Devil May Cry II

Mistakes sometimes find their way into games. In the realm of console gaming, it's an all too-common phenomenon that haunts--if not outright ruins--otherwise fantastic products. As illustrated by Enclave's half-finished animations and Army Men 3D's embarrassingly poor artificial intelligence, among others, even the tiniest gaffe can sink an entire ship. Only in certain cases, positive side effects may occur. Take, for instance, the case of the "body juggling" bug discovered early on in Onimusha's development cycle, which some at Capcom say inspired Resident Evil designer Shinji Mikami to commence work on last year's flashy Devil May Cry.
Despite hilariously humble origins that Capcom employees are quick to gloss over, Devil May Cry shipped to mass acclaim last holiday season and quickly reached million-seller status. Casting players as Dante, a half-man, half-devil son of the dark knight Sparda, Devil May Cry successfully blended the free-flowing action of 2D side-scrolling games with puzzle solving and adventure elements more common to products like Silent Hill. In doing so, the development team inadvertently ensured the product's place in history as one of the foremost franchises on the PlayStation 2.

Considering that no publisher knows the survival horror genre quite like Capcom, it was a match made in heaven--or hell, technically. Over the years, the company has had plenty of opportunities to become intimately acquainted with the ins and outs of this particular genre. It's a legacy that began with Biohazard, evolved into Dino Crisis, mutated to become Onimusha, and ultimately reached its peak in Dante's first outing. But fame has its price. Audiences now expect more than just the traditional shock-horror experience from this gothic-styled franchise--they expect a glimpse of raw terror the way John Woo might have imagined it. And that's a big responsibility. Thankfully, as a recent trip to Capcom's Japanese headquarters revealed, that's exactly what fans will be getting come the end of January 2003, when Devil May Cry 2 finally releases
To call the token successor twice the game the original was is a bit misleading--it's much, much larger. In fact, producer Tsuyoshi Tanaka brags that environments are "nine times as big as in the first adventure." Although divided into distinct missions once again, a design detail Tanaka concedes was a point of contention among certain players, he feels that the adventure's all-new layout will atone for any conceptual failings. "The length of the initial game's missions was troubling...some were short, others lengthy," Tanaka said. "Here, we've created a game that you can play for hours or just a little bit, if you'd rather stop and watch TV instead." While the levels will still be monstrously large, they're being designed to offer quick routes through each scenario for impatient players (20 minutes, on average), with longer paths, shortcuts, and secrets available for experienced comers who'd rather kill entire evenings combing every nook and cranny for special goodies. Some stages are linear, others not. But however you look at it, there's no one set path to the game's finish.

Thanks to Gamespot.com for the information

I hated Devil May Cry I.

I haven't actually played it yet, but it looked amazing. What's the reason for your hatred against DMC?

DMC2 looks badass...