Ever since Pong arrived on the scene around four decades ago, there have been titles that stood out like a few golden needles in a massive stack of bland hay. This was possible by possessing unique, and sometimes original, features for such games, whether they involve gameplay, art style, or story. But as the years went by, such unique titles have been set aside as the video game industry moved on in technology and popularity; they are still remembered fondly by long-time gamers, sold in specialty stores, and sometimes re-released on anthology disks and in digital stores. Yet companies, often publishers, still search for ways to continue making money off of those titles. One fairly common way of doing so is by rebooting those titles. Reboots of this sort tend to be done by making considerable changes to gameplay mechanics, level design, graphics, art style, and storytelling while maintaining the core concepts of what made the original games special in the first place, reinvigorating them for both old fans and newcomers. While there have been success stories, there have also been many cases in which video game reboots went wrong, tarnishing the reputation of the franchises and, in the worst cases, destroyed the companies responsible for making them. As a more detailed description of this scenario, the following list contains of some the most infamous reboots in video game history, a good number of which have been mentioned in most top five or ten lists of the worst video game reboots around the Internet. It should also be noted that this list is not set in any particular order.
Showing posts with label Devil May Cry. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Devil May Cry. Show all posts
Sunday, February 12, 2017
Saturday, September 3, 2016
The Latest Info on DmC: Devil May Cry, My Latest Thoughts, and My Conclusion on the Game
(Originally posted for The Voice Of Heard on April 19, 2012)
Seven days ago (or perhaps eight days by the time this was posted), a
new trailer and gameplay footage of the video game DmC: Devil May Cry,
set to be released sometime this year, have been revealed at Capcom’s
annual Captivate event. After viewing them a couple of times, all I can say is
this: my impressions are mixed at best and sour at worst. While the graphics
(at least those in the demonic-dimension Limbo) and character modeling have
been updated and polished since last year, the gameplay looks recycled, slow,
and dumbed-down. Ever since the gameplay footage from last year, the enemies
seem easier to fight that the ones in the past Devil May Cry games;
the “small-fry” in this game seemed like even lesser enemies when compared to
the marionettes from the original Devil May Cry and the sin scythes
from Devil May Cry 3. The enemy design doesn’t appear too
threatening either. Before I get into the latest details regarding the story, I
would like to briefly touch upon a movie I’ve seen just a few days ago. That
movie is called They Live, a science fiction action film
made in 1988, staring professional wrestler “Rowdy” Roddy Piper and
directed by John Carpenter. The film itself is a parody of consumer culture in
which all-powerful aliens from a distant planet are running Earth and
manipulating the human population from behind the scenes via consumer products,
the media, and the government. This is done with constant bombardment of
one-to-three-word messages hidden in signs, labels, and magazine pages, saying
things like “Obey,” “Submit to Authority,” “Stay Asleep,” “Marry and
Reproduce,” and “No Independent Thought.” Now what does all this have to do
with DmC: Devil May Cry, you ask? The story in this game, when
taken as a whole, is going to be a consumer culture parody in which
all-powerful forces (in this case, its demons from Limbo instead of aliens from
outer space) manipulate and control humans via consumer goods, the media, and
the government from behind the scenes. When Dante gets dragged into
Limbo, messages appear on billboards and signs saying things like “Spend,”
“Submit to Debt,” “Gluttony is Good,” and “Homeless for You.” The Captivate
trailer also revealed another antagonist that Dante goes up against: a news
anchor for the Raptor News Network, a sort of parody of real-life news anchor
Bill O’Reily and the real-life news network Fox News, who refers to the main character
as a terrorist of the worst kind and “a sexual deviant.” In the latest
game demo featured at Captivate, a plot device that strongly suggests a major
role in the story is Virility, an energy drink presumably engineered by the
demons as another means of subduing the humans. The newly revealed story
details I just discussed is sure to raise questions as to originality and, for
that matter, actually telling a dark mature story as the game is said to tell.
