Others say...

"Not quite DMC3 but miles above DMC2"
Devil May Cry makes its appearance on the next gen consoles with a style and gameplay that many fans of the series will be familiar with - you know the adage, if it ain't broke why fix it? For those unfamiliar with the series, Capcom introduced the series in 2005 on the PS2 with a game that many consider to be the best in the series. The series then fell off the map with a couple of hastily produced sequels and now we're given the fourth installment. So, does Devil May Cry live up to its reputation?

Story:

Nero takes the lead and his motivation for the acts that follow is his love Kyrie. The adventure begins in the gothic style town of Fortuna, where our new protagonist is on his way to hear his love sing at the local church. However, prior to reaching his destination, he is ambushed by demons and we quickly learn that our hero is anything but ordinary as he decimates them as only a devil hunter can. Upon reaching the church, we meet Sparda, the leader of the Order of the Sword, who begins to address the congregation when Dante crashes the party and fires a bullet into his head at point blank range. So begins the beautiful cut scenes that are speckled throughout the game.

Gameplay:

As I stated earlier in my review, Devil May Cry plays similar to the previous games in the series - you hack-n-slash your way to acquiring the best score and in the quickest amount of time while collecting red orbs to upgrade your abilities. For those who played Devil May Cry 3, Nero is markedly different than Dante. The biggest being Nero's Devil Bringer.....this arm is context sensitive and will aid in crushing minor enemies -to- ripping the throat out of major demons. Of course, the damage this arm inflicts can be increased with the system aptly named Exceed. By charging it up the damage that it unleashes is truly brutal. Nero is a welcomed addition to the series, but some may criticize the fact that Dante is only available for limited use....only seven missions with one being a tutorial.

Graphics and sound:

The graphics, like most next gen games, are incredible...with only minor shortcomings....mostly the shadow engine - the way the game adds shadows does distract from what otherwise is a beautifully rendered game. The sound does a superb job conveying the emotions of the scenes by delivering unique scores that fit the scenario well.

Final thoughts:

Devil May Cry 4 is a great addition to the series and is one of the better games in the respective genre. The gameplay is remarkable (not quite 3 but far above 2) that will introduce new gamers to the series and reward the veterans of the series that had to suffer through part 2. This is an addictive game with high replay value that will keep the gamer occupied for weeks.

"Not very special"
I am a fan of the first and third Devil May Cry so I was looking forward to the this one especially after seeing gameplay and video trailers. After playing it though, I am kind of disappointed.

You start the game playing as Nero, a character with a demon hand, chasing the infamous Dante, son of Sparda and main character of the first three Devil May Cry games, for about 13 stages and the rest you play as Dante. There are about 20 stages total.

Well the stages where you play as Nero and Dante are the same stages. Basically, you travel up the map as Nero and come down the map as Dante. The bosses you played as Nero are the same bosses you play as Dante. It feels like you only have half a video game. Also, when playing as Dante the game feels way easier then playing as Nero. The last two stages you play through the same bosses a third time as Nero. The gameplay and graphics are decent and the story is ok, but I have no desire to replay this because of the repetitiveness.

"Good game -- for 40 bucks"
graphics: 9/10, 720p grr. But nonethless very impressive graphics. Some camera angles are very annoying.

sound: 8/10, Not bad, music kinda sucks though. Seems like they play the same metal song during each combat scene. I had to turn it off.

gameplay: First DMC game I ever played and i picked it up very fast. shouldnt be too tough for newcomers.

PROS: lots of action, good story, good graphics
CONS: JUMPING PUZZLES, are you kidding me, what is this 1988 on a NES? I don't mind a challenge but some of the jumping puzzles are just terrible. The worst part is the camera can get in the way. Not too sure on replay value either. You could easily get through the content in 20 some hours.

Summary: Not as good as Assassin's Creed. Not worth 60 bucks. But definately worth 40.

"Great"
Simply said Great game have replayed it several times. The graphics are great the music is great and I really cant think of a single negative thing about it.

