Customer Reviews

Devil May Cry 4

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This game has incredible graphics, much better than the Xbox 360 version (especially with DX10 and a good graphics card). I can play in 1600x1200 with all the bells and whistles and antialiasing turned up and i average around 100fps on my 9800GX2 and OC'd Q9450.

Gameplay is fast and exciting, with areas designed for a very immersive, cinematic quality. If you like "twitch" games with lots of blod and gore, you'll absolutely love this game. The difficulty seems pretty easy on easy and sufficiently hard on hard. I have had no technical problems at all, nor have I seen any glitches or bugs.

The voice acting is good but not great, storyline seems like what we've come to expect with this series which is pretty good. Boss battles are simply epic, using incredibly stylish means to defeat your demonic foes.

I highly suggest you take a look at the minimum requirements for this game, as another reviewer made the mistake of buying this game for his woefully inadequate machine. People seem to think that as long as they purchased their computer in the last year, it should be able to run any and every game out there. What they fail to understand is that new games generally require GAMING HARDWARE, which is not in any way the "standard" with $500 Gateway or Dell systems. Those are generally geared towards office applications and web browsing.

I can't say enough good things about the graphics, I'm really impressed. Due to the art I think I like it better than Crysis and COD4 combined, graphics wise. The style and technology fuse together to create a true piece of digital art.

In DMC, combat is incredibly well balanced and challenging. Just rushing into a horde and spamming a basic attack is a quick way to get killed, except on easiest level with automatic combos turned on. Using clever different combos is rewarding and efficient, something that all action games should try to encourage.
New difficulties and unlockable level "Bloody Palace" add a lot of unexpected replayability to the otherwise short game. "Legendary Dark Knight" mode is amazing because all encounters have 10-20x the amount of enemies more than usual, a mind-boggling experience.

Playing with both characters is very fun and provides you with a ton of options. Depending on which styles you select, the game plays in an entirely different way and Dante with max Swordmaster is far away from Dante with max Royal Guard or some other skills.

Puzzles and traps are solid, ranging from fun to "ok", but are never the head-banging variety that makes you want to rip out the DVD and smash it - much appreciated (think Blade of Darkness). Secret Missions are fun (but very hard) and very original subversions - for example, "Nonviolent Resistance" requires you to raise your style meter, which is raised by attacking, without doing any damage. Another mission requires you to protect one enemy from the others.

Story is solid, if a bit predictable, but it works. Dialogues are a mixed bag, ranging from subtle and witty hilarious conversations to some corny lines but overall they're great. You might only notice some puns when playing the second time, and references to other works abound.

Graphics are beautiful and the game flows smoothly. The game requires a graphics card with minimum 3.0 pixel shader, which can make reasonably new computers need an upgrade.

Bosses are incredible both in challenge in originality. The battle against the massive Savior is epic on a level that very few games or movies can ever reach (also see: God of War 2).

The big flaw is level repetition. Half of Nero's missions take place in the same area and getting lost happens frequently. When Nero exits the place, he only has a few more original missions before you switch to Dante. But guess what? Dante then backtracks through all the areas you visited as Nero (having only 2 original levels, even if amazing ones). They are changed, providing realism, but it seems this part was just glossed over by the developers.

Another flaw is (depending on your view, pun intended) the mammarian syndrome. Characters are beautifully drawn, but female protagonists--- oh gods! It's not the only reason for game's "Mature" rating but it probably played a role. Usually it's just slightly irritating.

This game contains SecuROM, the hated security overkill. However! No install limits, data collection, online validations or other terrorist methods. SecuROM consists of a DVD check - you cannot play the game without inserting the DVD first. That kind of mild security is fair.

Except for the level blunder and some corny lines/plot twists, DMC 4 is a huge success. Sleek, dazzling and fun, it will provide you with a lot of fun. For trying it out, just as worth it, a demo is available for download at Gamespot.

Edit: 65 gameplay hours later - finished 4 difficulties and all of bloody palace (101 level). The game is almost 100% completed, though I still fire it up for a boss fight here and there.

The good:

Graphics: The scenery is fantastically stunning. The locations literally look as if they could qualify to be in the heaven part of the movie "what dreams may come".
The player models are very well done as well. everything seems to have very detailed textures and gloria to be specific is done to the point that most (fe)males will probably slam their faces against the computer screen in a manner akin to the testubed face hugger from the movie Aliens.
The monsters have a brilliantly done scales and fur and definitely qualify for omg they are purdy awards.