The Latest Update on DmC: Devil May Cry and My Suspicious Impressions
(Originally posted for The Voice of Heard on March 4, 2012)
 |
| The design of Dante's trademark arsenal, the sword Rebellion and the set of handguns named Ebony and Ivory, has been revamped for the upcoming DmC: Devil May Cry. |
Just a few days ago, Side Mission, a blog for the gaming website
Gametrailers, posted an entry regarding newly revealed information about DmC:
Devil May Cry, the latest production of one of Capcom’s most famous video
game franchises under development by Ninja Theory and due sometime this year. That
information consists of a few new details regarding the past of the game’s
revamped protagonist, Dante, and his trademark arsenal, a sword named
Rebellion and a pair of handguns named Ebony and Ivory. Dante has
been described by Capcom as “[An orphaned] young man with no respect for
society in general…[and who is also] caught between the worlds of humans and
demons, [making him feel like] an outcast.” As for the arsenal, the design
philosophy behind it has been described by GregaMan
on the Capcom-Unity blog as:
“[Creating an] impression that they were crafted a long, long
time ago and since their creation they have sent innumerable demons to their
doom.”
“Ebony & Ivory have straight, clean looking barrels that make
them look like contemporary firearms, while the addition of ornate embossing is
used to give the guns a feeling of mystique and uniqueness. As you move into
the grip you can see that the guns have a more fluid, liquid-like look that
adds further mystery and a demonic flavor to their design.”
“Rebellion is designed to look like a powerful sword, with the
detailing in the handle giving it a feeling of historical significance coupled
with a demonic heritage. The same design ethos that was used for the Ebony
& Ivory grips is also true for Rebellion’s hilt, making the weapons match
stylistically.”
Ninja Theory: A Brief History of A Famous/Infamous Video Game Developer
(Originally posted for The Voice of Heard on February 17, 2012)
 |
| The official logo of Ninja Theory, first used on November 14, 2004 when the company was "reincarnated" from Just Add Monsters. |
When I think about the video game DmC: Devil May Cry (set
to be released sometime this year), I wonder whether or not Ninja Theory, the
UK-based developer I mentioned in most of my entries on the game, are qualified
for the remake/reboot produced by Capcom. With that thought in mind I did some
research on the development company, its origins, the people who founded it,
and the games they have created and released so far. For the past few days, I
surfed through various game websites for as many bits and pieces of information
as I could find, jotting down notes as a go. The following information
presented here may not be considered the most accurate to those who know the
company a little better than I do.
How the Discussion and Judgement of DmC: Devil May Cry is Clouded by Speculation, Opinions, and Sensationalism
(Originally posted for The Voice Of Heard on February 14, 2012)
Ever since my post discussing updates regarding the video game DmC:
Devil May Cry, I had wanted to express something that’s been bugging me; I
have been bothered by not only how the game (which is still in development and
scheduled for release sometime this year) is presented but how any
reasonable discussion and judgement of the game is clouded by speculation,
opinions, and sensationalism. Ever since I wrote my
first entry about it, I tried to examine the upcoming remake/reboot to see
if it would really be as good as representatives from the producer Capcom and
the developer in charge of the game, Ninja Theory, had claimed or as bad as
feared among the Devil May Cry fan base without
being muddled by feelings produced as a result of speculation, opinions,
and sensationalism. When I look back upon the entries I’ve written thus far, I
have nothing but doubt that the game would be of any success either critically
or financially. Quite frankly, I no longer see a point in even talking about it
anymore. The updates that have been released so far are minuscule and
provide very
little information about how the game would be any different from and
better than its predecessors. A very short preview article on DmC:
Devil May Cry from the January 2012 issue of Game Informer Magazine
did not help matters either; a majority of comments posted on my original
entry have been nothing but spam and contribute nothing to the whole issue
(perhaps this is due to the fact that my blog is small and thus relatively
unknown on the Internet). Last month, IGN posted an article
stating six reasons why Ninja Theory may be able to make Devil May Cry fresh
again. How these theories will work in practice remains to be seen. The
whole issue itself seems to be depicted an Internet-based mudslinging fest among
a majority of fans and game journalists, a comment fueled war between
bandwagons of-tradition versus-change. Though this is purely speculation based
on opinion, I suspect that this is what Ninja Theory intended this to be as to
detract any serious questioning about the game and how they may
be bullying the Devil May Cry fan base or trying to
induce a sense of guilt in consumers as a way of persuading them into buying
the game when it comes out. I have no evidence that supports this. In
order to make up for the lack of a mature discussion of DmC: Devil May
Cry, I am working on a new entry that examines the history of Ninja Theory
as a company, their track record of the games they made so far, and very brief
backgrounds on the company’s founders. Though it may be a long shot, I hope the
finished entry will help fans decide to see whether or not Ninja Theory is
really qualified for the job of remaking/rebooting the Devil May Cry franchise
once I post it soon.
