http://www.supercheats.com/guides/files/guid/devil-may-cry-4/logo.png
Genre = Action/Adventure
Developer = Capcom
Publisher = Capcom
Players = Single Player
Online = Yes (For Leaderboards)
Age = PEGI 16+
Memory Usage = 200KB
Released = February 2008
So here's the story...
I have been a fan of the Devil May Cry series after buying the 3rd game and falling in love with it. The series is great fun to play and has great action involved. Devil May Cry 4 is set after the events of DMC3 but is before DMC2. Bit of a weird place for a 4th instalment to be placed, right? I thought so too! So the story goes like this: Here we have, Nero: a cocky yet strong-willed guy who closely resembles Dante and his twin brother Vergil. Is Nero related to the twins? No one knows quite where Nero fits into the picture here (perhaps the possible 5th game could tell the story a bit more clearly?). Anyway, Nero is part of the 'Order of the Sword?, a group of warriors who worship Sparda, in the town of Fortuna. Everything seems to be going on quite nicely...that is until Dante comes into the picture and murders the leader of the cult group and its members. Nero is then out for revenge for His Holiness (Sanctus)'s death and so goes after Dante. In his quest to capture Dante, Nero powers through Fortuna Castle and then discovers the secret lab operated by a scientist, Agnus, and then calls upon the demon Yamato by crying out to Vergil's broken katana and instantly repairing it. It is then that Nero searches for the truth of the Order. He then encounters Credo, Kyrie's brother who has been subjected to demonic power calling himself an 'angel'. Nero defeats Credo, and Kyrie is shocked at what Nero has done. Agnus then sees this situation as a vantage point and kidnaps Kyrie and convinces her that Nero is a demon. Credo revives and apologises to Nero and goes off to investigate the true intentions of Sanctus. Nero, putting capturing Dante out of his mind then sets off to rescue Kyrie and put an end to Sanctus' evil deeds. A little bit of a disappointment with this game, is that Trish and Lady from the previous games only make short cameo appearances in this game and so would probably displease the fans of the previous games a little. But hey, this is Nero?s story after all!
http://tech2.in.com/media/images/img_5055_dmc4petition.jpg
'You feelin' lucky, punk?!!': New character Nero
Graphics and Sound: Angelic Quality or Demonic Nightmare?
At the time of its release, Devil May Cry 4 was deemed one of the most visually stunning games to date and has kept within that league even as of now. The landscapes are beautifully developed and the props have been produced very well. Even though a few edges of certain elements are still a little rough, this game still looks "da bomb" as it were; even the lip syncing is almost bang on, which is quite rare for games even as of now. In short, Capcom certainly have delivered what they are capable of in this game.
The soundtrack to this game, composed by Tetsuya Shibata, is also very good quality. It consists of very atmospheric orchestral music for most of the cut scenes and a kind of mixture of rock/electro for the battles both common enemies and bosses. I liked it so much I downloaded it so for my point of view, it?s definitely a winner!
http://ui32.gamespot.com/1279/devilmaycry4dx102008072922434290_2.jpg
What a view! An example of DMC4's graphic quality
Waking the Demon Within: DMC4's combat system
What would a game of this genre be without a cracking good array of combat moves? Nothing that?s what! Devil May Cry 4 has a wide variety of moves for both Nero and Dante so there is definitely a reason for you to keep on the edge of your seat. Nero?s armoury consists of a double barrelled revolver named Blue Rose and his deadly-looking, fuel-injection long sword referred to as the Red Queen which packs quite a punch, especially when the Exceed gauge is on full. Just watch those flames fly! Nero also possesses a demonic power in his right arm, which is Nero?s biggest and deadliest asset. This arm (instead of different weapons) gets upgraded after each boss battle and so helps Nero send those demonic little buggers back from whence they came in a flash. Further on in the game Nero awakens his demon inside him by acquiring Yamato: Vergil?s shattered katana from the 3rd game. With this new Devil Trigger mode, Nero can perform more powerful attacks for a limited amount of time.
