Devil May Cry 4

"I don't care if the devil cries, I'm still playing it! *SPOILERS!!!*"

At last I've gotten my hands on a copy of Devil May Cry 4! Huzzah! I think this deserves a SEXY PARTY!!!!! Haha no.....

Anyways, yes I've at last gotten my copy of Devil May Cry 4, cheers for me!! I've played the awesome 2 previous installments in the series (Talkin' about 1&3) and I've played the "WTF? Capcom really bombed this HARD!" disappointing second installment of the DMC series. I've loved the first and third of Devil may cry and still do a little bit of playing here and now to remind me how awesome it is! Now let's see how 4 fares against the legendary 1 and 3!!

Story-8/10
Trying to catch whats going on in this part of the series is pretty solid at first, ANOTHER white haired half human, half demon man is included in the series and this is one without explanation of origin. At first a "Man in red" crashes in on one of Fortuna's "church sessions?" and kills the priest and leader of the Holy Knights of Fortuna, Sanctus or "His Holiness" as most call him. Nero tells his love interest Kyrie to run and faces off against the "Mysterious Assassin". Again you get the idea that Nero will want to chase down Dante after the first mission and supposedly "Kill" him (Like that's possible, if his equally or more powerful twin brother and the devil emperor couldn't finish this badass off, how do you think an Novice would kill this Pro?). So yeah the story is alright at first, but without Dante leading the beginning it's kinda weak since you don't know squat about Nero.

Sound-8/10
Here we go again with the techno rock stuff again! Catching a pitch from 3, 4 delivers the same variety of music. Though Nero's theme of battle gives off a more merciless rock theme to match his aggressive personality, while Dante's theme gives off a bit softer, but still badass type of rock to match his flow. Boss battle music is great also, "Sworn through Swords" (Berial boss fight) is one of my favorites at the moment along with "Black Angel" (1st Dante boss fight). Occasionally the game plays a more orchestral theme for moments in the game, like when Nero obtains the power of Yamato. The sounds are really great and most are very memorable throughout the game, so this deserves a good mark!

Graphics-9/10
Since 3 had pretty awesome graphics had great graphics in it's time, 4 should be even better given it's development time and debut on a next gen system. Devil may cry 4 exceeds pretty well in this department, a lot of detail given into the environment and scenery both in cutscenes and in-game. Character detail is very well done also, the expressions on their faces are are more deeper than those from Devil may cry 3. That being said, the design for enemies are also incredible as well, the Blitz's electrical aura seems almost real! The flaps on the sides of the faces of Assaults are revealed when they roar or become more offensive. Overall it's pretty amazing what Blu-ray can do to a game!

Gamplay-9/10
Devil may cry is known for its awesome gameplay and how smoothly it can run in most situations. In this game, it's no different, which is a GREAT thing (seriously, would we NEED another Devil may cry 2 in our lives? NOOOOOO!!!) Nero has original gameplay since he only has 4 things to his disposal: Red Queen, Blue rose, The Devil Bringer and the standard issue Devil Trigger. Nero has pretty good combos if used correctly, some even may surpass Dante (ummmmm maybe.....). While Dante returns with the same super cool classics (Stinger and Roundtrip anyone?) Some of his combos have been edited to provide more enemy handling and a new addition to the team, Lucifer. Dante still retains his styles from DMC3 and as an added bonus, he obtains the Dark Slayer style when he gets Yamato! The combat perhaps even succeeds Devil may cry 3!

Difficulty-8/10
The difficulty for this game (normal mode) is a bit downgraded from the 1st and 3rd, you can defeat enemies with ease without even thinking of a strategy! Capcom should have gave it a bit more thought on how much easier it would be with Nero's Devil Bringer and Dante's new ability to switch styles on the fly. But I suppose they make up for it in later difficulties when you get your ass handed to you on a silver platter along with carrots and string beans. DMD mode in DMC4 is pretty hard on any scale, whether you're a newbie at this or a old pro. But Hell and Hell is JUST PURE HELL!!!!!!!! Overall it's welcoming if your new at the series, but if not........it's not very challenging.

Variety-8/10
The variety has also been reduced from DMC3, which is a somewhat bad thing. Since Nero only has 4 things to use throughout the entire game and Dante only receives 3 devil arms and 3 fire arms. But to make up for it you can upgrade each of Nero's abilities and you soon obtain Devil trigger for Nero. Dante starts off with Devil Trigger, which can also be upgraded. Dante's styles also add to the category, since there are 5 of them and 4 are upgradable. It's an alright amount of variety, but I would've liked a bit more.

Replay Value-10/10
Replay Value is HUGE once you unlock Bloody Palace and try on harder difficulties. Bloody Palace is a challenge of 101 levels, each level getting harder after one another and allows you to test out new combos with both characters and just have plain fun TRYING to beat it. Also aside from Bloody Palace, there is bonus art to be unlocked on other difficulties. All of the bonus art are so great I think the should be hung up some where in your room or something. So yes replay value is MASSIVE in this game so I suggest you test things out in Bloody Palace and admire the character bonus art.

*extra* Bosses-10/10
I've added this unofficial category to my review, because it has peaked my interest. Unlike the early games of DMC bosses change their patterns and thus begin to add even more difficulty to the already fun-hard fights. The boss designs are eye opening, especially Berial who's flames feel so real you can burn your eyes looking at them long enough and Bael/Dagon are pretty awesome and original bosses. Echidna is one of the bosses I love to hate. She can start being cheap whenever she feels like it and I take great pride in killing her with Dante. Even the regular sized bosses such as Dante are also unique, blocking your shots bullet for bullet and Credo who has his own fighting style apart from any regular bosses from any series.

I recommend this game for all Devil May Cry fans and those who are looking for this game. It's a well made Hack and Slash/Shoot til you drop game with a decent story and perfect replay value that will keep you playing for months one end.

Overal score:8.75 Well done Capcom, well done.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/28/09, Updated 08/31/09

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