Devil May Cry 4 Review
24 July 2008 | By Simon Priest
Capcom bring their latest instalment of brutal demon slaying to the PC with added modes and even better visuals
For any who are unfamiliar with the Devil May Cry universe and who haven’t quite experienced the Japanese style of high action combat before, then you’re in for some shocks. This game brings exactly the same great experience the console versions did -- as our own Xbox360 review will attest – but sprinkles in some more of the demonic mayhem with the chance for PC users to crank up the gears with even better graphics.
This review will be focusing on what Capcom have done with Devil May Cry 4 on the PC, so for a broader perspective you should check out our Xbox 360 review.
The story opens with a ‘mysterious’ assassin offing his Holiness during one of his boring sermons and it serves him right as far as I’m concerned. Not to worry though as the action soon ramps up pretty quickly as all descends into a glorious chaos that’s just itching to be put right by over-the-top sword play the series has come to embrace so well. Unfortunately the action isn’t quite as constant as perhaps the bloodthirsty demon-slayers of us would like it to be, and a lot of the time will feel rather repetitious, with navigation through the levels proving to be a bit challenging and confusing at times. Half way through the story you’ll switch from playing as Nero and will have to adjust play styles as you take control of Dante for the rest. One thing that can’t be faulted is the terrific voice acting that has gone into every character; they really bring adrenaline and fire to their performances.
Devil May Cry 4 is a beat ‘em up at heart, except it’s got a big sword and likes to flirt with a demonic flare. The first hurdle you’ll come across as a PC user is the control scheme as DMC is meant for a console audience. Experiencing the game is best served with a controller that’s preferably a clone of either the Xbox360 or PS3 – the keyboard just doesn’t feel natural and can hinder your mastery of the obscene and brutal justice you’ll be dispensing. Boss fights are literally a do or die affair so if you really want a chance at completing the new “Legendary” difficulty setting the keyboard won’t be your closest ally. Sadly there’s no room of support for the mouse from Capcom, and if you compare the freedom a controller gives you to the limitations of a keyboard for this style of game, it can almost become a Gamer May Cry affair. Controller – good, keyboard – bad.
Unless you’ve dabbled in the series before you’re likely to be a little shocked as to how things work in the Devil May Cry universe. You collect red orbs/blob-things as you go along which act as currency to buy items for use in the game. Also after completing levels you collect Proud Souls which basically act as experience points to be spent on levelling up your skills, which can either be short or ranged abilities but also covers things like being able to run and not just jog – considering the size and length of some levels I would really suggest getting this one asap. If you feel a little lazy though, or haven’t a clue what’s best to get early on then the game can be set to automatically improve the character for you depending on your style of play.
The graphics are definitely the greatest change you’ll come to admire especially if your rig is sporting some mighty hardware as you can really crank up the settings. They’ve even added a system performance test to the main menu so you can check out your tweaks without having to load up a level with the possible horror of a crippling frame rate, to then struggle through the clicks of shame as you scampered back and reduce the workload. The environments and the character models really outshine their console counterparts and with the resolutions on offer the clarity is fantastic, especially during the cut scene extravaganzas, of which there are plenty as the game can now handle frame rates of up to 120 a second.
The new “Legendary Dark Knight Mode” mode is designed with the hardcore fans of DMC at heart as foes try to drown you throughout the levels though admittedly the hardcore fan base would probably be on the consoles, not the PC. Other alterations are mostly with moving around some of the bad guys or bad ‘things’ you’ll be facing. Of course you could just go crazy and hurl yourself into Turbo mode where things get, well, rather turbo as the action cranks up.
Overall the game is a fantastic addition to the PC and it’s great to see Capcom continuing to bring their latest catalogue to this platform. It would be difficult to really get away with calling this a complete port to the PC as while the control scheme suffers if you’ve no gamepad at hand; the meat of the game is clearly at home the moment it’s installed.
