Devil May Cry 4

Sometimes it seems as if developers don’t know what’s fun and what’s not. That’s about the only conclusion that can be drawn from Devil May Cry 4, a game that hits some amazing highs and some absolutely criminal lows. It’s as if the team behind the game lost the plot, mucking up pulse-pounding combat with some of the most tedious moments imaginable.

If there’s one thing that Devil May Cry 4 delivers — and it’s something that’s in short supply on 360, really — it’s high-quality hack-and-slash action combat, the likes of which Ninja Gaiden got so right. There was a time not too long ago when the phrase “Devil May Cry” was synonymous with the very idea of running around and chopping up enemies with a giant sword — and all of those years of polish have made the fighting in DMC4 brutally engaging. Combat looks, feels, and sounds just right, with useful, balanced combos resulting in meaty crunches and sprays of gore.

The lead character of DMC4 is newcomer Nero. Like Dante — who was the lead character in the last three — he’s a cocky demi-demon with white hair and a big sword. So why the switch? The difference is his demonic arm, which gives Nero the power of the Devil Bringer: you can grab and wallop enemies, and even use their bodies as shields. Using it makes for a lot of fun, adding some much-needed variety to the fighting.

This, however, is the game’s sole innovation. Otherwise, it’s more of the same for the series — just much, much prettier. Even loyal Xbox fans who’ve never played a DMC game before will be able to tell that the formula has grown musty. Not only does the dearth of progressive gameplay ideas fail to push the franchise forward from its 2001 debut, but the most basic ones strike the same poses they have since the dawn of action gaming. Even some new features can be pretty terrible: there’s a board-game section where you roll a die to progress through the level. Talk about destroying momentum.

Fans will be happy to hear that, yes, you can play as cocky gunslinger Dante, too. About halfway through the game you take control of the man in red; the bad news is that you then proceed to walk back through everything you’ve already played through as Nero — and battle all the same bosses over again. Sure, it’s fun to play as Dante, and to explore his various fighting styles, but it’s not that much fun.

The graphics are worth discussing: pristine and gorgeous, with a tremendous level of detail. But graphics are only a small slice of the pie. The whole of DMC4 rings much too hollow — let down by arbitrary puzzles and an endless succession of lows between infrequent, fist-pumping highs.

But again, the fighting — particularly against some of the bosses — provides an absolute adrenaline rush. Fighting hard and barely winning is one of the most exhilarating feelings a game can offer you, and despite the cloudier aspects of Dante and Nero’s debut on Xbox 360, that’s what DMC4 delivers at its best. Unfortunately, there’s a tragic amount of recycling here. You spend too much time in levels with not much to do; too much time slicing through obvious padding to reach a climax that we can promise won’t satisfy you.