So today we should be able to see how well the...erm...latest Wii U exclusive will perform. Previews have been mixed, but how about reviews? It's not the best start so far...(Order of reviews are the order they were published, to be rearranged):
Despite a decent stab at multiplayer, however, Devil's Third isn't even average. The game represents at least six years of development, but over that time the concept has been mangled. It is no accident that Tecmo's Team Ninja hasn't managed a good game since the 2008 departure of Itagaki and others. But Devil's Third makes you wonder where the talent went.
Devil's Third is tricky to recommend, ultimately. There's undoubted fun to be had online, but at the same time this is an action game that sells Wii U gamers short. It's packed with good intentions and ambition, but Valhalla Game Studios was unable to execute its vision well enough. The devil is in the detail, and that's the problem.
It is quite clear that Devil's Third was never intended for the Wii U. It feels completely out of place. It's fitting that the only Wii U-specific feature Devil's Third uses is the GamePad's poor battery life, because it gives you an excuse to turn it off.
When you get down to it, Devil’s Third is not a good game and its best bits are coming to PC as a free-to-play game, making it redundant as a full priced purchase. Devil’s Third bears the scars of a game that’s had the troubled sort of development that would lead to other games being cancelled. In this case, it should have been.
Staggeringly inept on almost every level, with crimes against game design, and good taste, that cannot be forgiven solely by the low budget.
Devil’s Third is not a hateful slog in the way that Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z is, but even after – or more likely because of – half a decade and four game engines, it’s shoddy and ill thought out. It captures the strange magnetism that accompanies all still-smouldering disaster sites, but that’s about the best I can say.
After a long and troubled development history it’s hard to describe Devil’s Third as disappointing, but whatever genius Itagaki possessed when he made Dead or Alive 2 or Ninja Gaiden seems to have deserted him with this one.
It has some interesting ideas and some momentum, but the execution is inept on so many levels. Even if there are glimmers of hope in the multiplayer, they’re not enough to make us recommend Devil’s Third to anyone.
Despite the occasional laughs and wonderfully weird multiplayer modes, Devil's Third is near-impossible to recommend. The numerous issues with the controls as well as crucial elements of the game's combat systems soon mount up to provide an experience that frustrates far more often than it entertains, resulting in a missed opportunity for what could've been a cult hit.
Devil’s Third’s singleplayer campaign is dumb, misogynistic, shoddy and borderline broken at times, but its multiplayer may well be its saving grace. While it remains lo-fi and decidedly rough around the edges, there’s some fun to be had and an experience that could see it gain something of a cult following on Wii U.
More to come!
