advertisement

Devil May Cry 4 is the fourth iteration in the much acclaimed Devil May Cry series that has long been solely available on Sony consoles, with a single PC release. Capcom have at long last decided to share the love, and we are grateful for it. The first Devil May Cry 4 arrived last week for the Xbox 360 and so far it is more of a blessing than anything else. The scene is set when the character you play for most of the game, Nero, is late for a meeting of the Order of the Sword. A group founded to protect mankind and exterminate demons. You are introduced to Nero's beautiful girlfriend and some other members of the Order, who thanks to Capcom's painstaking work look just incredible. Moments after though Dante from the previous Devil May Cry titles bursts in and assassinates the leader of the Order. Your first encounter pits Nero Vs. Dante and you are introduced to the controls as you embark on your demon hunting crusade.

To those crying out blasphemy for the loss of Dante as the main character, fear not, he does make a return later during the winding and gripping story that takes several unexpected turns and keeps you on the edge of your seat. Nero is not just some punk kid moved in as a placeholder for Dante. He has some very unique moves and they contrast strongly to those of Dante whom you then also experience later in the game. One of the greatest things about Nero is his devil bringer. This acts almost like a whip in that you can use it to pull yourself toward enemies, pull enemies toward you, or simply throw them around. It spices up the action and means Nero spends much of his time flying through the air unleashing his attacks. His moves have been well thought through and they all execute well. The combination of sword and gunplay for those unfamiliar with Devil May Cry is just fantastic and makes the combat fast paced and exciting. The 60 FPS action really helps to display all the combos in totality, with a smoothness rarely seen.

Great is also the ability to upgrade and unlock new moves for both characters. The higher the difficulty and the better your rank on each level, the more points you receive and are able to spend. You can also buy an assortment of potions using the crystalised demon blood that you collect around the levels. This is the games currency so to speak, and demon blood indeed has some of the strangest places to hide meaning you will end up attempting to wreck anything that isn't bolted down on the level. Just think of all the places you wouldn't ever hide your crystalised demon blood, and you shall find it.

Newcomers to the series will be very happy for the difficulty settings which really allow you to jump in and pick it up quickly. A setting to have your character automatically (well, more easily) perform combos is great, especially for people who struggle with button combos in similar titles. You can enjoy the incredibly fluid and beautiful moves that have obviously had a huge amount of work go into them, even if your not quite sure how you just pulled them off. For those die-hard fans you can still go at it the old way and have the usual difficulty settings to really ramp things up.

The rounds are perfect for quick sessions, each level taking anywhere between 10 and 30 minutes to complete, making them like bite sized morsels. This makes the lack of save points manageable and also allows you to be fully healed between segments. The game rates each level at the end, rating your speed, style and the amount of crystalised demon blood you collected. Your scores can then be uploaded to Xbox Live and compared with others. Obviously higher difficulties and stringing together combos manually provides a much greater score, although it is possible to rank reasonably highly either way.

The environments on each level are simply some of the most spectacular. Every little inch of the level looks incredible, and you will literally have your jaw drop on occasion. One area has you run right past an incredible waterfall which just blew my mind. But all the environments in the world wouldn't help if the enemies were dull, and boy are they anything but.

You have your run of the mill demons initially, but as you progress you run into some really creepy characters. Not to mention the end bosses, from fire breathing behemoths to seductive toads you will come across a vast array. At times they are so massive they tower over you, adding to the action. Unfortunately most of them you are pitted against a second time which does leave a slightly sour taste as it feels regurgitated, similarly does the back tracking through some of the levels later in the game.

This however does not detract from the fluid and unique feel of this game. It is easy to jump in in the early levels, as the game slowly increases the difficulty easing you into the games style, but also wild enough for you to crank up the difficulty and have a real challenge on your hands. This game is not simply a button combo masher, although at times it does come frustratingly close for those with an aversion of such games. But the way it guides newcomers in with the ability to forget about timing and button combos completely and simply enjoy the fantastic moves that Nero and Dante lay down in the face of their demonic opponents, is indeed awe inspiring.

This variation in difficulty and in the experience that can be had from the title will result in most fans being happy with the result, and newcomers not being scared off. The game is well balanced from the beginning to end. The story and beautiful cut scenes will be enough to convince anyone that this game is worth indulging in. Devil May Cry 4 was surprisingly satisfying and it is clearly a must have title for fans of these games, and for many other gamers as well.