Looking in from the outside, Devil May Cry`s Dante doesn`t seem like anything unique. He`s another roguish and charming anti-hero, firing off cheesy one-liners and making light of the latest big bad looking destroy this, that, and the other. But for fans of the character, and the series at large, Dante is also a character that is defined by gameplay.While the earlier entries in Capcom`s action series focused heavily on his attitude, with some added spice thanks to a set of stylish abilities and moves, it wasn`t until Devil May Cry 3: Dante`s Awakening that the character really came into his own. In this game, Dante was at his most complex and interesting. This wasn`t because of some narrative revelation, it was ultimately still a game about slicing and dicing demons, but because doing this effectively was an incredibly involved, demanding task. But those that managed to put the pieces of DMC3`s combat systems together discovered a character that felt exciting, nuanced, and thoroughly satisfying to control.Like Devil May Cry 4 before it, the fifth item in the mainline series builds on the Dante that was established in DMC3. Although Dante is older, rougher, and a little more rugged, his prowess in combat remains just as sharp. He still has the four distinct fighting styles at his disposal; Swordmaster allows him to use his melee weapons with an expanded moveset, Gunslinger makes every projectile fired from his arsenal of firearms more deadly, Trickster gives him increased acrobatics ranging from dashes and extra jumps to a teleport that hones in on enemies, and Royal Guard allows him to absorb incoming damage and return in with greater lethality.Individually, these four style give distinct flavours to the gameplay experience when you`re in control of Dante. They can cater to different types of players, ranging from those that like to play the distance game, to the duck-and-movers, to the reckless attackers. However, the real fun lies in stringing it all together; ...
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