Gameplayer
huh: ) review.
Devil May Cry 4
Does this legendary series have what it takes for the next-gen?
by: Tristan Ogilvie 31/01/2008
The original Devil May Cry kicked arse. Released in 2001 on Sonys PlayStation 2, it came as the flashy, fast-paced antidote to the plodding, crescent key-collecting Resident Evil series (this was pre-Resident Evil 4, mind you). It was a combo-driven hack-and-blast em up that faltered in its second outing (DMC2), before restoring the balance with the excellent (though at times, dauntingly difficult) Devil May Cry 3: Dantes Awakening.
Devil May Cry 4 marks the franchises debut on next-gen consoles, so youd expect it to be a significant, sword-swinging leap over its predecessors.
And it is. Well, visually at least. The next-gens graphical grunt has been put to mostly good use by Capcom, with some incredible-looking boss characters and spectacular particle effects that add enough onscreen flair to make the game Employee of the Month at Chotchkies (sup, Office Space fans?).
Sadly, thats where the next gen-ness ends. Perhaps unashamedly so, DMC4 remains true to the gameplay of the previous games in the series, for better or worse. Playing as newcomer Nero (and eventually Dante), you plough through waves of enemies in each level, unlocking new combo moves as you go and powering up your character with extra health and added magical power, and so on.
There is some novelty; Neros Devil Bringer right arm is somewhat of a multipurpose tool. You can use it to grab enemies and slam them into the ground, or drag them towards you in a Mortal Kombats Scorpion fashion. You can also use it as a grappling hook to zip between platforms in certain sections, or to vault up to the heads of larger enemies so that you can slash away at their noggins in midair.
Some of the combo moves are awesome, and there are also a lot of enemy-specific attacks that add a bloody splash of diversity to each encounter. For example, if you use a grab move on one of the White Knight enemies you can turn their own sceptre upon them, and then violently jam it in and out of their guts with each frenzied tap of a button. Later on against a huge, frog-like boss with glowing, naked ladies for antennas (its a Japanese game, remember?), you can grab his flabby tongue, pull yourself up into his mouth and perform a rough form of root canal work with your blade and bullets.
Unfortunately, interspersed with these satisfying chunks of action are lengthy patches where youre wandering around, retracing your steps down nondescript corridors and generally having no idea of what to do next. At several junctions throughout the game we spent upwards of ten minutes going around in circles simply because the game hadnt made it clear which direction we were meant to be heading in. Thats not fun.
Furthermore, while the game is mostly old school in its design, it sometimes ventures into positively hokey territory. Cracking a giant dice (or die, to be technically correct) to move a Nero-shaped piece around a giant board game in the games underground lab level is just lame. Also, forcing the player down a series of four-way junctions, where each wrong path guessed sends them back to the beginning of the area, is a cheap trick for artificially lengthening games that should have died back in the 16-bit era.
Now that we think about it, theres actually quite a lot to criticise in DMC4. The camera, a hybrid of both fixed perspectives and occasional manual control, frequently fails to focus on an enemy when youre locked-on and attempting to attack, leaving you vulnerable to unseen counter moves.
Lastly, the cutscenes are suitably over-the-top and incredible, which obviously isnt a criticism in itself, except for the fact that the action shown in the cinematics is far more intense and well choreographed than anything you ever experience in-game. The cutscenes just serve to reinforce exactly how amazing the gameplay isnt (by comparison).
Snatching away one of the PlayStations exclusives may be a small victory for the Xbox 360 fanboys, but its hardly of any major consequence to the rest of us. DMC was undoubtedly a great slab of action when it first came out in 2001, but now the formula just feels a little dated and unrefined. Admittedly you cant really find anything like it on shelves right now, but action fans should be advised to wait a few months for the destined-to-be-unbelievable Ninja Gaiden II.
THE FINAL WORD
Graphics: Plenty of pretty next-gen visuals.
Sounds: Cheesy, but authentic full-cream Jap cheese.
Control: Pull off all the wild moves with ease.
Gameplay: Dated game design throughout.
Verdict: A last-gen game in next-gen clothing. 7/10