Post by THE DERP MASTER on Aug 5, 2012 18:27:24 GMT -5
Hey... remember when Rare used to be good?
This party's getting crazy... LET'SDANCE ROCK!
This party's getting crazy... LET'S
One day, Capcom was creating Resident Evil 4. On that same day, they realized they had no idea what to make. At first they considered to keep using the horrendous tank controls from the older games, but eventually they realized how bad those controls were, and decided to redesign the controls, and the style, from the ground up. Their first prototype utilized texture work that was inspired from various Gothic scenery from the United Kingdom and Spain, such as castles and gargoyles. The protagonist, Tony, would be a superhuman thanks to bio-engineering, and would be similar in power to Albert Wesker. Their goal was to make a cool and stylish Resident Evil. However, by doing this, it had practically nothing to do with Resident Evil, and it took over a year for most people at Capcom to realize it. Since they had already come this far in development, and probably not to piss off everyone who worked so hard on it, Shinji Mikami told them to make it a completely new game. Tony was replaced with party loving, pizza eating, all around awesome guy, Dante, and the all the zombies and B.O.W's were replaced with demons from hell. When released, Devil May Cry became an instant classic, and dozens of games took inspiration from its revolutionary combat system. Although the sequel was underwhelming, the prequel was considered a great game. And along came the fourth, which included a new protagonist, whose gameplay was radically different then Dante's. 4 years have passed since the game was released. Is it still the pinnacle of stylish slash 'em ups? Let's take a look...
[img src="http://xbox-360.hrypc.cz/files/devil-may-cry-4[6].jpg"]
Before he was a demon hunter, Dante was a travelling suitcase salesman.
Before he was a demon hunter, Dante was a travelling suitcase salesman.
Our story begins on the lovely island of Fortuna. And by "lovely", I mean "knee deep in $#@!", because the whole place is always being constantly attacked by demons from hell. That's where the Order of the Sword comes in, a religion who eradicate all demons who dare to show their face. They worship Sparda, a demon who sacrificed his life to protect the human word from the demon world. (Also, he's Dante's dad) One day, Nero, the new protagonist, was late to attend a ceremony being conducted by Kyrie, Nero's love interest. (Uh oh... Twilight alert!) While she was singing her heart out, (Very nicely, I might add) Nero was too busy beating the $#@! out of some Scarecrow demons just outside the chapel. When he finally arrives, the song is already over. Sanctus, the leader of the cult, then gives a short speech and inducts a prayer. Just when players are about to turn off their console out of sheer boredom, Dante jumps through the ceiling and headshots Sanctus. Hundreds of demons killed and several bosses defeated later, Nero finds out why; The demon attacks all around the island were caused by the Order themselves, and Sanctus (Who survived because he's a demon too) created the Order to not arouse any suspicion and to cover up their master plan; to conquer the world using "The Saviour", a giant, statue like demon.
As you can see, Nero is a smug douche.
Despite being almost half a decade old, Devil May Cry 4 is an insanely good looking game. The lighting effects are some of the best ever seen on the console, and a joy to simply stare at. Textures are nice and smooth, and the motion capture work of the main characters is great. The designs of the demons are simply crazy, ranging from the Scarecrow demons, which look like a bunch of burlap sacks poorly sown together, to the Cutlass, a fish that has an incredibly sharp blade protruding out of its head that allows it to cut through anything, effectively allowing it to swim on land by burrowing underground. The environments vary greatly as the game progresses, allowing for a great deal of graphical variety. There are coastal cities, snow ridden castles, jungles, another castle, and the inside of a giant demon. Weapon design is also insane, like Nero's gun, the Blue Rose, a double barrelled revolver that seems to be fully automatic, or Pandora, a magical suitcase Dante uses that can turn into 666 different things, (At least, according to the description. You only see 7. :Cry:) like a laser cannon or a boomerang. Despite the great graphical power on display, the game somehow is able to run at a smooth 60 frames per second. How they managed to do this is an utter mystery, and will probably go down as one of the most important unanswered questions in history.