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/devilmaycry/images/f/fe/BlueRose.jpg
Death Rose: Nero's Blue Rose
At the half way point of the game, you are then handed over to Dante: the famous devil hunter and former main character of the DMC series. In this game Dante is older, wiser and more sarcastic than ever! A lot of Dante?s combat moves are the same as they are in the 3rd game, including his 4 styles of fighting (Trickster, Royal Guard, Sword Master and Gunslinger which in this game you can alternate between while in game-play so you?re not stuck with the one style until the next Divinity Statue). You see many of his signature moves such as the Shredder, Stinger and his 4-slash combo identical to that of the DMC3 in this game. Now of course, Dante and Nero have the chance to enhance their powerful moves and acquire new ones by using Proud Souls. These little beasties are earned at the end of each mission and are given in accordance to your ranking (D through to S) for said mission. Such upgrades include more powerful combos and abilities for Nero and improved style mastery, weapon upgrades and abilities for Dante. So a lot to be earned there!
http://files.myopera.com/reinvented/blog/DMC4DanteStinger.jpg
Stick around!: Dante performing his signature Stinger move
Your missions, should you choose to accept them: Game-play
As for the missions themselves, they are great fun to slash and shoot through with enemies coming at you from all directions and so when it comes to the harder Devil Hunter and Son of Sparda difficulties, you certainly need to master the combos and plan your moves to prevent yourself from being impaled on enemy weapons and starting over from the nearest checkpoint. In short, there is certainly something for both inexperienced and experienced players of the series. As well as simply charging through hoards of demonic freaks all game long, you also need to stop and think about what you?re doing as there are few brain teasers to the game, however not as much as DMC3 where there were quite a few puzzles to solve. One of these challenges in DMC4 is the notorious ?game room? puzzles where you have a player piece shaped like your character and you have a giant dice to slash at to make it roll and move around the floor in accordance to the number you rolled; like a board game. You have 4 coloured ?dots? on the floor for your piece to land on: red, white, yellow and blue. Red sends you enemies to fend off, white does nothing (lame right?!!), yellow automatically sends you to the ?finishing post? of the board and blue showers Red and Green Orbs for you to collect (very useful when you?re low on health when you keep landing on red dots). However these stages can be very time consuming and so could end up in frustration and you throwing your controller to the floor and walking away in a huff! So these puzzles are more luck-based.
You start your game off by playing Nero, a young knight of the Order of The Sword and you get introduced to some of the new features of the game during the tutorial level. At the half way point however, you are then put into Dante?s shoes to carry on with the story (until the very end where you?re back with Nero for the final boss). The problem with this is that you do a lot of backtracking with Dante to pretty much everything that Nero went through, so at this stage game-play becomes pretty repetitive and well, boring! However, fans of the previous game may see past this flaw and be pleased to be back to playing their original and favourite demon slayer they know and love.
Bonus challenges and Unlockables: DMC4?s replay factor
So you've claimed to have beaten the game in EVERY difficulty (kudos to you if you have!). What?s next? Well my fellow demon slayers, there is a bonus combat challenge called Bloody Palace (nice name, eh?) This is where you are faced with enemies and bosses you previously fought in story mode in a ?survival challenge? style where the higher you?re style ranking, the more stuff to unlock you will receive. This is also a great opportunity to home your combat skills in preparation for the harder difficulties.
As you progress through the game?s story mode, again depending on your ranking for each mission, you get to unlock all kinds of cool stuff to look at such as character art with pictures of the cast, enemies, weapons etc, information on the items in the game including weapons (and moves which could prove to be useful) and there is also a History of DMC section where you can read about the whole story of Dante and the Devil May Cry series; this is perfect for new players of the series who want to know the back-story. Oh and of course there is the ever common Theatre Gallery with the cut scenes of the game.
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/sD1Uws7ROsc/0.jpg
Surrounded!: Dante in the Bloody Palace survival challenge
The Final Verdict
Devil May Cry 4 is a great, well presented action adventure game with a good replayabilty factor and bonus levels to keep you occupied. Even though fans of previous games would probably be upset to find out Dante is not longer the main character, it would certainly give them a chance to get to know our new hero of the game and to learn where he fits into the story. Could he be related to Vergil and Dante? Fans of the game also get to play as Dante half way through, however this comes with a lot of back tracking through what you have already done with Nero so would prove to be repetitive. All in all, it?s a fantastic game. Devil May Cry 5? You?ll just have to wait and see!
