Devil May Cry 4 is excessive by design, from the mammoth swords to the boss battles rooted in elegant mayhem. The action can feel like a firework show that spurns a nuanced routine for a non-stop, thirty-minute finale, and there's a certain charm to this bravado. But the excessiveness takes away just as much as it gives. The structure of the extended campaign works against its own momentum, forcing you to retread recently explored locations and battle all-too-familiar enemies over and over again. While this Special Edition provides slight combat tweaks and additional characters to toy with, there's just not enough mechanical or architectural variation to justify the fluff. As a result, the endless combat rooms and recycled scenarios can be exhausting.
The re-progression is thematically justified by a character swap, giving you at least some reason to remain engaged during this slog. You spend the majority of Devil May Cry 4 with Nero, a silver-haired, sardonic punk whose emotions swing from caustic rage to lovesick sweetness at the drop of a sword. He's a suitable protagonist for the series, with enough emotional intrigue to carry the early portions of the story, but the eventual shift to Dante is welcomed. Collecting new weapons and experimenting with his unique combat stances spices up the action, and his comically blasé attitude toward towering demons hurling fire, ice, and everything in between adds an additional layer of absurdity to this ballet of angels and demons. It's just a shame that Dante is left with so little meat to pick off the bone, being relegated to retracing Nero's steps.
The Devil Bringer can transform even the toughest of foes into pretty blue explosions of light.
The most significant change introduced by the Special Edition is the inclusion of three additional characters: Lady, Trish, and Vergil. The fresh cast is playable from the start, and thankfully, each member provides a much-needed layer of combat variation absent from the original release. Lady’s proclivity for projectiles punches up your offense at range, allowing you to more easily dust airborne foes and wipe out large groups with a single, charged missile. Trish and Vergil aren’t as unorthodox in their play styles, but both benefit from swift hypersonic attacks that help you smoothly transition from demon to demon. Vergil, especially, can quickly jump from place to place and easily build upon a string of combos without having to waste time walking to a new target.
Devil May Cry 4 is deeply flawed, but the new 1080p, 60 frames-per-second wrapping provided by the Special Edition does well to modernize the aesthetic while maintaining the series' blistering speed. The action rarely skips a beat--even when a sea of enemies floods the screen--and while you might not mistake it for a brand-new 2015 release, the characters and environments just look cleaner. The uproariously extravagant cutscenes, where you'll find Dante and Nero elegantly sliding under deadly projectiles or bouncing away from massive demons with aplomb, benefit the most from the improved visual fidelity.
Nero is like a younger, moodier version of Dante.
But like a stubborn wine stain, the repetition so deeply rooted in Devil May Cry 4's fabric can't be easily washed out. The additional characters replace Nero and Dante in the same scenarios, so you're still playing through identical missions you're likely already tired of. Starting the game over with a different character only highlights the lack of unique locations, so once the initial wonder of Vergil's lightning-quick technique and Lady's devastating grenade launcher wears off, there's not much left to enjoy. You can avoid replaying the main missions by instead testing out each character’s abilities in the Bloody Palace, which is a series of combat challenges where the deeper you descend, the more difficult the enemies become. However, Devil May Cry 4 can already feel like a combat gauntlet, so stripping out the story, puzzles, and exploration doesn't do it any favors. It’s nice to have more options, but the Special Edition's prevailing new features are hampered by the nature of its main adventure.
The series of events is both interesting and challenging the first time around, at least--even if they're weighed down by too many back-to-back combat sequences. Nero's combo-driven sword-play is bolstered by his pistols and wonderfully versatile Devil Bringer--a demonic arm that acts as both a quick means of transportation and a powerful melee option. Beyond its practical use, the Devil Bringer gives you greater opportunity to increase your style gauge and extend combos to great lengths. By diversifying your attacks, you can earn more points and, most importantly, complete a combat scenario in the most surgical, exciting ways possible.
Like a stubborn wine stain, the repetition so deeply rooted in Devil May Cry 4's fabric can't be easily washed out.
You can grab, pull, and pound enemies into the dirt through Nero's glowing grip, but the manner by which this arm translates to platforming and puzzle solving is more frustrating than fun. Devil May Cry 4 provides very limited camera control, and shifting perspectives often obfuscate your view as you use your arm to grapple from point to point. It can be difficult to determine your position, let alone time a jump or push certain objects to unlock doors with such a restrictive, jarring point of view.
