If you’re still on the fence on which platform to pick up DmC: Devil May Cry on, don’t be. We’ve had the good fortune of being able to play all three versions of the game. As it stands, if you have a semi-decent PC and an Xbox 360 controller, that’s all you need to get the best out of Ninja Theory’s take on Capcom’s classic franchise.
What makes the PC version worth getting? Well for starters you aren’t greeted by low-resolution, slow loading textures as is the case on it’s console counter-parts (the Xbox version fares a bit better after a full install). Yes, even our not so new computer (Intel Q9550, ATI Radeon HD 4870 1GB video card, 4GB RAM) was no slouch, allowing us to get a respectable 40-odd frames per second with a mix of high and medium settings at 1080p.
On lowering to medium we ended up with around 60 frames per second. The graphical options are reassuringly competent. You can adjust resolution, toggle vertical sync, use HD textures, enable anti-aliasing, shadows and choose from four overall quality settings ranging from low to ultra.In terms of visuals, it looked a whole lot better than anything on the Xbox 360 or PS3 with no blurry graphics and no texture pop-ins.
We ramped things up a notch and tested it on our newest rig (Intel Core i5 3470, AMD HD 7950 3GB video card, 16GB RAM) and we were treated with a glorious 60 frames per second (v-sync enabled) and eye-candy that really does justice to Ninja Theory’s quirky art-style. It felt like it was almost next-gen. The added frame rate in either case made for a more fluid playthrough that is more in tune with the earlier games in the series and did a fair bit to ensure the combat doesn’t feel as clunky as it was on the console versions.
Pixel perfect performance aside, Capcom have been smart enough to forsake their usual affiliation with Games For Windows Live and have opted for the more user-friendly Steamworks in the way of DRM. It’s a move in the right direction since Steam is a lot less cumbersome to use than Microsoft’s attempt at “owning” PC gaming (though we do miss adding to our Gamerscore). It isn’t without some minor chinks. We experienced some tearing during cut-scenes on both machines but after fiddling with the v-sync settings it was a smooth as silk.
Finally, the pricing is the best part of it all. Compared to the console versions at Rs. 2999, you can pick up the PC version for a third of the price. No that’s not a typo. It has an MRP of Rs. 999. And while we felt it is a fine game regardless of your platform preference, we can’t help but give the PC version a nod above what you’d get on the Xbox 360 or PS3.
