The Fear in your eyes calls your bluff: OkamiWoodson's Classic Reviews featuring Devil May Cry 4
The Devil Hunter Dante, the son of the Dark Knight Sparda, defeated the Emperor of the Demon World Mundus. Dante, has now accepted his destiny and followed the legacy of his Father. He was the only son of Sparda left due to the death of his twin brother Vergil. Several years have passed and a new threat arises. A secret society called the Order of Swords has existed as long as the Legend of Sparda. They praise and worship Sparda as a God and created a religion. During a service, a man named Sanctus was giving a sermon and a man in a red coat descended down upon him. It was Dante. Dante then murders Sanctus, who is a human. Has Dante turned on the human race? Did he succumb to his Devil blood? A young man named Nero, you strikingly looks like a son of Sparda, is tasked to capture the Devil Hunter and bring him back to headquarters. Armed with his Devil Arm and The Red Queen, Nero sets off on his adventure and will unrval the true intent of the Order.
Game Play:
Devil May Cry 4 is the second sequel of the series that takes place years after Devil May Cry. The play style is an expanded and improved version of the critically acclaimed Devil May Cry . Though this is a DMC, players would expect to play with Dante initially but s new character named Nero, who headlines the game. The game play focuses on melee combat and gun play like in the previous titles. Nero has a Devil Arm called the Devil Bringer which allows him to grab enemies from a far and execute special attacks on an enemy. This feature adds a new dimension to combat and enables the player to pull of insane combos which is the whole premise and mystique of DMC. Saying that, the Stylish Rankings return which grades the player on their performance. The lowest rank is D and the highest is SSS rank. The gauge builds as you attack and also taunt, if you repeat attacks or break combos the rank will go down. To those who are new to the series, you are most likely asking " How can I build may Stylish ranking without repeating combos?" Well Noobs, Devil May Cry is known for their vast move sets for each character. As you complete missions, you gain Proud Souls. Proud Souls is an item that allows you to upgrade your character's moves, gain more attacks, and also abilities. Veterans of the series noticed that Proud Souls replaced the Red Orbs for character building. Red Orbs are now only used to purchase items. As for the difference of Dante and Nero's play styles, Nero is a lot heavier than Dante and also only has one weapon. Saying that, Nero has a lot more moves to purchase than Dante. Also since Nero is the main character of this game, the whole game was built around his play style including enemies. Playing Dante is fun and all but he felt out of place and a bit dated. Dante plays exactly as he did in Devil May Cry 3, the only difference this time is that Dante can switch his Styles on the fly in game. Which allows you to create insane combos. The game is split up into two parts, Nero's missions and then you replay all of the levels as Dante. That fact annoyed me. I felt as if Dante was thrown in the game. He really didn't have a big role in this one so I felt as if he shouldn't of been playable.
Sound:
Devil May Cry has always had great sound design and soundtracks. This one is no different. Devil May Cry has perfect sound and a rocking soundtrack. After the success of Devil May Cry 3, the soundtrack consists of hard rock and metal which are produced in high quality. The soundtrack wasn't as good as 3's but it still is pretty damn awesome. I suggest you also buy the soundtrack, it's a great listen.
Presentation:
Capcom has always pushed the specs of each and every console their games are on. Being the first Next Gen DMC title, this game looks simply stunning. From the lighting effects to character models, they all are impeccable. Sure there are some texture issues but remember this was one of the first games out for the PS3 and still actually looks a lot better than some game that are out today. The voice acting was great and all of the cast from the previous games returns. The only character I had a problem with was Dante. Seeing that this game takes place years upon years after DMC 3, I would think that his voice would mature or at least they could of got the voice actor of the original Dante. The man is 40 years old and still sounds and acts like a teenager. Dante must of been going through a mid life crisis or something seeing that this game is before DMC2 were he is much darker.
Overall:
The game play is tight, the sound is great, and the presentation was impeccable but due to the continuity of the story, the repetitiveness of the Missions(Dante), I can't give this game a score no higher than 8.5. This game is a must play even with it's flaws and you will have hours upon hours of game play due to it's difficulty levels and other game modes. Pick up this Classic hack n slasher today.