Initial gameplay: At the start the button mashing and devil bringer (grabbing enemies and manhandling them) is incredibly fun. Even the most well respected scholars will likely be enticed to scream like spectators at a street brawl in the ghetto. Though the animations do get repetitive, they are also well done. Each monster seems to have its own throwing animation and literally get owned. Owned is a term that is exactly what it reads as. The monster becomes nero's for short period of time, mind, body, and soul. He doesn't operate them like a puppet, but they have no choice in what horrible things he does with them. Dante has some nice moves too, his devil trigger is down right evil.

The combat is built to be fast, heavy, and down right sinister. Whether doing a fiery dragon uppercut with a sword or slamming a fish monster as if he was a personal club, the action scenes will be pleasing (at least for a short time).
Many various moves are also available which also give some minor variety to how people are severely beaten by nero/dante.
The skill level for this game is also deceptive. Though hack and slash will work, careful use of ability is a must on harder difficulties. even on lower, your butt can be handed to you, but nero/dante are almost god like in their abilities, question is the player able to harness that?

Character development is very enjoyable (at least to me) as most of the people in this game have a discernible difference from one another. Nero and Dante do seem a bit similar and dress close to the same. being unfamiliar with the series I thought that maybe they were brothers or clones, but now i know better. Nero in particular was liked by me because he had the same rude tone with people he didn't like. Dante is okay too, a little mean at times, but still interesting. Can't say i ever got to authentically deeply care about anyone in the game but no one annoyed me, even agnus the mr. muscle scientist whiny guy.

Movie theater option is available to relive all those fantastic animations. Yes, even for gloria's intro. Everything with her qualifies as softcore porn.

Histories of characters and items are also available. Definitely helped a bit for people like me who had to spend time on devilmaycry-wiki to understand what and where these people originated.

Mission select is available to relive all the butt kicking the game has to offer. Sadly i haven't found a boss beatdown mode.


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The bad:

SECUROM! Yes i'm one of the many people who HATE, as in I'm tempted to desire those who invented it should never breed. One mistake is enough. Steam version does not have it as far as i know, but i unfortunately bought retail (21$ price difference at the time of review). I had to spend hours researching about WHEN does securom install itself. Luckily i learned that securom only installs after first run of the game, not during install. so anyone out there trying to patch the game so no securom, do so before then. I don't hate securom because it's anti pirate, i hate it because its anti customer. I've had it kill a dvd drive, it stop me from playing the games i legally paid to play, and have it exploit windows registry (which isnt' tough) by embedding nulls preventing manual removal without extra tools.
No reason i should have to treat my games like they are skeezers of a street corner. I do not condone piracy, though i'm slowly thinking that its best because of items like securom, but securom is definitely not the answer. as much as i hate steam, thats the only drm that ill tolerate, mostly because i already had so much invested in it. I seriously had the return label ready and waiting until i verified that i could play this game without securom through unofficial patches.


Exiting the game. Can't just hit exit and pop out of the game. First have to exit the current mission, then exit that menu, then exit another i think, and then at main menu can exit game. Alt+F4 does work, but don't expect it to save progress.

Not like that matters much as saving really only applies to things between missions. Can be at the bosses doorstep and leave game. when returning the game will offer the player to replay the entire mission (or at least a section of it). The checkpoints for when the user dies are sometimes inconvenient, but i think thats on purpose to penalize the player.

This is basically a straight port. Can play with keyboard, but I wouldn't suggest it. I luckily had an xbox controller for pc and the buttons fit exactly.
The menus can be selected via mouse but that doesn't help much in this game.

The gameplay post initial shock of "OMG THEY ARE SO AWESOME++" is a bit grounding. Can literally play(button mash) until thumb muscles qualify for the olympics under the gymnastics/weightlifting sections. There are times when I would clear an area make a mistake on a jump and have to fight the enemies once more. This applies to many areas of transitions. Forgot your glasses at the cafe's table? well be prepared to fight.

don't expect much exploration either. there are a few tidbits hidden, and secret missions, but nothing like a sandbox game, which this isn't.