If you're a seasoned demon hunter, the Special Edition does provide a new, punishing difficulty called Legendary Dark Knight Mode. Here, a greater number and variety of enemies spawn at any given time--creating more opportunities to string together stylish combos, but a higher probability of becoming overwhelmed. Thankfully, the points and skills accrued over time carry over, so some of the difficulty's edge can be dulled by tackling this hellish challenge on a second playthrough. However, no matter how skilled you become, the boss battles here can be ruthless, so even fully decked-out characters can fall after a few mistimed dodges.
The boss battles are beautiful, but sadly, you’ll have to see each of them three times.
The visual improvements and additional characters layered atop the Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition can't conceal its bloated structure. This is, without a doubt, the best this stylish action romp has looked and felt, but just because you can gussy up an old game, doesn't always mean that you should. If you're dying to see how Vergil fares against the Order of the Sword or feel the need to test the extreme difficulty, take the leap. Just be warned that some aspects of the game would have been better left in the past.
Monolith Productions developed last year's that the game was just the beginning of what the studio wanted to do with the Nemesis system, and that there was a ton of potential for more storytelling using the enemies. "There’s a lot more to explore and a lot more we can do to develop those villains," he said. "And to be super honest, it was our first go, so we’ve just scratched the surface with what we can do with the Nemesis system."
Keep an eye on GameSpot for more about Monolith's next title as it becomes available.
Unlike other massively multiplayer games, Wander does not begin with you tuning sliders and picking palettes to create a character or accepting a fetch quest from a non-player character, because neither of those options exist. Nor do you have to kill ten of X, because combat or creatures are nowhere to be found. The only to-do list is the list of achievements, most of which read like chores. Wander focuses on exploration and wants to be a refreshing new contender, yet it’s nothing more than a glitchy, boring mess.
Instead of embracing the aforementioned genre standbys, Wander starts you off playing as a humanoid tree creature known as an Oren. This Tolkien-inspired being moves around the island at a grueling pace trying to find a transformation stone as soon as possible. The forest floor only has a few paths at the beginning, yet you can still find a dead end, requiring you to backtrack at the speed of a turtle. The game, whose sole purpose is exploration, penalizes you for doing just that in the first five minutes.
Exploring as an Oren can be difficult when the form takes up a third of the screen.
Once finding the stone in a nearby cave, the Oren shrinks and becomes a Hira: a nimble figure with fins that act as a wingsuit. Once you transform, there’s no reason to even think about returning to your prior ineffective form. However, shortly after freeing myself from the Oren’s fetters, the game crashed, and I knew this would be an unpleasant walkabout.
As a Hira, you can glide like an ice skater, walk under water, stop time, and burrow through earth. Oh wait--those are movement glitches, bugs, not features. The graphics are another imperfection. Although it was made with CryEngine, Wander looks like an extension of Playstation Home. Textures are flat and dull, if they even load at all. Trees and vegetation flicker in and out of existence as they sway in the coastal breeze. Ponds vanish, and you swim through the air and on dry beds of rock. The plants farther down the road are identical to the ones that came before, and my eyes glazed over scanning the thick brush for something unique or captivating. Each summited outcropping teases a view of a breathtaking landscape, but disappointment sinks in every time. The Hira is a marooned sailor destined to die from monotony on an island prison.
Here is the Hira sporting a trendy skirt made from stone.
Wander’s narrative is supplied via lore stones, which are similar to the audio logs found in games like . These rocks provide meaningless blurbs discussing flora and fauna rather than any actual story or plot. After finding the first lore stone, the map room is unlocked. In this cave, you can also switch between four different forms, such as an aquatic lizard or a flying griffin, at will. However, the relief map itself is useless without a “You Are Here” marker.
In addition to the lore and transformation stones, pillars give the gift of speech. Each found stone lets players speak necessary words, like “hello,” and extremely specific terms that you will never need to utter, like “thermal.” You say sentences by drawing the corresponding glyph on the DualShock’s touchpad and hoping the gods accept your handwriting. Chances are they won’t. Thankfully, there’s an alternative method, but it requires cycling through each individual gleaned word on the D-pad. Then, when the controller is idling on the coffee table, random words will sound without any input--not to mention, the same tutorial for the Rozhda language system plays, even if it’s your tenth time finding a glyph. The touchpad is also used to summon fireflies, but they never heeded my call, so I can only guess at their function. Luckily, I didn’t find any chatty players, so I was never forced to piece together a fragmented phrase from an obtuse mechanic.
The Azertash makes aquatic navigation easier, yet without a dedicated dive button I wouldn’t recommend heading to the ocean floor.
