"Sends demons back to hell, in style."

Demons may cry, especially with the beating they get in here. Perhaps, if you have been watching all the trailers religiously then you might be a little let down by the story but not anything bad enough to make you cry because you feel is money wasted. More likely it will be the cries of joy because of another fluidly display of demon extermination or in agony, as you die (yet again) in Hell or Hell mode. Enough of may or perhaps, because you will enjoy it, and you will find it one of the best action game to be released, enough to compete with Ninja Gaiden or God of War or any action game you can think of.

For those unsure on what Devil May Cry is about, this game is action with sword supplemented by guns that does more of a support role only but still figures prominently. The action is fast paced and is based more on fantasy then realism in style.

I am new to the Devil May Cry series, one way to express my love for this game is this: I bought DMC3 two days after I bought this, just because I could not ever get enough of it. But will I ever get enough of action games? Probably not, the same goes for if I will ever master one. Despite me being a rookie of DMC, I certainly know Dante and was more than a little surprised to learn that he is not actually the main character, the new kid of the block Nero takes care of the show. At least I'm not the only newbie around. The last time a hugely successful franchise changed the on-going main character is in Metal Gear Solid 2, with Raiden taking Snake's mantle as “the man”. Some would say “man” perhaps not right word for Raiden but there were endless call for fan service after, a bag of strong mixed opinions. Nero, for one, wouldn't have his gender questioned. He also kick ass. One might expect he would be another youth that is a little less than sure about life with that arm of his, but no, you couldn't get another self confident and cocky hero anywhere with the exception of Dante. Perhaps his selling point is that his personality is not too dissimilar to Dante, which makes him more easily accepted. Still, breaths of fresh air no doubt. How about good old Dante? He is a little old, especially with the facial hair but other than that, he is the Fool/Clown of the game. “Walking punch line” is an accurate description of him.

The story, if is comprised of one-liners, then it wouldn't be so bad. The story sets in the town of Fortuna, where the town peacefully worship the god Sparda led by the leader of Order of the Sword, Sanctus. The game takes us to the day of an annual festival, a mysterious Assassin, AKA Dante, drops in and kill the leader of the Order of the Sword and swiftly kills some of the guards. Nero, who is a member, fought him. Dante got away after some less than human feats and was ordered to chase him. Then you get the usual, some twist in the plotline, and rescue a damsel in distress (but let's put the record straight, Kyrie is a nice girl. How often do we get a hot, pretty girl that doesn't have swinging breasts and over ass exposure? Not often, oh, her voice is beautiful as well, but enough of having a crush on pixels. Still the point being it is a generic plot). I was hyped up by the cut-scenes in the trailers; they were dramatic and exhilarating with lots of action. The theme of betrayal is in the air, but probably because it was evaporated by the time of release. Is not as though they are missing too many elements that make up a story but there is too little continuity and story telling. All we witness is the bad guys rise to power and then cut them back to size. Heard it somewhere? Maybe in some low budget mass churned out game, made possibly by EA. A dull experience that even the joke that is Dante can only crack a momentary grin in a game long frown, a grin that is must be made “with great strength” (you would understand this when you play the game). Even if the Opera House scene nearing the end is as humorous as you can find in games these days, if only for how ludicrous the whole scene was.

Let us get back to Nero. If there is one thing the story has told us, he is no match to Dante but probably is the second best in that side of the world. He can hold his own though, unlike those poor guards that was just swept aside like dirt. So how does he do it? Well, a sword driven by engine, a specially designed double barrel handgun, the Blue Rose, and a “trick up his sleeve” and a cocky attitude to match. He also has Devil Trigger available as you advance in the plot. There is all your variety. Perhaps a little disappointing, but his sword, the Red Queen is a complete weapon. Apart from an extensive move list, the ability to “rev” up the sword for more power can unleash some fantastic attacks. The Devil Bringer is trump card here. See that demon arm? That's it. Some fantastic ability that may cause you to over-rely on it but why not? Is powerful, reliable and cool to boot. It has range and can have a devastating effect on all enemies, even bosses. The all purpose demon extermination “weapon”. It is a fantastic addition and it is very soothing to not only block but also reflect attacks back.

So how is our seasoned veteran Dante getting things done? He (eventually) has three melee weapons, three ranged weapons and four styles, oh and a bit of Yamato as well. The sword Rebellion is plain and boring compared to the Chuck Norris style Gilgamesh. And there is the Lucifer, a weapon that is a spectacle if not practical for the unskilled. Lucifer is a weapon where you hit by conjuring endless amount of explosive floating swords and it does give a nice feeling when you detonate the half dozen swords you just stabbed in your latest victim. As for of guns, the Ebony & Ivory returns but is not as though is hardly useful. Probably the only reason you will use it is for nostalgic reasons. It is a poor man's Blue Rose and puny compared to the Coyote A, the shotgun. At least it can knock back enemies. But the best hides in a suitcase. Or a box, whatever you like to call it, but is Pandora. Oh with 666 forms, naturally, though you only get to use seven. Something that takes absurdity to a completely new level. So what is it? Gattling gun? Yes, wait, no. It is a (multiple) rocket launcher! Now is a laser cannon, or is it a flying pod ship fitted with homing missiles? If you are still not convinced that Dante, with such bizarre weapons, is here for comic relief, then even Pandora can't break your stubborn thoughts. The Styles returns but it differs from DMC3 in that you can switch in mid-combat. Trickster for all your various maneuvers, the gunslinger to enhance your guns, some additional sword tricks for Sword Master and some defense from the Royal Guard. They are useful for Dante as his weapons alone is very restrictive, with styles like Sword Master, all his melee weapons get some additional moves some of which is very powerful.

