Emo Nero takes centre stage

In order to meet the expectations of newcomers and hardcore devils alike, the first next-generation Devil May Cry had a lot to live up to. It would be wrong to reform for the casual audience, but Capcom have made some successful changes to make it more accessible to the less proficient gamer.

In the end Devil May Cry 4 brings the series to more gamers than ever before, using perfect artistry and impressive graphics to create the canvas for an addictive and challenging experience that is only marred by some unfortunate flaws.

Introducing a new character is always difficult for a series, especially when this character takes centre stage in the narrative and game design. Capcom have pulled it off with Nero. Though his connections with the Devil May Cry universe are a bit slim, his gameplay mechanics are a joy to pick up and play. Yielding a bit fat sword, a pistol and a demonic arm, he doesn’t need to cycle through weapons or play styles like Dante. His play style is much more streamlined, but lacking it is not. Nero’s mechanics may make it easier to jump in and button mash, but to achieve stylish heights you’re still going to have to hone your skills.

As per usual Devil May Cry has a Gauge measuring how Stylishly you dispatch enemies. Amazingly the Style gauge starts at D and goes all the way up to Triple SSS’s; a feat you’re not going to accomplish unless you’re a very talented gamer with a deep knowledge of the gaming mechanics. To reach these heights, you’ll not only have to learn combos, you’ll have to master Nero’s intricacies.

Firstly, Nero’s Devil Arm (of underdeveloped origin) is extremely useful and essential to his gameplay. It gives you the ability to snatch enemies from a distance whether in the air or on the ground, allowing you to continue your combo spree. A secondary devil arm function is the Buster, a move that varies between enemies, such as a slam-dunk on Scarecrows, a spinning tail throw on Frosts, and empowering boss finishers.

It is in mastering Nero’s devil arm that will see you reaching SSS status, since it helps you to continue your contact with enemies in large environments, extend your time in the air, and enable you to cancel other combos, all helping you to maintain your style rather than letting it crash and burn through combo repetition.

Nero’s Devil Bringer is not a disability

The most hardcore aspect of Nero’s fighting mechanics is instant revving his Sword, or “Exceeding”. Kitted out with a motorcycle throttle, Nero’s sword has the ability to increase the power of his slashes to great and spectacular effect. You can charge up the sword by continuously tapping L2/Left Trigger until the gauge fills up to a total of three lanterns, which can be achieved fairly quickly if if you get the rhythm right. However, doing so is largely useless since you cannot perform any other moves while you are revving.

The maximum utilisation of the throttle is probably the most difficult aspect of Nero’s combat, but is sadly the only way you’re going to achieve immense style heights. The secret is instantly charging your sword by tapping the rev button at a very precise frame during an attack, which when mastered, can increase the power of every move and make Nero a God amongst demons.

Playing as Nero thus has considerable depth for hardcore players, and newcomers will enjoy his gameplay without too much difficulty on Human mode, as opposed to Devil Hunter. Plus, if you’re struggling, Devil may Cry 4 will take pity on you and reduce the difficulty; enemies will be less active and you’ll take less damage. In this regard, Capcom has succeeded in making their 20 level epic accessible to the masses.

Stepping into this next generation Sparda-influenced universe sees you treated to action packed cutscenes brimming with attitude, and a storyline that’s more about style than substance. Set in and around a town called Fortuna, where its people worship the demon knight Sparda, after watching Dante murder the leader of The Order that governs the land, Nero goes on a mission of revenge, encountering beasts and demons on the way.

Charged with moments of great betrayal, Nero’s mission turns into one of passion as he tries to save his love interest Kyrie, and eventually Fortuna itself. Although the plot is slim and Dante’s involvement is distant, it’s slick presentation is sufficient enough to motivate you to reach the next massive battle.

And you won’t only be stepping into this world as Nero, you’ll also get to strut yourself as Dante, in a switch that might just take your fingers by surprise. It’s going to take you some time to adjust yourself to Dante’s play style, accidentally switching weapons when you try to rev his attacks. But don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it, and what great and exciting talents Dante has.

Gilgamesh makes you gleam with delight

Retaining the four fighting styles from DMC3 (Trickster, Royal Guard, Sword Master and Gun Slinger), DMC4 takes Dante a step further by allowing you to change styles on the fly. Dante will also earn a number of weapons throughout his missions; from the powerful Gilgamesh, to the morphing Pandora – all of which will take your battles to another level of creativity that puts Nero to shame.

