Well we finally have a Devil May Cry game for the Xbox 360, and with the producer of the original DMC and also the classic Resident Evil 4 along for the ride, it’s a positive start for DMC4, but does this bring anything new to the table or is this just another rehash of an old game.
The game starts with some amazing film like cut scenes, introducing the main characters, and what’s even better is that the gameplay looks just as good, if not even better. You initially start off playing as Nero, confused? so was I but after a while the story starts to unfold and explanations are given and before long you can also play as the lovable rouge Dante.
Though many people will be disappointed by the initial playable character, I found Nero to be better than Dante, first off he has a really cool motorbike style revving handle that you can rev up for more powerful combos, secondly, he has a Devil Bringer, which allows you to grab enemies amongst other things and really knock up some amazing combos.
During the game you will obtain upgrades for this to assist with puzzle solutions, I wont go into much detail as this will spoil the game but one of the additions is a grappling hook function to gain access to higher platforms. Nero also has a modified double-barrelled handgun, but it is so useless it is hardly ever used, it looks cool though.
As with all DMC games, the combos are furious, a gauge on the right of the screen will start to fill up, the longer the combo you pull off without getting hit the larger the points you gain at the end of the level. As well as this, the more hits you make on a devil, the more your Devil Trigger gauge increases, and once full you are able to summon your devil counterpart and unleash some heavier and faster moves which really help on the boss levels.
There are 20 Levels to play through, a healthy variety of enemies pop up in each one and you must defeat them to move to the next area, and every few levels you will come across a boss. These guys are huge and the fight can last well over 5 min per boss, which does not sound like much, but when you are playing it feels like an eternity. In each level there are also secret missions to locate and complete, these range from defeating enemies in a certain time to killing them with certain moves. These missions reward you with extra power ups and orbs to help along the fight.
There is a map which assists you in finding your way around, but there are points of the game where you seem to be wandering around helplessly, there are no hints as to where to go other than a cut scene at the beginning of the level, but when you are in a large mansion or forest with many different routes this can be confusing.
On my first play through the game, I played on easy for the purpose of the review and then once complete I moved onto the harder setting, upon completing the game the first time around I did walk away feeling a bit cheated, Nero has a great storyline to start with, but once Dante joins in you are literally playing the first ten levels in reverse, and fighting the same bosses, in fact you end up fighting the same bosses 3 times. I am aware that once completed on the hard setting a lot more options become available but I am surprised with the shortness and repetitiveness of the main game, especially for a current gen title.
Devil May Cry 4 fans may not be disappointed by this game, however others who had such high hopes may just feel that it could have been so much more, which is a bit of a shame really.
