Devil May Cry 4 for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

I've had this game rented for the last month or so, but I'm still trying to figure out whether I like it or not. One thing for sure - playing in casually in human mode is almost worthless - I never seem to be able to amass enough bloody heads or "proud souls" (what the fudge - "proud souls"? five bucks says that this is just a bad Japanese translation) to upgrade my character in decent fashion. I'm more than halfway into the game, and I barely have enough to buy two or three upgrades out of around 20.

The game is ridiculously beautiful, and while I don't agree with the art direction (the basic monsters are basically dolls sewn out of potato sacks), it at least has some artistic direction (think baroque meets contemporary meets weirdness). Unfortunately, it seems like that's all it is - a good looking, but weak, and occasionally frustrating game.

While the levels in this game are not exceptionally long, they have no checkpoints. If the level involves some sort of a difficult passage or trap before a boss encounter, losing to the boss is an ugly and frustrating event. While you can buy artifacts to replenish your health when you die (think of them as "extra lives"), they are ridiculously costly (the price seems to rise exponentially the more of them you buy), and you will probably reach a point where you just can't afford to buy one after every level. Being stuck with a boss when that happens is probably not something you want.

Weapons in DMC4 are a mixed bag - there's some good use of swords, which makes for some spectacular combos - the devil arm is quite useful also. As for the gun - it's quite useless, as it deals almost no damage.

Overall, it's a very pretty game, with a story that's mostly worthless (unless you like bubblegum anime), and gameplay that ranges from 'meh' to infuriating. To describe this game in one sentence, I would have to say that it's a lot like "Castlevania on craack". Very fast, very flashy, but little substance.