The game also plays like downtown traffic. Every few steps the player receives a red light (red plot door) that must be removed by beating butt. sometimes a blue door will appear which can only be solved through puzzles. the game play is mostly akin to what i experienced playing painkiller. almost exactly so really. Move through an area, rock music starts playing, kill stuff. Do{fight}while !EOG; //end of game. Rock music and red door are this games version of spidey sense. Wouldn't be so bad if it was only a few times, but this happens quite often. Granted this is a hack-slash game, but i can do without the stop/go antics. luckily some areas are relieved of their plot doors after the monsters are beaten a number of times, so can run past.

The scenery is dazzling yes, but also they tend to blend together. I wish i had some lipstick like the movie "the labyrinth" because turning the wrong way is very easy.
luckily the game provides a big red dot on the map which shows what door was recently used, but with all the back tracking done, that barely helps at times.
the user does get a full map, though its not convenient to use. they all look like hallways to me.

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The questionable:
Some people fear certain words and shiver at any thing that isn't them, and this game has a few of those items.

Scared of homosexual tones between women? this game has it somewhat. There is a fish monster who has two faux women at the end of its anglers
that kiss and play with each other. granted this looks like the perfect thing to trap someone. this has no ill effects on me, but i've met a number of people who will go into near epileptic seizure, or worse a self righteous war path because of such things.

fear breast, panty shots, and jiggly woman parts? There is some in here too. Yes, I'd still be okay if it was male jiggling too as the body doesn't always offend me, but in this game there is plenty to please those who enjoy watching women.

violence a no no? then stop reading now and alt+f4 the webbrower and clean cache. this game's entire premise seems to be about wobbly women parts and beating enemies so bad that their descendants suffer from shell shock. any child the monster ever has afterwords will curl into a fetal, crying, catatonic state when the doctor tries to spank it for it to take its first breath. yes, the beatings get that brutal. The very first scene in the game shows a guy having being mercilessly shot, pounded into the ground, thrown into a religious statue, and then a sword through his chest. Then he pulls sword out of chest with bloody gooey bits all over.

scared of certain words? then don't play this either. i am rather allergic to the words *shiver* ni, but i try not to let it rule my life. i haven't scouted for a word filter and not really going to. Nero uses plenty of words, and eventually i'm guessing one or two will bother someone. especially for those who have children and are afraid that they may learn things about said words.

anyhow if squeamish beware of this game.

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my verdict?
This game is very much worth buying at the low price of 9$, but i'd recommend going with steams version even though it costs more. why? securom. Patching the game so it doesn't have that horrendous software is risky. steam isn't great, i've had troubles with it before, but not as much as viruses and securom. though i have had it go rogue 2 years ago and delete my entire /games folder (30GB worth of data). but now i have over 300GB worth of games through steams with few issues.

This game may have the life of a flower (short and beautiful), but its has a definite fun factor. its score ranking function is an interesting reason to play through the game, as is the ability to play nero or dante for basically any mission (after dante is unlocked).

3/5 due to securom and annoying plot doors.

This game looks awesome. Much better than the 360/ps3 versions. I dont run anything fancy (core 2 duo e4500 2.2ghz and nvidia geforce 8600gt 2gb ram) gand I have smooth frame rates and everything just looks stunning overall at 1440x900. my only complaint is that this game shoulda been released on pc when the 360/ps3 versions were released. anyways, if u have the system to run it, this game is a must buy!

-Graphics-
This game is one of the best looking games I have seen in a while. Crysis looks good, even with its massive scale levels, but this game pulls off an artistic beauty that is unmatched. The game feels alive.

-Sound-
The music is appropriate and the sound effects realistic. The voices fit well with the characters. I'm not a big anime fan so some of the voice scripting sounded really cheesy, but it was often matched with some unnecessary, yet fun-to-watch, violence.

-Story-
A secret cult is summoning an evil god to "save" the world. The same cult is also unleashing demons from which to "save" the world (imagine that you're doctor stabs you in the leg just so he can then mend you). You play mostly as Nero, a young half-demon, half-human punk that is skilled with a sword, guns, and his demon arm which grants him superhuman abilities. You're following the trail of the legendary demon hunter, Dante, who you think has turned evil, only to discover a deeper plot involving the aforementioned cult. You also have a love interest, Kyrie, that you're constantly trying to save, though she's often part of the background story (she's presented as the inspiration for Nero's heroism). Overall, the story ends up being rather epic, but don't expect any surprises (again, rather reminiscent of anime).

