Devil May Cry 4 - Reviewed

1:33pm Saturday 9th February 2008

Devil May Cry 4

360, PS3, PC

£39.99

If Devil May Cry 4 was rated on first impressions alone, it would not fare well.

The Sony PlayStation 3 game took more than 22 minutes to load before playing for the first time.

It's an issue not found in the Microsoft Xbox 360 and PC versions and, fortunately for fans of this Gothic action series, it just keeps getting better after this disappointing start.

You get to grips with mysterious new demon-killing machine, Nero, over 20 chapters of this wonderful game, mastering a variety of attacks and combo moves.

Played from a third-person perspective, Devil May Cry 4 features many cinematic camera angles that follow Nero (or his nemesis Dante) around the gorgeous, high-definition environments that range from town squares to seaside ports to snowy mountaintops.

You are encouraged to explore the environments as you'll find hidden areas to roam in and even unlock secret missions.

The enormous boss fighters you'll face at the end of most chapters are also a sight to see, including the 100-foot-tall horned fire demon, Berial, the icy Frost creature and the ghostly Mephisto.

At the end of each mission you are graded on style, time of completion and number of magical orbs, which are often left behind by fallen enemies or found in objects such as crates and nooks in the wall.

This is a deep, immersive and stylised action thriller worth playing to its climactic conclusion.

Latest blogs and columns