Original Comment
Luz
March 24th, 2012 at 12:49 am
Haha yea, it was tough to find stuff to talk about.. talking about the story is pertty complex so couldn’t do that.. I played this game loads early last year.. if you notice like it says 2/18/2008 lol. I am like on Hell and Hell.. which is lame.. I really became rusty as you can see in the crappy gameplay lol. Fun game though even though its been over a year.
Updates on DmC: Devil May Cry: Would That Game Be Worth The Money?
(Originally posted for The Voice of Heard on January 14, 2012)
Last year, I published a few entries on a video game called DmC:
Devil May Cry, a remake/rebirth/reboot of Capcom’s franchise
currently being developed by western developer Ninja Theory,
which was responsible for Heavenly Sword and Enslaved:
Odyssey to the West and is now facing massive backlash for
alienating the major Devil May Cry fan base with its
controversial development decisions and question dodging. There has been very
little to no new information as to the game’s current progress in development
since then aside from the few recent news updates. One of those is the release
of three
new gameplay videos just last month, each respectively showing off the
combat gameplay, the world of Limbo becoming alive and trying to kill Dante
(the main protagonist), and something about a so-called “secret area.” Quite
frankly, the idea of a living and active environment may sound interesting,
there wasn’t anything new gameplay wise that would make the game interesting. It
all just seems generic and familiar; by familiar I mean some of
the moves I’ve seen performed by the new Dante in combat seem to
have been lifted straight from Capcom’s last game in the franchise released at
least four years ago, Devil May Cry 4. The message displayed for the
first few seconds of the trailers, “images represent a game still in
development,” didn’t give me much confidence about the game being good either. For
some reason, it seems like DmC: Devil May Cry is being made
for the sole purpose of competing with Sega’s Bayonetta, a game
developed by the original creator of Devil May Cry, Hideki Kamiya. This
concern seems to be reinforced by a
recent interview with one of the producers of Capcom’s American
branch.
Just a few days ago, I have found two significant updates, one of which
may be interesting from a technical perspective but is otherwise minor in the
grand scheme of things; the other update raises a few serious questions and
concerns. In regards to the former update, Ninja
Theory is said to be employing a group specializing in performance capture
technology, which played a role in the creation of James Cameron’s 2010
blockbuster movie Avatar, to create the vocal, facial, and body
movements of the characters in the game. The latter update is an
article from the Official Xbox Magazine (OXM) in which the head developer
of DmC: Devil May Cry, Tameem Antoniades, has revealed that his
team has received numerous death threats in the form of ‘comic books’ and
‘anti-DmC death metal songs.’ When
I read that OXM article a couple of times, a few things have been puzzling and
disturbing me. As I understand it, people who receive death threats usually
report them to the police. Why hasn’t anybody at Ninja Theory done so
when that happened? And how can comic books and death metal songs be death
threats, which are generally messages that say someone threatens to kill
somebody? No examples of these so-called death threats have been given by
Antoniades or anyone else from Ninja Theory, so there is no evidence as to
whether the incident actually happened and thus this information cannot be
evaluated. It seems to me that this death threat is actually a sensational ruse
set up by Ninja Theory for two purposes: attain attention and distract the
gaming audience in order to avoid criticism of any kind regarding the game
itself.
Based on this relatively new information, I have come to the conclusion
that DmC: Devil May Cry may not be worth the money when it comes
out sometime this year. As a gamer, this game just turns me off for its
mediocrity. It also pains me to know how the developers of the game are
dealing with the negative backlash and trying to save face in ways that
alienate gamers. If you find the fairness of this entry questionable, you are
free to address it in the comments below. (Note: Recently, I’ve been
receiving a lot of spam on my first entry of the whole DmC: Devil May
Cry issue. I would really appreciate it if this entry doesn’t
receive spam and instead gets more comments that actually make
contributions to this topic.)
