26.2.2008

This is the fourth game in the series and it has some stiff competition to go up against - particularly the first Devil May Cry game in the series.There is much to admire about this hack and slash game. Firstly the FMV sequences are fantastic - on a HD Tv they look amazing, and show up a lot of films with their quality! The graphics are very smart too - very little pop-up, or weird glitches. This time you have two characters - Nero and Dante and although both look very similar, both have very different skills. To me, Dante is much cooler, with the best moves and a wittier, dead-pan attitude. The upgrade system to your moves is still included, but not as unforgiving as the first DMC game - in that game,if you didn't have a certain skill, you really were going to struggle horribly to get past a certain point. The moves are superb too - from Nero's Devil Hand to Dante's super-slick sword play. The boss battles are big and bold, with a real 'wow' factor.But this game is flawed, and not worthy of the five stars that a lot of other people have given it. Firstly, overall, the game is a case of style over content. The cut scenes are so long, that i began to wonder whether i was actually going to see any action. I would rather have had the developers put in a few more levels than stick a huge amount of cinematics into the game(great though they are). The fighting styles of the two main characters are not different enough to make the game a real challenge. You swap to Dante just over halfway through the missions, and it is so easy to pick up and play it is almost like you were still playing as Nero.There isn't a huge amount of skill involved in this game either - anyone who has played the previous installments will be getting good rankings on each mission from the start. It is very much, an old style hack and slash - but wrapped up in some next generation graphics. There are two difficulty settings, but they aren't hugely different in my opinion and thus, don't give you the real challenge that you want. The other flaw that can be aimed at all the Devil May Cry games is the invisible wall feature - the fact that you know you could jump over a fence to get into the next area, but can't. This is lazy and makes for a really narrow field of gameplay - you are in a game that is on the rails so to speak.It sounds like i dislike this game, but i don't - far from it. It looks and plays amazingly well. It is a finely polished game, and has obviously had a lot of time and effort spent on it. But it doesn't really break the mold or try to address the problems of the other Devil May Cry games. And that is a real issue. The developers should have gone back to the drawing board and done a Resident Evil 4 re-boot of the series. In that games case, everything was changed from the roots upwards, and what a classic game that proved to be. Devil May Cry demanded the same treatment, but instead we got a rehash of the older games, with the same old faults.Some of the boss battles are very similar to other games' bosses too.It was fun while it lasted, and is a really solid game - but the producers have played it safe, and not tried to take the game to the next level. Hard core gamers will blast through this in no time. People new to the series will not be blown away either, as this style of game has been done before on many platforms, and in many cases, better than this. If this is your first foray into the Devil May Cry series, go and start at the beginning and have a REAL challenge!I probably won't play this game over and over again, and i found God of War 1 and 2 on the playstation 2 much more engaging, much more interactive (great ideas for boss battles in those games) and much more addictive. I played those games to death, trying to get every single last extra - but on Devil May Cry, I don't really feel obliged to. Fun while it lasted, but it is still short, and still flawed...... come on! Let's get Devil May Cry 5 sorted out !!!!

