REVIEW – An always crazy gameplay, full with mad combos, non-stop hack and slash action, a much laid back and handsome demon hunter hero, who cannot be destroyed as he is almost a god: this is the Devil May Cry series’ recipe. Today the fourth episode is back with a twist: the Special Edition features Vergil, Trish, and Lady as bonus playable characters, each with new opening and ending movies – alongside the graphical facelift and 60 FPS of course. Bonus costumes for Trish/Lady and the Legendary Dark Knight mode, previously found only in the PC version, which increases the number of enemies for each battle are also included. Is it incentive enough to replay this seven years old game?

 

The Devil May Cry series has always been the big star of console games: on the PlayStation 2 the first two games were a huge success, even though they were really difficult, and the third game even one upped the difficulty. PC gamers were only able to try out Devil May Cry 3, in a typical Capcom way, the port was a mess, which was put together two years after the original release on the console.

When Devil May Cry 4 was announced initially as a PlayStation 3 exclusive we were disappointed, as the screenshots and the gameplay videos seemed to show that this game will be something special, and awesome. A few months later Capcom did a one eighty, and decided not only to release the game to the Xbox 360, but will also be available for PC. Eight years after we finally have a remake with graphics which are better than the PC version’s graphics and also five playable characters!

“Pleased to meet you”

In the previous games not just the devil, but I was almost also crying, not just because of the bad port on the PC, but also because of the near sadist difficulty levels the game offered. Every one of us loves a nice challenge, but I was not amused by the fact that my character died every five minutes, who by the way was a superhero.

“The arm allows us to grab enemies and objects from afar, and smash them to the ground.”

Luckily the difficulty setting for Devil May Cry 4 was setup perfectly: Not too easy, not too difficult, and those wanted to make it easier or harder, they could select two additional difficulties for additional / less challenge. We can also determine if the combos should be activated by a one button system, or by the usual multiple button system – it is recommended to choose the latter one, as it will provided a much better satisfaction when we can land a complex combo, instead of just mashing the gamepad.

“Hope you guess my name“

After this much introduction it is time we talk about the story, as the developers put more emphasis on that also. Those who are not familiar with Devil May Cry, here is a quick summary: Dante the series’ protagonist is a grey haird, macho demon hunter with super powers, who in every game has to defeat entire armies of demons.

Dante is also of demonic lineage: he is the son of Sparda, who back in the old days rebelled against the demon king, and defeat it his armies. Our hero’s mother is a human, who was slain by demons, that is why he swore to destroy all monsters and demons. He is a mercenary for hire, and kills them for the good well paying customers

“I’m a man of wealth and taste”

That is why there was such a huge outcry when in Devil May Cry 4 not Dante, but our new talkative hero, the young Nero will be controlled. Due to fan pressure however the developers gave in, and made a few maps for good old Dante.

Nero has nothing to do by the way with the bloody emperor of Rome, same goes for Dante’s relationship to the Divine Comedy. Nero looks a lot like Dante, even down to the clothing, but our new hero’s arm glows with a constant blue light.

In the original game’s spectacular intro Nero is rushing to the Opera where the Order of the Sword (which Nero is a part of) is holding a ceremony. After the ceremony, Nero’s love interest, Kyrie sings in her angelic voice, and from time to time looks at the seat Nero was supposed to be. She’s sad that he is late again but he finally arrives to the ceremony.

However he finds the ceremony utterly boring, and was just about to leave, when Dante breaks through the glass ceiling and kills the Order’s leader Sanctus. As Nero feels that his love is in danger, he duels with Dante, and this is where we are familiarized with the controls in the first tutorial of the game.

“What’s puzzling you is the nature of my game”

The story will not provide too big twists later, but there will be some relatively interesting, and sudden twists. The conversations are very anime-esque, but the cinematics are so well done that even those who do not like Japanese cartoons will enjoy these moments.

“Turbo mode revs up the action to unbelievable speed”

The game takes itself seriously, but it has enough clever humor that the serious parts are not too difficult to endure. There was maybe one scene where I thought that this should have been cut: which was when Dante was doing the tango dance. All in all the story is well put together, and I was actually more interested in what was happening than in the previous DMC games.

Demon blues

In the previous games defensive tactics played a huge role, and this got to be the detriment of the hack and slash enjoyment (of course it was not a requirement to be on the defense, but that meant that Dante would get his ass kicked). In this sequel, we can now be more aggressive, and this is also because of Nero’s blue arm.

The arm allows us to grab enemies and objects from afar, and smash them to the ground. It was surprisingly easy, and provided a great sense of power when using, I sometimes relied on this ability a little too much. Of course besides this power, we have our guns and sword that has been the trademark of the DMC series. All three weapons have upgradeable skills, and these can be used both midair and on the ground.

Blood and crystals

Those who are not used to this type of gameplay will be annoyed by this a little, but by playing more and more they will get used to the controls. Once the player gets used to the controls he’ll be able to tear through demonic armies and result in really fun moments. I would like to note that compared to the old games, and even to the recently released Ninja Gaiden II the controls and combat are way better here.

New combos are learned much slower and are padded out in the gameplay, so it is a lot easier to memorize them than ever before in a DMC game. Just like before we have to pay with these combos with blood crystals, however the game provides a really sympathetic method to reroll our character. If we do not like the skills we bought we can just simply “forget” them, and we get our crystals back. This get back your crystals if you do not like the combo reminds me of a supermarket deal.

