Story mode is enjoyable exploitation grindhouse gaming at its low budget, jankatronic, unapologetic best. It's utterly hideous and struggling in all the ways Unreal 3 does on Wii U, but at no point did I find the controls cumbersome or unresponsive. The toolset is novel, and allows for a fast-paced, rewarding, satisfying combat style. The fact that I've just come from a couple of days with Kojima's luxury, finely-tuned masterpiece did nothing to compromise what Devil's Third is good at, warts and all. A textbook victim of a barebones, arcade-style experience colliding face-first with modern gaming's bloated, big budget, homogenised expectations.
Multiplayer is fun as hell. The way the game alternates between gunplay/melee, the way both have extremely polarised strengths/weaknesses, and the parkour-lite abilities of the player blend together to offer a unique and thrilling MP experience. The level of customisation and variety of modes is impressive. It's probably fair to say that the bulk of the developer's attention (and Nintendo's budget I'd wager) went into the MP. If you play Devil's Third, play it for the MP, then decide.
Worth the money? For me, absolutely. Shame on you, Reggie, and shame on you, European press. I understand that there's a certain element of responsibility with critics to address the greater audience, but in this instance, I think they were grossly unfair with the game.
Thanks, Itagaki and Valhalla. You are cool.