Heavy arsenal indeed, now is time to put them into good use. This game is what I call a sophisticated hack and slash, or an action game if you want a general term. The gameplay just “rocks” as Nero will say. Your game is mostly against demons. There are different variations, from the scarecrows that are nothing but warm up punch bag to the powerful Frost, Angelo and Blitz. This game does not have block so to speak (for Nero at least), the game play revolves more around the evasion of attacks. In some ways is another of those “find the pattern” routine but that just would not do this game any justice as the action is exhilarating. The motor blade of Nero adds a lot of variation and juice to the game while Dante's different styles offer some variation. And them together adds up to a very deep game play experience.

As for Boss battles, a bit disappointing. Perhaps because facing the same boss 3 times isn't my cup of tea, or I hate people hiding in shields or the fact very big moving statues most have weak spots indicated by shiny bubbles that always get shattered by our fearless heroes is far too cliched. Well, a few specific battles are nice but largely forgettable. Most of them are just fight against oversized demons with a vast array of attacks that hits harder. The predictability and timid aggression makes most bosses a pushover. That's the case for all the difficulties overall. It really seems timid the whole way. When you make your way to Dante Must Die, the hardest difficulty, you will be challenged but won't be stretched too far. There is the case of being able to “farm” red orbs for more items easily as you can manually select a level that you had beaten before which can really make short work of the boss with excessive amount of healing items.

The strongest criticism of the game is that in Dante's mission, you backtrack to where Nero started from where Nero ended in terms of physical location. Perhaps you will cringe at the repeated levels design but other than that, it is a problem blown out of proportion. Dante is very different to Nero, the style and the weapon available will make you easily overlook the same level designs. And speaking of level, if we describe Nero as ran through the castle and the forest, then Dante blasted through the castle and forest. You don't endure the same puzzles, and the placement of enemies is different. The main concern of backtrack is receptiveness, especially with bosses. It isn't a concern here and I will go far as to say you might enjoy the second round much more. For the record, I would prefer no backtracking but is not a big deal.

The game is split into 20 missions, with Nero grabbing 12 of them with his Devil Bringer. It is of variable length, expect 20 minutes on average for each one with some notably shorter. After each mission you are rated in your time taken, style points and orbs found with the use of items and continues taken into account for a final rating of D, C, B, A or S, which is nothing more than bragging rights. Style points is how you fight, you would get higher if you combo attacks without being hit, and can have a rank of D to SSS. In DMC, where sometimes surviving is hard enough, style is also required. This is mostly a judge of how smooth you are and whether you spam the same attacks, which are slightly penalized in that, you do not gain additional points. After missions, you receive Proud Souls, which is used to level up your various weapons and abilities. Red orbs, serve exclusively to buy items and can be gained within the missions. Items can be bought includes life restoration, magic restoration, extending of life bar and so forth. So there is no such thing as leveling up, is all about upgrading. Completing specific feats in the game also helps to upgrade as well as searching for well-hidden treasures.

The level designs are very good even if you see it twice. Dante's mission is a backtrack of Nero's including the Boss battles but apart from the cosmetic similarities, does it matter that much? They are not asking you to do the same puzzle again (well, you are presented with puzzles, but Dante just sliced through it). The level designs are not really that special so you won't pay much attention to it regardless. A mining area which thankfully is short, a medieval castle ruled by ice, a forest and a special high tech area with all these boobie traps you just wonder how some no-life stuttering mad scientist moves around without getting fried. The creativity of the themes perhaps is not the most appealing but it is a HD generation game and things bound to look good in some ways. In the forest area, there is a “shimmer” with the shadows that can be a little distracting but otherwise no complaints. Perhaps not intricately detailed with creativity but the raw beauty of life-like graphics will give clear any doubts you may have about the HD market.

As for the eardrum treatment, prepare to hear a lot of shouts of “slam dunk” and groaning of an old man. A lot of sword connects with flesh and some very tame gunshots. Music, what, you expect you can get away from rock? Not heavy metal but death rock that isn't intrusive, just your typical background music. The theme song is nice, I found myself murmuring the lyrics at the ending frequently. The song actually did a huge part in setting the tone of what I expected to be a great story but that was not to be. Nevertheless, it must be praised. “Rock” solid.

2000 years isn't exactly the length of thus game, but perhaps at least is a better experience than living in the flames of hell for that amount of time like Berial did. The storyline can be played through in around 9 hours depending on your prowess in finding your way (aka, don't wander back all the way to the start expecting the much talked about backtrack 6 missions too soon) through the level. The bulk of your game play would be beating the higher difficulties, gaining perfect scores in Missions and completing achievements. These Achievements are equivalent to the Xbox Live points only that it serves no current purpose except for the looks and the completionist. There is also the Bloody Palace, a 100 level gauntlet of non-stop fighting. Unlockable “super characters” of Dante and Nero may provide extra hours of fun as well. It is a game of reasonable length and you will get your money's worth.

My verdict is this. It is a great game for casual gamers, is fun, addictive with short learning curve and no frustration. Is a free for all game except those who does not enjoy sword-orientated game. Again, don't be fooled by the guns, the bulk of the damage is melee based. An enjoyable gaming experience where the story can be much more fledged out and improvements in boss battles. Probably a little less backtracking by Dante is preferred even if the inclusion won't tarnish the gaming experience. Still, a devilishly good game that everyone should get.

Gameplay: 9/10
Graphics: 9/10
Storyline: 6/10
Sound: 10/10
Game Length: 10/10
Overall: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/10/08

Game Release: Devil May Cry 4 (JP, 01/31/08)