Devil May Cry HD Collection on PS4 – The DVDfever Review

Devil May Cry HD Collection is out now and there’s been a lot of love for this series, ever since they were released on PS2, 17 years ago, in 2001. They used the ever-popular static environments with animated characters, much like the Onimusha & Resident Evil series of games. This design was down to hardware limitations at the time.

This collection has previously been released by Capcom on the prior generation of consoles (PS3 & Xbox 360) with a HD makeover and a bit of bonus content, but what we have now is further upping of the resolution from 720p to 1080p and a silky smooth 60 frames per second. The thing is… that’s it. Nothing else has been done with this HD collection. Unlike Shadow of the Colossus, Crash Bandicoot and Burnout Paradise as examples where considerable work was done to remaster classic older games, Capcom have just upped the resolution, put it onto a disc (or digital whichever you prefer) and released it to the masses.

This is the first time the first two games have been released on PC, and the third game you can play with ease instead of having to jump through hoops to get it working properly on modern hardware and Operating Systems. I had tried many a time, following guides to try getting DMC 3 to run with no luck. Either way, I digress – this is the PS4 version review, not PC!

The games, themselves, follow the story of Dante and his brother Virgil. Their father was a Legendary Demonic Knight who turned sides to save the human race from Mudus and his legion, single-handedly. Dante and Virgil reside in the modern day, Dante being a demon hunter, with a shop named Devil May Cry, which he uses as a base of operations and is usually where each game starts out.

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Devil May Cry HD Collection – Devil May Cry Gameplay Walkthrough – Shirrako

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The first 3 games are the same as what they always have been. Instead of seamless open areas, you have the game split down into missions. Each mission is located in a fixed specific area (occasionally revisiting areas once you unlock something). Here you will encounter numerous enemies which get tougher the further you get into each game, plus various puzzles to open doors and whatever else, and the occasional boss thrown in for good measure.

DMC 1 game sees you working your way through a remote castle in pursuit of Mundus. Said castle is inhabited by possessed mannequins – enemies which look like the Grim Reaper, plus numerous large bosses such as a giant fire spewing spider and a knight who appears hree different times to try and off you. It reminds me of the setting of the first Resident Evil, with the mansion and grounds. It makes for a great first outing for the series and introduces the characters. You will get a good 11 hours or so play as the game has around 24 missions to complete, not forgetting hidden side missions.

The second game had two different directors. Apparently, Capcom weren’t happy with the way the game was going so Hideaki Itsuno (DMC Reboot, Street Fighter Alpha, Power Stone 1 & 2) was brought in halfway through development. The game itself has 2 separate campaigns: You have Dante with around 20 missions, and Lucia who has another 14 or so. The gameplay is similar to the first game, but there are less puzzles and the combat feels a lot more free-flowing with the inclusion of a dodge/roll to make getting out the way easier. This game does follow on directly from the first one in the series, but a lot of die-hard fans of the first game tend not to like it as much. Personally, I prefer this over the first, as it just feels slicker and it is a bit easier to rack up the combos.

Devil May Cry 3 set is before the events of the first game. It sees Virgil construct a tower in the middle of the city where Dante is setting up the Devil May Cry shop. Of course, this not being ideal, Dante sets of to reach the summit of the tower, battling demons along the way and stop Virgil’s plans. Once again, the gameplay and controls have been tweaked with fast combat and a good range of weapons. This game also sees the introduction of limited camera control. In some scenes, you can pan the camera left or right to look around the area.

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Devil May Cry HD Collection – Devil May Cry 2 Gameplay Walkthrough – Shirrako

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Now the problem I have with this collection is that, on PC, there is no 4K support, and all three versions of the games are running 1080p. There has been no work done to restore the pixelated cutscenes, the textures at times are just plain ugly and low resolution but upscaled, the character models look half-decent if a little raggy. Once again, nothing has been done except upping the resolution. I have also read that the missing effects from the PS3 version are also missing here. I did get the first game free on PC via Amazon Prime and Twitch, and the PC version running at 1080p is exactly the same as the PS4 version.

Overall, you have three decent older games which have had a bare minimum port done to bring them to modern systems. At times, the camera is just plain obnoxious and I found myself flicking from edge to edge of two screens before realising you have to change the direction on the controller! If you have never played the series, I would say for the price you can’t go wrong, as there is plenty content to be going through. However, if you own the collection already on the previous generation, or the PS2 originals, then there’s nothing new to really see here.

Thanks to the Youtube channels featured for the gaming footage.

Devil May Cry HD Collection is out now PS4, Xbox One and PC/Steam, and click on the packshot for the full-size version.

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Devil May Cry HD Collection – Devil May Cry 3 Gameplay Walkthrough – Shirrako

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Important info:

• Developer: Capcom
• Publisher: Capcom
• Players: single player

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GRAPHICS SOUND GAMEPLAY ENJOYMENT	6 7 7 6.5
OVERALL	6.5

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