I like to believe that I was one of a dedicated handful of people genuinely thrilled from the beginning that Ninja Theory was collaborating with Capcom on DmC, its upcoming Devil May Cry reboot/prequel. I like to believe this because while the internet was collapsing on itself like a dead star in its death throes after the initial announcement, I was waving the flag for people threatening all sorts of real life bad things on Capcom and Ninja Theory to shut it and wait for at least a demo to hit before running off at the mouth. I certainly didn’t mind the mug shot of the “emo” Dante or the screenshots and later game movies that showed things shaping up quite well, but still the skeptics railed on. As i didn’t go to E3 this year, as soon as I heard Capcom was dropping into NYC with four upcoming titles, you know I was there in a heartbeat…

And so, dear readers, let’s just say that after some quality time with the demo, DmC is coming along quite nicely and both scenarios were a total blast to play. Sure, the “problem” with nearly any game demo is it’s rarely going to represent the true quality of the final product as many things change during the development process. Hell, the best demos are stitched together like a Frankenstein monster from bits and pieces of a game that’s a long way from being completed. That said, if the demo is any indication of how insanely fun the final product will be, all that bile being spewed online and off will have been for naught. The demo did an excellent job of introducing a younger Dante (who’s still a smart-ass whenever possible) and some lightning-fast gameplay that should please fans of the franchise. Like previous games in the series, DmC isn’t taking its story too seriously, throwing Dante into a weird world where a demon innard-infused soda is sort of interfering with humans who ingest the popular beverage. Our hero is having none of this and sets out to find the factory that makes it and put it out of business.

In the demo, Dante gets yanked into the Demon world courtesy of a public camera that spots him and warps him into the realm. It’s a great visual effect when you shapes of humans still strolling around and going about their business as Dante now has to deal with a warped map complete with crumbling streets, walls that slam in as he approaches and of course, a bit of combat plus doing a bit of deft platforming and minor puzzle solving. Par for the course, controls are fluid, combat is thrilling and yes, fairly deep once you get into it. While you can jam on the basic attack button all you like, it’s not going to get you very far (nor score you the higher rankings you probably want). Taking out certain enemies requires timing and appropriate weapons usage, but as any fan of the series knows, making these moves second nature is key to survival.

As for his Dante, he’s indeed armed with his familiar sword, Rebellion and yes, twin pistols Ebony & Ivory, but he’ll also have Angel and Demon weapons that can make short work of foes and even help him navigate around the environments. The first part of the demo was basically a tutorial that showed the ropes while allowing for a nice variety of moves to be practiced. The Angel and Demon gear comes into play during platforming sequences where you need to reach out of the way platforms, and Dante also has a dash/glide move that can help him cross seemingly impossible gaps. That move came in handy at one point when Dante entered a church that turned into crazy, but brief run and jump section that had me laughing and strangling the controller simultaneously until I somehow survived the trip to the next part of the stage.

After taking a break from that terrifying run for the border, there was a boss battle to attempt against a giant 1200-year old demon slug grandma with a nasty attitude that rivaled Dante’s. She’s actually the “secret ingredient” in that aforementioned drink, and Dante isn’t shy about letting the insults fly as soon as he lays eyes on her.  Their exchange is hilarious and expletive packed, but hey, it’s an M-rated game and the developers are rolling with it. I’ve actually read some fake “outrage “at the  dialog in this sequence along with the use of the vernacular in a few other scenes in the game and I have to give the finger to the children bitching about this content for a second. Hey, kids – maybe you shouldn’t be playing a game made by adults for adults? You get off on blood and gore, but the minute your ears burn from a simple curse or you see a half-naked gal in a cut scene, you’re flying off the handle as if someone shot your dog and mom at the same time from a UFO. Get over yourselves, or hell, maybe realize that being a bad prude isn’t good for enjoying certain types of entertainment.

Anyway, the boss battle was a war of attrition with Dante needing to get in damage to the boss’ hands, feet and a glowing red spot on her head, dodging attacks, then quickly grappling away to one of two other platforms to the left or right of the main one when she vomited a messy amount of Dante-killing bile. Things got interesting when the demon lost half its lengthy health bar, as it receded back into the center of the room and two cables were exposed on either side. Those needed to be pulled down one at a time using Dante’s Demon weapon, but yanking the first one sent the boss into a fury as she smashed one of the platforms and triggered the second part of the fight. This part was slightly trickier with only two platforms to hop between, but once a rhythm was set up and certain moves were pulled off, it was only a matter of time before the big slug went down for good. There’s a definite hardcore appeal to the gameplay that’s going to please the most skeptical out there once they try it.

One thing’s clear here, though. You won’t be breaking a controller over your head thanks to objects in the environment blocking your view. From what i played and saw, Ninja Theory has done a bang-up job with the controls and camera, although you really need to pay attention while looking for platforms to grapple to, as some will be higher than you’d normally look. Then you get used to that and it’s all about gauging the dash jumping correctly, then discovering the range of the Angel and Demon weapons and so forth and so on. For me, the game WORKS because it’s equally about learning new skills as well as using ones you’ve picked up from previous installments or similar action games. I never ask how long any game is, as that’s up to a player’s skill level, patience and hell, how long they decide to sit in front of their TV and how many times they go back to a game they enjoy. But I’m gathering after seeing more footage and screens elsewhere that Dante’s new adventure will have a lot less repetition than his last one.

By the end of both parts of the demo, I was exhausted, but in a good way and in a really fine mood as I felt vindicated for sticking up for all involved from day one. January 15, 2013 is the game’s release date (PS3, Xbox 360 and PC) and that’s plenty of time for Capcom to get some more of the angry crowd back on board. They’re probably not going to convince everyone (and that’s too damn bad for those stubborn gamers out there), but I’ll do my part here to spread the word on how much fun and challenging the game is turning out to be.