E3: Devil May Cry impressions

[05.17.01] » Be cool.

   The Shinji Mikami pedigree led many to assume that his new project, Devil May Cry, would follow in the survival horror footsteps that he made famous with the Resident Evil and Dino Crisis series. However, a more apt description would be similar to the recently released Zone of the Enders: fast, sexy, pretty, and fun.

   The demo starts with Dante already inside a building of some sort, possibly the same mansion already seen in previous demos and footage. Once in, it's more or less nonstop action until the demo ends. Dante has his swod and twin guns, and they're very smooth to use. Pressing triangle will always have Dante swing his sword, whether the guns are out or not. To draw the guns, hold L1, and from there simply press the square button to shoot. Dante can move around at all times while firing or swinging his sword, making the game even faster paced. At one point during the demo, Dante also finds a shotgun for more firepower, letting him blow away enemies with ease.

   And there were plenty of enemies to blow away. Monsters were generated from infinite spawn points; the only thing that would clear an area would be to trigger the flag that stopped the spawning. Usually the trigger would be to find an item or unlock a door, although it doesn't seem as if the game will be very focused on puzzle solving.

   Finally, the all-too-short display concluded with a battle against a huge spider-like boss who alternated between trying to jump on Dante and sending large pillars of flame through the floor. After defeating the spider, the game simply ended with a "To be continued" screen. Though short, it wasn't unsatisfying, and the final game should be, as Capcom kept stressing, "very cool."