-Gameplay-
This is the meat and potatoes of the game. It's a third-person adventure game in which you use fast-paced sword, gun, and demon attacks to quickly dismantle groups of enemies. As you complete stages, you get experience, basically, that can be spent on acquiring stronger skills. The game actually rewards you with more experience if you use "Style," quite literally, if you become adept at stringing together different combos to "Stylishly" dispose of your enemies. With automatic and manual controls, the game allows any range of amateur or expert to pick up the game and immediately feel a sense of power. Also, as a side perk, between any level, you can dump all your skills, get back any spent experience, and re-acquire any desired skills (so don't be afraid to try out some skill, because you can easily drop it with no consequence).

-Replayability-
You can replay any stage once you've completed it. The game has three difficulties, the third must be unlocked, and in one play-through, you won't be able to unlock all the powers. Since I beat the game, I haven't picked it back up, yet, but I'm sure I will in the near future when I need a good demon killin'.

-Overall-
By now, you should be able to find this game for rather cheap (I got my copy for $10, used). Back in the day, I would have paid $50 for this game and still greatly enjoyed it. It's a wonderful, solid game with artistic beauty and simple, fast-paced gameplay. For the price of two rentals, you could own this game, and it is definitely worth it.

Running this on a Vista Home Premium with a Core2 Duo E8400, GEForce 8800GT, 4GB RAM and it looks GREAT. I do recommend that you get a gamepad for maximum enjoyment, but the keyboard controls aren't terribly awkward (though I do miss the LR triggers). WASD can be a very annoying movement system when the camera is constantly turning as sometimes it will send Nero in a direction you really didn't want him to go.

My main complaints are with the seemingly messy port to the PC: I learned that tabbing out closes the game completely and I've yet to get it to install "successfully"-- it still attempts to start up the autorun before actually playing the game. It's not in the correct folder, nor did it give me a desktop icon. All my drivers are up-to-date, and I haven't been able to find out what's going on.

this game rules!!! it's so awesome... i still play it almost every day, and i got it like 2 years ago...it's that fun, it just never gets boring:P i love it!

there's a few things you need to know before you read my review...
devil may cry 4 is a hack and shash-style based action/adventure game... in which you play a new character to the DMC series called nero... for the first 11 levels, then you get to play the famous dante for another 7, and then finnish the last 2 with nero.

as for stylish rank in the game there is "D, C, B, A, and S". and after you beat the game in normal dificulty alot more modes are unlucked...and then after you beat those you get the super characters (SC), for each character. and that is the coolest thing in the game, it's kinda like cheating:).

ok, i think thats all you need to know....well unless you want me to spoil something:P just kidding:)~

game play- it is very easy to get familiar with the controls. when you change characters the moves aren't that much different, and it runs smooth on almost any platform.

graphics- soooo amazing! and the cutscenes were smooth and clear. even with an intel pentium dual-core, 2gig ram, and nvidia 3600s rig they were great. but for the best game play i recommend 4gig ram, intel centrino dual-core, and nvidia geforce 9600 GS. and yes it works alot better on vista. even better than the xbox 360, and playstation 3 versions.

story- it's very good, keeps you on the edge of your seat, it has a few spine chilling parts, and some parts that will make you say "wow... thats very creative" if you know what i mean.

music- well the music makes this game even better, although you really have to get the meaning of what they're saying in the songs and then they're actually rather clever, and kinda creepy. Every time you fight with Nero the lyrics proclaim "...now i know how the angel fell, i know the tale and i know it too well. i'll make you wish you had a soul to sell when i strike down and send you straight to hell." now i'd say thats pretty clever... and kinda creepy. When you battle with Dante you'll hear, "...in a world where only time is feared... Welcome to the thoughts of a coward's disband, 'cuz now you're in the shadow of an angel's wingspan." ...So you see what i mean... oh and by the way it's really hard to hear what there saying...really hard!!! - so try your best to pay attention to the audio as well as the video to make this awesome game even better.

