by Mike Schuler

I was actually really excited to play this game. So many people have done nothing but rave about the "Devil May Cry" saga. I'm sad to report that I must do the exact opposite. I was excited when the menu loaded and it instantly took me back to the days of Arcade games, like "Marvel vs. Capcom." 

It had that traditional Japanese sword clash sound and the flashy menu graphics.
I felt goose bumps rise up on my cheeks in excitement. I cracked open my can of sugary, caffeinated beverage. I chose my settings and started the tutorial mode.  Being a newcomer to the "Devil May Cry" saga, I figured it would be for the best to do the tutorial and see what the skinny was. After all, if I were to play the part of Nero, a young Devil Hunter who we are introduced right away…In the cut scenes, Nero is the truly typical Japanese rebellious hero, late to an important event and hassled by some "evil" force (his mom made him eat all his veggies is my guess).

So the first battle is your training mission. You fight Dante the Protagonist from the previous games. He plays a side role in this one. Game developers decided he's done enough devil hunting---he's onto bigger things. My guess is they bumped him up to burgers. As the game progresses, you'll find most of the cut scenes involve women with no real clothing to speak of. It reminded me of the first time I played "Killer Instinct 2."

My biggest complaints are with the transition between what you watched Nero do in videos to what you actually get to do---the fact that he looks awesome in the cut scenes when he's fighting, and then I take control and it looks like he's half drunk-blind in one eye and walking on a peg leg, former Hell's Angel.  The other big complaint I have is the needless destruction of furniture to get "blood stones."  Blood stones are used to purchase health-renewing items as well as extra lives--- mostly to cover your ass in those times when you forget to save before a pivotal point. But my main gripe is that they are pretty much everywhere. You'll never be in short supply of these if you break everything you can. I would have rather see fewer blood stones all over the place and make the items you purchase with them cheaper. But that's just me.

Overall, the controls are way too complicated for this type of game. Having to press a paddle and push a joystick to one side, and press a specific button in an orchestrated manner while patting your head and rubbing your belly in a counter clockwise manner, is really hard. Obviously a novice won't pick up the controller right away and just be awesome, but some translation would be nice.

The story is pretty tame and not entirely engrossing. You're introduced to secondary characters and there's enough plot and conflict to drive a basic game, but there's nothing complex or meaty. It's a good vs. evil story where the hero isn't perfect. But really, is the hero ever perfect?

The graphics are nice and, for the most part, the animation is pretty solid. There are things I thought they could have done to make the characters move more life-like. But the rendering quality is top-notch. In the game, the camera is a pain in the ass and doesn't always give you a good idea of where the enemy is---which is a problem for most of these third-person type of games.

Overall, I give this game a 4 out of 5. It's not particularly ground-breaking. The graphics are nice and the animation is good. The game play is a bit confusing, but overall it's workable for this format. The fact that there is no multiplayer doesn't really bother me. I wouldn't recommend this game as a "go out and buy immediately"---maybe for 20 bucks on the used-games shelf at your local game store. I'd much rather go and play "Call of Duty 4." Now, if you'll excuse me, my wife is threatening to beat my butt at Soul Calibur.