For years Devil may Cry has been one of Capcom’s better franchises, but when they announced that the game would feature a new lead character named Nero, I started to flash back to Metal Gear Solid 2 and I started to get scared. Luckily I got to play through DMC4 while I was attending X07 last week and I can safely say that DMC fans have nothing to fear.

Like previous DMC games, DMC4 is broken up into a series of missions normally requiring you to complete such tasks as getting to a certain location or solving an intricate puzzle. The demo on display featured two such missions, a point-to-point and a boss fight. I decided to give the point-to-point mission a try, while my associate took on the boss.

Game play remains fairly unchanged from DMC3, though Capcom has made a few improvements to help stream-line combat and create new puzzles opportunities, such as introducing a new weapon, Nero’s Devil Bringer Arm.

The Devil Bringer serves as a third weapon type and opens up some interesting combat opportunities. It also unlocks new special abilities and can be used to solve some of the game's puzzles. The Demo only featured two Devil arm abilities, a grab attack and something resembling a grappling hook. Though the abilities didn’t seem all that special on their own, once I started using them in attack combos, I was very impressed.

Speaking of impressed, it’s hard to play the game and not be utterly floored by the game’s amazing graphics. Like Capcom’s last Xbox 360 release, Lost Planet, DMC4’s cut-scenes rely heavily on a motion-blur effect that smooth out character animation making the games actors feel much more life-like and far less wooden.

Actual game play is just as gorgeous as the cut-scenes and surprisingly doesn’t have any noticeable frame-rate drops or hiccups. Though there were some screen tears, they were few and far between and with the game not being released until Q4 2007, Capcom has plenty of time to fix them.

Devil May Cry 4 is a game I wasn’t expecting to see at X07, but I’m really glad it was there. After spending some time playing the game and getting a good feel for it, I can safely say that it’s shaping up to be a must have title for gamers who like insane beat ‘em ups, or games with a good degree of difficulty.

Other X07 Coverage by Jason "Njiska" Westhaver
X07: Assassin's Creed Impressions
X07: Kane & Lynch: Dead Men Impressions
X07: BC Gaming Gallery