Devil May Cry 4

The game has a complete stylish feel to it and considering that this… pretty much is just is a hack and slash button masher, the fact that the game is so much fun to play, leaves you not caring about sore fingers.

The game looks great, boasting beautiful landscapes throughout the city and Fortuna Castle, where a majority of the game takes place. The combat animations also flow unbelievably well, adding a certain realism to taking out your foes.

DMC4 returns showcasing how action games should be made. Staring a new hero and a few faces from the past, Devil May Cry 4 has everything you would expect out of your demon slaying, button-mashing game.

Everything a hack-and-slash should be and then some. Sadly it falters with repeated level design and a moderately troublesome camera; but in the grand scheme of things, these are only minor flaws. Devil May Cry 4 delivers an experience that is second to none on Xbox 360, so far. Held together by a solid narrative, it makes your blood boil with every fight you encounter.

Even with its minor faults, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better-feeling, better-looking, jack-of-all-trades action game on the market today. [Mar 2008, p.82]

The gameplay is sparkling with life, and picks up even more once Dante enters the fray. The visuals and sound are excellent, even with slightly bothersome camera hitches.

I’ve been a fan of this series since the beginning, and this entry surprised me by giving me new features and options I didn’t even know I wanted. They form a tight, precise combat system that action aficionados will adore, but newcomers can still utilize. Devil May Cry 4 delivers polished, fiendish thrills that eclipse other games in the series, and almost all contemporaries in the genre.

It's polished and slick, it's got gargantuan-sized gods, near-musical interludes, and infernal, flaming bosses. It's nothing short of brilliant.

Despite having a host of different attacks at your disposal, DMC4’s controls are surprisingly fluid and easy to pick up. The only major flaw comes from the game’s sometimes screwy camera, which can throw the player off his game.

Replay value, self-improvement and the challenge of later stages are what really make DMC4 a classic and if you’re unwilling to succumb to these, you’re not getting the most out of what is a truly special gaming experience.

All of the elements that have made the series great are here - the sense of humor, the slick sense of style and the ridiculously over-the-top action - and the game is at once instantly accessible and surprisingly deep, thanks to a more-elaborate-than-it-lets-on combo system.

Finishing the game actually burnt out the pleasure centres of our brain. We're unable to enjoy anything else in life now and instead spend our time wallowing in misery. [Issue#29, p.74]

Devil May Cry 4 is a stunning triumph of an action game that easily competes with greats like "God of War II" and "Ninja Gaiden Sigma."

Devil May Cry 4 has set the bar for how a combat system should be made. I can't stress enough how fun it is to beat the hell out of every enemy encountered. Fans of the action hack and slash genre have a new champion.

Take my advice don’t rent this one, just go out and buy it there is enough stuff to see and do after you finish the game to keep you playing for a long time afterwards.

Devil May Cry enters the new generation in great style. Congratulations to Capcom are in order, for including two of the most charismatic heroes in one single adventure. Definitely one of the best action games of the year!

Dismissing the game out of hand is easy: the plot is silly, the standard enemies don't vary much, and the level design amounts to little more than battle venues linked together with bland, featureless corridors and the occasional crap puzzle. But that'd be missing the point completely, and it only takes one hit to see why. Nail an encounter just right, ripping through your enemies with all the ferocity of a tornado in a knife warehouse, and you'll understand.

This game is rock solid with some of the most spectacular and fast paced gameplay.

While this forth chapter takes the spotlight away from Dante, Nero is a worthy hero to follow and thus making this an interesting sequel with a lot to offer.

If there was one thing I would ask is that next time Capcom considers a two player cooperative mode.

An action packed blockbuster featuring some of the best elements to be seen on a console, conveniently masking the flaws.

This filler-feeling content would be a real kill joy in a lesser game, but DMC4's combat is so fast, so visceral, that it's just a joy to play. And those who really want to tweak the experience will have endless fun tinkering with the upgrades and enhanced abilities. On the other hand, if you're a casual hack-'n-slasher, DMC4 has a great auto-upgrade system that'll do all the work for you.

In closing, while Devil May Cry 4 seems to be a hard fit in the series due to Dante’s significantly reduced role, the gameplay is as tight, stylish and entertaining as it ever was.

There is nothing that is insanely impossible in this game.

Devil May Cry is simple to jump in to and hack for hours or simple to jump on to for quick slash. All in all, its simple setup and pick up and play action is great, but making a game by reusing the levels for the second half of the game is almost unforgivable!

Though the focus might be more on Nero than Dante, and could've been named something else with a Dante cameo, DMC4 still has everything that fans expect of the game – over the top fight sequences, tons of replayability and an experience with an excellent production value.

Each one of the sound effects and songs that blast out of the speakers while kicking some devil ass is done with developing perfection, helping the overall atmosphere that is created in the moody setting.

If you haven't played any of the previous Devil May Cry games, ironically, this is the best place to start, since it offers the best performance and a truly rewarding single-player experience.

Devil May Cry 4 is totally saved by its combat system. It’s deep and rewarding, no matter what level of player you are--making hacking and slashing your way through waves of repetitive enemies still fun.

