Devil May Cry 4

It’s hard to believe that we’re already up to the fourth installment of the Devil May Cry series. What almost started off as a revised Resident Evil game has blossomed into its own series with its own rabid fans. In the fourth installment the game no longer focuses on longtime hero Dante, instead we get a new antagonist called Nero. Nero is a wise-cracking angst-filled youngster who has amazing abilities thanks to one of his arms being demonic. Even though the characters may have changed the Devil May Cry experience is still the same action-packed, over-the-top gaming experience we’ve come to expect.

What I should mention right away is this isn’t a rushed port of the console game. Devil May Cry 4 is a beast of a game that was designed for some hardcore specs, usually the kind reserved for the latest first-person shooter extravaganza. The manual includes a comment that the game was developed and tested using nVidia GeForce 7, 8 and 9 series graphic cards. Further comments suggest that running the game using a GeForce 8800 card will let you run the game with all of the special effect settings turned. Additional comments state using a GeForce 9 series card will let you really experience the game. If you’ve been thinking about upgrading your graphics card now could be the time since Devil May Cry 4 is a powerful game that can use some intense hardware for all of the eye candy.

If you want a game to show off just how good a PC game can look Devil May Cry 4 is the game. This is a game full of amazing visuals from mission to mission. Huge backdrops full of rich, incredible details are everywhere in the game. Breathtaking lighting effects show up not only in dark mysterious areas but also in the stages set outside in bright sunlight. The boss battles fill the screen with encounters that will have your PC screaming for mercy due to the limitless action. Once again this game will push the limits when it comes to system requirements so be prepared.

As far as the game itself, well what we get is a game that still plays like a Devil May Cry game in my opinion. If you’ve never played Devil May Cry then the game can best be described as a third-person action game with enormous amounts of hack 'n slash elements. Throw in some 'lite' adventure elements such as finding items in the game and upgrading your moves lists. Then add some spooky, creepy and gruesome visuals similar to a Resident Evil game. Finally make sure you have a cocky, conceeded hero who can perform some of the most over-the-top moves. Mix all of these ingredients together and you get the Devil May Cry experience.

The same over-the-top action found in previous Devil May Cry (DMC) games return in DMC4. While some of the controls may have changed from previous DMC games, for many PC gamers DMC4 will probably be their first experience with series. Make sure you have the Xbox 360 Controller for Windows since the game was designed to be played with the 360 controller in mind. The game is immediately playable with the 360 controller with no remapping of buttons to worry about. All of my playing time with DMC4 was with the 360 controller. There is a keyboard layout option you can use but honestly I couldn’t imagine playing the game using the keyboard. Now that might be my console side of me coming out but the game feels just like a natural fit using the 360 controller. Now, that isn’t to say that the controls are worry free because there are some small issues.

While the overall experience is smooth with the controller the game still plays more like a button-mashing fest instead of a fine-tuned experience. Close range attacks with your sword are performed with the Y button. Long Range attacks are performed with the X button. The B button performs Devil Bringer moves, which reach out to grab nearby opponents. The Devil Bringer moves are the new moves in DMC4 since they are exclusive to Nero. For me the game loses focus when you start trying to pull off the combo moves you purchase during the game.

The combos felt very hit or miss to me, sometimes they worked but most of the times they didn’t. Even when they did work the game never seemed to change depending on the combos. Sure, you might have saved a few seconds in completion time but the enemies could still be defeated just bashing away on the controller. Performing special moves in the game were even more of a challenge since you have to hold down the right or left shoulder button. As you hold down one of the shoulder buttons you then need to press a certain direction and then hit a specific button to pull off special move. Once again these felt very imprecise with no sense of accuracy or precision. In the heat of battle it felt easier to forget about the combos and just bash away since they both did the same job.

Yet even with the off-balance controls I still had a blast playing the game. The action was still intense enough to make me want to keep playing. The almost-limitless enemies in certain areas never got old since I found that even just bashing away I was still pulling off some amazing moves. The Devil Bringer controls were especially fun to use during the game. Pulling in demons with the Devil Bringer and then smashing them to the ground never got old. Or jumping up in the air to pull a demon out from the sky or blasting away with your gun and then pummeling them with your sword were always satisfying.

One issue with the game is more of a Capcom issue in my opinion: the camera angle. The game does let you change the camera angle with the right analog stick but for some areas the camera angle is locked. This usually happens when you move from screen to screen because the game is still presented with the almost static/rendered backgrounds. This has been an issue with Capcom games since the original Resident Evil and it’s still an issue today. For example, you’re pressing down on your controller to move down towards the bottom of the screen. The screen then changes but your camera angle is now reversed and you’re now walking up instead of down. This causes you to go back to the previous screen you were just at. This happens far too often in the game so just be prepared. Thankfully most of the action in the game happens far away from these sore spots.

Story wise you do get a fairly forgettable plot with some interesting moments at time. Dante plays an important role in the game so be prepared for his appearance. If you’ve played any of the Resident Evil games or other DMC games you should probably know what to expect. Hero takes out scores of demons, which leads to boss battles, which leads to next plot development. Someone is trying to bring about a master demon to take over the world or some other similar nonsense. Nothing too exciting but not griping science fiction like you can find in movies or books.

DMC4 is definitely a game that looks like a modern game with plenty of visual effects to make your jaw drop. While the gameplay doesn’t quite give you the same head rush it still gives you plenty of entertaining moments that will keep you glued to your PC. If you missed DMC4 on the Xbox 360 or PS3 then you should definitely check it out on the PC. Just make sure you have plenty of horsepower to throw at the game since this is one heck of a graphical powerhouse. Even with my Core 2 Duo processor and GeForce 7900GS my system was still having issues with the game. Some occasional slowdown and tearing would occur when I had everything turned on in the game. Manage your PC settings properly and you should be in for an amazing experience. Oh, one last item is the load times to start the game. It took at least five minutes to load the game each time I started it or even changed the graphic settings so be prepared.

Review Scoring Details for Devil May Cry 4

Gameplay: 8.4
While I felt the game is more of a mindless hack-and-slash fest I still had a good time chopping down as many demons as I could.

Graphics: 9.0
Just be prepared to be blown away with the visuals in the game. As I mentioned earlier DMC4 is an excuse to get a new graphics card just to turn on all of the visual goodies in the game.

Sound: 8.3
The voice acting in the game was done very well with some great work by most of the actors. No real moments of cringe during the majority of the game. While the background music and sounds effects fit the game well, the battle music is the standard industrial metal we’ve heard in countless other games and movies. Oh, and you’ll hear it over and over again.

Difficulty: Medium
The game includes two difficulty levels so you can either take your bumpy stroll through the park or jump out into the shark-infested waters.

Concept: 8.0
Sure, there are some new modes in the PC version but even these additions can’t really change the overall experience of the game. Legendary Dark Knight Mode fills the screen with an insane number of enemies for you to take out. Turbo mode gives you an all new level of speed to play the game at.

Overall: 8.4
Devil May Cry 4 may not be the complete overall title of the DMC franchise but for many PC owners this will be their introduction to the series. What you get is a great title with plenty of action to keep you busy and enough eye candy to melt your corneas for a while. You get to play as both Nero and Dante so you get the best of both worlds, the old and new DMC experience. There may only be a few slight differences but the overall experience is still a blast to play.