Genre = Action/Adventure
Developer = Capcom
Publisher = Capcom
Players = Single Player
Online = Yes (For Leaderboards)
Age = PEGI 16+
Memory Usage = 200KB
Released = February 2008
So here's the story...
I have been a fan of the Devil May Cry series after buying the 3rd game and falling in love with it. The series is great fun to play and has great action involved. Devil May Cry 4 is set after the events of DMC3 but is before DMC2. Bit of a weird place for a 4th instalment to be placed, right? I thought so too! So the story goes like this: Here we have, Nero: a cocky yet strong-willed guy who closely resembles Dante and his twin brother Vergil. Is Nero related to the twins? No one knows quite where Nero fits into the picture here (perhaps the possible 5th game could tell the story a bit more clearly?). Anyway, Nero is part of the 'Order of the Sword?, a group of warriors who worship Sparda, in the town of Fortuna. Everything seems to be going on quite nicely...that is until Dante comes into the picture and murders the leader of the cult group and its members. Nero is then out for revenge for His Holiness (Sanctus)'s death and so goes after Dante. In his quest to capture Dante, Nero powers through Fortuna Castle and then discovers the secret lab operated by a scientist, Agnus, and then calls upon the demon Yamato by crying out to Vergil's broken katana and instantly repairing it. It is then that Nero searches for the truth of the Order. He then encounters Credo, Kyrie's brother who has been subjected to demonic power calling himself an 'angel'. Nero defeats Credo, and Kyrie is shocked at what Nero has done. Agnus then sees this situation as a vantage point and kidnaps Kyrie and convinces her that Nero is a demon. Credo revives and apologises to Nero and goes off to investigate the true intentions of Sanctus. Nero, putting capturing Dante out of his mind then sets off to rescue Kyrie and put an end to Sanctus' evil deeds. A little bit of a disappointment with this game, is that Trish and Lady from the previous games only make short cameo appearances in this game and so would probably displease the fans of the previous games a little. But hey, this is Nero?s story after all!
http://tech2.in.com/media/images/img_5055_dmc4petition.jpg
'You feelin' lucky, punk?!!': New character Nero
Graphics and Sound: Angelic Quality or Demonic Nightmare?
At the time of its release, Devil May Cry 4 was deemed one of the most visually stunning games to date and has kept within that league even as of now. The landscapes are beautifully developed and the props have been produced very well. Even though a few edges of certain elements are still a little rough, this game still looks "da bomb" as it were; even the lip syncing is almost bang on, which is quite rare for games even as of now. In short, Capcom certainly have delivered what they are capable of in this game.
The soundtrack to this game, composed by Tetsuya Shibata, is also very good quality. It consists of very atmospheric orchestral music for most of the cut scenes and a kind of mixture of rock/electro for the battles both common enemies and bosses. I liked it so much I downloaded it so for my point of view, it?s definitely a winner!
http://ui32.gamespot.com/1279/devilmaycry4dx102008072922434290_2.jpg
What a view! An example of DMC4's graphic quality
Waking the Demon Within: DMC4's combat system
What would a game of this genre be without a cracking good array of combat moves? Nothing that?s what! Devil May Cry 4 has a wide variety of moves for both Nero and Dante so there is definitely a reason for you to keep on the edge of your seat. Nero?s armoury consists of a double barrelled revolver named Blue Rose and his deadly-looking, fuel-injection long sword referred to as the Red Queen which packs quite a punch, especially when the Exceed gauge is on full. Just watch those flames fly! Nero also possesses a demonic power in his right arm, which is Nero?s biggest and deadliest asset. This arm (instead of different weapons) gets upgraded after each boss battle and so helps Nero send those demonic little buggers back from whence they came in a flash. Further on in the game Nero awakens his demon inside him by acquiring Yamato: Vergil?s shattered katana from the 3rd game. With this new Devil Trigger mode, Nero can perform more powerful attacks for a limited amount of time.
