Devil May Cry 4 Developer Capcom Publisher Capcom Genre Action Platform Xbox 360, Playstation 3 Release Out Now Devil May Cry, a series which gave new life to the hack-n-slash genre has returned. After fans had cried foul when the game would be ported to the Xbox 360 and no longer remain a Playstation 3 exclusive, it would have been murderous for them to have passed up playing such an amazing title as Devil May Cry 4. So, does that mean it's a good game. Well, in a nutshell, yes. But let's have a look at why I have such a hesitant response.

The story revolves around a new character, Nero. Which, I think the person who was in charge of character design for this game should be fired, because he is more or less a clone of Dante, the main series lead of the Devil May Cry series. But I digress, Nero and his... 'Romantic interest', Kyrie are part of some cult. Stuff happens, Dante comes charging in, shoots up the place, Nero and him get into a fight... That pretty much sets the tone for the whole game. And I really mean it. The game revolves around terrible scripting. Dialogue which would make Hollywood films shudder.

The gameplay of the game is pretty darn solid. It's basically this: enter room, Mash the combo button, destroy enemies, move onto next room. There are a bunch of very interesting combos you can make in the game. You're basically trying to throw a enemy into the air, then slash the blighter into mince-meat. You can combine shots from your gun (handled on another button, infinite ammo) with slashes to make an awesome combo. The better the combo, the better rating you get. You get ranks from D to SS (maybe higher, I'm not too sure). The camera in the game is that of a fixed, on-the-rails type of system. It regularly shifts position into a position least convenient for the player. You'll find yourself taking a step too far towards a certain object and having the camera quickly shift away. However, the developers aren't stupid. They realise the quick change in camera angles would change the direction which the player is headed if they hold down the analogue stick as you change into another camera angle. So you continue to move in the same direction you were heading in after the camera changes. Which is a nice feature, didn't want to make me throw the controller through the screen.

The controls, they're a bit strange. Instead of having the main action button (the combo button) near you like the 360's A button or the PS3's X button, it instead shifts that button to the 360's Y button and the PS3's Triangle button. Guns are on the 360's X button, the PS3's Square button. Jump on the 360's A button, PS3's X button and you can charge up, lock on and various other tid-bits using both controllers shoulder pads and triggers. The controls are very responsive and you'll never feel robbed because controls aren't doing what you want them to. Which is surprising from a game which has a lot of cinematic-like awe in the form of giant combos and shooting.

Visuals, the game looks fantastic. Enemies remind me of CGI from the late 90's, which is a good thing. Their bizarre enemy designs are a breath of fresh air in a world dominated by evil, realistic looking enemies... Seen in games such as Sonic the Hedgehog on the Xbox 360/Playstation 3. Visuals look very realistic, while at the same time, look stylised and out of the ordinary. This mash up works to great extent. Characters are unsurprisingly wonderfully designed in the game, whether they're small time roles or main characters, the same care and due attention was spent to them all, it seems.

Sound, the game's soundtrack is basically a death metal score with some of the worst lyrics imaginable. However, is hardly anything to worry about. Sound effects are pretty much average for the game, nothing out of place, yet nothing really special about them. Voice overs are well acted for the most part. Some are unintelligible because they're trying to hard to be demons or just because they're poor actors. But, you win some, you lose some.

Overall then, the game is a fantastic game. Fun for those who are looking for a challenge, fun for those who like to show off by making huge, over the top combos at the enemies expense and probably for the people who keep going to see crappy Hollywood movies. A word of caution for you Playstation 3 fans. There's a 20+ minute install time for the PS3 version of the game, this 6GB install probably isn't the funnest thing to sit through, ever. However, the 360 version avoids said instalment problems and works out of the box. The game is also identical to the PS3 version with no alterations in screen cropping, saturation, etc. If you have a 360 and a PS3, I would highly recommend you get the 360 version. But, it comes down to what controller you like best, ultimately. This game is definitely one to get.

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