Devil May Cry 2 - Reception

Reception

Devil May Cry 2 sold well, becoming one of the top ten best-selling games in the United Kingdom for the first half of 2003. By March 2003, Capcom reported selling 1.4 million copies worldwide, and as of September 2006 has shipped over 1.7 million copies.

The game received mixed reviews upon release, with significantly lower scores than its predecessor. Chief among the complaints was that the difficulty was lower than it was in the first game. The combat system was also criticized as being less refined, with individual weapons being weaker or stronger variants of the same weapon instead of different weapons with their own advantages and disadvantages. Boss battles were criticized for requiring less strategy than the original. The environment was also considered less detailed than the environments of the first game, trading detail for open space. Furthermore, Dante received a change in his personality which did not sit well with reviewers; his cockiness was considerably toned down, and he rarely spoke during the game. The addition of a second disc was seen as a cheap way for the developers to increase replay value since Lucia's missions are simply recycled material from Dante's own missions, with only minor variations. GameSpot chose Devil May Cry 2 as the Most Disappointing Game of 2003.

However, the game also received some positive reviews. PSXextreme, for example, countered arguments by many critics, stating that the environments only looked worse to reviewers due to the range of environments in the game, and that the only reason Devil May Cry 2 failed to surpass its origins was due to the lack of challenge. Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the game's control scheme and new ideas, as well as the idea of featuring the two protagonists on separate discs. Play called Lucia's side of the story a "a cruel sonnet of self-realization wrapped in a story steeped in religious overtones",, stating that the story alone was reason to purchase the game.