Iain goes from Zero to Nero.

Silliness. Silliness with limitless guns and unlikely swords. That’s pretty much what it comes down to, but then that’s all it has ever been with the Devil May Cry games but that hasn’t them stopped being (with an exception, of course) exemplary examples of the genre.

It’s always been enough to make me dubious though. I remember a mate of mine getting impossibly hyped up over the release of the original back in 2001 and not seeing what the appeal was. I’m not entirely sure what it was that put me off though, the gothic excess of the universe should have been right up my late-teenage-angst-living-is-pain street. For whatever reason, I just wasn’t feeling it. Then the release day rolled around (nowhere near soon enough for my now mouth-foamingly fanatical friend) and I got a chance to see it played, still fairly indifferent, but I had to admit that it was...cool. It oozed cool. That definable kind of cool that Tarantino movies are renowned for. It was also hard. That definable kind of hard that diamonds are renowned for. More on that later.

If it ain't broke...

Now on the fourth game on the series, after a sequel that everyone hates and a prequel that was hailed as a return to form, and the formula is still much the same. Only this time, you’re not Dante. At least, not at first and not for most of the game. It’s not the radical departure that some people were expecting though. Sure, the new hero Nero has some interesting new tricks up his demonically enhanced sleeve that give the combat a nice twist, but it’s still very much in the same vein as the previous games.

So like in the previous games, the focus is the aforementioned cool. Every aspect of the game world, from the environments to the characters, their movements and paraphernalia has been brilliantly crafted and stylised with the specific intention of wringing every possible drop of cool from them. This is particularly evident, as ever, in the flamboyant combos. Anyone familiar with the franchise will be able to recall the deadly one-two of sword blows and gunplay that has defined the series so far and will be instantly at home with the new additions. Namely Nero’s Devil Bringer arm, which can be used to devastating effect against normal demons but is the key to some absolutely brutal sequences in the boss battles.

It succeeds in adding more depth to the already satisfying combo system from the previous games and allows for many more new and improved “whoa” moments. In fact, it quickly becomes so much of an integral part of the gameplay that when it’s taken away from you about halfway through it almost feels unfair. You’ve been so used to having this awesome power at the touch of a button that it takes a while for you to remember that Dante has access to equally awesome power, but it’s not the same at all and has to be employed in a completely different way.

The sections with Dante see a return of the styles system from Devil May Cry 3, with you being able to switch between Gunslinger, Trickster, Sword Master and Royal Guard on the fly, using the abilities that each style grants to take advantage of the situation and trying to negate the disadvantages as much as possible.

Precision control

Each style is mapped to a direction on the d-pad, which while a solid concept, is sullied somewhat by the shoddiness of the Xbox 360 directional buttons. Sure, it’s fluid when it works but it’s always a bit of a gamble as to whether it’ll register the right direction and put you in the correct stance. You’ll be glad to know that there are no such issues with the PS3 version however.

Earlier, I mentioned the difficulty of the previous games. Devil May Cry 3 in particular was known for having an especially unforgiving learning curve. Devil May Cry 4 on the other hand, has definitely gone towards the easier end of the spectrum. Whereas before you were only offered Easy mode as an act of pity if you repeatedly got your butt handed to you, there’s no such concessions here, Easy mode (or “Human” difficulty) is available right from the off. While for some people (myself included, I’m only slightly ashamed to admit) will appreciate this others will find the general downturn of the games toughness slightly hard to swallow. DMC 4 is unashamedly “hardcore” in most of its sensibilities, but anyone who revels in the term should be able to breeze through it with little trouble on the harder of the two difficulty settings available from the start.

So it’s more accessible for newer players (and the rubbish established ones, like me) but loses the hardcore edge that it had in previous games. That’s pretty much all it loses though, and everything it gains more than make up for that.

GAME's Verdict

• Combat is as deep and satisfying as ever.
• Absolutely beautiful, visually.
• Extremely well produced cut-scenes.

