Devil May Cry 4

Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Release Date: Feb. 5, 2008
Systems: Xbox 360 (reviewed), PS3, Windows
ESRB Rating: E
Official Web site

In a nutshell: Why I finally opened DMC3 on Friday.

0:00 Another day, another Devil May Cry game. If it's anything like No. 3, I'll be happy.

0:01 A woman walks through an orange marble conservatory. Lightning in the distance as a guy in a red coat (Dante?) watches. A winged thing descends. A floating snake slinks by. Dante and the girl look at each other. Quick jump cuts show Dante in action, getting kicked in the face, grabbing enemies, riding them like scooters, shooting them, getting eaten, kicking them into the air, pile driving them into the ground, etc. "The story goes that Sparda served as the feudal lord of the city long ago. The people of the city take these stories as truth and worship him as a god." Scenes of citizens fleeing from monsters. Dante kicking falling blocks of granite. The girl floats in a blue stasis field. "She has nothing to do with this... Let her go!" Etc. etc. Contemplative music over slow-mo action scenes. Dante leaps and reaches out for something. He screams out as the title appears. I feel like I've seen the whole of the story already?

0:04 The title screen shows which of my Xbox Live friends are playing the game and how much they've completed. Is this supposed to unleash my competitive fires?

0:06 I can choose "Human" or "Devil Hunter" difficulties. I'm not exactly "new" to the series, but I've only played for an hour, so "Human" it is. I choose to turn on "Automatic," whatever that means.

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer