DmC: Devil May Cry “fans” are a crying shame

@Poly

Waits for “WankStation4″ to appear…

@343
@345
Wait, let me get this straight!
You write an article criticizing people PERSONALLY for their opinions, and then get surprised when they retaliate?

Maybe you need to learn about context before you try to talk to people.

@348: “He refused my opinion”? You mean like, he disagreed with you?

@351 Uuuh… write what article? I didn’t write any article.

@350

I’d tell you not to bother, but what fun would that be?

@352
Well you certainly don’t act like it.

@350

This is the crux of it. Im sure Brenna knew full well what she was doing,

makes it even more amusing when people try and White Knight and defend her.

Acting as if she needs to be wrapped in cotton wool, jesus get some perspective…

@350 Its astounding isn’t it? They keep saying that the DmC haters are terrible people when most of their comments here have been the very picture of civility, taking time out of their days to write long comments explaining their opinions in depth while these people keep attacking them personally and saying ‘its just about the hair’.

Its hypocritical at best.

@554 *We* need to get perspective? You’re the one who think we’re “white knighting” just because we happen to agree with her.

Trust me, if there’s one thing Brenna doesn’t want, it’s a white knight.

previous devil may cry games have been a million times better… thought this was a news website, not a journalists tell the very people that keep them in a job they are dickheads website… fuck that

@356

Agree with the contents of the article (as in, you really think Brenna actually means all this especially after her Tomb Raider piece), or,

Agree it’s flamebait click whoring?

Do you personally want to see more of this (apart from click revenue) on VG247?

Do you have articles like this on your website?

How would you approach someone who asked you to publish this article on your site?

@351 I think he meant that Dave blew him off or something.

@356
Why do you agree with her?
The article is anti-consumer, hit bait, and flat out wrong. It assumes that the biggest issues is about Donte’s hair when it’s only a tiny portion of the issues surrounding it.

You really are the lowest common denominator aren’t you?

@358 “Agree with the contents of the article (as in, you really think Brenna actually means all this especially after her Tomb Raider piece) or Agree it’s flamebait click whoring?”

Agree with the contents of the article.

“Do you personally want to see more of this (apart from click revenue) on VG247?”

Yes. The more honesty in journalism the better.

BTW, VG247 isn’t monetised through click revenue / page hits. One of the staff have confirmed this fact to me already.

“Do you have articles like this on your website?”

Plenty, although we’re more about the reviews right now than articles.

“How would you approach someone who asked you to publish this article on your site?”

I would tell them that if that’s what they want to write, go for it.

@360 “You really are the lowest common denominator aren’t you?”

Since I don’t agree with your superior intellect and flawless logic (lawl), clearly I must be.

“Of course it’s “just a game”, and certain people are purely here to discuss that.

For others, myself included, this article just highlights some of the shitty practice in ‘click generating’ we are starting to see dominate gaming websites.”

I hear what your saying MG. Really. But scoop back a sec. I don’t blame them for tossing out a piece of raw meat to rabid readers. I have done baiting several times in my posts, so good at saying outlandish things that many folks think I am serious. To me, really it isn’t about what side I am representing about some issues, and more about getting people to engage in talking about said issues.

In this case, no doubt a shot was taken at fans of the franchise that have been outspoken about the new game. But as if spot on, those said fans went crazy instead of taking it all in stride. Kind of funny really. Because it just a game after all.

@361
Well, I’m glad you finally admitted it. It’s the first step to not being a stagnant tool.

@361

Well, fair play if you stand by that.

If you honestly believe this is her actual opinion even after the Tomb Raider piece then I hope she appriciates your support and offers the same on your website when you need it.

@362

I know what your saying OG, my girlfriend writes for a few site’s and we often disscuss flame baiting articles to generate hits especially to get noticed.

It’s sad these disscussions even have to take place and you have to think in this way when breaking onto the scene.

Thing is, Brenna has a job and is established, I just can’t see the benefit of an article like this other than too generate bad blood.

And thats not what I come to this site to see.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151433912850850&set=a.10150972483125850.484517.47176210849&type=1&theater&notif_t=like

A few weeks, if not months ago, there was a lot of talk about the integrity of games journalism on this site. You guys were almost ashamed of its practices. And now here we are.

It’s a damn shame really. I’ve been coming to this site for 3 years now but I had never bothered to make an account. But this is just… wow.

I’ve been reading a bit into the comments as well too on this particular article, something I tried to avoid in the past. Once again, here my only reaction is wow…

@366

Except the two articles completly contradict each other?

Begs the question wether she just pulled all this out of thin air?

Both are fine pieces, but to build up a rapport with a writer you kind of have to believe in their convictions, especially on opinion pieces.

