Devils Third

[Kounan]

As I only care what is said here, I am also going to get it at some point, I hope .

[RedShell]

@S\.C\.G., That Carnival multiplayer mode sounds great.

 

I also think this game has probably been over criticised, after all it's not unusual for people to jump on the hate bandwagon in this industry. Exactly the same thing happened with Wii Music (although Nintendo didn't exactly help the situation with that E3 showing) and the majority of reviewers (and consequently gamers) judged it without ever giving it a chance.

 

Anyway, I can definitely see myself checking out Devil's Third at some point. Shame it didn't come out earlier in the year. The Q3/4 video game onslaught is well and truly underway now though, so this will have to wait until 2016.

[Kounan]

I am reading a bit about this game and it doesn't look like the people who bought are so negative about the game, especially the multiplayer.

 

It look like it's a better than the reviews are saying.

[Hero-of-Time]

I am reading a bit about this game and it doesn't look like the people who bought are so negative about the game, especially the multiplayer.

 

It look like it's a better than the reviews are saying.

 

Having played through it a few weeks ago, it really isn't. It's a glitchy, barren, mess of a game. While it can offer a few laughs for the wrong reasons, the battering it got from reviewers was well deserved.

[Kounan]

Having played through it a few weeks ago, it really isn't. It's a glitchy, barren, mess of a game. While it can offer a few laughs for the wrong reasons, the battering it got from reviewers was well deserved.

 

How about online?

[Hero-of-Time]

How about online?

 

Never tried it. Playing this online or playing Star Wars Battlefront online....I feel I made the right call.

[Kounan]

Never tried it. Playing this online or playing Star Wars Battlefront online....I feel I made the right call.

 

OK, I am thinking of getting it, so will try it, people say it's apparently good, with good concepts.

[Zechs Merquise]

Well I finally got around to opening this and giving it a blast. I picked this up at the same time as Xenoblade - and obviously the later took precedent.

 

After reading all the horror stories about how bad this game is, I was braced for the worst, but I was pleasantly surprised. The game isn't great, but it certainly isn't the horrible mess many reviewers made it out to be.

 

In fact, the game has some great ideas. What lets the game down is that everything about it is a mixed bag. Every single aspect of the game seems to shine at certain times then disappoint at others.

 

The graphics are a great example of this - the main character looks great - as do most of the bosses and key characters. It is then totally shocking when this is mixed up with a grass texture that looks like it is straight from a budget Gamecube title. The same goes for the environments, at some times it looks great, at others it's like the game wasn't quite finished.

 

The combat is the same - at times it's exhilarating and the finishing moves make for a very cinematic experience as Ivan executes his foes in a variety of contextual ways. Other times there are fantastic gun battles in open areas where you have to take down a variety of foes at range or get closer for a brutal melee take down. But at other times Ivan won't stick to the cover correctly, or when you lean out of cover the camera will remain too low so you can't see what you're shooting at.

 

The plot is ridiculous - but fun. It's like an 80s action film, but it seems aware of the fact it is ridiculous which is like a breath of fresh air. The bosses are all part of this madness and they remind of of the ridiculous bosses from Metal Gear Solid - only without the piss poor overblown drama. The boss fights themselves are again a mixed bag. Some of them are great, others frustrating as they have one hit kills and cheap moves that you can't even see coming. When things really speed up, the controls don't always help as the same button is mapped to dodging and blocking.

 

The game also has a multiplayer mode which is really quite unique. The mix of gun play and quick close quarters combat is pretty interesting. Sadly, as the game didn't sell well the pool of players isn't large enough and games are difficult to come by. This could have been a good mode, especially with the clan wars and the different game modes and large variety of weapons and play styles.

 

Overall, despite its flaws, I've found the game to be fun. I've actually enjoyed playing it. I think most reviewers were far too harsh on it, and the game certainly isn't the broken mess it was made out to be. I would recommend this game to anyone who finds it cheap and wants a few hours of dumb over the top action. It's never going to be a game that tops GOTY lists, but there's plenty of fun that can be had with Devil's Third.

 

I'll post some more impressions when I've completed it.

[Zechs Merquise]

So I finished this relatively quickly - and collected every trophy! After finishing the game, I have really mixed feelings on it.

 

Firstly, and most importantly though, there was a clear agenda against this game. It is nowhere near as bad as people in the gaming press made out. People giving this three out of ten, you would think it was virtually unplayable - a Superman 64 style effort.

 

It isn't, in fact at times it's really quite good. It's not a AAA game, it's not a GOTY title and it times it isn't very good. But on balance, it's not a disaster and there's plenty of fun to be had and at times, it is really good. In that respect, I believe the media jumped on this as a popular title to bash and mock without really giving it the attention it deserves.

