Hack n' Slash games

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I prefer hack n slashes to have enemies/bosses that are close to human size and have a weapon. Basically, if you are taller than a ceiling, you are too big.

YES. Best boss fights of all time:

Nelo Angelo
Vergil
Doku
Genshin
Jeanne
Henry
Azel (beat 'em up, not hack 'n slash, but still)

FACT.

This list lacks Doppleganger Ryu (any form)....though I guess you could say that he's more of a mini-boss than an actual boss.

I also enjoyed the Credo and Dante fights from DMC4.

I agree that human-sized enemies that force you to be quick and agile make for the best kind of boss fights in hack n' slash and beat-em-up games. The common gamer will just go with the bigger is better mentality and be wowed by the huge scale of God of War's bosses, and while they may be a marvel to look at, they end up being pretty shallow fights most of the time. Fighting a human sized enemy that is just as quick and agile as you makes for some of the fastest and most satisfying gameplay around.

Also, to elaborate on your choice of Genshin, this is actually one of the few times I'll say that I think Ninja Gaiden SIGMA 2 made a genuine improvement over NG2, since in Sigma 2 you can actually launch Genshin which wasn't possible in NG2 at all. I think that he should be subject to all of the same types of attacks that other human sized enemies in the game are, and I was disappointed how you could only use limited attacks on him in NG2, whereas I feel like the potential of that boss fight was fully realized in Sigma 2, though it still doesn't make up for all of the other things that version of the game got wrong.

[Foggle]

I wanted to limit my list to one boss per game. Totally forgot to include something from DMC 4, though. Go ahead and pretend Dante is on there!

[gunswordfist]

I prefer hack n slashes to have enemies/bosses that are close to human size and have a weapon. Basically, if you are taller than a ceiling, you are too big.

YES. Best boss fights of all time:

Nelo Angelo
Vergil
Doku
Genshin
Jeanne
Henry
Azel (beat 'em up, not hack 'n slash, but still)

FACT.

This list lacks Doppleganger Ryu (any form)....though I guess you could say that he's more of a mini-boss than an actual boss.

I also enjoyed the Credo and Dante fights from DMC4.

I agree that human-sized enemies that force you to be quick and agile make for the best kind of boss fights in hack n' slash and beat-em-up games. The common gamer will just go with the bigger is better mentality and be wowed by the huge scale of God of War's bosses, and while they may be a marvel to look at, they end up being pretty shallow fights most of the time. Fighting a human sized enemy that is just as quick and agile as you makes for some of the fastest and most satisfying gameplay around.

Also, to elaborate on your choice of Genshin, this is actually one of the few times I'll say that I think Ninja Gaiden SIGMA 2 made a genuine improvement over NG2, since in Sigma 2 you can actually launch Genshin which wasn't possible in NG2 at all. I think that he should be subject to all of the same types of attacks that other human sized enemies in the game are, and I was disappointed how you could only use limited attacks on him in NG2, whereas I feel like the potential of that boss fight was fully realized in Sigma 2, though it still doesn't make up for all of the other things that version of the game got wrong.

Yeah, Credo is fun as hell to fight. Also, that's the part where my baby brother messed up my copy of the game. Funny enough, Echidna while playing as Nero is my favorite boss in DMC4. It's fun using the Devil Bringer on her to fly around.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I found an interesting article discussing why the cancellation of Bayonetta 2 (if that rumor turns out to be true) could be a very bad thing for the hack n' slash genre, and the action game genre in general.

Of course, I entirely disagree with his opinion on NG2, since that game felt rushed, not phoned-in, and there's a BIG difference between the two. I mean, its clear that this guy didn't play the game on anything above Acolyte difficulty to see that there are elements to it that even Bayonetta, and even Ninja Gaiden Black for that matter, can't compare to, even those are better games on the whole.

I do agree that DMC4's level design felt really lazy, but I don't think the guys gives it enough credit for what it does get right and overall it just feels like the listed NG2 and DMC4 there to take a stab at modern Japanese games (as is the popular trend these days), even though both of those were still really good games when not compared to their better predecessors (or to Bayonetta, of course).

I do agree with the writer that this genre was at its peak last-gen, and so far Bayonetta is the only high-quality and polished product that we've seen of the genre in this generation, so the fact that it may be going under is indeed a huge blow to the genre, especially since DMC is headed in an entirely different direction than what most fans probably want from the series (unless we do get a DMC5 and this "reboot" is just an alternate take on the series, rather than a full-on replacement), but I do at least think that MGSR will be a good game, so there's that to look forward to this year.

Still, Bayonetta was honestly the only game in this genre from this gen that I felt was comparable to the best action games of last-gen, and its a shame to hear that it may not be getting a sequel.

