Post by Bytor on Jun 17, 2010 1:07:16 GMT -5
-Visuals- 8.7/10
Wow...I'm not so sure that any game has ever shown such a huge difference in the good and the bad. At times the game is unreal great, some of the presentations are awesome to say the least, for example when you absolve or punish a soul, and the bosses are almost all rendered really, really nicely. Then at times the game seems to forget how good it can be and you are faced with a fight where the camera angles are so bad you are simply guessing and what is going on or the colors are so bad you seriously cannot tell exactly where you actually need to go next. However, having said that I still think the graphics are overall very nice. One really strong point, IMO, was the cut scenes, which were often 2D and done with a certain gothic feel which I thought added soooo much to the overall feel of the game. It was almost as if you were watching actions which happened in the past with a look through stained glass, which fit the religious overtones/motifs wonderfully.
-Sound- 8.0/10
The sounds are done nicely without taking over the game which I liked. The backgrounds noises and the souls wailing are all excellent and the NPC's are also well done, I simply wish Dante's was acted as good as the vast majority of the other characters, to me he simply sounded a bit weak and pitiful to be honest.
-Gameplay- 9.0/10
I am going to disagree with many other reviewers I've read about this aspect of the game. I feel, that yes, the battles, for the most part didn't require a ton of button pushing. However, with somewhat simplistic controls I feel the game did a much better job than similar games in this type of genre. For the most part two or three buttons mashed separately or in combo executed some very, very nice attacks. This simplicity allows you to enjoy the fights without having to memorize 5-6 button combination's. It was still challenging without making my fingers and my head hurt. I also, loved the idea that you punish or absolve souls/demons and gain extra points on your holy or unholy gauge, each of which had different attacks/defenses etc based upon the level you achieve and the souls collected. While some may argue I feel this, along with the story was the strong point of the game. Now, to the bad part....the puzzles, while for the most part pretty easy were way too black and white. For instance, if you have to run/jump across a bridge that is tumbling down you either get it exactly right or you die. Now, this would be fine if it was an occasional obstacle but it simply, for me, happened way,m way too often. I felt I'd spend 20 minutes figuring exactly how to jump and/or climb and then once I did the level was a joke, I'd have liked a little more lee-way in this, it would have been nice to sometimes (read sometimes!, after all, sometimes I should have died, but not almost every time) simply have fallen and had have to try again instead of simply being dead and having to start all over. Still overall, I feel the advancement system of increased attacks and defenses was done very nicely.
-Story- 9.5/10
You play as Dante, a crusader who did a bad thing in the Holy Lands, thus, your wife, Beatrice is taken to Hell and you decide to , with Virgils's help (the story is loosely based on Dante Alighieri's "The Divine Comedy") invade Hell and rescue her. The story is great, I was totally immersed and was taken by ever step and evolution it presented. Now, one word of caution, this game is rated M, and for once I can, and will agree, it's for a good reason. Whether it's for shock value or to add to the adult them, I tend to lean towards the latter, it is not for kids as it takes many liberty's and has some rather graphic scenes to say the least. Still, having said all of that I found the entire story which evolved to be fantastic.
-Overall- 8.9/10
A really, really, really good game, assuming you like the story and the gameplay, if not, it's still a good game but nowhere near as high as I rated it. Seriously it is somewhat of a niche game, people who love the storyline will love it, otherwise it will seem to others as a "poor-man's" God of War.