Original Comment
LilianaMarch 24th, 2012 at 9:58 am
i’m a fan of dmc but i disillusioned with this crap how can sctwih to dante for this crap?I am very disillusioned.I expected eager the new dmc, but not anymore, after seeing this shit, I do not think it will be fun to play
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Recent Updates on DmC: Devil May Cry at TGS 2011
(Originally posted for The Voice of Heard on September 20, 2011)
Last week, I have watched a few new videos of DmC: Devil
May Cry, a reboot of Capcom’s popular video game franchise being developed
by Ninja Theory. Specifically, the new videos are a trailer and a gameplay
demo from this year’s Tokyo Game Show (TGS), the latter of which was recorded by a video camera. The videos have revealed a
few new details regarding the gameplay, the setting, the story, and the main
protagonist Dante. Speaking of Dante, his face appears cleaner and less like
Tameen Antoniades, the creative developer at Ninja Theory, than it did in the
debut trailer from last year’s TGS.
Devil May Cry: Reflecting On The Points I Have Made With YouTube Videos
In one of my earlier entries, I have stated that I would add some
videos in order to prove the points I have made regarding Capcom’s video game
franchise, Devil May Cry as a whole and the upcoming reboot by
developer Ninja Theory, DmC: Devil May Cry. I have browsed YouTube
for the videos that best display the gameplay of the old games and the all of
trailers for DmC: Devil May Cry released so far. Part of the
reason I have set up this entry exclusively for the videos is that I am
experimenting with inserting online videos my blog entries. Since
this blog runs on WordPress, this is my first attempt to directly upload the
videos into my entries. As it turns out, the best thing I can do at this time
is to provide links to the videos. I have also posted links to a few
videos by YouTube user EventStatus, which I also did as part on an
entry on journalism. This man has made some interesting points and
observations regarding the whole Devil May Cry reboot issue. Warning:
Some of these videos contain scenes of violence and strong language. Viewer discretion
is advised.
Update 2/17/2012: In December 2011, three additional trailers
were released. I should note that at the beginning of each trailer, a message
is displayed: “images represent a game still under development.” Not much new
information is revealed since the uploading of these trailers took place. Given
the fact that the game is to be released sometime this year, the results of the
final product remain to be seen.
Original Comment
Irina
June 16th, 2012 at 3:59 am
It’s just tough to get used to this new Dante after I have had this image of the old Dante built in my mind for years.It’s not just about being pretty , not that I ever tuhoght Dante was a pretty boy. It’s just about him being cool, looking cool, and talking cool. If it was just about being pretty then Nero would have cut it, but as it turns out, I couldn’t even cope with his character (playing half the game as Nero felt disastrous.)Going way back, I was also disappointed with the second game because I tuhoght they butchered Dante’s personality, luckily they sorted out his personality by the third game. Depend on how this Dante might turn out, I might have yet another reason to hate it. Heh, who am I kidding, I have hated Ninja Theory since forever, so it’s safe to say that any game they develope will be hated by me.Basically, I don’t like how this new Dante is turning out to be, so I won’t be getting this game, since there’s no joy in playing as a character you don’t like. Me hating this team of developers only helps to further assure that I won’t be getting this game. You can go ahead and classify me as a hater and drop that infamous haters gonna hate phrase on me.VN:F [1.9.17_1161](from 0 votes)
Information Regarding DmC: Devil May Cry: An Update
(Originally posted for The Voice of Heard on August 27, 2011)
Since posting my last entry on DmC: Devil May Cry, a reboot
for Capcom’s popular video game franchise being developed by Ninja Theory, I
did a little more web surfing for additional information; some bits of which I
may have known earlier but haven’t posted yet; and others that I haven’t known
before or wasn’t aware of at the time I wrote the entry. After doing a
little more research, I have found some more of the said information
regarding DmC: Devil May Cry.
The Devil May Cry Reboot: The Backlash and A Potential Failure for a Video Game Franchise
(Originally posted for The Voice of Heard on August 22, 2011)
If you have read my entry on journalism, then you may be familiar with the reboot of Capcom’s video game franchise Devil May Cry and the backlash it is receiving from fans for the changes being made under the Western developer Ninja Theory. Before I discuss the issue with the reboot in more detail, I will give a brief history of the past Devil May Cry games.
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