DMC4: Good Enough To Make You Weep (Page 2 of 6)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Casey reviewed both the PS3 and the Xbox 360 versions of the game and found no discernible differences in gameplay, so the review stands for both. We'll let you fight it out amongst yourselves as to which version has better graphics; subjectively speaking, both versions look amazing to us. All screenshots posted in this review are from the Xbox 360 version, by the way. And no, it's not because we hate the PS3--that's just the way it worked out.

At first, we thought Nero's hand looked like that because he was addicted to Flaming Hot Cheetos.

At first, we thought Nero's hand looked like that because he was addicted to Flaming Hot Cheetos.

Devil May Cry 4 is an insanely good looking, over-the-top action-fighting game that combines a high-drama story with crazy boss fights and one of the deepest, most rewarding combo systems around. There are some camera and save issues, but that hardly keeps it from being an early contender for one of the better games of 2008.

New Kid On The Block

Capcom has yet again found a way to revitalize the Devil May Cry franchise, this time leaning on blisteringly tight presentation and a brand new protagonist Nero, an impetuous demon arm-imbued member of the Holy Knights. Nero makes quite the grand entrance into the series and manages to leave a lasting impression; he might even give series favorite Dante a good run for his money among hardcore fans.

The game's storyline also holds a lot of secrets for those of you who have paid close attention to the franchise. I won't reveal any of them in the review, as that would just be cruel but rest assured that if you know your DMC history, you'll have a few things to smile about.

Arthritis Sufferers May Cry

But plot points and secret revelations aside, I enjoyed that Capcom again went with a hand-cramping combo tree, though the overall difficulty, especially the majority of the boss fights, aren't nearly as epic as what I expected. Playing with Nero, I spent the better part of the game mastering his Red Queen sword, which boasts a fuel-injected, damage-increasing throttle system, the Blue Rose double-barreled revolver and the Devil Bringer, a bitchin demonic hand that can grab enemies near and far and pound them into a slime of red orbs.

Nero's deathdealing abilities are highly upgradeable with the old red orb and stylish points systems returning from previous DMC, which let you learn new skills and buy new items. There are some other control mechanics I really liked, including a move called Hellbound, which basically is like a mix between Kratos' grapple-swing and sword-jumping in Halo; you link onto blue grapple points and soar across gaps and levels, which is especially cool during a few vertical puzzles that have you platforming up chasms.

You know what's worse then getting punched in the face by a fist? Getting punched in the face a second time by an even bigger fist.

You know what's worse then getting punched in the face by a fist? Getting punched in the face a second time by an even bigger fist.

Hey, look who it is. It's Dante. And what is with the size of his sword? Compensating much?

Hey, look who it is. It's Dante. And what is with the size of his sword? Compensating much?

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