You kind of have to stand by and stick to those opinions.

Thats why I said they need to be handled with care, thats just basic y’all.

IMO Dave Cook surfs the line quite well and stops it becoming a mess.

@367 Yeah, how dare they present an article on their honest opinion of gamers in our culture.

DAMN CHARLATANS!

Ever since the DmC reboot was announced, apparently a re-skinning of a hack n’ slash Ninja Theory had been pitching for ages, I’ve tried to keep quiet about it. Because it looked ruddy awful to me – lacking everything I’d loved and appreciated in the series to date, and a total betrayal of a character I’d held close to my heart for a substantial portion of my formative years. There. I’ve said it. DmC, from reveal to reveal, has looked like nothing but utter rubbish, and I have been quietly anticipating giving it a critical savaging of such righteous fury that game director Tameem Antoniades will have to put his laptop in the freezer and cry himself to sleep. I’m not a very nice person, I’m afraid, especially where “my” games are concerned.

@369

Well her ‘honest’ opinion on Tomb Raider was:

“Don’t mess with my games!”

Now I just don’t know what to believe…?!

Oh, wait a minute, I do:

She is click generating and doesn’t really care either way about DMC fans.

@371 She’s just mad because Lara’s breasts are smaller.

seriously. where are all this guys spawning from? i hope most of them wont stay! as much as i want this page to be successful…it became a bit shitty in the comment section for a while now but this really is a new level. monkey painted that eurogamer+ picture. now i will have nightmares

let me compare to halo 4 again. i think it fits. respected franchises, huge dedicated fanbase, new dev team. they changed a lot of things in halo 4 too. made quite drastic changes in the multiplayer department. i am a halo fan. halo 4 was my biggest disappointment last year. BUT i still think it was a good game, a very good game even. 343 deserve credits for it. just because i didn’t like some changes 343 made, it doesn’t mean it is a shit game. i really think that’s the point here too. DmC is not a bad game. some fans have been spoiled. they fail to see that maybe not the game itself has been hurt…but their egos.

@373 Halo 4 didn’t have someone killing a pregnant woman by shooting her in the womb, then as she realizes what has happened and starts screaming in grief they shoot her in the head.

And then the main character – who is supposed to be sympathetic, brags to the baby’s father about how much he enjoyed seeing it blown into ‘wet chunks’

This isn’t respect of anything. Not even common decency.

Here, watch these.

-Donte breaks in to Mundus’s wife’s club, punching out an innocent bouncer on the way
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE3SMyv_zvY&feature=youtu.be&t=2m45s
-Donte beats up and kidnaps said wife and child, then holds them for ransom (as seen at the end of the video)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgrfl02IJVA&t=2m40s
-Instead of keeping their word, Donte’s boss and brother, Vorgil, shoots the wife in the womb, then as soon as the realization that her child is dead has set in kills her too
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4iFeNq8ClI&t=2m
-Donte brags about how good it felt to watch Mundus’s kid be ‘blown into wet chunks’

@373 POLY

I think it comes with Ad revenue Poly, although I won’t pretend to know how it works.

The opinion piece’s have steadily increased with the scale of the adverts and as Dave came in.

As he stated himseilf his previous job was to seek google hits (can’t remember his exact description), and, although he’s had a few shakey ones, generally his opinion piece’s are well managed.

After the disclosure and transparency thing at least things got a bit better but creating ‘flame bait’ and leaving it hanging without ever finding out if it’s the writers ACTUAL feelings I don’t like so much.

Like I said before, It needs to be handled carefully in gaming circles these days (just look at the Dead Island tit torso story).

Lot’s of people out to get hits for advertisers over quality content.

I just hope stuff like this doesn’t happen too often, but hey, who knows.

If it happens much more, i’ll just drift off to another site (or though good ones are becoming hard to find).

It just seems, the bigger a site gets, the more garbage starts to appear, but I guess thats the same with anything really. O__o

@373 You think this is bad?

Check this out: http://www.quartertothree.com/fp/2012/11/04/halo-4-is-half-the-game-it-should-be/

They’re probably swarming in from N4G or links from people who saw the article else. News can spread like wildfire across the internet. It’s a crazy process to watch, like a giant… well… web.

@376

Yep, people sure do flood in.

Those dang opinion pieces!

This is what generally happens if they aren’t managed in a fairly sensible way.

Basically, it’s a win / win for the original posting site.

@IM: wow…that link…lol.

