$20 Game of the Week: Devil May Cry 4 (Xbox 360, PS3)

When Devil May Cry debuted on the Playstation 2 years ago, it gave a new face to the action genre while providing an old-school vibe. It was like nothing gamers had ever seen before, but at the same time, you got a feeling of nostalgia just like you did when you played Castlevania or Ninja Gaiden back on the Nintendo. Devil May Cry helped set the trend of the action genre for years to come. Its fast paced action, upgradable abilities, and combo-heavy combat system helped lay a blueprint for games like Ninja Gaiden and God of War. The series almost went under due to a lackluster second entry, but a third game redeemed the series, even if it was brutally difficult. Now DMC goes next gen, and also makes its first appearance on the Xbox 360. Although DMC 4 treads familiar territory, it manages to provide a few surprises of its own, not the least of which is an all new playable character.

DMC 4 does a big time swerve for players, and starts them out by placing them into the role of a new character, Nero. Nero is a member of a religious order that worships Sparda (Dante’s heroic demon father). One day, he watches helplessly as the leader is this order is assaulted and seemingly killed….by Dante. You’re actually spending the first part of the game battling against him. What’s going on? Has Dante turned evil, or is there something else afoot? It’s up to Nero to find out. Don’t worry, you’ll also take control of Dante, but what series of events leads up to this?

Nero plays similar to Dante, but he has his own bag of tricks. His sword, the Red Queen has a trigger which he can ‘rev-up’ to power up his attacks. His main draw however, is his devil-arm. He can use his arm to grab enemies and latch onto certain objects Bionic Commando style. He doesn’t have as many abilities as Dante, but he can still power up and upgrade his skill set. Dante meanwhile has his four fighting styles from DMC 3, and he can switch between them at anytime. Also, he gains new devil arms throughout his portion of the game. Gameplay is the same as always. You go from section to section, killing enemies while attempting to use combos to earn a higher ranking. Through it tends to get repetitive at times, the various environments, cool and bizarre enemy design, and and your character’s abilities help keep the action fresh, and there are even some puzzle elements added in as well. The game’s challenge keeps players of their toes, but the difficulty is nowhere near as hard as DMC3.

While DMC4 isn’t perfect, Capcom did a very good job of bringing its series to this generation of consoles. Even if the game does travel familiar territory, it still delivers the hyperactive action that the series is known for. You may even still find the special edition of this game, which includes a bonud dvd, a metallic cover, and the first four episodes of the Devil May Cry animated series.