• The second half of the game is the same as the first, just backwards.
• It's almost too easy in places.
• Some really, really frustrating puzzles.

Review by: Iain Thomas
Version Tested: X360
Review Published: 07.03.08

The devil you don't...

The original Devil May Cry was arguably the PS2's first must-have title. Arriving in the console's first year, what had begun as a new Resident Evil suddenly became a standard-setting revamp to the scrolling beat ‘em up genre. Bags of style, amazing art direction, a cool kick-ass protagonist and addictive combo-focused combat ensured Dante's debut transcended a relatively short playtime to become an instant all-time classic.

One dodgy first follow-up and a stunning return to form for the second sequel later, and we're about where we were seven years ago. Devil May Cry 4 will see Capcom's series ignite interest in Sony's still-fledgling PS3 – plus arrive, for the first time, simultaneously on Xbox 360 and PC, too.

And Devil May Cry 4, much like its forebear, delivers a brand new playable character. After Devil May Cry 3 gave us Dante's evil brother Vergil, Devil May Cry 4 presents Nero; another white-haired, sword-swinging, pistol-packing badass who, for all intents and purposes, plays a lot like the franchise's favourite son of Sparda.

Devil Bringer

With one major exception; the Devil Bringer. Nero's right arm is a glowing blue claw which adds a whole new dimension to Devil May Cry 4's combat. Anyone who's been playing the demo on Xbox Live will attest to this; not only does Devil May Cry 4 retain the melee, gun and jump buttons, but as Nero the B button lets players grapple, swing and throw enemies, or in conjunction with the RB lock-on, stretch out, grab demons, and pull them in close.

It all makes for some devilishly delightful free-flowing fights. In Devil May Cry 4 you'll hack, slash, shoot and circle foes with near-balletic ease, pounding them into the ground and juggling them in the air – and if the on-screen combo meter begins to dip, you can drag them back for more punishment, stringing together some frankly bonkers blows and earning yourself more points in the process.

The Devil Bringer arm has also allowed Capcom to integrate long-distance jumping not unlike that as Wolf Link in Zelda: Twilight Princess. In Devil May Cry 4, stand on a blue platform and you'll instantly be able to hop to another off in the distance – which in the demo sees Nero leaping water, between buildings and more impressively rendered backdrops with a stylish blue trail.

Indeed, Devil May Cry 4 boasts every bit the strength of style you'd expect from the franchise, and, running in high definition on a 40” telly, has been one of the few titles everyone in the office here has stopped to admire. This is the series which defined the term ‘Gothic Action', and Devil May Cry 4 boasts heavily stylised gothic backdrops, evocative lighting and environment effects to die for (the chilling snow landscape needs to be seen to be believed), plus an overall spellbinding sense of scale, with the throwback ‘fixed camera' system altering views for maximum cinematic impact.

DMC fans shouldn't start writing angry letters to Capcom, however; all this talk of Nero doesn't mean Dante won't be in Devil May Cry 4... but alas, they're not giving much away at the moment. They have promised that Dante's new ‘Active Style Change System' will let players mix it up on-the-fly; but in truth, we see little reason to worry – Nero is so like Dante in look and feel that you'll quickly forget who you're playing as. And who can blame you, really, when the action is this good?

Flaming Berial

Which it most definitely is. Wrapping up the Devil May Cry 4 demo is an enormous boss fight with Berial, a flaming, four-legged, two-armed foe who proves to be a rather tricky prospect to take down. That said, the Devil May Cry 4 demo is nowhere near as difficult as the hardest parts of DMC3, and so fans can expect to get a lot of value from the title's two distinctly different difficulty settings.

Due on the second Friday in February, Devil May Cry 4 could well be the best in the series yet, and amongst the most accomplished titles we've yet seen on Sony or Microsoft's next-gen hardware – plus probably the best game this year so far.

Preview by: Mark 'Satanic' Scott
Version Tested: Xbox 360
Preview Published: 31.01.08