28.2.2008

For those of you unfamiliar with the Devil May Cry Series, You play a spikey-haired male protagonist wielding a 6ft Sword in a Futuristic World that still inconcievably uses Swords and Pistols.. In this TOTALLY NEW AND ORIGINAL SETTING, (which incidentally no other japanese game has been doing since 1997) you play half the game as Nero and half the game as Dante (the hero from the other games). You can see the design team really went overboard here, as the two main characters looked so similar that for the first half of the game I was convinced they were the same person, and that some kind of time travel was happening, but no. This does mean you get a little bit of variety during the game,but they do so insist on sending you back to basically every location you've previously been to, which feels like a lovely way to extend the game without requiring any more thought.Of course, along the way you also get visited by many genre classics which we've grown to hate over the years, such as "inconvenient fixed camera", "tedious jumping puzzle" and "the room of endlessly spawning monsters". There are also a few other niggles, which are admitedly less of an irritation (namely, "breasts which don't suffer the chains of gravity" and "chairs contain demon blood, right?"). The greater part of the game is of course, the combat, which while nothing new, does manage to instil an effortless sense of cool into the repetative button mashing. I felt some quite genuine satisfaction from smashing an enemy to the floor with my compensatio-sword, sorry, and then nonchalantly firing a single shot from my usually useless pistol, dispatching him.This feeling does actually tend to prevail throughout the game, with encounters annoying you just enough to be really quite happy when you finally pull off that perfect combo (smash into air, jump, slice, throw down, falling chop, huzzah!) and see them violently explode in a shower of demon blood (like all furniture). Pressing B also often deals an impressive 'finishing move' for an extra hit of satisfaction, although unfortunatly the most prevalent enemy simply gets thrown to the floor :(Generally, the combat is simple enough to not frustrate, yet complex enough to not be a push over (theres even an automatic mode for easier combos, if you somehow lack the cranial or digital capacity to press 3 buttons) and the boss battles are very impressive even if they don't really seem to fulfil the promise that the very first one offered.The story mostly happens during the frequent cutscenes, but they look very nice, with above average voice acting and they held my interest throughout the game, even if they never really got me to CARE about the characters involved. The pace occasionally relents (see "tedious jumping puzzle" and "the room of endlessly spawning monsters") but these are a very minor part of the game, and are quickly forgiven upon reaching the next interesting battle. I only wish that sometimes the game is a bit patronising, an example being where you drop down past a series of rotating blades all at different heights and activate a device that slows time. The game then seems to think it's somehow necessary to suggest that you jump from blade to blade to reach the door, no way! In addition to that, there seems to be no way to remind yourself of the mission objectives, which I have occasionally forgotten and tracked halfway back across the vast map before realising that I was supposed to go the other way, ah well.All in all, I enjoyed this game, it held my interest throughout the course of the story, and your characters really do look good when fighting or even walking, and if you can withstand the odd outdated item (and for me, the constant thoughts of "I could be playing FF12") then it's definatly worth a look.

17.9.2014

You play as Nero, a young member of the order of holy knights, a group of worshippers devoted to the legendary Sparda (Dante's father). However, Dante interrupts the ceremony and assassinates the group leader. The demon slayer must be brought to justice by Nero, and to find out why the demon slayer has apparently turned rogue.Shoving Nero into the spotlight as DMCs new hero is a brave and it doesn't quite pay off. Nero lacks the charm and personality of Dante, leaving the cameo appearance of Dante in the game as truly teasing moments. The story is uninspired and shoves DMC lore into the mix, but it cannot the save its underwhelming impact.G R A P H I C S & S O U N DDMC has always been proud of its gothic inspired visuals,DMC 4 is no exception here. Jungles, snowy mountains and creepy laboratories are just some of the levels you can rampage through. Environmental detail and polish are at a very high, showcasing beautifully lit levels and imaginative fantasy design. Nero and Dante are immaculately crafted in their character designs, emphasising cool rock star looks and rebellious personas.Combat animations are excellent, performing very smoothly with each almighty attack and speedy movement. Cutscenes look fantastic, bringing forth outrageous fight choreography and Hollywood styled action set-pieces. Enemy designs truly excels when it comes to the boss encounters, large and terrifying beasts display a variety of special effects wizardry.On the flip side, the characters follow a destructive path of hamming up the script with cheesy dialogue. The soundtrack can also become repetitive and a predictable asset throughout the game.G A M E P L A YThe combat system is DMCs crown jewel and it is certainly up to the task in this game. Nero's combat style differs from Dante in many ways, it's wild and much more frenetic. This isn't a bad thing at all, as the young devil hunter is far from a pushover. Nero's sword, Red Queen, has a unique power system, which can be charged during combat and unleashed to perform breathtaking attacks.The value of the exceed gauge is not to undervalued, as it will become an essential tool. Nero also has another handy trick up his sleeve, which allows him to send out a projection of his cursed arm. Nero's arm can be used to reach distant objects, or even grab enemies to dish out further punishment.Dante's fighting style is far more precise and calculated, he definitely feels much better to control and to play with. Dante has a variety of fighting styles to exploit, which either improve his proficiency with firearms, strengthen melee combat, and even improve evasive techniques. Combine those traits with destructive side weapons and watch the body count rise.As ever, keeping the combo metre on the rise is the name of the game. Stringing up endless attacks pushes the score higher and will allow players to upgrade abilities much faster. Plenty of classic moves make their way from past games of the series, but there are some eye popping additions to grab too. The boss fights are all superb, constantly engaging the player and push demon hunting skills to the limit.The camera can be a problematic element of the game, occasionally shifting between fixed and roaming control. Boss battles also become repetitive and add little reinvention.O V E R A L LNero is an underdeveloped character and not a competent lead for the series. Dante lurks in the shadows of this game, yet his presence drives the game forward. DMC 4 is still bags of fun, offering good replay value and one hell of a hack and slash fest.

