THIS IS NOT A REVIEW
So, this is my first foray into the world of Devil My Cry. I was very sceptical about this title running well, if at all, on my
meagerly powered laptop. So with great trepidation I installed and launched the DirectX 9 version of the game. As with the last few fairly recent releases I've tried, this one strangely defaults to the maximum video settings too. Knowing my place though and still expecting a nausea-inducing experience, I proceeded to lower almost every option then started a new game.
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| Shadows OFF |
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| Shadows ON |
Wow. Not only did the game look great, it ran much better than I'd dreamed. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it was running at 60fps (in fact I think it's closer to 24fps) but I sure was taken aback by my little laptop's apparent power. Of course as gamers know, shadows are one of the biggest culprits of framerate bog-down so after I had gotten over the technical and graphical show, I turned off the shadows in-game (you can only opt for OFF, HIGH, or SUPER HIGH). As expected the trade-off was very significant. The game still looked beautiful but no-where near as dazzling as before, especially in the Nero character whose vibrant colours now seemed dull. On the other hand the game environments didn't suffer as much and the framerate increased greatly.
At the time of writing I had just finished battling the second boss, Berial. That was intense. I really was impressed at how my laptop took everything that was being thrown at it and laughed in the game's face. The boss battle was totally satisfying. Sparks flew wildly, flames spread freely, oversized swords clashed, and blood sprayed generously, all culiminating in the hasty retreat of Berial the Wielder of the Hell Fire (or something to that effect).
So yes, if you are a jaded gamer like myself, who cannot fathom that quad-SLI, quad-core rigs are the future of pc gaming, there is hope yet. Now excuse me while I boot the game up again and marvel at my little laptop's "I think I can, I think I can" attitude.
Laptop Specs
Asus Pro31J Series
Intel Centrino Core 2 Duo T5300 1.7Ghz
2GB RAM
ATI Radeon Mobility X2300
Microsoft Windows Vista Business SP1
15″ Widescreen Display
120GB HD + 320GB External HD via USB
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