Nearly Perfect: A Review of Devil May Cry 4...

I've already told you several times how much I love Devil May Cry. I think that it's one of the few Triple-A series left in the world of video games.

So, I don't need to go over the background with you, and instead can just start gushing over DMC4. It's awesome, you should go buy it right now.

The premise of the DMC series is stylish action, in other words, don't just kill your enemies, make it look cool too. The game grades you on just how stylish you are and gives you a letter grade.

Here's the cool part: At the end of every one of the game's 20 missions, it gives you the option to upload your score and rank to Xbox Live. Then, leader boards for each mission, on each difficulty are compiled. Not only will you get to see where you rank world-wide, but also, where you rank amongst your friends. It's a cool concept, even though none of my friends have the game. Jason should get on that.

The game's new main character was a concern for certain people. It shouldn't be at all. Nero is really meant to serve as a new lens to tell Dante's story through. Think Raiden in Metal Gear Solid 2, only less feminine. In personality, He reminds me a lot of young Dante from DMC3.

Midway through the game, you do get to play as Dante for about seven missions. One thing veteran DMC players will notice is just how powerful everyone's favorite devil hunter is. After playing as the slightly slower, and not quite as strong Nero for eleven missions, you'll be thankful to have Dante back, and much like riding a bike, it will be second nature to control him after five minutes.

The story of the game is pretty cool, involving a crazy religious cult attempting world domination. It leads to a very "angelic" character design for the enemy that looks flat out beautiful. The cut scenes are as awesome as always leading you to identify with both Nero and Dante throughout the game. Both are cynical, sarcastic anti-heroes who will make you laugh and feel bad-ass playing as them all at the same time.

Those of you who worry about replay value certainly don't have to worry about losing interest. In addition to twenty missions over several difficulty levels (and everyone of them over Devil Hunter is flat out unforgiving.) their is the Bloody Palace mode, which is a timed survival battle with OVER 90 LEVELS. I've only gotten as high as nineteen. I try to make an attempt to go through it at least once a day.

Final Grade: A

DMC4 is just an amazing game. It's the complete package for action fans and really as must own for anyone who has a pulse. Go buy it now.