Devil May Cry® 4 Special Edition

Developer: CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | Publisher: CAPCOM Co., Ltd. | Release Date: 2015 | Genre: Action / 3rd Person Action / Adventure | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

In the coastal town of Fortuna there resides a religious sect called “The Order of The Sword” who has made demon extermination their main purpose in life. One day on the annual “Festival of the Sword” their leader is assassinated by a very familiar (if you’ve played previous Devil May Cry games) looking man in a red coat. Chaos erupts and a young knight of the order called Nero challenges the assassin when it becomes clear that the other knights are no match for the interloper. Nero puts up a good fight, but the assassin still manages to escape. Nero is tasked by the order to bring the killer to justice but things are further complicated by a full scale demon invasion of the town. And so begins one of the most action packed and stylish games to grace computer screens in a while.

Devil May Cry 3 came out a while back on computer, but as excellent as the game was it was hardly a stellar port and its Playstation 2 roots were painfully obvious. Devil May Cry 4 suffers from no such shortcomings and is one of the best looking games of it’s year. The graphics has had a serious next-generation overhaul and the detail, not to mention textures are through the roof. The locations are also revamped so instead of the dark, Gothic locations of past games you’ll experience huge sun drenched outdoor areas filled with awesome lighting effects and vibrant colors. Character models have to be seen to be believed and bosses are spectacular not to mention huge. The animations are smoother than ever and overall the game far exceeded my expectations where graphics are concerned. The only downside is that there aren’t that many locations and you are forced to backtrack through basically the entire game once you reach the halfway mark. This kind of level recycling is disappointing in a game of this caliber and quality, but because the levels look so good it’s not that bad playing through them since you’ll be playing a different character when doing so.

Yes Dante fans don’t despair as your hero is still present and playable for a large part of the game. Although much older than when we last saw him in DMC3 he’s still as cool as always. The real star of the show however is Nero, who coincidentally bears more than a passing resembles to Dante. I was very skeptical whether a new character could live up to the legacy of Dante, but once again I was pleasantly surprised. Not only is Nero more than a match for Dante, but in many ways he’s an even more entertaining character to play with. Armed with a gun called “Blue Rose” and a sword named “Red Queen” Nero might not have the arsenal and varied fighting styles that Dante possesses but he has something way cooler quite literally up his sleeve. You see Nero’s right arm has magical abilities that allow him to lift or throw things a normal human would never be able to as well as grab nearby foes and deal some serious damage to them.

Those used to the sword and guns combos of the previous games will find a whole new world of combo opportunities available to them with this new addition. It took me a while to get used to Dante’s playing style again after controlling Nero for most of the game, but his ability to now switch between weapons and fighting styles on the fly and the addition of some insanely cool new weapons for him made him equally fun to play as. Of course the cut-scenes are better than ever and you’ll keep playing just to see what happens next. The story was pretty good and never succumbed to boring cliché’s like I was half expecting.

The gameplay stick to the tried and tested formula of the previous games so everything is broken into levels which you have to finish as quickly and stylishly as possible.  Combat is insanely fast and ludicrously over the top, but an absolute blast to play. Watching Nero pick up a boss ten times his size and swing him around like a ragdoll is hugely entertaining and never becomes old. The special abilities his demon-tainted arm is capable of makes the past games look timid in comparison.

The audio is very nice and from the stunning opening song right to the credits remain of high quality. The voice acting is superb and everything is presented in glorious Dolby Surround Sound. The hard rock song that blast through your speakers every time you engage in combat quickly becomes repetitive however. Control wise don’t even think of playing this game with a keyboard unless you are able to tie your fingers in knots. Trust me, get a gamepad for this game, it’s worth it.

The whole game is very polished and there have been some genuinely useful improvements as well as nice extras. The upgrade system has been revamped so you no longer have to agonize between spending upgrade points on healing items or new skills. You now have different currencies for each and even better you can cancel points put into certain skills if they are not to your liking and spend them on something else. The game has also been made a bit more newbie friendly but the difficulty level soon begins to climb steeply. There’s a library mode, which keeps track of all the tutorials (not to mention hosts a wealth of unlockable character info and models) so be sure to study the techniques if you want to make headway.

If this game had a few more levels and less backtracking it would have been an easy nine, but as it is it’s still an action fans dream come true. As long as you are not easily offended (the game has some religious imagery and undertones) and have the skills to handle it you’ll love what it has to offer.

 * Review first published in 2008