"A stylish showcase of action and style"
I know that title isn't exactly awesome but it fits the Devil May Cry series perfectly. This is not deep storylines or emotional cutscenes or ultimately sympathetic characters; this series is about keeping enemies afloat with a wave of bullets before you bring down your sword right on their head. I really only finished the first one and haven't bothered with the next 2 but since I have a shiny new Playstation 3, a whole new wave of games I have to try show up. So after the mandatory and hefty 5 GB install (more on that later), I was set for my adventure of sword-and-gunplay awesomeness with flaws that bugged me incessantly.

Story: Instead of playing as series regular Dante, you now control Nero, a member of the Order of the Sword, attending church with his friend/love interest Kyrie. Just then Dante shows up and proceeds to assassinate the leader before taking off. The Order tells Nero to go after Dante and make him pay for his crimes but there's more to it than that and Nero and Dante try to get to the bottom of it all.

Graphics: I always found Capcom to be quite stellar when it comes to presentation and while the art style isn't as beautiful as Folklore or as immensely detailed as Metal Gear Solid 4, this game is still quite the powerhouse when it comes down to the graphics. From its art design style with castles, ruins, picturesque landscapes to the fluidity of the action and cutscene direction, this is quite a great looking game on the PS3. Added bonus is that the mandatory install which takes a good 20 minutes drastically reduces load times with at best 2-3 seconds of a "now loading" screen. Sweet.

Sound/Music: The music has always been a mixed bag in terms of what it does and what it feels like the game should be doing. At times, the game takes on an operatic approach with organs, pianos and choirs in Latin but then when action hits, it brings out a cheesy metal song. Sure it fits what you're doing but having sweeping music only to be replaced by music worthy of bad Slipknot and it's just bizarre. Voice acting in Capcom games tend to be hit-or-miss as well, as if the whole game is one big, stylish and impressive B-movie with one-liners (unfunny ones at that) and a villain who stutters and it's quite funny in a bad way.

Gameplay: The Devil May Cry series is all about the combos and the moves like God of War. From all the moves you can purchase to upgrades, your character will be flying up and down the screen as you bring the proverbial smackdown to your enemies. Gunplay and swordplay effortlessly shift back and forth and using the Devil Bringer, which basically acts like Scorpion's "get over here!" from Mortal Kombat. Instead of going over to your enemy, you can grab them from afar and smack em around. Instead of Dante who received new weapons to shift back and forth from, Nero keeps his sword and guns but he just gets more stuff to do with them.

The problem is is that the moves and upgrades are rather hefty price-wise and you will frequently go through the process of "orb farming" where you replay a level to get better ranks and more Proud Souls to use to upgrade which can get very repetitive and the more Souls you get is depending on how good at combos you are. From Deadly to Sick Smokin' Style, you have to be very adept at slinging together combos without getting hit so if you're a bad player, you're going to be pretty small on upgrades. Also at times, Capcom has gameplay ideas that just don't work and for those wondering if the game is as famously difficult as the third can rest easy (though it's still maddening sometimes), it does a couple things that irk me. Jumping puzzles are sometimes imprecise and with enemies respawning should you fall, it gets kind of boring and quite irritating. The other is that you'll get a board game where you move a character across a board but considering how it's played, it feels like a game stretcher to make the game seem longer than it is.

At a certain point in the game, we get to play as Dante and he's basically the same though there's some changes. Dante can now shift into different modes from Gunslinger which focuses on weapons and bullets whereas Trickster basically allows you to dodge enemies more efficiently and the new weaponry gets added upon completing certain missions. However, not to spoil but basically Dante is Nero's levels backwards and you even fight the same bosses...3 times. It might be a next-gen title but it's also burdened by gameplay choices.

I'd play the game since it's one of the more well-known and popular PS3 games but I wouldn't consider it my favorite and it's more a game I like than absolutely love. I don't mind playing through it and even wanted to get to the end but I didn't feel it was good enough to purchase but that's me.