Stupid Beyond Relief Reviews: Devil May Cry 4

mParadox

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SBR Reviews


So.... Devil May Cry 4. How is it in a nutshell? Quite good.

In this game, you are introduced to a new character, Nero. Who happens to possess a demon arm[footnote]Remember this is DMC we're talking about. There are bound to be demons.[/footnote]. But fear not! Dante, the original protagonist of the series, also gets the cut and makes up for half the game!

[img_inline width=130 height=210 Caption="Nero. Don't mess with him. You'll get a hand shake." align="right"]http://www.animeforum.com/uploads/nero_cg01.jpg[/img_inline]

[img_inline width=130 height=210 Caption="Dante. A guy who looks good no matter where he looks." align="left"]http://wikicheats.gametrailers.com/images/thumb/7/71/Devil_May_Cry_4_Dante.jpg/300px-Devil_May_Cry_4_Dante.jpg[/img_inline]

The story? Well.... it's not exactly amazing. I mean, it's by Capcom, who used to make fantastic story orientated games but whose standards seem to be slipping drastically. It's painfully obvious that the game is trying to make us relate to Nero's predicament but the problem is that you'll find it really hard to relate to a guy who can dispatch a few scythe wielding demons with ease. But the characters are interesting in their own right and they do present something new to the table. That's enough to keep the game rolling. Albeit, it tends to trip more often than not. Shame.

Gameplay wise, it's insane. The amounts of combos you can pull off in this game is amazing. And since, this game defies the Laws of Gravity, you can literally make an enemy float in the air by spraying them with bullets[footnote]You have unlimited ammo when it comes to guns apparently, SC: Conviction, I'm looking at you. >_> [/footnote] and then you can up-close-and-personal by jumping and slashing them on and on with your ridiculously huge sword. Speaking of which, Nero's sword has a motorbike handle. You use it to charge the sword up and then you can unload devastating damage on your enemies in pretty orange. The devil arm of Nero, which I mentioned earlier, is the star of combos. You can pull off pretty awesome moves on your enemies like throwing them to the ground and snatching them in mid-air and then unloading some more hurt on them.

[img_inline width=275 height=200 align="left" Caption="Laws are meant to be broken."]http://xboxoz360.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/devil_may_cry_4_481.jpg[/img_inline]

And then it's Dante's turn. He is gifted with the game mechanic of changing fight-styles in the middle of battle. Not really exciting. I just select one and forget all about it. All of them have their pros and cons but direct fighting is more my style. Although he does do pretty good poses when you select one.

The game incorporates the points system. It's quite prominent in the past games and it certainly makes it presence felt in this one. See, the more demons you brutally murder, the more points. You can later use these points to buy new upgrades which are from increasing health to getting new moves or upgrading old moves. In order to continuously get more points, you have to keep on killing them without getting hit yourself. Fair enough. It's in every game. But it's punishing.

You can survive through waves of enemies, button mash your way through levels which have a terrible checkpoint system but if you didn't commit yourself to unleashing combo after combo on your enemies, then you'll be awarded with a wonderful, heartwarming 'D' grade from the game. In the end, you will most assuredly give the Ranker top priority. It also works as a motivator for the player to get better and better at bombarding combos on enemies and juggling enemies top side while shooting rockets. Good stuffs

[img_inline width=275 height=200 align="right" Caption="I find this highly relateable!"]http://www.hookedgamers.com/images/241/devil_may_cry_4/screenshot_pc_devil_may_cry_4076.jpg[/img_inline]

The highlight of the game is the scenery and the boss fights. Scenery first. It's beautiful and i just can't get enough of it. But here's the problem. Half-way through the game, you get to play as Dante. Not a bad thing, infact it's awesome! The problem is that then you back track the entire levels you just completed with Nero! Come one Capcom! Give us something new! This just shows the laziness Capcom has. No new enemies are introduced, the scenery remains the same and the boss battles are the same. No particular change in any of them! Now, to boss battles. Well, they are certainly big. In size I mean. See, this is why i said we can never relate to Nero/Dante since tragically, we really can't take out a fire demon in real life can we. While playing Nero, it is relatively easy to take the bosses out since you're assisted with the Devil Arm. And when it's used on them, it's quite a beautiful watching Nero pull off insane moves. And very satisfying. Dante on the other hand has it harder. But when you do manage to beat the bosses to a bloody demonized pulp. You are awarded with a demonic goodie which adds flavour to the combat.

