Stringing together combos becomes challenging as a mixture of grabs, shooting, slashes and dodges make for fast paced battles. The more varied the combos, the higher the style ranking, which in turns allows for new upgrades.

“Devil May Cry 4” delivers the first next-gen sequel to Capcom’s beloved stylized gothic series.

Set within the Venice-esque city of Fortuna, the game starts off with the player in the role of Nero, the brash and hot-headed protagonist with striking similarities to Dante.

The plot of the game follows Nero, a member of the Order of the Sword, as he tracks down Dante to avenge the assassination its leader.

Continuing on from previous DMC titles, DMC4 relies on timed attacks as opposed to button mashing. For the first half of the game the player will be controlling Nero; using his Devil Bringer arm allows the player to grab enemies from far away and smash them into the ground. Depending upon the enemy that is grabbed, they may be thrown around like a rag doll, spiked into the ground, or pulled apart.

Nero’s sword, Red Queen, has a motorcycle style hilt that can be revved up to enable Exceed mode. Within this mode, slashes of the blade are more rapid and deal more damage. Dante’s sword, Rebellion, doesn’t have this revving ability. Instead the player is allowed to change between Dante’s four fighting styles simply by pressing on the d-pad.

Nero does have a gun, Blue Rose, yet there isn’t much use for it other than enemies that need to be dispatched from a distance. Only with Dante is the use of guns more useful due to a faster rate of fire and a lack of a grab attack.

Stringing together combos becomes challenging, as a mixture of grabs, shooting, slashes and dodges make for fast paced battles. The more varied the combos, the higher the style ranking, which in turns allows for new upgrades.

Enemies within the game always attack in waves and differ in their methods of attack. As the game progresses further, enemies that were once easily defeated now have stronger counterparts.

Emphasis is placed on attacking, dodging and counter-attacking instead of constantly rushing into battle, sword swinging until nothing moves. Boss battles are challenging and require the player to analyze the situation to determine the best strategy. More than one approach can be taken to inflict damage providing a more satisfying battle.

The only complaints come in minor areas. The camera angle is sometimes fixed, providing an awkward position for the player to maneuver and battle around.

The Dante levels are a rehashing of previous ones leaving the player feeling cheated. It would have been nice if additional levels were included instead of backtracking.

Visually the game is gorgeous, great detail can be seen in everything, from level design to enemy models. Motions are executed smoothly with no noticeable hiccups. Load times are short, on average a moments pause. The controls are tight and handle well, with combat constantly changing depending on the situation. The story holds up well aside from the minor issues.

With six difficulty levels, survival modes and other unlockable goodies, “Devil May Cry 4” is an excellent installment in the ongoing series of big swords, stylish gameplay and sarcastic discourse.

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