Devil May Cry 4 Member Review for the Xbox360

     Ah so here comes my first review and the last game I played just happened to be Devil May Cry 4. The Devil May Cry series has focused on the adventures of the devil-hunter half-demon Dante. Capcom decided to take the spotlight off Dante this time and let a new character, Nero, shine in this sequel. Nero just so happens to be very similar in appearance to Dante as well.
   
    As far as gameplay goes this game is straight up about kicking ass but with style.The entire game is divided into missions, and with each missions comes a ranking based on Style, Orbs, Speed, and other things such as deaths or item use. This will earn you proud souls to spend on weapon upgrades and new skills.

     Both Nero and Dante are playable throughout the game and each is unique in their own way. Nero\'s main focus is his devil-bringer, a mysterious demon hand capable of snatching and throwing enemies regardless of size or weight. Another new feature is the "Exceed System". Nero\'s sword Red Queen can be revved to achieve an exceed level adding a bit of extra damage to his sword abilities. His final weapon is the double barreled pistol, Blue Rose, which operates almost identical to Dante\'s pistols but with a bit more punch.
    Dante has not changed much since DMC 3, he still has his stances (Sword Master, Royal Guard, Gun Slinger, and Trickster) and retains his sword, dual pistols, and shotgun. More weapons are unlocked as well as Dante progresses through his missions.
   
    Overall the missions are fairly linear. Demonic walls will appear trapping you in an area forcing you to kill any demons standing in your way, rinse and repeat. Most enemies can be dispatched with in a similar manner with a only few that making you think. Every now and then you will encounter puzzle but they tend to stress the mind too much. My main gripe about gameplay  is the back tracking. I usually don\\\'t mind a bit of back tracking but when you go from point A to B then back to A with little variation just takes a bit of the fun out of the whole process. Most missions end with some pretty impressive and fun boss fights. Unfortunately Capcom milks all that they can out of theses bosses and you must do battle with them 3 times.

    Devil May Cry is a very pretty game. With just a few button presses you can send Nero or Dante into a destructive dance of demon puppet death. The cutscenes are very over the top with the anime style fighting you would come to expect from the series.  There are some loading times but are very minor and don\'t hinder the experience.

    The voice acting is average but I think some of the games poor dialogue really brings it down. It feels like Capcom tried to hard too convey certain emotions thus failing in the process. There are definitely some profound moments that have you caring for the character\'s fate but most of the time I felt the bile slowly creeping up my throat. The music consists of some mellow opera and industrial-metal (which gets very repetitious) some people hate it while others can\'t get enough. I would consider the DMC series has given this sequel a very solid story to build off of and yet fails to do so. Little is explained and pretty much what you see is what you get. This unfortunately leaves for a lot open ends, and now let the internet rumors commence.

    Overall Devil May Cry is a very solid action game, its core gameplay has been retained yet definitely improved upon. Those looking for a great story may turn the heads elsewhere. Capcom does a solid job of adding some replay with value with some unlockable artwork and 4 additional difficulties (6 in all) as well as the Bloody Palace (sorta like a timed gauntlet mode) Unless your really into action games or the DMC series I suggest just renting this one.