Completely rebooting a beloved series is a risky move, after all, hell hath no fury like a fanboy scorned.

So it is kind of fitting that Capcom’s super stylish Devil May Cry series would radically reinvent itself with a devil may care attitude to gamer backlash.

Top of the heap when it comes to changes, and the biggest gripe for long term fans, is the redesign of protagonist Dante.

The Dante of old was a smart-talking, half-demon, gun-for-hire with platinum white hair and a tacky red coat.

DMC’s hero has a more realistic look, it lacks a little of the Japanese flamboyance sure, but rest assured he’s still made of the same volatile genetic cocktail and has the same skill for sass-mouth.

From our hands-on we can safely say that his combat skills made it through the reboot intact too.

Dante can still effortlessly switch between swordplay and shooting, keeping fights intense and your combo metre ticking upwards.

The combat feels like a throwback to the series’ past: it requires the same combination of twitch reactions, skill and a little visual flair to really get the most out of it.

New developer’s Ninja Theory may have been faithful in the fighting department, but thankfully they’re moving forward with the storytelling.

Already renowned for their cinematic style and excellent motion capture, Ninja Theory seem to have surpassed themselves from the demos we’ve seen.

Animations look fluid and natural, while tiny facial twitches and gestures ground the cast even when their origins may be supernatural.

Hands-on time has only left us wanting more and you can be sure we’ll be keeping DMC under surveillance until it launches next January.