Devil May Cry 4

Devil May Cry 4 is a pretty awesome game. Before that, though, let's look at the basics.

Genre: Fighting

Players: 1

Online: Scoreboards only 

Difficulty: Insane

Awesomeness: Extremely Awesome

So, what's the beef? Well, it's a fighting game. Think Streetfighter 2, only instead of one opponent at a time, you'll be fighting lots, and instead of a single arena, you're in huge areas, like castles, jungles, underground, corridors, and so on. (yes, even the corridors are huge in this game!)

Unlike Streetfighter, you only get to play 2 characters, and you can't choose which one (except for a special mode, but we'll come to that later). So, who are they? Nero and  Dante. Dante is the main character from the previous 3 games. Nero is a newcomer. 

Having not really played hardcore fighters before (I dabbled with Ninja Gaiden on the Xbox, but never completed it) I discovered that they're surprisingly good fun.

So, what's it like? Well, there's a lengthy cutscene at the start (trust me, watch it), and then you're into the action, or at least, the training. That's over in a few minutes, and then there's another cutscene, and then the level's over.

That's basically the game, although level lengths vary.

The visuals are stunning. No visible slowdown. I don't want to ruin too much, so I'll leave it at that.  Go find some screenshots if you want to see more.

How does it play? Well, Nero seemed like a lot of work to master. I spent a lot of time 'grinding' against walls and easy mobs to learn his combos and power him up. Then I opened up Dante. And realised how easy Nero is in comparison. This is a game for people with mild OCD. It requires an insane ability to remember combos, and a desire to practice them ad nauseum.

However, it' s worth it.

Whilst it's one of the prettiest games I've ever played, and also one of the most difficult. The achievements are insane, and each time you think you've beaten it, it opens another difficulty level. When you hit the zone and start to roll out some insane combos without being hit, the feeling is one much like nailing a perfect lap on a driving game, or coming out top in an online shooter. It gels perfectly, and as you watch yourself fly around the screen, you'll be pleasantly surprised at how easy it all seems compared to when you first started.

It's not enough just to survive. You're also ranked based on your skill. (D, C, B, A, S, SS and SSS). Since it's unlikely that you'll S-rank or better on your first playthrough, the game will only start to show numbers and stats once you start to repeat levels. Which is perfect, because only people interested in the numbers will replay levels, I'm guessing.

In a twist reminiscent of extreme sports games, repeating the same attacks won't build your combo very high, so you're encouraged to mix things up, and with what seems like 100s of moves at your disposal, that's theoretically very easy to do.

Don't despair, though, if this all sounds a bit too much. There's an 'automatic' mode which lets you mash a couple of buttons and fight like a god. However, you'll have a hard time getting S-rank if you rely on automatic.

So, yes, to really get the most from this game, you'll need to put in a lot of time. There's a demo on Xbox live, and it's pretty close to the actual gameplay, so I recommend grabbing that, and giving it a shot. If you like it, maybe rent the full game to see what you think. 

I was hooked instantly. It's a very very hardcore game, but scaled so that you don't have to be hardcore to complete it. However, to unlock everything, you'll need to give it a lot of time. And be prepared to scream a lot.