Sometimes you will gonna cry too

Well one of the best console action title returns with Devil May Cry 4.The quality of the series is like a roller coaster trip.While the original blow-ed away almost everyone with it's combat system and style,the second game was a big let down,but the series returned to track with the third game which is the best in the series in my opinion.So following the logic the fourth DMC is again a bit weak compared to the first and third game.No,it's not as bad as DMC 2 and generally not a weak game at all,but something is missing to be a really outstanding and memorable game.

The graphics are pretty average.From technical and artistic point alike.Personal characters look great,but hey this is a Japanese game.Japanese developers when it comes to graphics always makes character models top priority and the over world graphics suffer the consequences.It's a shame that Gears of War and almost every game these days beats DMC 4's character detail,not to mention the stages.So you will not going to drop your jaw to the ground when you boot DMC 4.For today standards character models looks outdated,the stages are boring and misses previous installments gothic feel,while shadows and lightning are downright awful and pixelated even on highest detail level.Although even monster models are not too detailed some of them look great.Like the Blitz,Frost or the two Angelo,Bianco and Alto,but that's it.After the moment you sliced them you won't even remember how they looked like.Bosses are big,but lacks any originality.So there are 3 boss in the game and the developers not even moved a muscle to make them memorable.There is a giant devil centaur like monster with a big sword,a very lame leaping giant frog and a giant snake woman.How original...

The gameplay does not changed too much from previous installments.Run forward to be trapped in a small room and kill all of the spawning monsters,repeat until you finish the map.Some times you will have to solve very annoying puzzle games.I mean...Very very annoying.Every puzzle is so frustrating you will sometimes want to throw away the controller in anger.The lamest puzzle in all of the gaming industry is probably the dice game...And there are two of it in the game.The first one is pretty straightforward.Slice the dice,it lands on a number and your figure moves forward until you reach to goal.If you land on a red square you will have to kill some enemies and on harder difficulties there are purple squares,landing on it takes you to a boss stage...To make things even worse,on Dante Must Die difficulty you will have to roll exactly the same number as many moves are needed to reach the goal otherwise the figure moves back with a very great chance that you will land on a red or purple square...No Capcom this is not funny!Dante Must Die difficulty is very hard already and you throw this in to make it impossible!If you are not lucky you will spend an eternity just to make through this room.The second die game works the same way.You hit the die,move in a circle until you land on a yellow or a purple square which takes you to the boss that you must defeat to move on to the next level.If you die,repeat the current level of the die game...I would recommend to buy another controller just for this game.

The combat system has remained the same.You have to mash a lot of buttons to create stylish combos with your sword and pistol to finish off enemies.The combat looks great if you know how to make it look great.You can fight simply on the ground killing slowly every enemy,but it's not too effective against greater number of monsters as you are vulnerable to attacks.So the best way is to blast off enemies into the air,jump after them and finish them off the air.It looks really cool and the game's physics allows you to remain in the air even for the whole battle if you know how to put together the right moves.The combat system is quite deep.Almost feels like Soul Calibur's fighting system.There are no predefined combos in the game,only the basic sword swinging which consists of pushing the same button a few times.To do really great combos you have to use almost every button in the game and remember every move the character can do.So this game is not too casual friendly.Sure you can finish the game on the easiest difficulty just swinging the basic combo,but only hardcore gamers can realize the game's true potential.To bridge this gap a little Capcom put in Nero to the game as the protagonist.

Nero's combat system is not as deep as Dante's.He got fewer,but stronger moves and his Devil Bringer is a powerful tool.The Devil Bringer is Nero's devil arm.He can control a big astral hand thing which follows his left hand's movement.You can do a lot of things with it like pulling enemies to yourself or yourself to the enemy,solve puzzles,grab an enemy as shield or simply dang them to the ground.Grabbing and striking the enemy to the ground looks great and the animation is different for every enemy.In boss battles this weapon is almost crucial.You can pull yourself to them from afar right to their weak point and when a boss is knocked out you can grab them and strike them hard.As with every enemy,every boss has a different animation when grabbed.It looks really awesome when you grab these giants and throw them away or do a serious combo on them just by pressing a single a button.Even so i felt that there are so much potential left untouched.There are no combos with the Devil Bringer or anything that would make it exciting to use beyond the great looking animations.You just push the button and Nero does everything on his own without giving you any control of the actions.If Capcom improves this weapon in DMC 5 Nero will gonna be just as fun to play as Dante.

One of my biggest problem with the game is that the boss fights are not too exciting.They have few attack pattern and expect for one boss you don't have to think about how to kill it,just slice it until it dies.Compared to DMC 3 where there are more boss and every one of them required a different strategy to beat it,DMC 4's boss battles are a big letdown.The two final boss fight are simply ridiculous and annoying.If you want such a grandiose final boss like Vergil well forget it.Beating Vergil was hard,but very exciting as he was so unpredictable you never knew how he will attack the next time and there was no real strategy to kill him,only your skill determined that you will triumph or fail.In DMC 4 you get a lame hovering priest surrounded with shield shooting fireballs and lasers.How exciting...

The another problem i have found is that after a point in the story you switch from Nero to Dante.The two character's fighting style is very different and just when you get used to Nero you switch to Dante and have to start everything from the start.For the two final stage you again use Nero so when you start to enjoy Dante you again switch characters.Another great problem is that with Dante you will have to clear the same stages again just in another route and beat the exact same bosses again.This is a very bad way to make the game longer.

Dante's repertoire in skills have improved a lot.The style system introduced in DMC 3 has returned in a much more flexible way.Now you can switch between the 4 style on the fly rather than at the starting screen.Need some mobility?Switch to Trickster.Need some fancy new moves with your sword?Switch to Sword Master.You have to kill enemies from afar?Switch to Gunslinger.Needs some defense?Switch to Royal Guard.This makes Dante a very flexible and powerful character to play.Dante requires a lot of practice to fully realize his potential.He can switch between 3 melee weapon,3 guns and 5 style!You have to play for months to truly understand how to play with him.It's clear that Dante is for the Hardcore gamers,while Nero is for Casual gamers who just wants great looking action scenes.

DMC 4 in the end was a bit of a letdown for me.Even though playing with Dante is fun and watching Nero's powerful attacks is fancy for a while,but it won't last long.The Bloody Palace makes the game a bit longer.Beating it with Dante is not an easy task,but it's still much easier than DMC 3's Bloody Palace.I hope they fix the problems in DMC 5 and revive the series,since DMC in this state is quite weak compared to God of War.