@monkey: i hear you but i actually buy it…i think the opinion pieces are just that. .

dave can get mad pretty fast and thats good shows passion.

i am a bit sceptical too though. this is a great page and it keeps growing. this is all cool, but i hope the vg247 crew will be able to keep growing and still stay awesome. this isn’t easy, maybe it’s impossible even. i really think they try though.

@374 why are you looking for characters that aren’t human to show sympathy amoungst other creatures that also aren’t human? Sympathy isn’t neccessarily a trait thats held in the lore of demons and angels

@IM: really, thanks for the link, very entertaining, will fully read that later. bookmarked it under: HaLOL 4

Also, pregnant woman? Or feminine humanoid demon?

@374 the master chief kills grunts too – in huge numbers- they are cute, loyal, underpowered, almost defenseless actually and have a good heart.

he also killed those little flood babies and talks to a fake naked woman all the time.
a naked woman that expires…how offensive is that?

@378

I hope so!

It’s not just this site, it’s gaming media in general IMO.

Torso Tits
No More Russian
Muslim Toilet
Lara Rape
Girlfriend Mode
Planet Gaylord
3DS Piracy
Wii U shitty graphics
Explosion on a subway
No female marines
Bin Laden’s secret mission

These are just the ones i can think of at the moment. All examples of blown up bullshit stories or crappy PR tactics to gain publicity…

Yeah, gamings not great at the moment!

Articles like this really rub me the wrong way; as others have mentioned addressing the issue in this manner is no better than the vocal minority against DmC.

For the record I am not a fan of DmC – I was however a fan of DMC1 and 3:

Have I played the full game? No.
Do I dismiss that it could be a good game? No – to an extent.
Have I sent a barrage of death threats to Ninja Theory?
No. Do I wish this whole matter was executed better? Yes!

While I disagree with DMC being tired that doesn’t mean the reboot approach that DmC took was ultimately the right decision. Original Dante was somewhat one dimensional as a ‘party’ character but the newer Dante (regardless of hair colour) is equally one dimensional – unfortunately that dimension is just as polarising – if not more so than the original Dante.

While previous Dante was polarising for some players due to his goofiness this new Dante is polarising through his action, demeanour and dialogue and as a result comes off as worse as he becomes a marmite character of the worst type – fans of his ‘edgy’ persona will lap up his actions and form the basis of a new Dante and it’s possible that sequels will come that cater to those new fans – and that’s a big issue.

Alex Garland – writer of Enslaved has been on record saying that Tameem’s vision of Monkey was “a total c**t” as what Tameem saw as badass others just see as ruthless or downright being an ass – and that shows in DmC. The new Dante will always have this stigma attached to him as his actions aren’t exactly endearing due to his dialogue.

Generally speaking sequels benefit from having the origin story out of the way and can instead focus on developing the characters further and making their actions bigger and more out there. DmC (ignoring the stupid hair colour debate) has already divided fans with its vocabulary (“I’m your prom date you ugly sack of shit”) and actions (the hostage exchange with Virgil which feels sick for the sake of it); what could a no-holds barred sequel do to ramp up the crazy and raise the stakes – at what point does the novelty of a gritty DmC reboot with a ‘serious’ story become too much and too sick to the point it can alienate even the original fans. When will Dante become obnoxious or a character no-one can relate to.

Some may say this rant is purely about the story – and that’s true but the article in question here doesn’t even address the issues fans may have with the gameplay. It’s the Mass Effect 3 debacle all over again where some of the more rational complaints surrounding the game are lost in a sea of brain-dead ‘we don’t like the ending’ comments. In the same way some are simply parroting the colour of Dante’s hair being the wrong colour as the main issue.

My beef with DmC concerns the gameplay and the story:

I don’t mind simplified gameplay but here the core mechanics are Heavenly Sword with a style meter – doesn’t mean it’s bad but it’s simply not what I want.

I don’t like how manual lock-on is taken away – mainly because it removes gameplay opportunities; the bosses may be visually impressive but they aren’t interesting in terms of gameplay and the greater majority are big targets or big targets who break up the fight with smaller minions – for a DMC game, reboot or not, that is just poor.

The writing which was praised comes across as poor in my mind – was it really necessary to have Kat mention that squirrel semen is one of the ingredients in her spray can for entering limbo? Or have Virgil say ‘his dick is bigger’; It feels like one of those parody films which just does jokes or skits for shock value and comes across as juvenile – Not to say DMC was award winningly written but it never went for shock value and cheap ‘sick’ shots.

You mention how it doesn’t matter as we still have the original titles but this may be the end of traditional DMC. DmC is a critical success like it or not and if this succeeds financially there is no doubt we will get a DmC2. Soon the Dante from DMC4 will be long gone and in cross over titles and merchandise it will be all about the new Dante. I have already established Dante and the new tone is a marmite series so how far will a sequel go?

