Devil May Cry 4

Devil May Cry makes its appearance on the next gen consoles with a style and gameplay that many fans of the series will be familiar with - you know the adage, if it ain't broke why fix it? For those unfamiliar with the series, Capcom introduced the series in 2005 on the PS2 with a game that many consider to be the best in the series. The series then fell off the map with a couple of hastily produced sequels and now we're given the fourth installment. So, does Devil May Cry live up to its reputation?

Story:

Nero takes the lead and his motivation for the acts that follow is his love Kyrie. The adventure begins in the gothic style town of Fortuna, where our new protagonist is on his way to hear his love sing at the local church. However, prior to reaching his destination, he is ambushed by demons and we quickly learn that our hero is anything but ordinary as he decimates them as only a devil hunter can. Upon reaching the church, we meet Sparda, the leader of the Order of the Sword, who begins to address the congregation when Dante crashes the party and fires a bullet into his head at point blank range. So begins the beautiful cut scenes that are speckled throughout the game.

Gameplay:

As I stated earlier in my review, Devil May Cry plays similar to the previous games in the series - you hack-n-slash your way to acquiring the best score and in the quickest amount of time while collecting red orbs to upgrade your abilities. For those who played Devil May Cry 3, Nero is markedly different than Dante. The biggest being Nero's Devil Bringer.....this arm is context sensitive and will aid in crushing minor enemies -to- ripping the throat out of major demons. Of course, the damage this arm inflicts can be increased with the system aptly named Exceed. By charging it up the damage that it unleashes is truly brutal. Nero is a welcomed addition to the series, but some may criticize the fact that Dante is only available for limited use....only seven missions with one being a tutorial.

Graphics and sound:

The graphics, like most next gen games, are incredible...with only minor shortcomings....mostly the shadow engine - the way the game adds shadows does distract from what otherwise is a beautifully rendered game. The sound does a superb job conveying the emotions of the scenes by delivering unique scores that fit the scenario well.

Final thoughts:

Devil May Cry 4 is a great addition to the series and is one of the better games in the respective genre. The gameplay is remarkable (not quite 3 but far above 2) that will introduce new gamers to the series and reward the veterans of the series that had to suffer through part 2. This is an addictive game with high replay value that will keep the gamer occupied for weeks.