The only respite provided in Wander is the lovely soundtrack composed by Benjamin Woodgates. The soothing vocals contrast with the grating gameplay and give life to the vacant land. However, the music rarely plays, and most sounds that graced my ears were the chirping of invisible wildlife. Otherwise, Wander is a sandbox constructed from rotted wood that lacks toys. Without character customization or any semblance of proper communication, the game has nothing to offer in place of its sacrifices. Like Sisyphus on a treadmill, I fruitlessly walked around in hopes of discovering something worthwhile. Unless this game can find its way, discovery will remain a lost cause.
It's always hard to judge just how good a game looks before it comes out. Streaming videos, no matter how high-quality, have compression artifacts that decrease the visual fidelity of the source material.
That's why it's nice when a developer releases direct-feed footage available to download. in the game, including making it possible for cars to lose control due to puddles on the tracks.
Keep an eye on GameSpot for more news about Forza 6 as it becomes available.
The protagonist from 2011's Human Revolution will return after the tragic events of the Aug Incident. Adam Jensen is now on a mission to find augmented terrorists. (Photo by: Square Enix)
Augmented Humans Turned Terrorists
Adam Jensen is enlisted by the Interpol-funded Task Force 29 to investigate and halt terrorist operations by augmented humans. (Photo by: Square Enix)
Adam Jensen: Double Agent
Despite his work to stop augmented terrorists, Adam Jensen is working as a covert double agent. Jensen will split his time in Mankind Divided between Task Force 29 and a hacker group called Juggernaut Collective. (Photo by: Square Enix)
The City of Golem
Adam Jensen's work for Task Force 29 will lead him to the transhuman town Golem City. He's in search of the leader of the Augmented Rights Coalition, who Jensen believes could be behind recent terrorist attacks. (Photo by: Square Enix)
Your Choices Are Felt Throughout Mankind Divided
Like the previous Deus Ex installments, how Adam Jensen decides to make crucial choices will ultimately impact how the game's story unfolds. (Photo by: Square Enix)
New upgrades and augmentations
With a new entry into the series, there's bound to be upgrades for Adam Jensen. In his repertoire, Jensen will be able to detach his arms, to use as deadly projectiles, and create a nanoshield. (Photo by: Square Enix)
It's Set Two Years After Human Revolution
Although Human Revolution was released in 2011, the events of Mankind Divided will take place in 2029, two years after the events of the previous game. (Photo by: Square Enix)
Women Will Finally Be In Combat Roles
Women have only been featured in a social role in Deus Ex, but that's all about to change. In Mankind Divided, female soldiers will be on the front lines. (Photo by: Square Enix)
There's a "Mechanical Apartheid"
Following the Aug Incident in Human Revolution, augmented humans are feared and portrayed as terrorists. The game's developer described the atmosphere of the game as a "Mechanical Apartheid." (Photo by: Square Enix)
Hacking Is Expanded
Adam Jensen will once again be able to use his hacking ability in Mankind Divided. However, Jensen's computer-breaching skill is receiving an upgrade. He'll now be able to hack remotely. (Photo by: Square Enix)
2015 was the first year Bethesda held a dedicated E3 press conference, and it’s safe to say they knocked it out of the park. Between Fallout 4, Doom, and Dishonored 2, the company showcased terrific footage for its new lineup, and above all, focused purely on games. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo could learn a new trick or two from them.
Microsoft Continues to Rely on Halo and Gears of War
The military shooter remains the centerpiece of Microsoft's console strategy. Like clockwork, you can count on a Halo or Gears title to appear at E3, and both Halo 5: Guardians and Gear of War 4 had strong showings this year, proving that Microsoft's mainstays still attract massive audiences.
Nintendo Debuts Cool Puppets
Nintendo had several cool titles on display at E3, including Super Mario Maker and Star Fox Zero, but most of their big games had already been announced a year ago. But don't count them out yet, though. Nintendo has always had sporadic E3 appearances, often hiding great games for late year surprises.
