Did you ever have one of those friends whom everyone thought was the coolest kid in school back in 6th grade? You know, the kid who wore the jean jacket and had that whole Jonathan Taylor Thomas look going for him that made all the girls swoon. He lived in his basement and had his own entrance, not to mention a moped.
Well, imagine if you ran into that friend today, his look hasn’t changed much and he still acts the same, yet he’s not quite so cool anymore. Well tThat pretty much sums up the Devil May Cry series; it is still overly focused on its looks and being stylish and seems to fear any type of change. DMC has held onto its style for far too long ,and now fans of the series are paying the price.
When DMC burst onto the scene on the PS22 in 2001, it revolutionized the hack hack-and and-slash genre. It’s lead character, Dante, was a badass (his unfortunate sissification in later installments is one of the great tragedies in gaming), the controls were tight, and the gameplay was thrilling.
In DMC4 there is a new hero named Nero, ; however, if you’re hoping that a new protagonist would breathe new life into the series, you’re in for some serious disappointment. Nero is essentially a carbon copy of Dante. Both are skinny and pale, wield big swords, and have a head of flowing white hair. However, Nero, thankfully, does not follow Dante’s shirtless, Right Said Fred Fred-inspired, demon slaying dress code.
This time around Dante is the enemy, at least for a little while. The game opens with Nero witnessing Dante’s slaying of the leader of the cult-like group of warriors to whichthat Nero belongs to. After a battle between Nero and Dante, Nero is off, with his demonic arm, called the devil bringer, and giant sword to aid him in his quest to hunt down Dante.
The devil Ddevil-bringer adds some badly needed variety to the traditional DMC formula. With it Nero is able to pull enemies toward him and throw them around to create some big-time combos. Combos and style are an important part of the game. By stringing together long, unbroken attacks, the player is able to rack up additional style points, one of the major focuses of the gameplay. It’s not enough to simply vanquish demons,demons; you’ve got to look good doing it.
New combos can be purchased throughout the game, and old ones can be upgraded, by spending “proud souls,” which are earned as the player progresses. After a few missions you’ll be introduced to Devil Trigger, a temporary state that allows the player to deal more damage, and regenerate health.
DMC fans will be pleased by the action sequences, which are amazing, fluid experiences. They are, without a doubt, the highlight of the game. Fighting in DMC4 is a brutal blast. All the other shortcomings of the game will disappear from your mind when you are in the thick of an army of demons, fighting for your life. But when it’s all over and you have a moment to catch your breath and and wipe the sweat from your controller, you’ll be confronted by an overly dramatic cut scene, or a board game that forces you to roll dice to advance through the mission. These interruptions really take you out of the action and hurt the overall enjoyment of slashing throats and crushing skulls.
The game looks and sounds amazing. The graphics are polished and complimented complemented perfectly by the insane lighting capabilities of the Xbox 360, which DMC4 uses to its full potential. While tThe voice acting is terrific and the savage, bone-crunching sound effects are shamefully enjoyable.
Despite its drawbacks, and tired formula, DMC4 is still chock-full of hack hack-and and-slash fun that fans of the series are sure to love. If you’re worried about a lack of Dante, don’t be, ; he is a playable character in this game, and while Nero is the main character you will still get in quite a few hours of Dante.
The PS2 scene, perhaps?