Devil May Cry 2 is regarded as the worst game in the franchise by fans and critics alike, for numerous reasons. And you know what? I agree. I didn't like this game as much as any of the other ones (and before you even ask, yes, I like DmC), but I still think it's an okay game, albeit very, very flawed. I would normally say something like, "Let's rock, baby!", but I feel this game just doesn't have that sense of cool. So let's begin.

The story of Devil May Cry 2 isn't much to talk about, because it's not very memorable. It takes place in some sort of European country which kind of reminds me of Venice, and involves the main character Dante trying to take down the corporate demon Arius before he can conquer the world...or at least, that's what I got out of it. I don't really remember it that well. Sorry :/ 

Well, now that you know how the story is, you're probably wondering, how's the rest of the game? Now, there I have a lot to talk about. Let's start with the graphics. They're pretty good. The character models are nicely rendered, the cut scenes are decent to look at, and the game runs very smoothly, which is fundamental in an action game like this. The only problems are that the backgrounds are pretty bland without that much variety, and the lighting is darker than Black Ops at night *crosses Call of Duty reference off to-do list*. The music was also pretty nice, but didn't do much for me.

Now that I've gotten those out of the way, now I can talk about the game play. Why is it that I always have the most to say about the game play? Anyways, to sum it up briefly, it's an improvement over the game play of Devil May Cry 1, though at the cost of being excruciatingly easy. Seriously, you could just smash away at the square button for 5 hours and you'll finish the game, unless you decide to switch it up a bit with melee combat, or replay the game with Lucia.

Ah yes, I almost forgot to mention our leading lady, Lucia. The cool thing about her is that you can actually play as her, which sounds fun when you think about it, but from what I've seen, there's little difference in her missions or play style. She's basically like Nero before he came around. Personally, my favorite female character in the franchise is Lady from Devil May Cry 3.

Anyways, back to the game play. My biggest problem with this game is how repetitive it is. Do we go into Devil May Cry expecting a monotonous button-masher? No, we do not. We go into it expecting a stylish Gothic hack-and-slasher with crazy combos and cheesy one-liners. I'll admit, the original Devil May Cry wasn't as stylish as advertised, but it was still more varied than just unloading Ebony and Ivory to the ground, and giving your right thumb similar treatment.

Not only that, this game is really easy to breeze through. Not only are the bosses and enemies pushovers as all you need to do is fire and dodge, but your Devil Trigger is so overpowered. Dante basically turns invincible at that point. 

...However, despite all this bashing of the game, I still find it fun and rewarding, even with the flaws of the game play, and I still feel like I played a Devil May Cry game instead of some easy-breezy platforming shooter. Plus, I never found myself ripping my hair out when playing this game, because it was less stiff than the first game and felt like a much smoother experience. It turned out pretty okay.

Overall, Devil May Cry 2 has lots of flaws, but it's still mildly enjoyable. If you want to play all of the Devil May Cry's, this is at least worth a rental. Despite that, you're much better off just playing the other games in the series.

Thank you for reading, and good night.

There are some really positive things about this review. The details that you give are really well thought out and articulate. Also, I enjoy the personality of the review, especially the sarcasm. 

There are also some things about this writing that I don't like. It feels unorganized. In the future I would like to see a more well defined format. There is no reference to the sub-ratings which helps me to understand your overall rating. There is no overall rating either which, in my opinion, changes this from a review to a fancy opinion. If you haven't already, I suggest you read the stickied review at the top of the game reviews forum called "Advice on writing a good review".

As far as DMC2 goes, I've never played any of them but reading "We go into it expecting a stylish Gothic hack-and-slasher with crazy combos and cheesy one-liners" made me think I might have missed something that is worth playing. Thanks.

I hope you don't think I was too hard on you. I'm only trying to help and I really don't like seeing reviews go unnoticed with no comments. Keep on reviewing.

thephantombrain : Thank you for the game review forum, my good sir. It was very helpful of you. And no, you're not being hard on me at all. I'm willing to take constructive criticism as long as said criticism isn't just bias trolling from noobs, if you know what I mean.
However, I feel I should tell you that not listing categories was intentional. This idea of rambling about every aspect of the game is just my style, and I do try to make it either as interesting or as humorous and personally possible. Your reply is still appreciated.