Putting on Devil May Cry 4, I expected a lot of the familiar characteristics the series has brought in: over-the-top combat, bizarre weaponry, a badass main character, and hordes of demons waiting to tear you apart. Thankfully, the game has all of that, and more.

DMC4 introduces a new protagonist, Nero, a smart mouth kid who fights using a sword with an engine built in for powered up attacks, and a bizarre, demonic arm. This arm, called the Devil Bringer, is actually a focal point of most of his gameplay, as it can be used to not only grab enemies for heavy damage, but also pull far away targets in for further punishment. Each enemy also has a specific grab animation, where some make Nero perform devastating attacks that are also very cool to watch, and mixing these grabs in with other combos can give rewarding results. Even bosses can be grabbed where appropriate. Initiate a grab on the first boss, and you’ll see him lift it off the ground with ease, then deliver a powerful punch to send it flying!

The Devil Bringer also comprises some of the platforming segments, where you need to use it to cross certain crevasses, as well as scale high places. It can also grab distant objects, such as health items and red orbs, which are used as currency to purchase items, true to DMC tradition. The game also uses “proud souls,” which you gain upon completing a stage to upgrade attacks, including the Devil Bringer itself.

Dante himself also makes an appearance, and is even playable when you get to a certain part of the story. The infamous son of Sparda plays just like his DMC3 incarnation, and he even uses the four combat styles of Trickster, Sword Master, Gunslinger, and Royal Guard, which can be switched at anytime. He also obtains unique weapons that are even more over-the-top in design, and open up more combo possibilities. Dante also has his own skill list, which helps to differentiate his play style from Nero’s, and can gain new abilities during his portion of the game.  Unfortunately, pretty much all of Dante’s segment is essentially backtracking, as you go through the same areas you did as Nero, which kind of lessens the experience a bit.

The stages themselves are wildly varied, and take you through several different settings during the course of the game. The enemies you encounter also share some interesting traits, and some require a bit more forethought to defeat instead of just wildly slashing around. The difficulty level is a common trademark of the DMC series, but the challenge level in 4 tends to vary from segment to segment, going from simple to ridiculous very quickly. A large chunk of the difficulty in the game, however, is attributed to the boss battles, and challenging they are, as they can, and will, take off huge chunks of your life with a single mistake.

Some minor inconveniences include a camera that can be annoying at times, especially when trying to work it around corners, and some load times, though they aren’t really that bad (PS3 version requires an installation of the game beforehand, which reduces the load times). There’s also a couple of holes in the story that needed to be filled, most notably Nero and his arm. The game never really fully explains his origins, which leaves most things to speculation, or until Capcom decides to do a DMC5.

All in all, 4 is a great addition to a growing series, with various playstyles, a rewarding and complex combo system, several difficulty levels, and plenty of unlockable content to keep demon hunters busy. Nero also may very well be a suitable successor to Dante, if they ever decide to flesh out his backstory more.

Graphics: 5.0
Sound: 4.5
Gameplay: 5.0
Entertainment: 4.5
Overall: 4.5
Analysis: This game is CRAAAAZYYY!!