22.3.2008

In all honesty so many of the next gen sequels have been anti-climaxes, and despite being a huge fan of the dmc series I knew there was a chance this game wasn't going to deliver. I am pleased to report however that it delivers everything a player would want and to more or less perfection.I, like so many was initially sceptical towards playing as Nero over Dante for the majority of the game, suprisingly however Nero's game turns out to be a whole lot more enjoyable than Dante's. This is mainly down to his devil arm, a small change with massive alterations in gaming style. Not only does the arm bring enemies towards you, but also when your putting a demon down it interacts with each individual type of bad guy differently.For example, a possesed knight's armour with a lance is taken out by Nero through getting its own lance in its stomach as a result of the devil arm. The arm also alows chained combos which can be mastered so that Nero never has to actually touch the floor. Nero's cool attitude is also a refreshing change to Dante's constant cocky phrases.Dante's game, despite being classic dmc and very enjoyable falls second in my opinion to Nero's. The main reason is probably because the experience feels lacking without the devil arm. You crash your way through the first half of the game as Nero and then suddenly your missing the linked combos and given Dante's dmc3 style variation. The ability to change style in a mission is cool and does make the gameplay considerably better, but compared to Nero it still feels lacking. What doesn't help is that Dante has been taken to a new level of cheese. Its not what he says, but some of the over the top cockyness has been taken to new levels, you'll probably know what i mean when you see the scenes. The main flaw with Dante's levels is that they are literally Nero's but played backwards. This was a severe dissapointment. These issues, despite there being a few of them, aren't considerable enough to add up to black mark against this otherwise flawless game.Despite the odd problem with Dante's section, visually the game is amazing. I was literally in awe of some of the backdrops, and despite being more linear than a pencil, dmc4's environment will do nothing but take your breath away.The story is alot deeper than the previous dmcs, mainly as a result of the fact that Nero has a girlfriend and in turn you've got some emotion in the story. There are twists and turns, and the story generally feels more thought out than, 'go kill some demons for some vilagers.'The boss fights, specifically Nero's are the main highlight for me. The interaction that Nero can perform with them and the shear size of the last boss will surley leave you willing to replay the whole game again simply to fight them. For me this contrasts the way I thought about bosses in the previous game, mindlessly difficult hack, slash and dodge concepts.The difficulty settings are a bit off, 'human' setting is far too easy, and 'devil-hunter' mode can be pretty demanding.To conclude, this game was everything I expected and a whole lot more, and despite Dante being a bit of a let down remains superior to his previous outings, and if nothing else visually will blow you away. For fans of the series this is the answer to your prayers, for those not familiar to the style of playing may find the stages linear but will still be impressed with the cut-scenes and action. If you've bought or are going to - enjoy.