Is it a good, fun game? Possibly. But DmC is not DMC – it shares the same title but they will hold different legacies and fanbases due to the polarising direction the reboot has taken. You can’t dismiss someone because they like or dislike one game you happen to hold the opposing opinion of.

I’m sick of every journalist taking pot shots at DMC fans because of the vocal minority of fans who oppose change.

I am not against change – that doesn’t mean I can’t dislike change – and on the other side someone may appreciate the change. DmC happened. Too bad, but DmC fans please take the time to realise that just because you appreciate the direction it has taken that does not universally mean it is objectively better and that as a result the events of DmC may overtake those of DMC and become the new standard. Dante now has two flavours of crazy – I just prefer the one that comes with less emotional baggage.

Fans of MGS opposed the Platinum take over but they are still getting their core MGS gameplay in the future. History with Capcom shows that sometimes things may simply get abandoned – look at MMLegends or Apollo Justice and now Devil May Cry – it lives but in name only for many fans – the experience and tone has changed, not necessarily for the worse but that doesn’t mean it has to be 100% appreciated by everyone just for being different.

Enjoy DmC but don’t force it upon us because of the actions of a few mentioned in such a flame bait riddled article parading as journalism. Ninja Theory have talent but DmC doesn’t showcase their skills in narrative and script writing in any flattering light. Tameem said he wants to move the medium forward and get games appreciated as art – if DmC was the vehicle for that he failed in terms of narrative and if anything made them look more adolescent in my eyes – including the industry surrounding.

@383: let’s face it…lot’s of cash involved in this biz. everyone wants a slice. it’s even ok…but you should never sell your soul for it and i totally mean that dante style.

@385

…and everytime my wiiu gamepad starts blinking i think to myself: maybe i really do have an internet problem”
good night lovers n haters

I don’t think DmC is important enough of a game to warrant almost 400 comments.

What am I doing.

Also is new Dante meant to sound half drunk because the more videos I watch and giggle through the more he slurs all his words like a pissed sailor from Tintin.

Have we ever broken the 500?

There’s a weird fixation about killing a pregnant woman. That’s as much as I’ve picked up since I last checked in.

I think we might have made it to 1000 before. That was a mess of a comment section more or less dedicated to getting to 1000 if I remember correctly.

Jayzus, almost 400 comments about people being arseholes on the internet? Incredible!

@391: Did it have something to do with Nintendo sucking hard because they haven’t produced anything new in more than 10 years?

I actually can’t remember what the actual article was about at all, which says it all more or less.

“According to this measure, the “gamer” kind is sexist; racist; homophobic; reactionary; unable to spell; almost exclusively male; hasn’t read a book since See Spot Run; probably dramatically under-equipped in the genital department; incapable of basic self-care like hygiene, cooking and housework; and covered in Cheeto dust.”

Why are you painting all males gamers with the same brush? I am a male gamer and I fit none of the option.

Furthermore from I what get from this article that if anyone doesn’t agree with you and doesn’t like the game then they must automatically be wrong.

There is one thing to disagree with someone’s opinion but to have the gall to insult them is another level and is a really childish trait for a professional journalist to have.

As for the game itself I have never played any of the original Devil May Cry game but I tried out the Ninja Theory demo Devil May Cry and Enslaved: Odyssey to the West and I personally found them to be a boring game.

Quite frankly I am disgusted by this “article” and you are no better than the very same people that you are trying to insult.

Reading skills. Some people desperately need them.

I haven’t played the game, and maybe I was being too hasty getting ticked at the heat coming from this article. I feel that droping in an insulting the staff is unacceptable. I feel it is like being a guest at someones home and insulting your hosts. If you don’t like it, leave. In both cases.

But I did some looking into this game and damn what a mess. I mean really. W/o playing it, I won’t pass final judgment. But it certianly a game I wouldn’t want to play. And yeah, I played and enjoyed the first game.

I think fans have a right to be upset. Not that that opinion implies that any gamer, fans or not are “owed” anything. This is a games biz Capcom can do what they like, and the devs gave it their vision. Gamers only part in it is if they want to buy it or not. The rest of it is out of their hands.

As for the sites integerty. I don’t question that. Is this article flame inducing? With near 400 posts, I would say that question answers itsfelf. Intentional just for the sake of it? I don’t think so.

There may have been a desicion to make more opinion type articles, and the idea of that could be motived by trying to generating more posts in said articles. Or it might just be reflective of other sites doing it.

@397

Nice and fair summary OG.

My bullshit detector isn’t being turned off just yet though!

I still feel this was article was a well timed flight of fancy, but hey!