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/devilmaycry/images/f/fe/BlueRose.jpg
Death Rose: Nero's Blue Rose
At the half way point of the game, you are then handed over to Dante: the famous devil hunter and former main character of the DMC series. In this game Dante is older, wiser and more sarcastic than ever! A lot of Dante?s combat moves are the same as they are in the 3rd game, including his 4 styles of fighting (Trickster, Royal Guard, Sword Master and Gunslinger which in this game you can alternate between while in game-play so you?re not stuck with the one style until the next Divinity Statue). You see many of his signature moves such as the Shredder, Stinger and his 4-slash combo identical to that of the DMC3 in this game. Now of course, Dante and Nero have the chance to enhance their powerful moves and acquire new ones by using Proud Souls. These little beasties are earned at the end of each mission and are given in accordance to your ranking (D through to S) for said mission. Such upgrades include more powerful combos and abilities for Nero and improved style mastery, weapon upgrades and abilities for Dante. So a lot to be earned there!
http://files.myopera.com/reinvented/blog/DMC4DanteStinger.jpg
Stick around!: Dante performing his signature Stinger move
Your missions, should you choose to accept them: Game-play
As for the missions themselves, they are great fun to slash and shoot through with enemies coming at you from all directions and so when it comes to the harder Devil Hunter and Son of Sparda difficulties, you certainly need to master the combos and plan your moves to prevent yourself from being impaled on enemy weapons and starting over from the nearest checkpoint. In short, there is certainly something for both inexperienced and experienced players of the series. As well as simply charging through hoards of demonic freaks all game long, you also need to stop and think about what you?re doing as there are few brain teasers to the game, however not as much as DMC3 where there were quite a few puzzles to solve. One of these challenges in DMC4 is the notorious ?game room? puzzles where you have a player piece shaped like your character and you have a giant dice to slash at to make it roll and move around the floor in accordance to the number you rolled; like a board game. You have 4 coloured ?dots? on the floor for your piece to land on: red, white, yellow and blue. Red sends you enemies to fend off, white does nothing (lame right?!!), yellow automatically sends you to the ?finishing post? of the board and blue showers Red and Green Orbs for you to collect (very useful when you?re low on health when you keep landing on red dots). However these stages can be very time consuming and so could end up in frustration and you throwing your controller to the floor and walking away in a huff! So these puzzles are more luck-based.
You start your game off by playing Nero, a young knight of the Order of The Sword and you get introduced to some of the new features of the game during the tutorial level. At the half way point however, you are then put into Dante?s shoes to carry on with the story (until the very end where you?re back with Nero for the final boss). The problem with this is that you do a lot of backtracking with Dante to pretty much everything that Nero went through, so at this stage game-play becomes pretty repetitive and well, boring! However, fans of the previous game may see past this flaw and be pleased to be back to playing their original and favourite demon slayer they know and love.
Bonus challenges and Unlockables: DMC4?s replay factor
So you've claimed to have beaten the game in EVERY difficulty (kudos to you if you have!). What?s next? Well my fellow demon slayers, there is a bonus combat challenge called Bloody Palace (nice name, eh?) This is where you are faced with enemies and bosses you previously fought in story mode in a ?survival challenge? style where the higher you?re style ranking, the more stuff to unlock you will receive. This is also a great opportunity to home your combat skills in preparation for the harder difficulties.
As you progress through the game?s story mode, again depending on your ranking for each mission, you get to unlock all kinds of cool stuff to look at such as character art with pictures of the cast, enemies, weapons etc, information on the items in the game including weapons (and moves which could prove to be useful) and there is also a History of DMC section where you can read about the whole story of Dante and the Devil May Cry series; this is perfect for new players of the series who want to know the back-story. Oh and of course there is the ever common Theatre Gallery with the cut scenes of the game.
http://i.ytimg.com/vi/sD1Uws7ROsc/0.jpg
Surrounded!: Dante in the Bloody Palace survival challenge
The Final Verdict
Devil May Cry 4 is a great, well presented action adventure game with a good replayabilty factor and bonus levels to keep you occupied. Even though fans of previous games would probably be upset to find out Dante is not longer the main character, it would certainly give them a chance to get to know our new hero of the game and to learn where he fits into the story. Could he be related to Vergil and Dante? Fans of the game also get to play as Dante half way through, however this comes with a lot of back tracking through what you have already done with Nero so would prove to be repetitive. All in all, it?s a fantastic game. Devil May Cry 5? You?ll just have to wait and see!
