Well, it's really fun so far. I'd say they improved everything but the combat + dialogue/story. I guess that leaves the level design, platforming, and graphics...they are great.
The combat is close but feels like its missing the special sauce. Two buttons for dodge, two different chains, weapon change with button combinations...I feel these things limit the new Dante's move possibilities (along with other small things like, um, no styles.) The enemies certainly take their time to attack (on Nephilim) and when they're about to attack, they lift their glowing weapon for 2 seconds, THEN the attack comes out.
I'm losing health on platforming and screwing up devil dodge timing because I'm sitting there waiting for the whole attack wind-up. And for a game that wanted to simplify and streamline, these controls are pretty complicated. They're lacking the finesse of the old games. My hand has to wrangle around to get in position to do a demon dodge...I don't get what the problem would've been with putting dodge on something else. Taking out lock-on certainly messed with the controls. Compared to DMC, all this is a sure step down. On its own merits, pretty good combat system! Way more fun than GoW or Darksiders by a long shot.
The story/cut scenes are a waste...this is the only thing I can say I hate about the game. You can't have someone say what the old Dante says but without any of the overblown ego or smart ass voice behind it. That makes me think the game wants me to take what he's saying seriously. Right now, the game's story and dialogue are totally deviant art recreation of a "darker, more complex" Devil May Cry. Maybe old Dante has a bit of out-of-touch Japanese quirkiness to it that doesn't quite fit into the hyper-marketed age of dudebro gaming, but what we got instead can't be called better by any measure. The voice actors are totally wooden because the writing is so bad...
It's a shame they had to make it a Devil May Cry game because that's what I'm comparing it to as I play. It doesn't help that the game almost feels exactly like a DMC game outside of combat. You do the usual orb collecting, platforming, etc. and during all this it feels like DMC. Then you get into combat or a cut scene and its DmC. The combat is still the best in a western action game yet (now the title sort of means something.)
