Devil May Cry 4

Those of you who have read my review of metroid prime 3 will note that I absolutely love hardcore games. Don't get me wrong, this game is not exclusively aimed at hardcore fanatics, but it is a herald back to the day when games challenged you, didn't throw infinite checkpoints at you, and did not have enemies who wait nicely while their companions take you on one by one. Welcome to DMC...

For those who aren't familiar with the premise of Devil may cry, back in 2001 ish, Capcom released the first instalment. It won critical acclaim worldwide and set the benchmark for 3rd person action adventures to come...and some might say it still has not been rivalled (except by number 3, which some might argue is the better :) So does number 4 hit the right path to beating it's predecessors? You bet...and it comes close to being one of the finest action adventures of it's genre.

For a spoiler free review, I'll give you the skeleton of the plot. You play (at least the first half of) the game as Nero, a member of a clan that hunts demons and prays to the legendary turncoat, 'sparda', who defected in the demon wars to help the humans and drive the demons back. The son of sparda (dante') for some reason decides to assassinate the leader of said clan, and it's up to you to track him down and find out what the hell his problem is.

The action is third person swordfighting and Gunplay, mixed with a healthy dose of puzzle solving and platforming. As always, the elements mesh beautifully, and never does the game become a chore or annoyance to play. Combat is as fluid as ever, allowing you to lock onto enemies of your choice, evade their attacks with dodges, use various gadgets like grappling hooks to bring them a little closer to the point, and switch simultaneously between gun and sword. The combos are satisfying and meaty, and Nero can fight on the ground or in the air. Not often do developers manage such a perfect balance of responsiveness and satisfaction.
Extra depth comes in that you are ranked on your combat for the diversity of your techniques (use the whole lot!) and going ages without being hit (harder than it sounds!). These ranks give you bonus goodies and scoring, and you'll keep coming back to try and top the XBL leaderboards, trust me!

The bosses as always, are hulking great demonic beasts that the underworld has given up trying to control, and fighting them is made absolutely sublime thanks to their challenging difficulty and tricky movesets. Practice is the order of the day, and I warn you, you will have to think about what you are doing.

Presentation and graphics are faultless, with smoother than 'greased baby skin' framerates, gorgeous fluid animations, high-res and detailed landscapes, and almost - real facial animations.

The sound and music is my favourite part though. All the music is picked perfectly, whether it be the spooky 'gothic' themes for the castle sections, or the adrenalin pumping boss/battle themes, every theme sets the atmosphere to a pinpoint perfection. The voice acting is perfect (intentionally cheesy!), and every sword and gun sound is so satisfying and packs real punch!

In all, this is an incredible effort on Capcom's behalf. It may not break it's mould, but those of you who know...if the DMC 1/3 mould wasn't broken, why fix it?! Instead, all other features are polished to a mirror finish and you are left with a challenging, engaging, ultra fun masterpiece.

Pro
+ A real challenge!
+ Adrenalin pumping boss fights.
+ Never-tiring combat.
+ Fluid and responsive controls.
+ Tight and impressive presentation.
+ An addictive and deep package with lots to do!

Con
- Be prepared to have to practice if you are new to the DMC series.

This installment had all us Devil May Cry enthusiasts on the edge of our seats for the game's opening. It disappoints on the little things about it.

First of all, it does not have a long enough level span and it ends up in you repeating the whole story again in another mode although confusingly, that's the task you have to take to get most of the unlockables in the game.

Also, there is a whole lot of waiting through the game, between every door opening into a new area it has to load and just gets you frustrated with the game.

Other from that this game has improved on the amount of items that are able to be unlocked and there is another character that can be played which just turned out to be worse than the original Dante.

I would only recommend DMC4 for the adrenaline of buying such a big-anticipated game. It will entertain you for about so long until you get bored. It's that kind of game.

I was one of the gamers who experienced the first DMC and i loved it, and like everyone else was disappointed by the sequels. When i heard about DMC4, i was worried it was going to be another cheap attempt to recreate the greatness that DMC1 gave, but reviews were saying just the opposite, and i agree.

