I feel like the game wouldve greatly benefitted from more animations, especially kill animations, which you end up seeing the same ones over and over again. Not a major complaint, but still wouldve liked that. Sticking to gameplay and starting to turn slightly negative, the platforming aspects of this game were fun, but sometimes aggravating. The controls were always responsive, but it just felt like some of the platforming elements of this game werent as polished as they should have been. Not BAD, mind you, but just enough to where when you missed a jump, it often felt like it was the result of poor design rather than poor timing on your part. When I jump right at something and my character doesnt latch on or land, it feels kind of cheap. Fortunately, it wasnt immediate death for falling off cliffs or into pits, just some life off your bar. And thats my main gripe about the gameplay overall....it just didnt always feel responsive. So many times, Id hit the up arrow for a stim pack (health), and Id have to hit it several times to make it happen, and there was always a delay. I was hoping at some point, you could acquire a skill that hastened that process, but it never happened. Sometimes I would try to dodge a certain way and it didnt do what I wanted and I ended up dying. And one of my biggest gripes during battle was how annoying the targeting system could be with multiple enemies, because it often took several seconds before the targeting would switch to the closest target, and it cost me my progress a few times. The graphics were nice, but not as great as I thought. I know this is technically a last gen game, but its LATE last gen and I played on PS5, and I feel like there are several games from early PS4 that were better looking, such as Uncharted 4 and Arkham Knight. The graphic textures often lagged momentarily and it didnt look great for a second or 2, but it didnt really ruin the game. I guess I just expected it to look slightly better overall. I wasnt a big fan of the character building stuff either. It just felt very cheap and simplistic, which in general I guess there is nothing wrong with, but it was so barebones and offered no real variety in building your character. And the exploration in the game was just decent, nothing solid. I absolutely hated the holomap at times, as it often did more to frustrated you than actually help you. Finally, one of my biggest annoyances was the loading screens. Im playing this on PS5, and the loading screens were still annoying at points. Id die at certain spots, and it often took 20-30 seconds or more to load me back in, which really annoyed me, especially if I died multiple times in that location. I guess I just wasnt expecting load times like that on the PS5, I guess. Bottom line: This was free to play on PSN, so even if the game wasnt that good, it wouldnt have been a big deal. But the game was quite good....even great at times, but I feel like it couldve been much better. Either way, Im not complaining too much, and I am looking forward to the sequel. Wont play it for awhile, probably, but this was good enough that Im looking forward to continuing my journey with these characters. I just hope the new games offer some improvements in the areas I covered. Gameplay: 8.5Story: 8Graphics: 7.5Value/Replayability: 7Personal Enjoyment: 7.5 Final Score: 7.8 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
43M Posted January 24, 2023 Author Share Posted January 24, 2023 (edited) Im not going to get into anything big until at least April, since I have several things going on between now and then that will require more of my time, but I will still play a few games on PSN in the meantime. Thinking about checking out the Yakuza franchise, since they are pretty much all free on PSN. Edited January 24, 2023 by 43M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKnight82 Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 1 hour ago, 43M said: Im not going to get into anything big until at least April, since I have several things going on between now and then that will require more of my time, but I will still play a few games on PSN in the meantime. Thinking about checking out the Yakuza franchise, since they are pretty much all free on PSN. Do you take requests? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xmad Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 1 hour ago, 43M said: Im not going to get into anything big until at least April, since I have several things going on between now and then that will require more of my time, but I will still play a few games on PSN in the meantime. Thinking about checking out the Yakuza franchise, since they are pretty much all free on PSN. Start with yakuza 0 if you do, it's a prequel and really helps flesh out the later games. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
43M Posted January 24, 2023 Author Share Posted January 24, 2023 2 hours ago, MKnight82 said: Do you take requests? Sure. Cant guarantee Ill like it, but any suggestions are welcomed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKnight82 Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 10 minutes ago, 43M said: Sure. Cant guarantee Ill like it, but any suggestions are welcomed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
43M Posted January 24, 2023 Author Share Posted January 24, 2023 (edited) 1 hour ago, MKnight82 said: I got Resident Evil 4 on Oculus Rift, so Ill be trying that out eventually. Wouldnt mind playing the remake, too. Edited January 24, 2023 by 43M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MKnight82 Posted January 24, 2023 Share Posted January 24, 2023 23 minutes ago, 43M said: I got Resident Evil 4 on Oculus Rift, so Ill be trying that out eventually. Wouldnt mind playing the remake, too. If you have the OG it is perfection. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ty21 Posted January 28, 2023 Share Posted January 28, 2023 Yeah Jedi Fallen Order wasn’t bad and felt refreshing. Likable protagonist, good enough story, era, and setting/s. Worst elements of the game were traversing the map (the further you were from your ship, the more likely you were to spend like an hour just trying to find it again) and as you said the platforming element. Sliding down, timing your jump just for your guy to awkwardly undershoot or sideswipe the rope he needed to grab almost made me go clinically insane. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
43M Posted January 30, 2023 Author Share Posted January 30, 2023 Playing Yakuza 0 right now, and its....fine. Im not a big fan if the fighting gameplay. Feels very cheap and generic, with the same types of battles repeating over and over. It would be amazing if the gameplay was like Sleeping Dogs, and you could use environmental kills and stuff like that. The story and cinematography is top notch, and Im invested enough to keep going with that, but the game itself is just okay. I was hoping for more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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