 

At times, you're fighting several ninjas with your sword (or hammer, axe or one of many other melee weapons) cutting them up with great cinematic and contextual deaths being handed out, then extra enemies arrive, you pull up your riffle and switch to a first person perspective and take out a group of enemies and it all works well and feels like you're playing your way through a glorious 80s action flick!

 

Then at other times there are irritating moments - times when you enter a room and before the cut scene of opening the door ends you're already being shot at. Or when you have to fight five ninjas in a halfway that is too narrow to evade their attacks meaning you have dash away and shoot them, and dash away and shoot them again.

 

It's this mix of good (albeit basic) fun and frustration that characterises the whole game.

 

But strangely, whilst I acknowledge the games flaws - and I must say it's not as good as other games on the system that do similar things, Ninja Gaiden 3 and Bayonetta 1 + 2 are all better games, yet I did have a lot of fun with Devil's Third.

 

In fact I had far more fun with Devil's Third than I have had with several games that I acknowledge are 'better made' titles. In fact, I enjoyed it more than the Assassin's Creed games. I don't know why, I just enjoyed Devil's Third in spite of its flaws.

 

If you like the look of Devil's Third and you can accept that it's unpolished and frustrating in places, you may well end up having a lot of fun with it as I did.

 

The other sad thing with the game is due to the bashing it received, the user base is so small getting multiplayer games is hard - and the multiplayer is actually pretty damn good. I've never really played a game that mixes melee and FPS gameplay so well and the experience is utter chaos. It's a shame there isn't a proper community to enjoy it with.

 

Overall, it's not a great game, but not a disaster either. I'm pleased I bought it and am happy Nintendo chose to let it see the light of day.

[Kounan]

Nintendo should make it cheaper and I think more people will buy it at the end. I know I am planning to do it, it's just not top of my list.

[Zechs Merquise]

I've put a few hours more in the multiplayer now - and I can say it's a real shame more people aren't playing this. The multiplayer is actually pretty decent.

 

Again, it isn't amazing. It suffers from some of the same issues as the single player - the melee combat doesn't always lock on correctly and the the hiding behind cover doesn't always give you the best view of things. But overall, I'm having a decent time playing it.

 

The whole game is set up a little like COD with levelling up, custom load outs, equipment, weapons, guns and grenades that can all be purchased and customised to suit one's play style.

 

The maps are large and I haven't encountered any horrible camping spots. In fact, the maps are pretty well designed. Granted, they're not Modern Warfare good, but they are certainly better than average.

 

The big problem I have with the online is the bloody rocket launchers. Why any game allows people to purchase and equip one hit kill weapons like this is beyond me. They literally ruin games.

 

Once you get to a certain level in the game you can open up a whole map of America and fight to control the continent in clans. This is a really interesting feature and one that would be great if there were more players online. As you fight battles against other clans you claim territory across the states with each clan trying to conquer as much land as possible. If you don't wish to join a clan, you can participate as a mercenary, helping whoever you wish. I think this would be a great addition to COD and if integrated well could be a real draw to getting teams online regularly and playing together against other teams.

 

Again, when playing the multiplayer it is clear to see the childish way that journalists jumped on the bandwagon to attack this game and make out it was the worst thing ever made. Giving a game a 2 or 3 out of ten would indicate a game was broken or even borderline unplayable - a Superman 64 type effort. This is far from that, it's not great, but there's some really good ideas here and certainly fun to be had.

 

I'll probably give this a few more hours play before the Splatfest this weekend.

 

Take a look at this video, it's pretty good and shows the game off well:

 

 

Edited February 17, 2016 by Zechs Merquise

[Hero-of-Time]

It's been interesting reading what your thoughts were on the game. I played through it last year and we share the same view point of some things.

 

For my 100th game I wanted it to be something magical. Something that I would remember. Something that would have meaning to me as a gamer. A game that explains why I enjoy playing games so much. After thinking long and hard about what game I should play I decided to go with this.....

 

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I honestly don't even know where to begin when trying to describe how bad the game is. It was one of those games where it's so bad you can't help but laugh while playing it, and that's exactly what I was doing.

 

• Both graphics and performance are very rough.
   
  
• There are times when go from one area to the next and the game, which is clearly loading, starts to stutter and pause for a second.
   
  
• The textures sometimes don't load or when they do they tend to take a while.
   
  
• Backgrounds and levels are bland as hell. I don't think they could have created more generic looking scenery.
   
  
• The main character models look fine but others are awful.
   
  
• There's clipping all over the place. Enemies go through walls and character models go through clothing they are wearing.
   
