Devil May Cry 4 (PlayStation 3) Review

Unlike something like Metal Gear Solid 2, Devil May Cry 4 makes no attempts at hiding Nero's role as the true lead. The opening cut-scene prominently features Nero right in action, a nice contrast from the previous entries' more subdued openers. As a result, Nero isn't given much character right away, but watching him fight mobs of enemies to Laura Napoli's beautiful singing is a pleasant way to open an otherwise chaotic hack n' slash.

The newfound fantasy setting can be a bit jarring compared to the more dystopian and gothic aesthetic found in Dante's three titles, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing, since the level design uses the architecture to its advantage.

The castle town of Fortuna is more fitting for a JRPG than a Devil May Cry instalment, and Nero certainly feels a bit less colourful and unique than Dante, but the tone of the series hasn't changed whatsoever, as made abundantly clear when Dante finally shows up in the first mission.

Dante's appearance does a lot right in a few short minutes. In one mission, Nero's playstyle is introduced, and Dante appears to assure players that he will in fact be playing a role, showing off all the new tricks he's learned in the process.

Having Dante serve as a foil and antagonist for Nero right off the bat is a brilliant decision. Thematically, he is completely against Nero's organisation, the Order of the Sword, and their clashing playstyles go toe to toe as Dante toys with and makes quick work of Nero.

Gameplay-wise, Nero and Dante contrast each other nicely. Nero's combat revolves around charging his sword to reach new tiers of moves and using his Devil Bringer to grapple and latch onto foes. He has just enough moves to differentiate himself from Dante without breaking away from the core concept that defines Devil May Cry.

Nero's adventure takes up roughly the first half of the story, as he travels to abandoned castles, snowy mountains, misty forests, and flame-ridden villages. While atypical for the series, the new settings are quite nice and offer plenty puzzle-wise, although not as gracefully as DMC3.

Puzzles in Dante's Awakening weren't exactly easy, but they weren't time consuming, either. They could be completed in a reasonable manner without much combat stalling. DMC4, on the other hand, embraces mid-stage puzzles a bit too much, with every single stage featuring some sort of riddle or obstacle to distract from the core combat.

Thankfully, the puzzle solving doesn't take up too much of time spent in missions, but once control shifts to Dante halfway through, a bigger problem rears its head: backtracking.

Playing as Dante is incredibly fun thanks to his new style switch mechanic that allows him to alternate between all the styles introduced in DMC3. At the press of a button, he can switch from a melee oriented swordsman, to a gun slinging acrobatic, or even a sturdy counter-oriented warrior, but he simply doesn't have the right level design to accommodate his new skills.

Having to go through the exact same stages Nero went through, but backwards, takes a lot of the joy out of playing as Dante, and it's a shame considering he offers the most combat variety the series has ever seen. It's still wildly fun style switching and playing around with all his new weapons, but the reused settings, puzzles, and bosses can be rather frustrating.

It's really a testament to the combat when playing as Dante is arguably more fun than playing as Nero, despite the repetitive settings. Dante's gameplay is genuinely the very best the series has ever seen. With his entire armoury available to him at all times, there are more immediate tactics and strategies at the ready than ever before.

Capcom's decision to switch Nero to the lead role, if only for mainly the first half, was a risky one, but one that pays off, since he's just as fun to play as Dante is, but forcing Dante to go through the exact same stages as Nero only serves to hurt what could have been the best instalment in the series. Dante's gameplay, and the reinclusion of Bloody Palace make up for a weak back half, but it's hard to imagine that Devil May Cry 4 couldn't have been better if it just had a bit more time to fix up Dante's section.