Devil May Cry 4

"Half a game, twice."

Devil May Cry 4 (2008), Capcom - R009 - 06.24.2009

Devil May Cry 4 is an old-school action game based on the principle that repetition is not stylish. And about halfway through, you will be forced to run all the way back to the first area.

This fourth entry in the acclaimed Devil May Cry series is definitely more quality than bull, introducing a unique fighting style with Nero and perfecting every other aspect of the gameplay. Veteran hunters will enjoy the fresh look and improvements, and new players will find more than enough to have fun without feeling left out. It's just... not quite the excellent package, thanks to some baffling, rushed design choices that end up hurting Capcom's otherwise brilliant effort.

Story is standard Devil May Cry fare
A cult that worships Dante's pop is attacked by... Dante. Nero newbie is sent on a mission to capture the mysterious guest, but soon enough things unfold. Expect honest interaction between Nero and Dante, who still is the adorably arrogant slayer we adore, and a melodramatic tone set by Nero's love interest Kyrie. A couple of twists and nostalgic cameos along the way.

Nero gameplay makes tingling in your pants
One of two peculiar aspects of Nero's fighting style is immediately friendly, the other a bit harder to conquer, and both surprisingly rewarding. Nero may stretch his demonic arm, the Devil Bringer, and reach for items and enemies nearby, at any time, on safe ground or floating in the air. You only need one button, and the entire evil army, bosses included, was designed around this feature. Depending on the size of the demon, Nero pulls it close to him or himself to it, allowing faster combo chains and special throws. The result is a flashy display of violent acrobatics that look like an expert's doing, when in fact any player can accomplish this stylish madness with ease. The Exceed system, the other half of Nero's groove, offers extra power and range by charging your Red Queen sword, plus instant access to these goodies for timing slashes carefully. It is fully optional, but uncovers a hidden layer that the hardcore public will approve. Nero brings up that feeling of having a new character to master, and considering DMC4's ace controls and enemies, this is a very welcome approach.

Gorgeous boss encounters
DMC4 is a rarity in that every single boss fight is properly paced and intense, regardless of its difficulty. Our heroes face a respectable cast of demon leaders including, in order of awesomeness, a giant statue, a Dante and a fiery centaur. Did you just read "a Dante"? Yes, yes you did. These bosses look stunning, battles vary in style and atmosphere, and there are many subtle weaknesses and stun mechanics for the dedicated. In short, they represent the highlight of every level.

Just the right difficulty
Normal mode is finally normal. The game is not a piece of cake, mind you, but the learning curve was handled well. Previous titles included many wake-up-call moments where you felt truly excited about your progress, confident as ever, only to face an unfair boss and lose your hair. No Phantom or Cerberus will test your dignity as early as Mission 3 this time. All enemy moves are suitably telegraphed before they hit, even on traditionally scary Dante Must Die mode. If you die, you may use a Gold Orb to revive on the spot, or continue any number of times from the nearest check point.

Proud Souls? Inventive currency alternative, thank you
Why be stylish in Devil May Cry 4? Proud Souls. Proud Souls are the ultimate prize for clearing a stage, a quantified translation of your dropped sweat, or in essence the best salary ever. The game will calculate your performance based on the usual time, orbs, style, etc. The higher your score, more Proud Souls will be awarded. Thing is, you'll want all the Proud Souls you can get, because there's no way to buy weapon upgrades and abilities without 'em. Sounds hard? Don't worry, you get a full refund if you dislike a move or need something else. The catch is that each power you equip will raise every other price a bit, so having absolutely everything equipped will take a while.

Timid mission design
Enter room, kill, find next room. Every now and then DMC4 attempts to mix things by presenting an obvious puzzle or platforming, but they never reach inspired territory and sometimes get in the way of what the game does best. Perhaps this wouldn't have been noticeable if there wasn't so much tedious running and hitting statues all over the place. Instead of distributing threats more evenly, DMC4 includes countless mandatory fights per level while leaving many of the huge buildings and corridors empty.

That's the core of the experience, folks. Still, this wouldn't be a Devil May Cry 4 review without some backtracking, now would it? Same points, in reverse order, from a different angle. Let's rock!

Timid mission design... now with more gimmick!
When you hit the second half and take control of Dante, the game officially gives up on level design and picks numerous sections to replay at random. In order to try and spice up the recycling eureka, a number of gimmicks were added to revisited areas, like the forest rearranged into a maze and the king of artificial difficulty, poison air. They've all been used in previous games, only under more inviting circumstances (the "poison air" segment in DMC3, for example, counters the cheapness with Dante's Devil Trigger being activated the entire time).