[gunswordfist]

I feel stupid about not knowing/thinking of him being able to fight him. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMGKKJzLpeQ

[gunswordfist]

Or this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Z1xY9BnzuM

[Rynnec]

Looks like God of War is getting a much needed gameplay refinement.

I still won't put this on my "must have" list, but I may give it a rental if it turns out to be servicable enough. They even made Kratos slightly less of an asshole.

[Rynnec]

DmC will have Vergil playable as DLC complete with his own story.

Have to admit, Vergil's gameplay looks pretty decent and stylish. It's a shame you have to pay for this DLC, 'cause I really don't want to give this game my money.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

I notice that Vergil's character design in this game at least bears some noticeable resemblance to his character design from the traditional DMC games (definitely more so than Dante's look in this game). That said I can't help but feel that his gameplay here looks markedly slower than his combat in DMC3, but I haven't actually played as Vergil in DMC3 so maybe I'm just blowing out smoke, here. Either way, I'm a sucker for keeping fast and intense combat speed, and this new DmC game just looks, for lack of a better word, too "slow" for my tastes. I'm sure it has a more than competent combat system with more intricacies and nuances than the average action game (but nowhere close to the traditional DMC games), but the overall slowness of the game will certainly hamper that for me, unless these gameplay previews purposely slow down the action for the more casual crowd who want gameplay that their eyes can actually follow.

[Rynnec]

Yeah, Vergil's design may not have the best look, but at least it holds up as its own design, unlike DINO and his lazy-ass butt-ugly design.

I'm a sucker for keeping fast and intense combat speed, and this new DmC game just looks, for lack of a better word, too "slow" for my tastes. I'm sure it has a more than competent combat system with more intricacies and nuances than the average action game (but nowhere close to the traditional DMC games), but the overall slowness of the game will certainly hamper that for me, unless these gameplay previews purposely slow down the action for the more casual crowd who want gameplay that their eyes can actually follow .

That'd be hilarious if so, but I doubt it since the console versions are clocked at 30 fps. The PC versions will be able to go at 60 fps though, so there's that.

[Foggle]

The PC versions will be able to go at 60 fps though, so there's that.

Ah, so it will be worth buying during a Steam sale, then.

[Rynnec]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnAQntvJYP8&feature=plcp

A short, if hilarious retrospective of the DMC series from a relative newbie. He left out a detail or two (most glaringly the Special Edition of 3), but otherwise he nails why I love DMC perfectly.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Its a good video, and mostly nails down what the good DMC games got right. I have to admit that I've always had a bit of a distaste for the opinions of the guy who makes these videos, though. Sometimes his opinions are bizarre and outrageous when he hates on games way more than they deserve. Just look at his Sonic Generations review. As someone who has played that game extensively, I can say that most of his criticisms on it are either way too overblown or completely non-existent, so I don't know what game he was playing when he reviewed it. Either way, though, this particular video was good, and it reminds me that I really need to get the HD collection and play the classic DMC games in full.

[Rynnec]

TheGamingBrit was deliberately exaggerating the games flaws for humour effect. That being said, those are indeed his real thoughts on the Sonic series. He's probably the only member of Hellfirecomms that doesn't like Sonic.

Also, the demo of DmC is coming out on the 20th. TBH, the game is looking okay-ish on the gameplay side of things, not as good as a DMC game should be, and why too easy, but still servicable (looks better than GoW's combat at least). It's the story that's really dragging the game down. These are the most groan-worthy and unintentionally hilarious lines I've ever heard in a video game, all delivered with the most melodramatic and cheesy acting. This would be fine if Ninja Theory wasn't taking this games story so seriously. Unfortunately they are, and they're even taking out features from past DMC games to suit the story.

[Foggle]

Hey, here's the latest DmC rumor. Possible spoilers be below, but go ahead and read them anyway because... you'll see.

had the misfortune of play-testing this game here.

I love Terminator 2 as much as the next guy, but, quite literally, this game's protagonist is just an adult version of babby John Conner, without any of the redeeming qualities. That's the best description I have of the character.

Also, there's no character arc, nothing is learned, there are no morals to the story, Mundus or whatever the fuck, has children and Donte kills their mother and make them watch, then slaughter them, then slowly murder Mundus and feeds him his children.

And they don't even touch upon how fucked up it is.

They treat it like killing a family and feeding the father them is justice, or morally justifiable.

It is so goddamn edgy, you don't even fucking comprehend the word until you play this "game."

The ending is almost like that episode of South Park where Cartman feeds that kid his parents,s only it's not played for laughs, it's actually serious.