Devil May Cry 4 [PC]

The demo didn't solely contain the Opera House stage. After dropping a drawbridge and fighting our way through various areas, we were quickly taken to the snowy mountainside outside of Fortuna's castle gates. This landscape was immediately noticeable as the location from two years ago at E3. However, this was a much more interactive area than it was in the teaser trailers. As Nero ran through the snowstorm towards the castle's bridge, a cutscene took over that showed a massive tower that crashed right behind him, taking out the bridge and plunging him to the ground below. Unfortunately, Nero was not alone, and the Frost Demons from the original DMC appeared to try to ice our hero's advances.

Much faster, much larger and more agile than the original beasts, the frosts performed a number of striking attacks, including massive ice shields to deflect incoming attacks and dashes that quickly propelled them across the stage in razor sharp shards of ice. Kobayashi took the opportunity during the demonstration to point out the augmented speed of the demons, as well as a battle tactic that would be key within the game: depending on the monster, Nero's Devil Bringer could be used to perform various actions. In the case of the Frost Demons, Nero could pick them up and spin them around before hurling them into their fellow monsters. With that information, the Frosts were quickly dispatched and the demo continued.

The last section of the demo picked up the scene from last year's TGS in a place called Ferrum Hills, which resembled a Wild West frontier town. This was where a massive stone monument was melted from the heat of a gigantic Balrog-like demon in the last footage shown of the game. However, instead of popping up a "Coming Soon" teaser, we witnessed a showdown with the monster whose name, we learned during the cutscene, was Berial. This beast was at least three times taller than Nero, and his massive glowing ember sword shattered the buildings of the town, leaving fires in its wake as his steps shook the earth. While he seemed impossible to take down, continual sword slashes and shots from the Blue Rose weakened Berial enough to where he could be grabbed by the Devil Bringer and pile driven into the earth a couple of times.

Following the incredible demo, which lasted about 25 minutes, Kobayashi revealed another secret: Dante would indeed be playable within Devil May Cry 4, and he would have his standard weapons available to him. He'd also have access to some of the styles that he had available to him in DMC 3, and we were shown how the Sword Master and Gunslinger styles translated over to the PS3. Apparently, switching between styles will be as easy as pressing a button, and while Kobayashi didn't mention how many styles would be available to Dante, it wouldn't be a stretch to assume that the ones from the previous title would most likely carry over to DMC 4. Kobayashi also alluded to an aspect of the story, in that Dante appears to be an enemy of Nero's at first, but there's a specific story as to why he takes those actions. Of course, he didn't elaborate on that point, leaving the mystery for us to ponder, but he did allow us to check out the demo that he'd just shown.

Nero was extremely easy to control: if you were even slightly familiar with the moves from previous DMC titles, you could easily pull off big combos that would kill most enemies in a matter of seconds. It was also easier to get behind the idea of playing this character: Nero appears to be a much more sarcastic hero than Dante, with numerous quips readily on the tip of his tongue for any situation, including various battle taunts. There was a downside to playing the demo: after smashing our way through various creatures and making them beg for mercy, it made us want to play more. Unfortunately, there still isn't a set release date for DMC 4, so we'll just have to let that little taste of the game tide us over until our next opportunity to pick up the Red Queen and the Blue Rose. We'll have more on Devil May Cry 4 as soon as it becomes available.

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