9.2.2008

I am new to the Devil May Cry Series , but I am definitely not new to Capcom games in general and I can see Capcom is playing their key strengths very well in this title: solid and addictive gameplay, insane moves and incredible boss battles.In fact some of the best boss battles I've seen in a long time from a video game and definitely the best boss fights on 360 so far.There is a great variety of weapons and techniques , each one more insane looking / ridiculous than the last. Customisation of your heroes' abilities, do bring back some replay value for multiple play throughs.The cinematic are incredible in this game and are worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster CGI fight scene with the level of choreography,camera angles, voice acting and action all going into it.To be honest the cinematics / cut scenes were annoying at first , because they were too frequent between gameplay , but after a while they grew on me and really enhanced the experience.This is a great game to have , as you can really unwind with this slash-fest which is very fun to play and a nice change from competitive online shooter-fest that 360 mainly is.I am greatly enjoying the game so far and am sure the replay value of the game will be extended with extra modes after you beat the game , as it's pretty standard of Capcom to do that.There aren't many bad things to say about it , except maybe more levels would have been nice instead using the same levels for more than one mission. Some puzzles are too simplistic , but then again i don't really want to be stuck on a puzzle too long in these kind of games.The only really disappointment is the awkward fixed camera angle that you can't change in some areas of the game ( like the resident evil series ), which is a really let down .... as it's an aspect of 3d gaming that most recent titles have got right, although i guess in this game it doesn't matter too much/ probably wouldn't work as well. But I'd say freedom of camera is pretty much essential in this day and age of 3d gaming and the majority of current gen titles have got it right.Anyway despite these minor flaws this is definitely a very enjoyable game that will keep you occupied for quite a while and you'll be enjoying the action throughout.The icing on the cake is that this game is held together with great design and style , in both gameplay and video cinematics, it's hard to not like something so flashy and thankfully this game lives up to it's flashiness with gameplay substance to back it up too.I have already been converted into a huge DMC fan after playing this game for the first few days of it's release.DMC4 is already one of my new favourite 360 games. Capcom have done it again and created another title that's a joy to experience. They have indeed reminded me why they are my favourite company and their future looks healthy on the current gen systems and beyond.

29.1.2009

I am new to the Devil May Cry Series , but I am definitely not new to Capcom games in general and I can see Capcom is playing their key strengths very well in this title: solid and addictive gameplay, insane moves and incredible boss battles.In fact some of the best boss battles I've seen in a long time from a video game.There is a great variety of weapons and techniques , each one more insane looking / ridiculous than the last. Customisation of your heroes' abilities, do bring back some replay value for multiple play throughs.The cinematic are incredible in this game and are worthy of a Hollywood blockbuster CGI fight scene with the level of choreography, camera angles,voice acting and action all going into it.To be honest the cinematics / cut scenes were annoying at first , because they were too frequent between gameplay , but after a while they grew on me and really enhanced the experience.This is a great game to have , as you can really unwind with this slash-fest which is very fun to play.I am greatly enjoying the game so far and am sure the replay value of the game will be extended with extra modes after you beat the game , as it's pretty standard of Capcom to do that.There aren't many bad things to say about it , except maybe more levels would have been nice instead using the same levels for more than one mission. Some puzzles are too simplistic , but then again i don't really want to be stuck on a puzzle too long in these kind of games.The only really disappointment is the awkward fixed camera angle that you can't change in some areas of the game ( like the resident evil series ), which is a really let down .... as it's an aspect of 3d gaming that most recent titles have got right, although i guess in this game it doesn't matter too much/ probably wouldn't work as well. But I'd say freedom of camera is pretty much essential in this day and age of 3d gaming and the majority of current gen titles have got it right.Anyway despite these minor flaws this is definitely a very enjoyable game that will keep you occupied for quite a while and you'll be enjoying the action throughout.The icing on the cake is that this game is held together with great design and style , in both gameplay and video cinematics, it's hard to not like something so flashy and thankfully this game lives up to it's flashiness with gameplay substance to back it up too.I have already been converted into a huge DMC fan after playing this game for the first few days of it's release.DMC4 is has been a big favourite of mine for a long while. Capcom have done it again and created another title that's a joy to experience. They have indeed reminded me why they are my favourite company and their future looks healthy on the current gen systems and beyond.

19.2.2008

Rarely has a game series had an uneasy history, a supurb first game was damaged by an awful second game, before being finally restored with the third installment, Devil May Cry 4 solidifies the series' status as being great.The plot is certainly stronger than in the previous games, with Nero providing a different angle on proceedings to Dante, and more characters than either which only helps. However the villian's (When finally revealed) seem to have a plan going but I wasn't too exactly sure what, I knew world domination (As always) was the goal but I just couldn't see how. Some plot lines which I thought would play a bigger role didn't too, particularly some characters being sadly underused.

4.4.2008

Capcom have done it again! Anyone who enjoyed the original Devil May Cry on the PS2 will love this game.With the addition of a new character Nero there is a bit of variety as you will have to play through 10 of the twenty missions before you get to play Dante. The two characters are very different. Nero is easier to master in that you can pull enemies towards you using the "devil bringer" arm and then unleash a series of spectacular combos. Like Dante, Nero is a gunslinger and players can alternate between gun and sword attacks during the frequent battles.DMC4 loves throwing lots of enemies at you at once but as you get more accomplished, you will be performing some pretty amazing moves without thinking about it.