However, Dante’s involvement in the game may disappoint. His levels take you back through Nero’s areas, even subjecting you to the same bosses: bosses that don’t feel as epic without Nero’s finishing Buster move. And even though the layout and enemies of these levels are altered, there just aren’t enough surprises to make it feel entirely fresh. We can only hope that Dante gets stuck into the next Devil May Cry, because he still has the most exciting play mechanics to be found in this genre.

Devil May Cry 4 puts its competitors to shame in the amount of content it provides – the replayability is immense. The game has six difficulty levels in all, yes six, which are only fully unlocked after you’ve completed the game six times. Once you’ve fallen in love with the gaming mechanics, backtracking will not concern you, since it’s now all about getting the highest score. Expect to break some controllers, since the higher difficulties won’t take pity on you - you might never be the same again.

Combine the difficulty levels with an integrated combo/ability upgrade system, hidden challenges, and the survival mode Bloody Palace; you’ll be coming back to Devil May Cry 4 for a very long time, especially when you can show off your talents via the online leader board. Devil May Cry 4 is one of those rare games where you’ll feel richer after you’ve purchased it.

Frosts aren’t a match for Nero’s buster!

Graphically Devil may Cry 4 isn’t the console defining game it might have been, nor is it a weakling. The character models are impressively rendered, the environments are vast and clean, and the bosses are a sight to behold. Textures, lighting and 60fps framerate sufficiently complement the beautiful and varied art of the game: for example running towards the stark white erection of Fortuna tower is breathtaking (O.K that sounded much better in my head).

If there is to be one graphical complaint it has to be the flickery, low-resolution shadows. Capcom might have thought they could get away with low-res shadows being sunlight glimmering through the trees, but with other games achieving sharp shadow maps in jungle environments, it really is an unnecessary distraction.

Devil May Cry 4 is thus the sequel everybody was hoping for, and opens the series up to whole bunch of new gamers. Apart from the almost unforgivable backtracking and the limited presence of Dante, there are still some last-gen shockers that let the game down.

Firstly, the camera is stuck in the past. Capcom do try to give you cinematic angles and the best possible view, but there are some moments where the view switches abruptly, sending you in the wrong direction. Enemies can be hidden behind the camera and at worst you might be stuck on a “camera switch location”; jumping between views as you try your best to dispatch enemies. With slower transitions and a camera less reliant on preprogrammed player location spots, one of Devil May Cry’s annoyances could be improved.

Nero and Dante do not open doors, but they do encounter a hell of a lot of them. Even if they are too badass to open them, subjecting the player to a disorientating blurred transition only acts to take you out of the experience. Why can’t they break them down or just…open them? You might say the transitions are there to cover up loading between areas, but the transition animation is so quick that a “Now Loading…” screen can still occur afterwards – this an old fashioned trick that needs to die.

Loading is another aspect that needs work, and even though Capcom have tried to reduce it as much as possible, other games are doing much better without making you install 5GB’s of data on the Playstation 3.

More Dante please!

Finally, it’s the mission structure that needs to be updated. Being presented with a mission screen at the beginning and end of every level is just too much to endure. All you want to do is sit down and play, enjoy the story, and not be stopped in your tracks at every step of the way. Hardcore players might welcome this disjointed nature, who will be upgrading their moveset at the end of every level, but it shouldn’t be compulsory.

The failure of this mission structure is even more apparent when you try to carry on where you left off. Instead of clicking on a “Continue” button to jump straight back into your last position, you must enter a “Mission Select” menu – obviously set up for those who are aiming for score highs. And note, manually saving during a level does not save your position, but only your orbs and style points – this has led some people to leave their consoles on for hours on end just so they don’t lose their position in the game: no joke. And lets face it, on the harder difficulty levels, you won’t want to lose your progress when you take breaks for fear of your fingers falling off (say that fast three times!)

These final criticisms show that Devil may Cry 4 is very much its father’s son. It inherits all the good traits, but also the bad – bad that might have been forgiven before the release of the current generation of consoles; now we have higher standards for how a should be presented.

Then again, Devil May Cry 4 still manages to trump the majority of single-player action games – it’s a long game sporting vast and enriching content. Whichever console you buy this beauty for, Capcom’s latest offering might just be your most valuable purchase of 2008.

What does this score mean? Check out our review scoring breakdown.

Tags: Capcom, Devil-May-Cry-4, Review

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