This game is awesome, it has stunning graphics, addictive gameplay and a really captivating storyline.

The fact that the story is a little short is nothing to be surprised by, as the game doesn't focus on an epic fairytale that last forever like LOTR or other epics, it focuses on the challenge. Take, for instance, the combat element - Apart from the smooth combat and near endless combinations of attacks, you get rewarded for doing well and being flawless. Now i find that, as hard as i try, a level rating of B/A is all i achieve. For some that may be good enough, but for others (like myself) i find it an incentive to go back into that level and try to be perfect. The competitiveness is there if you want it.
Then of course there is the difficulty settings, where if you found the game a bit easy on the first two settings you can try (if you dare) to take on the higher difficulty settings that you unlock as the game progresses.

This game is not your typical game - It has a good storyline, but is not the focus. This game focuses on the Gameplay, caters for all levels of gamers, and keeps the sense of Arcade that many video games just don't have anymore.

I look forward to the potential of DMC5 (and a multiplayer element?) in the future, as will anyone else who plays this game.

This is what I have been wanting the DMC series to become, and has shown the gaming world a glimpse of what games can still be.

I bought this game on a whim, and didnt really expect much from it as i have never played any other DMC game and was never interested in them. When i started to playi was skeptical about whether i would get engrossed in the hack and slash style of fighting, but as i carried on playing i realised that it was such a fun game, the graphics are awesome, the cut-scenes blend in greatly with the actual gameplay and the story is fantastic, I enjoyed playing as Nero and thought that Dante was fantastic aswell, i thought that the way you could customise your fighters techniques and upgrade their fighting moves and abilities was fantastic.

Overall a must buy for all gamers!

At long last, a Devil May Cry sequel that truly surpasses the original game. DMC2 was absolutely abysmal, and DMC3 was, although a vast improvement on number 2, still not as memorable as Dante's original adventure. The story, the characters, the creatures, the locations and the soundtrack were almost perfect in the original Devil May Cry, something it's sequels up to now, sadly lacked.
Thankfully, Devil May Cry 4 has hit the mark yet again, only this time in glorious high definition. Re-recruiting the creator of the original DMC (and the awesome Resident Evil 4) is what Capcom should have done since the first sequel; it seems obvious that this guy is a genius when it comes to good story telling and instantly accessible gameplay. The DMC series has never been easy to pick up and play (DMC3 I found difficult even in easy mode), but DMC4's Human mode makes the game instantly accessible to new comers who have not yet mastered the art of fighting Dante style.
The biggest surprise to fans of the series, is that after three games fighting as demon hunter Dante, he is no longer the main character in DMC4. My first thoughts were of the Raiden disaster in Metal Gear Solid 2, a character who paled in comparison to the series' proper hero Solid Snake. Thankfully, the new guy Nero is as cool and capable, if not more so than Dante. His new Devil Bringer arm which can grab demons from a distance and pound the living hell out of them is as cool as Dante's pistols ever were. And before you despair at the loss of gunning down hoards of demon scum with obscenely high calibur weaponry, fear not, as Nero also comes equipped with a whopping big firearm and a razor sharp blade thirsty for demon blood. Think of him as a younger Dante.
The story is excellent, and keeps you gripped to the very end. I found I could not put the controller down and times, just to see what happened next. Graphically, DMC4 is beautiful. Right down from it's genuinely creepy enemies to the vast backdrops and arenas, the game never fails to amaze visually. And no matter how much is happening on screen, the game never struggles. The action is seamlessly crafted and as fluid as action games can be.
Replay value is also excellent. My original play through on Human difficulty took nearly 12 hours, and with another 3 modes of difficulty to unlock and master, this game will last you years. Quite simply put, there is no other action game on the 360 that is this good, and for thirty quid it is well worth the investment. Truly a new bench mark, not only for the DMC series, but for action games generally. Fantastic.