*Beep beep beep* WHAT THE FU- *Boom*
For a game that was originally meant to be Resident Evil, the script and voice acting are surprisingly good. Nero, a douchey emo hipster, sounds like a douchey emo hipster, for example. Dante, still as smug as ever, delivers some fantastic lines that are sure to make any fan crack a smile. (Sadly, there is no mentioning of party's getting crazy...) The soundtrack, although repetitive since almost all of it is hard rock, is spectacular and perfectly matches the style of whatever is happening on screen, although the songs that really stick out are the battle music for Nero and Dante, which are completely different songs that match that character perfectly. Nero's has more of a punk rock vibe, where's Dante's is more of a heavy metal arrangement. Certain demons make really creepy noises, like the Scarecrow, which have a bone chilling laugh that puts every version of The Joker to shame, or the boss demons, which seem to be saying stuff directed at Nero and Dante. But because of the tone of their voices, it's practically impossible to hear them properly in the heat of battle. (But it doesn't really matter, they're probably just saying clichéd threats) Oh, and a word of advice for anyone whose going to get this game; don't skip the starting cutscene. The song in this scene is beautiful.
The last thing a demon sees.
The difference between Nero and Dante isn't just a mere palette swap, but a completely different play style. Nero, the character you control for 60% of the game, is far simpler to use, as he only has two weapons, the sword Red Queen, and the gun Blue Rose. Using these alone, he's fairly easy to master and perfect for new players. He does, however, have trick up his sleeve... literally. His right arm is the Devil Bringer, a demoniacally possessed arm that he can extend and enlarge to insane levels. With it, he can grab lighter enemies from afar and pull them to his location, or with heavier enemies, he can instantly dash in front of them, similar to the Hookshot in the Zelda series. Not only that, but he can grab close by enemies and perform a throwing move which is unique to each demon, or use them as a bullet shield when you unlock a certain skill. Series veteran Dante, who is controlled sometime after the first half of the game, plays almost identically to how he did in Devil May Cry 3. With 3 melee weapons (2 of which must be unlocked) and 3 ranged weapons, (1 of which must be unlocked) he's very tactical and a much greater force to be reckoned with. That said, all 6 of these weapons are radically different from each other and take a while to master and use efficiently with each other. And while he may lack a demon arm, he can switch 'styles' on the fly. These different styles allow him to adapt to various situations. There are 5 styles in the game, one of which must be unlocked. There's the Swordmaster style, which allows him to pull off even longer and stronger melee combos, the Gunslinger Style, which lets him fire his ranged weapons like a Heavy Weapons Guy on steroids, the Trickster Style, which lets him swiftly dodge enemy attacks and at the same time make them look like idiots, the Royalguard Style, a defence and counter-attack oriented style, and the unlockable style, Dark Slayer, which lets him wield his late brother's sword, the Yamato, to perform fast and chaotic attacks. There are also a variety of difficulty modes to satisfy both new players and series veterans. The Bloody Palace also returns, which is basically the Pit of 100 trials in Devil May Cry form. And for super noobs, there's Automatic mode, which lets you pull off insane combos by simply mashing the buttons. Trust me, it's not very fun...
"Spare some change, man?"
"Get lost, you stinky hipster!"
Sooooooo... Devil May Cry 4 is a great game, and will always remain in my heart as the greatest slash 'em up this generation. Sure, Nero may not be as interesting as Dante, but his inclusion gives the game much greater variety and replay value. And I must say, I can't wait for DmC: Devil May Cry. I don't care what people say about the reboot. It's still Devil May Cry, and that's all that matters.
Now, if you excuse me, I have to clear out the basement of demons. Ciao! *Cue battle music*
Graphics: 9.5/10
Sound: 9/10
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Lasting appeal: 8/10
Overall: 8.75/10
Sound: 9/10
Gameplay: 8.5/10
Lasting appeal: 8/10
Overall: 8.75/10
