A silver haired man from Capcom hacked, slashed and brooded his way on to our consoles in 2001 and this year he made a return, after a bit of a makeover. Dante has changed the way he looks, but how does the rest of DmC stand up against the Devil May Cry series?

One of the most notable things about the Devil May Cry series is the array of weapons at Dante’s disposal and these could be confusing at first. Thankfully DmC slowly introduces these one at time and shows you how to use them and not in a way that screams tutorial in your face. Each time you acquire a new weapon you are taken to a different plane in which to you need to use it to traverse obstacles or fight new enemies. This technique works well, teaching without condescending and slowly combining the various weapons and creating a learning curve.

There was a worry at first that Ninja Theory, a small and fairly young company from Cambridge, wouldn’t be able to create a game that could handle such complex weapons and fight systems, however DmC is doing just fine. With a helping hand from Capcom the game plays as any other before it and the fights are still varied and complex. As you progress the enemies get harder but the ones you already know don’t just lie down at the flash of a sword. The mix of moves, customisation and varying ways to kill enemies really adds to the re-playability of DmC, as well as the famous scoring system which still gives a small thrill when the big S’ flash up on screen.

Cut scenes flow effortlessly into gameplay and are plentyful enough to carry the story forward, but not so numerous that the game turns into a film you get to interactive with every so often. The story here certainly has a greater role in the game than the original and although the base story is there, it’s very much like an adaptation. Think along the lines of Shakespeare performed via the media of dance. DmC has a more modern and Western storyline too with the evil demons also being the heads of multinational companies in a conspiracy David Icke would be proud of. However, it works. The story is certainly not on the scale of Ninja Theory’s Enslaved: Odyssey to the West but it is more integral to the game than its previous incarnation’s.

After enjoying the original games it was easy to have reservations about a reboot, many series overhauls have been critically slated. DmC however is different; this works. The bones of the game are still very similar but the flesh creates a whole new animal. This Dante is different though, this time he’s louder with much more of an attitude and some points in the game you aren’t quite sure whether to high-five him or punch him. King of the one-liners and puns he can get a little annoying at times, especially if you get stuck on a section and have to listen to the same corny lines over and over.

The negatives of this game are certainly the minor points though and as a whole Ninja Theory have done a really good job on DmC. If you were a fan of the original games, or simply a newcomer, DmC is a definitely one to pick up. Unless you’re offended by changing hair colour, of course.

DmC: Devil May Cry is available now for XBOX 360, PS3 and PC.