dificulty- for new players it can get rather hard, but after you get the hang of it, it's really not that hard. well unless you go into this mode called "legendary dark knight" then it can get kinda frustrating. other hard modes include "heaven or hell", "dante must die", and of course the great pain in my neck "hell and hell mode." oh, and "bloody place" is probably the hardest thing in the game, it's kinda like a survival mode with 101 levels, but it's hard. it's one of those things that even if you try 50 million times you'll never get it... but, i did get all the way up to level 101 and beat the final boss with the character nero...with and without the SC... i guess i must have tried 50 million and 1 times ^.^ but with dante i only got to like 96 (without SC)...it's so hard to complete it with him... but with a SC it's sooo easy, i love super characters... but they amost always make you have an "A" rank or lower...instead of an "S" rank... but a few times i did get an "S" with a SC. though all that cool stuff is only unlucked after you beat the game in certian dificulties.... which is fairly easy to do.
replay value- well i played every level in every mode like 800 times... and so far i've had no problem at all... so yeah, the replay value is amazing!

if you watch the preview of this game, you won't be able to risist getting it, and it lives up to its respectable expectations. this game is the best game i've ever played, and i've played alot of games, 483 last time i counted, and this is in the top 10, along with advent rising, spellforce universe, tomb raider legend, tomb raider anniversary, and tomb raider underworld, titan quest, pure, spider-man: web of shadows, and timeshift... ofcourse the devil may cry series is on the top:P.

so, if your looking for a great game with great replay value, awesome graphics, good story, and months of slashing fun, this game is for you, and the price is really worth it.

P.S. if you see a different review that gives this game one star... well all i have to say is that guy is a stinking moron, and only likes first-person shooters. pay no attention to that review.

Capcom went out of there way to bring this onto the PC. Framerate and resolution surpasses the console counterparts. A great game just got much better.

The Devil May Cry series has been one of Capcom's promising Franchises and this actually being my first Devil May Cry (that i owned and get to finish lol) i am very delighted to play this game and experience the great hype of this game. You go on as a new character and explore this very beautiful and detailed world looking for a girl and experience new challenges and prevent and evil doer from becoming a GOD.

OVERALL GAME RANKING 9.0/10

Quick Cons
*Very Difficult at times (i dont mind it cuz thats what i like)

QUICK PROS
*Beautiful world, scenery and stages
*Combos are fun to execute
*Very good puzzles to keep your mind working
*Controls are good and have variety to switch easier
*Boss Battles are really fun and help unleash your skills and improve
*GOOD STORY AND CINEMATICS


GRAPHICS-- The graphics in this game were STUNNING. The game had beautiful monuements, caves and sanctuaries everywhere. The experience was being back in time around the Vatican just even better. Lots of colors and details to keep you astonished and everything goes well together

SOUND-- All the sword slashing, monster grunts and roars, and enemies that talk alot of smack to your face while you battle will keep you VERY ENTERTAINED. The sound help me enjoy the experience as well. You travel to a variety of stages with different elements like rocks, wind, leaves and flames all over the place and to hear them in a crisp value is really intense and lavishing.

EXPLORATION-- The vast area in this game make it fun to explore and by doing that you benefit alot more as you go on later in the game. You will also encounter alot more enemies but that isnt really a bad thing lol. The puzzles in this game make you become more of an explorer to see the BEAUTY and full extent of the stages.

COMBAT-- This game is known for its COMBAT. The combat in this game is what caught my attention and made me addicted to the flashy swagger of the sword play. YOU WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED with the combos you learn and moves you expand as you get in deeper into increasing your skills. I love the combo system in this game which compliments you when you pull something really extravagant and viscous towards your enemies. You will have fun I PROMISE

This game is good and CAPCOM keeps getting a growing respect from me everytime. ITS WORTH YOUR MONEY AND INVESTMENT TO HAVE FUN AND ENJOY THIS ACTION THRILL RIDE.

Basically, Take every thing that was good about Devil May Cry 3 (and there was already a lot of good in it) and add like... 5 times more epic to it, that's what you have with Devil May Cry 4. As far as the game as a Computer port? its obvious that its meant for the consoles, but if you have a controller, then this game is BETTER than the console versions. My computer is about a grade "B" compared to the high end gaming computers, and I can run this game maxed out to the max, and man does it look gorgeous! But yeah, when i said its obvious that it is a console port, it is obvious in the control scheme, nothing else. Let's say you DON'T have a controller....your not going to have as much fun...arrow keys or WASD just doesn't cut it. Its just like trying to play street fighter with a keyboard, to put it in perspective. I highly recommend this game to people who want a fast paced, challenging, and unique game. If you're a fan of the previous games, this is a must have!