The combat system is fine-tuned from previous DmC games and runs at a solid pace, there’s a lot going on and it can be a little confusing at times to keep an eye on everything. Boss fights are often puzzle based with the usual stacks of health and changing patterns of attack. It keeps things fresh and that’s one thing you can say about the new DmC, it certainly is a fresh take on the series.

The game has collectables to discover and secret doors to unlock, behind which are special secret missions (which offer rewards) – keys unlock these doors, and there are lost souls to free. Once you open all secret doors, find all keys and lost souls on each mission you earn a permanent style bonus for that level. You can replay missions for bonus score and upgrades.

Control is smooth and the input feels just right, once you get the hang of the combat system it’s pretty easy to do some pretty amazing moves in the game and keep those long-chain combos flying in. Just remember that a repeat move doesn’t give you as much score when you perform it again and again and can cause the style rank to drop quicker.

So switching weapons, moves and using firearms all adds up quickly to a high score.

Graphics

The Unreal Engine has been put to good use here and DmC is a really good looking game. The level of visual fidelity on the characters is top notch and the environments are really well textured and designed. The frame-rate remains steady throughout and even when things are so insanely eye-bleeding as to surround Dante with loads of enemies, it doesn’t falter one bit. It’s also nice to see that the slow-load texture pop-in which often plagues many Unreal Engine games has been eliminated from DmC. There are some great special effects and visual treats in the game. The new visual design for everything is pretty solid and we like the new look Dante.

Animations

The animations in DmC are fast and fluid, everything is well animated and the cut-scenes have some really great character to them. Facial animations are excellent and the range of expressions and emotions comes across really well.

AI

The AI in DmC is solid and it has a variety of attack patterns. There are cheap throw-away enemies who will rush you, those who hang back, those who use devastating close attacks and numerous other tricks to break your flow and resolve. Ground enemies, aerial enemies and bosses all have their own signature move which they employ to great effect to whittle down Dante’s health bar.

Physics

Some objects break but the physics in the game controls the weight of blows in combat, they feel meaty enough and nothing feels floaty or disconnected.

Audio

DmC has good quality audio with some great sound effects, spot effects and ambient effects in the game. Everything sounds good, crisp and clean.

Music

There is a mix of traditional DmC style music and some Dubstep in the game along with Tecno-beats and more. The music can be a little jarring at times but it fits with the new edgy Dante and co, along with the world they live in.

Voice/Dialogue

The voice work is really top notch in the game and the influence of Alex Garland has not done DmC any harm whatsoever. The script is pretty good and the writing is certainly more evolved than previous DmC games, with the characters sounding a lot more coherent (apart from certain scenes where things are a little over the top) – there’s nothing overly wrong with the script and it’s good for the style.

Multiplayer

Single player only with Leaderboards.

Dante’s Infernal

We like the new DmC, it is a bold and pretty trippy (at times) step for the franchise. The combat system is good, the graphics are top notch and the story is solid enough to carry the whole thing. We’ve seen the various reviews and accusations too about scores being paid for; since we’re all gamers here at Games Xtreme we just have one thing to say: we have no phat stacks of cash thank you very much. We think the new DmC owns and that’s the biggest endorsement we can give it.