Proud Souls? Inventive, but Red Orbs might feel a little emotional
Red Orbs are only useful for shop items this time 'round. Because players tend to use less consumables as they get better, you may find yourself with a ton of money and nothing to buy very soon, while your move list drains a few more runs worth of Souls. It should take you one full playthrough to buy all permanent health and Devil Trigger upgrades, but there's no carpet here to sweep the dirt.

Just the right difficulty... and the wrong, why not
There is a new unlockable difficulty mode in DMC4 called Hell and Hell. Half similar to Heaven or Hell, where your character and even bosses die in one hit, Hell and Hell also pits Nero and Dante against all dangers of the 20 stages with one miserable health point. Unlike HoH, however, enemies and bosses retain hard mode energy bars. Ouch, you say? It's actually not that impossible, because the game gives you three Gold Orbs restored free of charge at the start of the level and on every check point for this mode. Still, while Heaven or Hell may be considered an unpretentious ride through the game, this one just feels tacked on. For the really good and really bored only.

Gorgeous boss encount-- didn't I fight this guy just now?
Eight bosses, 19 mandatory encounters. Only three out of 19 fights are completely unique. When they repeat, it's usually the exact same battle, same place, same difficulty. Dante faces most of 'em in reverse order, so the first three or four bosses in his segment not only feel pointless, they get progressively easier. They're great boss fights, but hitting our head with 'em constantly is a little lazy, no?

Dante gameplay is the same as ever (awesome!)
Dante plays just like his DMC3 days, with the natural addition of on-the-fly Style switch. You may now choose between three Devil Arms, three Guns and five Styles without pausing or wasting time thinking about ideal combinations. Trusty Rebellion and predictable Ifrit clone are back for comfy combat, then two magnificent new weapons appear to rank among the most creative in the series. The only minor or major quirk, depending on your preference for either hero, is that the game was obviously designed around Nero's Devil Bringer. Thanks to Dante's strength and weaponry, he will have an overall easy time dealing raw damage to enemies and bosses, but he lacks Nero's chunk-eating God of War context moves.

Cutscenes are standard Devil May Cry fare, too
Nicely choreographed, great sense of scale. Sometimes it's as if Capcom decided that the cutscene motif should be 'seriously beautiful' as opposed to the crazy stylish that so defines the series, but there's lots of quality action to be seen. There is also a dance number. I'm dead serious.

Next-gen debut, Devil May Cry 4 is ear and eye candy of high caliber. Music is fitting, with the exception of the main battle tunes (why angry lyrics again?). Visually, the game maintains trademark zany creativity in character, creature and environment design, powered by today's impressive technology and animation. Fighting a dragon who turns into a snake who turns into a plant who turns into a woman should be no surprise if you're a little familiar with the franchise. Nero and Dante will cross a variety of breathtaking locations ranging from a snowy mountain to enormous temples, and even if their attempts at dynamic shadows in the forest are laughable, at least the game's environments and endless vistas are colorful. Just prepare to see them a lot.

There are many games heavy on backtracking that somehow manage to stay interesting the more you delve into their samey dungeons. Metroid is an expert at this. I, on the other hand, am no expert, but have a theory on why it works only for some: gratification. When you travel back to an area of Tallon IV in Metroid Prime, it feels great because you have all these newly acquired powers to open new rooms and reveal more expansions. Devil May Cry 4 simply starts the game over with an unlockable.

Likely Capcom's justification for Dante following Nero's steps in reverse is that the cocky veteran offers a different enough gameplay style in comparison, so in theory you get this whole new experience as the switch occurs. That's not the problem. It's great when there's the possibility to relive the full experience as a second character, and they don't even have to play entirely differently to make the game fresh again (case in point: Vergil in DMC3:SE). The issue here is that we didn't get a full experience to begin with. Devil May Cry 4 is half a game, twice.

The game plays well, controls like a dream, looks fantastic, runs fast. Combat is even more sophisticated, Nero's style works, enemies and bosses are fun to fight. You will play this for a long time and you will get used to the recycling, gradually, between Dante Must Die and painting your ranking screen red. The problem was treated with some emphasis here as a form of protest. DMC2 gets away with this because it's terrible, but when a game with so much quality suffers the same fate, it's insulting. Devil May Cry 4 is an A title, no question about that. It's just hard to shake the feeling that it could have been something more akin to the series, like SSS.

Eight out of ten.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/24/09

Game Release: Devil May Cry 4 (US, 02/05/08)