Devil May Cry 4

The story of Sparda and his devil hunting son Dante have been told since Capcom released the original Devil May Cry on the PlayStation 2 and the series has since become one of their most popular IPs. Devil May Cry 4, the latest iteration into the series was released a few weeks ago for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles and is also set to be released on the PC in the near future. So does it live up to its pedigree? Or is it simply yet another sequal released with flashy, next-gen graphics?

After careful deliberation, I decided to go for the Xbox 360 version of the game, mainly because it was £10 cheaper. Actually, only because it was £10 cheaper – I would’ve bought the PS3 version if they were the same price, if only because I’ve played previous games in the series on the PS2 and so am used to playing Devil May Cry games with the Dual Shock (or SIXAXIS, for now…) controller. So nevertheless, I parted with my hard earned cash and picked up the game. I will say that I had to trouble whatsoever with using the 360’s controller over the SIXAXIS and I took everything I knew from playing Devil May Cry 3 into this new game and I had no trouble whatsoever in adapting. I could High Time, Stinger, Air Hike and so on without any trouble at all. Speaking of controls, they feel as silky smooth as ever throughout Devil May Cry 4 and are easily one of the games best points when combined with its combat system, which in turn is one of the best ever created for a video game. There’s so much personality and originality in each move, combo and style that it becomes a beast unto itself. Each move feels sublime and smooth, and the amount of personalisation with combos that can be implemented is insane. However, the controls lack in certain areas: maneuverability during jumping sequences is a big one and you can tell that the controls weren’t designed with this in mind. But it’s a small flaw when you take into account the awesome gameplay that permeates the fight sequences.

As you most likely already know if you’re reading this, you don’t begin the game as Dante. In fact, you only play as him for about a third of it. In contrast to previous games in the series, you play a large chunk of Devil May Cry 4 as Nero, who look strikingly similar to his predecessor, but whose story and origin is never really touched upon throughout the game. Something that perhaps may and should be rectified in the inevitable sequel. Nero plays relatively similar to Dante, but with one major difference: the Devil Bringer. This mighty tool allows Nero to perform throws on enemies, which look particularly cool, as well as grab and bring them towards him. Something you sometimes miss when playing his Dante. And speaking of the aforementioned story, Devil May Cry 4 tries to make it emotional and powerful, but it doesn’t really work. The voice acting and script is typical Devil May Cry – it’s pretty bad, but really good at the same time. If really depends on your taste. Capcom’s game is like a typical Hollywood Summer blockbuster in this regard. The writing isn’t going to win any Oscars and is full of cheesy lines, but it fits in well into this type of over-the-top game. The story itself is… okay, but not great. It gives you a purpose within the game, but never really stands out as being one of its strong points.

Devil May Cry 4 is a graphical treat. All the enemies move smoothly and realistically (well, as realistically as a demonic, possessed scarecrow can) and the textures are smooth and detailed. The only downpoint to the graphics is that some of the lighting is pretty poor, particularly in the forest part of the game. Believe me, you’ll notice it when you see it. The sound is also good, but the music can grate and become repetitive at points, particularly during the fighting and the voice work…, well, the actors tried their hardest with the lines they were given!

So, would I recommend buying Devil May Cry 4? If you haven’t played the originals then be in for a surprise: this game is no walkover. You begin with the choice of two difficulty settings: Human and Devil Hunter. I went straight into Devil Hunter and completed it without too much hassle. I then blitzed the Human difficulty to stack up on red orbs. Currently I’m making my way through Son of Sparda, effectively the hard mode. So yeah, those who haven’t played Devil May Cry before may struggle a bit on Devil Hunter, but for those who have this is probably the easiest game in the series if you ignore the second game.

Good points:

• Awesome fighting system with plenty of scope for creating your own combos and techniques
• Smooth controls for the fighting
• Gorgeous graphics and smooth animations
• Good difficutly level for those who haven’t played the game before; it’ll be a challange, but not an impossible one
• Cool action cut scenes set the tone
• New character, Nero, plays well and creates some differentiation from previous titles in the series

Bad points:

• Bad lighting effects
• The controls don’t work for outside-combat jumping and platforming
• Playing as Dante means you effectively do the game backwards – including bosses
• Bad and uninteresting story

So despite its flaws, Devil May Cry 4 is a quality action titles and I would recommend it to both players of previous games in the series and newcomers. You will thoroughy enjoy yourself with this title.

Graphics: 9.2/10

Gameplay: 9.1/10

Sound: 8.3/10

Lifespan: 8.5/10

Overall: 8.8/10