21.2.2008

This game is just great. Theres some bad reviews for this game going round and there really shouldn't be, most of these come from people who have only played the demo. I agree, the demo was bad, very bad, it nearly put me off buying the game, but just the general coolness of the trailer video convinced me otherwise and i certainly don't regret that.The gameplay: combat can become slightly repetative, particularly when playing as Nero, Dante's fighting styles make him a much more interesting character to play. The game does try to lessen the repetitivness of combat for Nero by making different grabs for different enemies, they did try. Boss fight are good,

28.2.2008

When Devil May Cry came along on the PS2, it ruined things for everyone. How could there possibly be a better game with so much off the wall action? Then Capcom did it again, three times. But where to start with DMC4? This game is everything i'd come to expect from the previous installments but in all it's HD glory.I'll start with an issue that most people seem to moan about. The 25-30min install time. Alright, a bit annoying if you're chomping at the bit to play it (if you haven't bought it by now im guessing you're not) but it does vastly reduce load time and gives a lenghty reminder of the story in the first three games while you wait.Considering myself reasonably adept at DMC games and having two weeks to practice on the Demo before hand,

25.2.2008

This game is excellent. I found the first DMC to be a good game. The second was fun but it didn't have the same spark that the first one had. And I found the third game to be so impossibly difficult that I never even completed it. And now the 4th DMC is here.The star of the game is Nero. He's an orphan who is taken in by 'The Order Of The Sword' who turn out to be....... well, I'll leave that for you to discover. When a mysterious assassin (well, he's not really mysterious since you played as him for the first three games, but oh well), murders the leader of the order, Nero is sent to apprehend him. But Nero discovers that maybe this 'mysterious' assassin isn't as evil as he first thought. Ok,

12.2.2008

I've been a fan since the 1st game which in my view was the best in the series, until that is, I played the 4th. Although you play a different character called Nero - which I had doubts with, we all remember Raiden in MGS2 right?? well this thankfully doesn't follow the trend of crappy new heros. Nero's devil arm ability brings a whole new dimension to the game that actually makes it more enjoyable i.e. the fact that you can grab enemies from a distance and drag them within your melee radius so you can continue combos with greater ease makes it GREAT FUN! I havent played it in the easier mode called 'Human' but rather 'Devil Hunter' due to being an experienced fan so I cant say for sure how easy it is in the other.

2.6.2009

Fans of the Devil May Cry series will probably know what to expect from another instalment - epic boss fights. Frantic, acrobatic swordplay and the potential to look super cool while doing it without having to put too much effort into it.What they might not expect is a fleeting cameo by Dante and instead having to use a new player character, Nero, who is all but a carbon copy of Dante anyway. Nero mirrors Dante's abilities too, so the transition is virtually painless. Also, he has the advantage of a demon hand which he can use to grab throw enemies in the midst of battle or even swing across long distances, Spider-Man style.The fixed perspective is still present and, sometimes,

10.2.2008

The fourth instalment in the ever-popular Devil May Cry saga sees players thrust into the role of series newcomer Nero. Nero witnesses everyone's favourite demon hunter Dante savagely murder the leader and followers of the church order, setting Nero on a revenge driven rampage.When it was first announced no one was overly thrilled by the news of a new lead character but when you start to play you realise just how slick and excisable Nero is with his powerful demon arm which gives the player the ability of throws for this first time in the DMC saga this opens up powerful combos to decimate the demon hordes. Business as usual then.For 13 of the 20 levels you'll be playing as Nero but the time comes to play as Dante everything's flipped,

26.3.2009

As an avid Devil May Cry fan, I was really looking forward to this fourth instalment, as I had played all three previous games and loved every minute of it (including the second one which most consider the weakest, but that's not true) so I couldn't wait to start playing this. At first I had doubts as the main protagonist Dante is now secondary and Nero is the main hunter for this game, but I have to say I was not disappointed at all.Firstly the gameplay - absolutely superb what made the first three games so memorable was the extreme swordplay and here with Nero you also have the ability of throwing enemies with the use of Nero's devil arm which completely changes the way the game is played out.

Devil May Cry 4 - Reviews

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