“And the bodies stank”

The movement and combos are by the way – as we are used to them – are quite bloody and thrilling, although they are not as sadistic. Still it has its magic while in the air or on the ground, killing demons while the movement looks like dance steps, slicing them and shooting them, or using the Arm to grab them. Nero by the way has relatively little combat moves, and weapons, but his devil bringer is such an enjoyable weapon that we are willing to look past this fault.

Just call me Lucifer

The demon arm is so awesome that by the time Dante returns as a playable character I was a little disappointed that I could not use it anymore. I must admit that this option is a bit overpowered, and the lack of this function will be felt in the difficulty. On the flip side Dante has a more versatile and expansive combat style, more weapons and combos can be used, so switching to the good old demon hunter was not a disappointment for me.

Besides the constant hack n’ slash, there are very well designed and really fun boss fights. The developers went all out on these encounters, and there are a lot of neat bosses such as: a giant four legged horn demon, a disgusting demon that looks like a giant frog, and a golem like stone monster. When battling these monsters we will always have to find the best tactic, as it is not enough to just chip away at the boss’s health so that it finally goes down.

Use your head…

As in the previous games, or just like in any other TPS, we’ll have to solve different puzzles in DMC4. These usually do not even hit the Tomb Raider difficulty spot, and most of the times the trick is just to find the correct button which will open a door for us or slow down time. Truth be told I did not feel like that these parts should have been in the game, and feel like as if these puzzles are simply mandatory checks for the typical TPS genre. We could have gotten more hack n’ slash parts instead of these quick, but annoying puzzles.

“‘Cause I’m in need of some restraint”

Besides the usual puzzles, jumping on platforms are also in DMC4. However instead of the boring jumping around like a flea mechanic of so many games, we just use the Devil Bringer to leap from Point A to Point B. It is really fun to do this, and strikes a balance between the constant running around killing things, or just trying to solve some lame puzzle.

Unfortunately there are some parts where the Devil Bringer cannot be used to jump from platform to platform and this can result in frustrating situations. The fixed camera and the non- adjustable camera does not help this fact. Not only that, but the camera can suddenly change perspectives when jumping from one ledge to another which resulted in me plummeting several stories, and had to climb back up again. You can guess how many times I mentioned the dear Japanese developer’s mothers.

The devil in the details

The game looked pretty good on the old generation consoles, and using the power of the PS4 the developers of Capcom are giving us mental orgasm with the upgraded graphics. The gothic levels are really grand in design, whether it is the old gothic castle, the menacing dark forests or the sunny city. Although the game contains surrealistic elements, it also has its own realistic ones such as old houses, shops, street signs and the entire ambiance is just as if a real demon invasion hit a modern city.

The castle is full of (of course destructible) furniture, beautiful paintings, and large vases. The textures are needle point detailed, and thanks to the possibilities of a PS4, these textures became even more detailed. It really shows that Capcom did not rush the PS4 port, and forget about its PS4 audience.

One of the new features of the PS4 version is the new game modes, which also take advantage of our current generation console. Turbo mode for instance revs up the action to unbelievable speed (which reminded me of Ninja Gaiden II), and in Legendary Dark Knight mode the screen is filled with enemies beyond the usual numbers. Another difference is that certain enemies appear in other places unlike in the console version.

Soda, and pop-corn should be near

The animations of our five heroes: Nero, Dante, Vergil, Trish, and Lady are simply astonishing: it is a fantastic experience to watch the near ballet like movement while in the air, or on the ground destroying monsters. The movement and design of the monsters are great, although some of their movements can be quite comical (intentionally) instead of being menacing.

Another part of the game I would like to highlight are the cinematic cut scenes which are still breathtaking. Some might have gotten used to these, but it’s still a satisfaction to see such well-made, near CGI movie tier scenes. We can see how Japanese know how to build up their characters, and how professional they are when watching these scenes.

Let the metal scream?

Besides the graphics, we should talk about the voice acting and the sound design. Nero’s voice actor Jonny Yong Bosch did not have an easy time, as the young titan who replaces Dante was not liked by everyone. So he had to do everything to make Nero likeable, and sympathetic to the player.

Congratulations to Bosch as he was able to make Nero just that, really sympathetic, human, and a unique character, not just a carbon copy of Dante. All of the other voice actors did a fine job, so there is no issue to be mentioned about it, A bit disappointing is the constant metal music that lack any quality, and becomes quite dull after a while. Luckily it is so generic that after a while we won’t notice it that this music is playing.

Repetition is Devil May Cry 4’s signature

So we have a fun and exciting combat, detailed cinematic, and a great story. Which begs the question what’s the issue with DMC4. Well to sum it up it would be this: repetition. The previous games also had this where you had to go back to certain parts of the map. However here with Dante once we take control of him, we’ll have to revisit locations, with new puzzles, and I was not pleased with the reuse of assets even if they look great.

Not only that, but even the bosses have to be repeated with Dante. So once we defeat a tough boss with Nero I am not ready to do it all over again with Dante. Plus in some missions the bosses even appear for a third time… Brr….

I was pleased to meet you… again

The fans of hack n’ slash games are in for a treat with Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition. The game’s graphics are topnotch, the controls are perfect, the only problem can be with the platforming parts due to the camera switching viewpoints.

While I still like DMC: Devil May Cry SE better, DMC 4 is my favorite episode from the “old” series. It’s still a bit of a cheap move from Capcom part to rehash old games, instead of giving us new DMC episodes, but if you missed DMC 4 on the old generation, you’ll enjoy this pretty good remake.

-BadSector-

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Publisher: Capcom

Developer: Capcom

Genres: TPS, action, horror, hack’n’slash

Publication: June 23, 2015