Latest Fantastical Fighting Game Is Devilish Good Fun

I am a happy man. Why? Because of the sultry hookup I had with an absolutely gorgeous woman this past weekend.

And by that I mean the awesome time I had playing through the latest entry in the hack-and-slash series Devil May Cry, boldly titled Devil May Cry 4, which is available now for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

While one could argue that hooking up and playing a video game are decidedly different scenarios, in reality both events share a lot—they both entail lots of exciting action, a few minor annoyances, and the realization that when all is said and done, you had one hell of a good time.

One hour after inserting the disc into my PlayStation 3: I failed to anticipate that the PlayStation 3 version of the game requires an install process, one that supposedly cuts down on load times throughout the game. For this reason, I have yet to actually start playing. While the process is made bearable by a recap video that details the story events of the first three DMC games, this still feels like an aggravatingly long session of foreplay.

Two hours into the game: I’ve been introduced to the emo-looking protagonist Nero—a member of a religious devil-hunter clan—and the devil hunter Dante—the hero from the first three games in the series, who happens to look pretty much identical to Nero. He suddenly attacks Nero’s clan without any clear reason. Nero and Dante get into a tussle. Nero gets his ass handed to him on a silver platter and is then tasked with getting revenge on his twin.

Eight hours in: The initial teasing was worth it—this might be the most fun I’ve ever had with an action game. Similar to games like God of War and Ninja Gaiden, the basic premise seems to be escorting me from area to area and then pitting me against an army of demon-like monsters. The action overall feels incredibly fast, responsive, and visceral. The main character can pull off all kinds of crazy maneuvers—I just did an uppercut with my sword and launched a bad guy ten feet into the air, shot him three times with my gun, jumped up, hit him with my sword in mid-air, shot him again a few times in mid-air, and then slammed him down on the ground with my fist. Over-the-top encounters and “hell yeah” moments like that one dominate the game.

Nine hours in: I finally realized that the god-awful music in Devil May Cry 4 may have been what nearly caused my ears to bleed. Just wait until you hear the cheesy hard-metal track that plays during combat. Like a lot of little annoyances in this game, however, the terrible music is relatively inconsequential—the fact that my eardrums held out this long is a testament to how entertaining the combat really is.

Back to playing, 10 hours in: A really cute girl comes into my suite, and I feel compelled to pay some attention to her. I get her to give the game a try, but that’s as far as I get—she pushes a few buttons, gets killed by the first enemy she runs into, smacks me across the face, dumps her soda on my head, yells at me for wasting her time, and leaves. The moral of the story seems to be that, while it is a gift from the gods for hardcore fans of the action genre, DMC4’s steep difficulty and the overall complexity of its combat make the game both a poor substitute for good, old-fashioned flirting and even less ideal for inexperienced gamers.

After I beat the game: Like a one-night stand, DMC4 is short, fast, and fun. It’s something every fan of action games should check out. While its difficulty will likely scare video-game virgins away, the game’s deep combat is satisfying, full of high-flying acrobatics, and ultimately a great way to let out pent up, CU-induced aggression.