Scott
04-08-2008, 07:45 PM
Two white haired, trench-coat wearing half-deamons, a devil huntress with an apparent adversion to underwear, 50-foot underworld creatures that can be hurled around with a glowing deamon hand: a sword you can rev like a motorbike. If there is something you can count on from a Devil May Cry game, it's elaborate, acrobatic, over-stated cool. And I'm pleased to announce that Devil May Cry 4 is even more flamboyantly ludicrous than ever. And you don't even start off the game as Dante either...
Like the aforementioned gun slinger and sword swinger, new character Nero also has the looks, skills, and the style, with the advantage of a mighty devil arm that can hurl, slam and literally tear enimies apart.
So don't worry you'll be quite content with his spectacular range of combo moves and attacks until the original son of Sparda becomes playable. If anything, thanks to Nero's powerful demon arm, it's the first time I've properly felt on par with the strenth and power of the colossal (and ingeniously designed) boss monsters, rather than caught in a classic David versus Goliath fight. More often than not, Nero can use this mutant limb to grab a monstrous demon and swing it around like a childs toy and quite decisively beat it into submission. And it's in these moments that it feels truely awesome to be such a kick ass character.
Devil May Cry 4 as you might expect, is the biggest and best looking in the series so far. The advantages supplied by the power of the next gen consoles (PS3 and Xbox 360) cranks up the flow of the action, scale of the enviroments and quality of the cutscenes to a quite astonishing level.
But it's still very much a Devil May Cry game in it's structure, format and gameplay. If it weren't for the next gen visual overhaul it could easily be mistaken for one of any in the series. Plus of course it means all the previous niggles (such as the odd annoying camera angle moment and frustrating jumpy sections) still unfortunately rear their head on occasion.
It couldn't really put up much of a fight against anyone who accused it of being a mindless button masher either. Sure, you can put in the effort to pull off some of the more spectacular moves for the best skill bonuses (and both Dante and Nero have a wealth of diffrent attacks), but play the game on normal difficulty setting and blind hammering the controls will pretty much get you a decent way through the story.
And what a storyline it is: convoluted, over-the-top and fantastically hammy with all the gymnastic violence and corny one-liners you could possibly ask for. Despite the minor criticisims, it would do good to remember that Devil May Cry never was and probably never will be about intellectual challenge. It's about kicking ass and looking cool doing it.
To that end, Devil May Cry 4 provides some brilliand pyrotechnic action and dramatic absurdity with eye popping next gen visuals. And this isn't as easy to pull off as you might initially think: take a look at games such as Heavenly Sword or Conan proof, if any was needed that the hack 'n' slash genre can be both dissapointing and medicore. So it makes sence to appreciate a game, such as Devil May Cry 4, that does it all so well.
The good:
- The relentless impressive combat
-The best graphics in the series
-That it's just so damn cool
The bad:
- It's being linear and brainless as always
Graphics:
The levels, characters and combat look incredible on PS3 and 360.
94/100
Gameplay:
Classic hacking and slashing mixed with eye-popping cut-scenes
87/100
Lifespan:
Longer than previous games with plenty of unlockable content to play for.
88/100
Overall:
A far greater spectacle rather than gameplay overhaul but still a brilliant hack 'n' slasher.
89/100
Like the aforementioned gun slinger and sword swinger, new character Nero also has the looks, skills, and the style, with the advantage of a mighty devil arm that can hurl, slam and literally tear enimies apart.
So don't worry you'll be quite content with his spectacular range of combo moves and attacks until the original son of Sparda becomes playable. If anything, thanks to Nero's powerful demon arm, it's the first time I've properly felt on par with the strenth and power of the colossal (and ingeniously designed) boss monsters, rather than caught in a classic David versus Goliath fight. More often than not, Nero can use this mutant limb to grab a monstrous demon and swing it around like a childs toy and quite decisively beat it into submission. And it's in these moments that it feels truely awesome to be such a kick ass character.
Devil May Cry 4 as you might expect, is the biggest and best looking in the series so far. The advantages supplied by the power of the next gen consoles (PS3 and Xbox 360) cranks up the flow of the action, scale of the enviroments and quality of the cutscenes to a quite astonishing level.
But it's still very much a Devil May Cry game in it's structure, format and gameplay. If it weren't for the next gen visual overhaul it could easily be mistaken for one of any in the series. Plus of course it means all the previous niggles (such as the odd annoying camera angle moment and frustrating jumpy sections) still unfortunately rear their head on occasion.
It couldn't really put up much of a fight against anyone who accused it of being a mindless button masher either. Sure, you can put in the effort to pull off some of the more spectacular moves for the best skill bonuses (and both Dante and Nero have a wealth of diffrent attacks), but play the game on normal difficulty setting and blind hammering the controls will pretty much get you a decent way through the story.
And what a storyline it is: convoluted, over-the-top and fantastically hammy with all the gymnastic violence and corny one-liners you could possibly ask for. Despite the minor criticisims, it would do good to remember that Devil May Cry never was and probably never will be about intellectual challenge. It's about kicking ass and looking cool doing it.
To that end, Devil May Cry 4 provides some brilliand pyrotechnic action and dramatic absurdity with eye popping next gen visuals. And this isn't as easy to pull off as you might initially think: take a look at games such as Heavenly Sword or Conan proof, if any was needed that the hack 'n' slash genre can be both dissapointing and medicore. So it makes sence to appreciate a game, such as Devil May Cry 4, that does it all so well.
The good:
- The relentless impressive combat
-The best graphics in the series
-That it's just so damn cool
The bad:
- It's being linear and brainless as always
Graphics:
The levels, characters and combat look incredible on PS3 and 360.
94/100
Gameplay:
Classic hacking and slashing mixed with eye-popping cut-scenes
87/100
Lifespan:
Longer than previous games with plenty of unlockable content to play for.
88/100
Overall:
A far greater spectacle rather than gameplay overhaul but still a brilliant hack 'n' slasher.
89/100