DMC and stuff

I've been playing Devil May Cry 4 for about nine hours now, which is substantially more then I played Devil May Cry 3. (note: I started this post a few weeks ago, and have since completed DMC4, which should put into perspective how much more I enjoyed it then its predecessor)

I think part of the problem is that I played DMC3 in the shadow of Ninja Gaiden, which is a vastly superior game in every way that counts. Sure, they both feature highly skilled swordsmen dispatching demons at an alarming rate, but where I feel Ninja Gaiden is actually about killing the aforementioned badass demons in any way possible, DMC3 felt more like a collection of listless denizens of the nether, lining up give you as high a combo as humanly possible, while not putting up much of a fight. Oh yes, and if you should falter at any point while you're endlessly hacking away at the bad guy, you'll get hit and die, pretty much instantly. Ninja Gaiden, on the other hand, offered you a fighting chance. the combat system in that game is easily likened to an elaborate game of chess. both you and your opponent are easily capable of dispatching one another, provided either are careless. Both parties dodging, blocking, and looking for an opening. In comparison, DMC3 just felt like all style, no substance.

Skip ahead a few years and now I'm firing up DMC4 on my 360, the game is utterly gorgeous, the combat feels like a ton of fun and while it's by no means a strategic endevor a-la Ninja Gaiden, it's certainly a tremendous amount of fun as a strict beat-em-up.

I had a great time playing DMC4 despite a few factors:

1. Backtracking: the game's level structure is interesting, you spend the first half of the game going though 10 levels as Nero, the new emo-rific protagonist (honestly, I don't have enough experience with this series to care who the hero is, just so long as he hits things very hard), then you play backwards through those same levels as Dante, the egotistical prick from the first three games. Hell, you even fight the same damn bosses again. No thanks.

2. Cut Scenes: Yes, i realize that complaining about cut scenes in a Japanese game is like complaining about smoke in a Tokyo restaurant (you knew what you were getting when you walked in the door), but dear god, I felt like every thirty seconds the game was taking the wheel and going for a joyride without me. Couple that with the over the top maneuvers your characters perform during said scenes which make the regular gameplay look downright flaccid in comparison.