CONCLUSION:

It's a good hack-and-slash and definitely a good buy. You can go nuts in this game and that's really really fun. It's a hearty B from me!



[sub]Firstly, comment! And feel free to critique. :3
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Thirdly, if you would like to look up an old review, visit the Remains of the Day Group [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/groups/view/Remains-of-the-Day] for the review index, likewise if you would like to remain up-to-date on the reviews posted, join it![/sub]
 

Toriver

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Nice review! I'm surprised nobody reviewed this game until you, too. I had a lot of fun with it, though to be honest it's one of those games I never finished because I got a hold of a much more time-consuming game before finishing this one, and never really looked back. I've been meaning to, though, so maybe over my Christmas break I'll pick it up again and finish it this time.
 

Jedamethis

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You can't take out a little fire demon? You poor thing. *pats*
But yeah, review. Revieeeew.
 

mParadox

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poiumty said:
[2] Who used to make fantastic stories... don't what went wrong. And where...
You accidentally something. And i wouldn't put stuff like that in footnotes, but that's just me.
Point noted and rectified. Thanks!
 

mParadox

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toriver said:
Nice review! I'm surprised nobody reviewed this game until you, too. I had a lot of fun with it, though to be honest it's one of those games I never finished because I got a hold of a much more time-consuming game before finishing this one, and never really looked back. I've been meaning to, though, so maybe over my Christmas break I'll pick it up again and finish it this time.
I was doing my 4th play-through i believe. Then i left it.
 

McNinja

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Yeah, I rented this game when it first came out. I played until I got to the final boss on Nero. I couldn't beat him, so I just gave up. Why? Because I would consistently get low scores at the end of each mission. I mean, god forbid I actually need some health potions or whatever they are. Yes, lets let them die a thousand times, get a D Rank, them be unable to buy stuff that would allow them to be more efficient and die fewer times. It was f**king stupid.

Also, the narrative could've used work.
 

mParadox

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McNinja said:
Yeah. The first two times,the dude was easy to beat but at the third time he went insane on me and i found it ridiculously hard to beat the geezer. :(
 

NeutralDrow

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mParadox said:
Quite surprised no one has done a User Review on this baby.
toriver said:
Nice review! I'm surprised nobody reviewed this game until you, too.
<url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.168473-Poll-Once-upon-a-time-there-was-a-Devil-May-Cry-review>Yeah, <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.186885-PC-Review-Devil-May-Cry-4>about <url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/326.219341-Devil-May-Cry-4-The-Alternative-Review>that...

Not that it actually matters. Multiple opinions and reviews are always welcome. And this certainly wasn't a bad addition!
 

Rednog

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I'm a bit curious, did you play the PC version (as depicted) if so did you use a controller?
I tried to use the keyboard/mouse and I felt that it had one of the worst port controls I have ever experienced.
Anyways, nice review.
 

mParadox

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Rednog said:
I'm a bit curious, did you play the PC version (as depicted) if so did you use a controller?
I tried to use the keyboard/mouse and I felt that it had one of the worst port controls I have ever experienced.
Anyways, nice review.
PC. Once you get used to keyboard and mouse, you can pull off sick combos.
NeutralDrow said:
Not again! That's what I get for putting my ego in front.
 

SenseOfTumour

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It's also on Steam for another 12 hours or so for £7 - 50% off.

I'd certainly recommend a 360 controller.
 

AgentCooper

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I liked the review,The pictures also compliment the review. I liked Devil may Cry 4 even if playing as Nero was like a Dante lite.
 

TimeLord

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Devil May Cry 4 was the first DMC game I played and got me into the rest of the series. It is a fantastic game that appeals to my "keep hitting them until they are dead and then smash them into the ground and then to a bloody pulp and then keep hitting the blood stained ground".... side.

Also, I love the boss battles. A bit generic yes, but each one requires a different strategy and the bosses are varied enough not to get boring.
Yes, you do fight them all twice but as different characters with different weapons and combos, so I'm ok with that!

Also; Lucifer and Pandora's Box are brilliant.