Backloggers #7: The Progression

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Devil May Cry - Or Just Really Piss You Off

I began playing Devil May Cry almost as soon as I beat Final Fantasy XII.  That was almost three weeks ago.  So what's the deal?  Did it take me 100 hours to beat the game?  No, by the time I hit the final save I was at just under 7 and a half, which means if you count continues I probably put 9, maybe 10 hours into the whole thing.  I can see how people could easily run through the entire game in 3 or 4.

The problem was that I'd play for about 20 minutes at a time, get frustrated, and quit.  A few days later I'd suck it up and come back.

This is known as the Ross Perot method.

Initially, I genuinely hated this game.  It seemed to me it was way too hard, way too cheap, and way too difficult to control.  Coming off of my last action game experience, God of War III, this seemed amateurish by comparison.  When I got stuck on the first fight against Phantom, I was ready to just call this one not worth it and give up.

Then, the game made me angry.

At which point it grew considerably less fond of me.

In some paroxysm of mouth-frothing fury and insane determination, my brain clicked into "ruthless slaughter" mode.  A few minutes later, Phantom was dissolving into a puddle of molten rock and scorpion goo.  And I liked it.  I liked it a lot.  I've played plenty of video games and fought some pretty challenging fights, but the formula Devil May Cry has worked out makes them just hard enough without being impossible to give a rush of achievement after you butcher the big bad guys.  That initial surge kept me going until the next time I got stuck.  The pattern began to repeat itself until the fits of anger were gone, replaced by a cold, steely-eyed calculation.  Sure, I'd still swear and shake my controller, but when I tried again after a loss I'd come back and react faster, anticipate more, aim more precisely. 

It was impossible to deny what was happening.  By relentlessly tormenting me, Devil May Cry was making me a better game player.

This philosophy is not without precedent.

It was after this realization that I sat down to really think about what the pros and cons of this game are.