Top Game Moment:
This review will be focusing on what Capcom have done with Devil May Cry 4 on the PC, so for a broader perspective you should check out our Xbox 360 review.
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| Tap into your own rigs demonic power | Be sure to give your visual ambitions a test run first |
The story opens with a ‘mysterious’ assassin offing his Holiness during one of his boring sermons and it serves him right as far as I’m concerned. Not to worry though as the action soon ramps up pretty quickly as all descends into a glorious chaos that’s just itching to be put right by over-the-top sword play the series has come to embrace so well. Unfortunately the action isn’t quite as constant as perhaps the bloodthirsty demon-slayers of us would like it to be, and a lot of the time will feel rather repetitious, with navigation through the levels proving to be a bit challenging and confusing at times. Half way through the story you’ll switch from playing as Nero and will have to adjust play styles as you take control of Dante for the rest. One thing that can’t be faulted is the terrific voice acting that has gone into every character; they really bring adrenaline and fire to their performances.
Devil May Cry 4 is a beat ‘em up at heart, except it’s got a big sword and likes to flirt with a demonic flare. The first hurdle you’ll come across as a PC user is the control scheme as DMC is meant for a console audience. Experiencing the game is best served with a controller that’s preferably a clone of either the Xbox360 or PS3 – the keyboard just doesn’t feel natural and can hinder your mastery of the obscene and brutal justice you’ll be dispensing. Boss fights are literally a do or die affair so if you really want a chance at completing the new “Legendary” difficulty setting the keyboard won’t be your closest ally. Sadly there’s no room of support for the mouse from Capcom, and if you compare the freedom a controller gives you to the limitations of a keyboard for this style of game, it can almost become a Gamer May Cry affair. Controller – good, keyboard – bad.
 |
 |
|
| Capcom’s new difficulty mode will happily slap around DMC veterans | A gamepad is your savoir – otherwise expect yourself to cry |
Unless you’ve dabbled in the series before you’re likely to be a little shocked as to how things work in the Devil May Cry universe. You collect red orbs/blob-things as you go along which act as currency to buy items for use in the game. Also after completing levels you collect Proud Souls which basically act as experience points to be spent on levelling up your skills, which can either be short or ranged abilities but also covers things like being able to run and not just jog – considering the size and length of some levels I would really suggest getting this one asap. If you feel a little lazy though, or haven’t a clue what’s best to get early on then the game can be set to automatically improve the character for you depending on your style of play.
The graphics are definitely the greatest change you’ll come to admire especially if your rig is sporting some mighty hardware as you can really crank up the settings. They’ve even added a system performance test to the main menu so you can check out your tweaks without having to load up a level with the possible horror of a crippling frame rate, to then struggle through the clicks of shame as you scampered back and reduce the workload. The environments and the character models really outshine their console counterparts and with the resolutions on offer the clarity is fantastic, especially during the cut scene extravaganzas, of which there are plenty as the game can now handle frame rates of up to 120 a second.
 |
 |
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| The game is given greater life on the PC with more modes | Nero’s Devil Bringer move will become your new best friend |
The new “Legendary Dark Knight Mode” mode is designed with the hardcore fans of DMC at heart as foes try to drown you throughout the levels though admittedly the hardcore fan base would probably be on the consoles, not the PC. Other alterations are mostly with moving around some of the bad guys or bad ‘things’ you’ll be facing. Of course you could just go crazy and hurl yourself into Turbo mode where things get, well, rather turbo as the action cranks up.
Overall the game is a fantastic addition to the PC and it’s great to see Capcom continuing to bring their latest catalogue to this platform. It would be difficult to really get away with calling this a complete port to the PC as while the control scheme suffers if you’ve no gamepad at hand; the meat of the game is clearly at home the moment it’s installed.
Top Game Moment:
TOP GAME MOMENT
Aside from ‘buying’ the run ability – it would have to be slapping the demon frog boss around. Yeah that’s right I said demon frog boss.