  
• After chopping up enemies their body parts sometimes just hovered in mid air.
   
  
• The story is absolute trash, as are the main enemies. It's like they were trying to mimic the Metal Gear Solid series ( even the after credits scene is very MGS ) but they failed on a spectacular level.
   
  
• The driving section was absolutely hilarious. The way Ivan just stayed glued to the gun, despite having a very bumpy ride, was funny as hell. He looked like a plastic soldier who had been stuck to the turret.
   
  
• The sound effects were abysmal. I was playing it while talking to lostmario on the PS4 and he kept laughing away to himself at the dialogue and grunts that he could hear coming through the headset.
  

 

On the plus side the sword fighting is very satisfying, as are the few special kills that randomly occur. The gunplay is stupidly janky, though.

 

You would think that I would have hated the game but I kind of didn't. It was rough, wasn't really that fun but I just found the whole experience hilarious and couldn't stop laughing. I still enjoyed it more than Chibi-Robo!

[Zechs Merquise]

It's been interesting reading what your thoughts were on the game. I played through it last year and we share the same view point of some things.

 

Hmmm, I think you have some fair points, but I honestly didn't get many bugs. I've seen a couple of body parts hovering in mid air, but as I've played through the single player 2 twice and am on a third run for golden eggs, I haven't seen it that many times.

 

I didn't think the graphics were bad... just VERY mixed. I thought the models for the main characters were great, then some of the models generic and bland. The same was true for everything else... very mixed. Some scenery looked like basic assets, others looked quite decent and whilst I was rarely wowed, I felt it wasn't nearly as bad as reviewers claimed and was generally decent.

 

There is a lot of clipping - especially on finishing moves where you smash an opponents head into a surface, literally they always go through it. But that doesn't actually bother me that much as some of the finishers are awesome - and the fact they are weapon and context sensitive is fun and very rewarding.

 

I also think the game gets a lot of heat for doing things in a 'generic' way. Red barrels, turret sections and silly story. But seriously, there are games that sell millions of copies and that are regarded as system sellers that have these same traits.

 

I liked the story, not because it was good, but because it was so stupid and never seemed to be taking itself seriously! Where as MGS is equally stupid (I mean you fight some fat fuck on roller skates in an oil rig) but it takes itself so seriously. Devil's Third just seemed like silly over the top 80s nonsense, which I have a soft spot for as I loved 80s action films.

 

There were many times when the game really pissed me off - walking around corners into enemy fire. Walking through a door to get blown up before the cut scene ended, melee combat not locking on to the target, the camera flying around in melee combat so I'm not sure what I'm doing and the cover system positioning the camera at the wrong point so when you peep out you can't see where you're aiming!

 

But saying all that, I really enjoyed the game at times and can't stop playing it. I literally can't stop. I am now on my third run and am playing the online every evening! There is something so satisfying when it does all come together properly. When you are carrying out a string of finishing blows to then pull out your rifle and despatch two people at distance, it's all so much fun.

 

I can't say this is a great game, because I know it isn't. But I have enjoyed playing it and can see the potential a game like this has. It's not a great game - but it isn't a horror story either, and for some reason it is really good fun!

 

Shame there isn't voice chat, as the clan mode would have been great with a good group, we could have taken over the US! Imagine that, calling a clan the Redcoats or something similar and retaking America haha.

[V. Amoleo]

Bit of a random one. I bought this game the other day but whenever I try to play it, it just hangs on the Devil's Third logo and I have to hard reset my Wii U. Anybody else experiencing this?

[Hero-of-Time]

The online side of things will be shutting down at the end of the year.

 

Important Information:

Thank you for your continued loyalty to Nintendo.

 

Nintendo will discontinue the online multiplayer service for the Devil’s Third game for the Wii U console on December 28, 2016.

 

We will also no longer sell Golden Eggs as of June 27, 2016 at 9:00 AM PT.

 

Finally, the price of the downloadable version of Devil’s Third will be reduced from $59.99 USD to $29.99 USD on Nintendo eShop.

 

 

Discontinuation Schedule:

6/23/2016 (Thursday) 9 AM PT - Price reduction for digital version

6/27/2016 (Monday) 9 AM PT - Discontinuation of Golden Eggs sales*

Dec 28/2016 (Wednesday) 8 PM PT - Discontinuation of online multiplayer service**

 

We are deeply thankful for all the players who have enjoyed Devil’s Third online multiplayer service, and thank you for your understanding regarding this decision.

 

 

* Golden Eggs will not work after December 28, 2016.

 

**There is no change to the online features for the single-player mode.

 

Not at all surprising.