Its gorgeous trappings, addictive combat, and well-balanced difficulty make it the most satisfying DMC in years, and Dante's such a killer character that you'll actually want to tackle the game on a tougher difficulty in order to fully explore his amazing arsenal.

Devil May Cry 4 is easily the best DMC since the original--and it's loaded with massive replay value--but some puzzling design choices ensure that Capcom still has plenty of work to do. [Mar 2008, p.77]

DMC 4 is a great addition to the Xbox 360 library of games, there's no first person shooter element to be seen, and in this respect makes for a refreshing experience.

This game is tightly designed and coded, contains tons of abilities to take advantage of, and is just downright fun.

The Devil My Cry series makes a good debut on the Xbox 360, but it comes up a little short of being a truly great game.

While you'll find that the repetitive environments and strange puzzle sections are turn-offs, there's still a fine game here in Devil May Cry 4.

With plenty of exciting moments and ultra-stylized combat, Devil May Cry 4 provides an experience that any action game fan is sure to enjoy.

Even with its repetitiveness and awkward camera angles, Devil May Cry 4 provides a solid addition to the series and even towards the end, with its descent into a puddle of annoyance, the game features some exceptional gameplay and cinematics.

Devil May Cry 4 is not the revolution that Capcom might have wanted from the series, but it’s their fault for lumbering Dante with lazy, repeated level design, and making Nero a far more interesting character to play as than to watch in cut-scenes.

A new character brings new and compelling gameplay elements, but the repetition gets a bit tired, even if it is a Capcom calling card.

Not a patch on DMC3 but, the moment we finished the game, we played it all over again. It's that good. [Apr 2008, p.78]

The combat system is still brilliant, Nero proves to be a good character and visually it’s pretty impressive. But we can’t help feeling a little disappointed. It’s still a great action game, but has the same flaws of every other title of the series. [Feb 2008]

It's an enjoyable run through the world of demon slaying. It's significantly more fulfilling than the disappointing "DMC2" even if it's not quite the leap forward that "DMC3" was (or at least, the rebalanced Special Edition was).

If anything, the extra challenge is definitely a reason to play through the game a second (or third time) just to see if your skills can hold up. However, the addition of leaderboards, which rank players based on their overall score and scores for individual levels, will be the real reason to revisit the game.

With a little more effort, DMC4 could have been a genuine contender for 2008 game of the year. As it is it's a brilliant, addictive, just plain cool hack and slash action game which goes some way to bringing the series back to its initial lustre.

The newest entry in the revered series features plenty of awesome action, a great new character...and a bit of repetition.

Whilst it's undeniably a heart-pounding action feast from start-to-finish, the criticisms and slightly dated design lead us to hope that Capcom will contemplate a bit of a shake-up for the next DMC - we're not talking "Resident Evil 4" here.

Perfectly rendered cutscenes play out like extravagant soap operas with more over-the-top personalities than an episode of America’s Next Top Model.

This is old-school style gaming, sticking proudly with the DMC staple. Nevertheless, Capcom has got the balance right this time. "Devil May Cry 3" was undoubtedly the pinnacle of the series, despite becoming insanely difficult far too quickly. Here it's a much slower incline rather than a sharp spike.

Despite the constant frustration of the stop-start gameplay, and the sheer humorless stupidity of the game's script in its first half, Devil May Cry 4 triumphs when you get to fight. [mar 2008, p.52]

In spite of its well-produced animated dramatic sequences, the game isn’t about story, it’s about destruction, and Devil May Cry 4 offers many ways to wreak havoc.

In the end, Devil May Cry 4 really does nothing new, but damn, if it isn’t fun to play.

There's a tragic amount of recycling here. You spend too much time in levels with not much to do; too much time slicing thorugh obvious padding to teach a climax that we can promise won't satisfy you. [Mar 2008, p.86]

Despite the padding, there's plenty to do, and it should ultimately send the fans home happy.

The camera, a hybrid of both fixed perspectives and occasional manual control, frequently fails to focus on an enemy when you’re locked-on and attempting to attack, leaving you vulnerable to unseen counter moves.

When we finished "DMC3," we wondered what Capcom would do with new hardware. The answer is not an awful lot. The visuals are better, the combat's more accessible, the upgrade system's pleasingly flexible, but in practically every other sense Capcom has passed up the opportunity to do something new and exciting.

The real fans undoubtly have DMC4 in their homes already and may think the positive in the game outweights the negative. With that said, the game wasn't able to win us over like "God of War" did. Devil May Cry might have a better fighting-system and more boss battles, but falls short aside from that. Not a must-have in the genre at all.

Devil May Cry 4 despite its best efforts is still a puritan affair. There are many flaws that will put off newcomers, but for those who can tolerate those flaws there is an addictive, enjoyable and rewarding game just waiting to be played.

Given that they're already churning out over an hour of CGI each time, wouldn't their resources be better spent tacking on just a little more story and calling them films?

Devil May Cry 4 is also nothing close to the full next-gen transformation that the moody, gothic world of Capcom’s demons deserved.