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VIDEO GAMES
'Devil May Cry 4' wears out its welcome fast
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
"Devil May Cry 4," a new action game for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, is a lot of demonic flash for only a small amount of heavenly fun.
The fourth game in the long-running sword-swinging series doesn't make a lick of sense, story-wise. That's all right because the backstory of the previous three games didn't, either.
Fiendishly imagined demons pop up, ready for battle every few minutes, and nobody seems to regard it as surprising. The main character, Nero, who looks identical to the former protagonist of the "Devil May Cry" games, Dante, runs around looking for demon blood, getting into fights with monsters and making innocuously sarcastic comments.
The fights themselves are pretty brilliant: Nero can swing a sword, employ a grappling "Demon Grabber," fire a gun and kick demons in the face, all in one quick series of impressively rendered moves. But after a while, even the thrill of mid-air cinematic heroics begins to get repetitive. That leaves a lot of skulking around in dank hallways and cathedrals, silly and frequent in-game cinematics and a set of weapon and skill upgrades that are tedious to manage.
In addition, the PlayStation 3 version requires a 25-minute installation process before you can play. If there's one thing console gamers aren't known for, it's patience.
At least the game looks great. Its leap to the current generation of game consoles has enriched the look of "Devil May Cry 4" — it's impressively detailed and sometimes beautiful. It has a rich, haunting soundtrack. Some of the bosses and monsters in the game are original and creepy.
But the thrills in "Devil May Cry 4" wear out quickly, making monotonous what should be devilish fun.
