Devil May Cry 4 Nero Preview

Dec 17, 2007

Two weeks ago, we got an updated peek at Devil May Cry 4, the anticipated action title that will help kick off 2008 with a large bang across the PS3, 360 and PC. While we were excited to see the latest installment of the popular franchise, we knew that we'd have to wait quite a while before we'd see any preview code of the game. Imagine our shock when Santa dropped off an early Christmas present from Capcom! We tore open the UPS envelope, set aside our work and fully dove headfirst into the demon slaying.

DMC 4 will present two separate difficulty levels for players to test their skills with. For newcomers to the series, the Human setting should offer a challenge but help ease players into monster killing. For veterans of the franchise, however, the Devil Hunter setting should present more than enough of a challenge to your abilities. After selecting a couple of options, players are thrown into the game. We were presented with a cutscene and story sequence set in the town of Fortuna, which culminated in the appearance of Dante, who promptly slaughtered some of Nero's friends. Of course, this sudden attack prompted Nero to seek revenge against the son of Sparda, leading to a large battle.

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We'd seen some of this tutorial battle a few months ago, but we were quite eager to check out just how Nero handled in the preview build. The tutorial battle taught us some of Nero's basic moves, such as using the Blue Rose, Red Queen and Devil Bringer against opponents. While we held our own against Dante in this fight, we attempted to blast our way through the battle as quickly as possible, stringing together as many combinations as we could in an effort to receive the highest mission score that we could. Like previous Devil May Cry titles, Nero is judged at the end of each mission on how quickly he completes a level, along with how many orbs he collects. Another factor that plays into the evaluation is how many stylish points he receives in battle, based on how long he can keep up his combo string. Ranging from D to SSS, Nero can gain a larger bonus if he mixes up his strikes and avoids taking damage. Taunts also help extend the combo meter, making it easier for players to acquire larger point bonuses.

Once every ranking has been calculated, players receive a final grade and an allocation of Proud Souls based on your accomplishment. A powerful item, Proud Souls can be used to purchase new skills at the start of every mission or at Divinity Statues that are scattered across every level. For instance, you can purchase new Red Queen sword combos, power up shots from the Blue Rose or extend the reach of the Devil Bringer arm. Players can also acquire brand new physical abilities as well, such as gaining a double jump or instantly maxing out the Exceed meter on your sword, which lets you perform stronger attacks. While buying new skills will raise the cost of unsold abilities, players can unlearn skills, getting a refund of Proud Souls which can then be applied to other abilities. Players can also replay stages to gain extra orbs and Souls, which can be applied to further strengthen your characters.

Regardless of what skills you select or what items you gain, every significant gameplay moment is recorded within the game's extensive Library feature. This element details just about every piece of reference material within the game, including items that you collect, enemies that you face, weapons that you acquire and moves that you acquire. While you can zoom in on most of the elements featured within the Library, the skills entries show video of a specific move in action, as well as the keys necessary to pull it off. This appears to be very useful, especially if you're not sure of just how to trigger an attack or don't seem to be getting the move you're looking for in battle. Curiously, as a quick side note, we discovered as we were playing through the game that Nero appears to have a number of gambling terms attached to his attacks. With strikes known as the High Roller, Roulette Spin, Split and Double Down, we're not sure if those are creative names for his attacks, or if these gambling moves are indicative of his character.

While we've only made our way through a couple stages, the size and the scale of the adventure seems to be quite large. We've traveled from the town of Fortuna to a wintery landscape and even through a gigantic castle, which appears to have a number of floors and chambers that Nero has to fight his way through. Like previous Devil May Cry games, Nero will find himself sealed into specific areas (tinged with red energy) that he'll have to fight through or break the seal of a puzzle (formed of blue energy) before he can progress forward. Some of these puzzles are straightforward, tasking you with figuring out the solution that's immediately in front of you, while others require items that bestow new powers on Nero. We've only just scratched the surface of DMC 4, but we can't wait to see what else is in store for the game.