Robocop, Jaws, Rambo and Rocky are four truly exceptional films from my early years. Admittedly they may not have the epic clout of the previous generation's great cinematography, such as Spartacus, Gone with the Wind or Citizen Kane but to me they are worthy of equally high acclaim. Robocop, for example, showed us a frightening, yet comical, glimpse of the near future, Rambo gave us a unique insight into the aftermath of the Vietnam war from the soldiers' point of view, Rocky followed the fortunes of the ever-emotive underdog and I defy anyone not to be moved by the final titanic bout, and Jaws opened our eyes to the terrifying possibility that we may not, after all, be at the top of the food chain. If I add the 2001 smash game Devil May Cry to this hall of fame you may start to see the parallels I'm trying to draw all of these brilliant films were followed by sequels that sadly didn't make full use of their potential.

Where the original took the best parts of the action/puzzler genre and enhanced them to a level of sheer excellence, DMC2 instead of reinventing and improving upon the original gives us more of the same, making it distinctly less captivating than its predecessor. Not to say that DMC2 is a bad game, in fact most DMC fans will find it enjoyable and action packed enough to keep them happy for a long while and those new to the exploits of the son of Sparda will almost certainly see a good deal of quality and fun in this title, so I guess you can't really lose. I just feel that it doesn't have the flair and style present in DMC to make it a true classic.

If you're hoping for a narrative in the traditional sense, I suspect that with Capcom's latest offering you're probably going to be a little disappointed. Dante's deeds this time around go more along the lines of a standard demon slayer - he's hired to vanquish a megalomaniac netherworld acolyte and does so with little hassle or plot twist. His lineage is expounded upon slightly, but in all truth it's the sort of thing more suited to Buffy or Angel. Even with two extra storylines from the other playable characters, don't expect this to excite in terms of plot development.

DMC2 has been slated by many for its obvious dumbing down of the control system and its added RPG elements. I don't think that this is at all justified as there is enough variation to keep you happy, even though the range of weapons has been lessened. Melee combat is dealt with rather differently from the first instalment, in that the timing of your button presses makes no difference to which combo is performed and the advancement system no longer allows you to buy your special moves. An Onimusha style upgrade system has been employed instead, but you still have to collect elemental powers, which allow you to fight ice with fire and can up your speed and power, depending on which hearts you decide to put in your amulet. This may seem less attractive in terms of depth, but pound for pound DMC2's mechanics end up being more intuitive and better suited to the high intensity combat. One or two nice titbits have been chucked into the mix, such as a rather satisfying super devil trigger mode and the ability to target two enemies separately, one with each arm, both adding a new skill to master along with the numerous combos.

The basics of the game remain virtually untouched, retaining the hack/slash/blow-the-poop-out-of-stuff premise. The occasional puzzle is thrown in for good measure but these really only serve to break up the action rather than to give your loaf a work out. It has to be said that DMC2 is a whole lot easier than DMC, even on the 'Must Die' modes, available after completing the game on the Hard difficulty setting. There is a good variation of demons to exorcise, some of which are stunning and inventive and some of which are just plain silly, the zombie helicopter has to be the most ridiculous enemies I've ever faced, but a vast majority of the baddies feel appropriately evil and are a joy to kill.

With 30 or so levels spread over the two disks (one for each character), plus the unlockable character, DMC2 has loads of play and heaps of unlockables, such as designer outfits, making it decent value for money. On top of all this is the never-ending 'Bloody Palace' mode, which allows you to pit your skills against progressively harder sets of baddies, but I honestly can't imagine that you'll be playing this much after having completed it once with all three characters and having had a dabble with the hardcore action of the 'Bloody Palace'. This title perhaps offers greater longevity than most other Capcom games and I'm sure that many will disagree, but I regard DMC2 as a wise investment of £40. The only dip in quality for me came with the map - it's a darn site harder to use than before and for the spatially unaware, like myself, it does nothing to improve the game at all.

Technically the visuals have been improved, but my biggest gripe with the game in general is the bland and relatively sterile nature of the environments. In all fairness, I did find the level maps in the original to be a touch tired towards the end of the game, but it was understandable when the whole game took place in one (albeit gigantic) castle. None of the locations in DMC2 are as pleasing as the last game despite there being significantly more variety between settings. With that said, pretty much everything else has been enhanced; character animations are fluid and realistic, the cut scenes are superbly executed and the in game effects are as stylish as ever.

One negative point I feel I should make is that whilst the rest of the game holds together splendidly, the decidedly crazy approach taken by the camera is something that I found to be a bit of a let down; all to often you're shooting or hacking at an enemy that, for one reason or another, you can't see. It's such a shame that with all the hard work that went into this game such a small percentage can be appreciated to the full due to the dodgy cinematography.

Sound wise I have to say that DMC2 is perhaps not as moody as it could have been, combining orchestral melodies with some techno and a touch of guitar work to produce an easygoing soundtrack that does the job but doesn't add much to the overall feel of the game. The combat effects on the other hand are all satisfying and work well with the visuals, making for some high intensity battles and dispatching your foes never gets tiresome.

Overall the presentation is great, there's no denying it. I just can't help feeling that there's something missing. Maybe it's not dark enough, perhaps it's been over polished or it could be that I'm just too hard to please? Whatever it is, the audio-visual aspect of DMC2 doesn't impress as much as DMC did a couple of years ago. DMC2 was always going to be contentious and I think that many reviewers (perhaps myself included) have overlooked the main question - is it a good game? I think the answer to that is a definitive yes. There may be many reasons why gamers feel that this title is not as good as it should be, but most of them will stem from the comparative impact that the original had, in the same way that many were disappointed with MGS2.

Devil May Cry 2 is very similar to its predecessor, with one or two changes brought about by the new development team. The fact is that if you liked DMC you're pretty sure to like this and I feel that despite its loss of atmosphere, it is only slightly less enjoyable than the first of Dante's adventures. I don't think, however, that there is any room for a third instalment if it doesn't break more boundaries than this one has.

Reviewed by Tom Leclerc for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).