Sony Banks on Nostalgia and Thrills its Hardcore Supporters
For years, fans have been clamoring for a new Shenmue game and an HD remake of Final Fantasy VII. These games often felt more like wistful daydreams than realistic requests, which helps explain the fervor when Sony actually announced both projects this year at its press conference. Both games are largely goodwill gestures, showing that Sony and Square Enix care about their most dedicated fans. (Photo: Corbis)
VR Spends Another Year in Gestation
It was no contest: some of the longest lines at E3 this year were for hands-on demos of Sony's Project Morpheus and the Oculus Rift. Both companies had a variety of intriguing games on display, but they seem to be playing a game of chicken, hoping to perfect the technology before either one pushes for a mass release. In years past we were told 2015 would be a big year for VR. Unfortunately, it looks like yet another year will pass before the public at large gets to experience it. (Photo: Corbis)
Star Wars: Battlefront is Beautiful
It's been a long time since we had a Star Wars game that takes the lead in delivering cutting edge tech. After the cancellation of the ambitious Star Wars 1313, Battlefront has stepped up to the plate with an incredible demo at E3 featuring a 20 vs 20 Walker Assault on Hoth. With visuals that border on photo realistic, Battlefront may be just as exciting as this year's upcoming film sequel. (Photo: Electronic Arts)
Mass Effect Makes a Comeback
In spite of an anti-climactic ending to Mass Effect 3 which sparked a fan backlash, the Mass Effect series remains revered for its thrilling space opera action. After a small glimpse at the exciting sequel set on new planets with new characters, we're already prepared to forgive past sins. If Dragon Age Inquisition is any indication of the scope BioWare has planned for the new Mass Effect, we're in for a hell of a ride. (Photo: Electronic Arts)
Street Fighter Still Packs A Wallop
After the success of Street Fighter IV, Capcom hopes to keep the fighting flame alive. Street Fighter V was everywhere at E3, with players camped out in front of demos to rotate in for a few rounds. The game feels great to play, maintaining the crunchy combat of the last Street Fighter but with a new level of technical sophistication that should lead to deep and varied strategies when mastered. (Photo: Capcom)
The Last Guardian Rises From The Grave
After seven years of protracted development, many had given up on The Last Guardian ever seeing the light of day. The follow up to the massively influential arthouse hits Ico and Shadow of the Colossus finally emerged this year. This year's new footage had a slow, contemplative pace that felt out of place among the high-octane action hits surrounding it on the show floor, but it still held enough promise for us to welcome its understated return. (Photo: Sony)
Microsoft Capitalizes on the Past
Of the three big console developers, Microsoft typically does less to celebrate its past than the competition. This year, however, Microsoft announced Xbox One backward compatibility for 360 and XBLA games. Battletoads creators Rare also showed off a giant collection of its classic games coming to the Xbox One. In one fell swoop, Microsoft has delivered a robust catalogue of gaming history.
Sony Seeks New Horizons
While it's always great when game companies keep tradition alive with our favorite franchises, it's nice to see them explore new directions too. One of the most talked about games at E3 this year was Sony's new game Horizon: Zero Dawn, featuring a red-headed huntress taking down gigantic robotic dinosaurs with style. (Photo: Sony)
Pokemon Developer Make a New Game, and It's Not for Nintendo
A small hidden gem at this year's E3 was the new game from Pokemon developers Game Freak. Tembo The Badass Elephant plays like a colorful mashup of Sonic the Hedgehog and the rhino stages from Donkey Kong Country. Surprisingly, the action platformer is coming to PC, PS4 and Xbox this summer, with no plans for a Nintendo release. We wonder if Game Freak will finally spread its wings after decades of Pokemon production. (Photo: Sega)
Uncharted 4 Has Some Surprises Up Its Sleeve
After recent gameplay footage slightly underwhelmed, Uncharted 4 had a lot to live up to at this year's E3. Boy, did it ever deliver. In addition to a stunning chase sequence shown off at Sony's press conference, an extended show floor demo kicked up the excitement even more. If you were impressed by any of Uncharted 2 and 3's epic set pieces, prepare to be amazed.
Artsy Parkour Game Mirror's Edge Catalyst Generates Buzz
It's surprising we're actually getting a follow up to Mirror's Edge, a sleeper hit from seven years ago that featured pacifist roof-top running across a colorful cityscape. Even more surprising is how popular the new game was at E3, with 3 hour lines curving around EA's booth just for a glimpse at the game's futurustic open world. (Photo: Electronic Arts)
Nintendo Releases a Lost Classic
In many ways, this year's E3 was dominated by the resurrection of projects many had written off. Nintendo's contribution towards this trend was a translated, but never released until now, NES prequel to the cult classic Earthbound. If that sounds obscure, it's because it is. While this small release won't make the company a lot of money, it will definitely engender goodwill from patient fans. (Photo: Nintendo)
Remember all of those games that you played when you were a kid? Now you can go buy them again. Starting today, GameStop is selling retro games and systems because of high demand.
In Dirty Bomb, ruined London streets and abandoned train stations play host to multiplayer skirmishes where teams fight to complete objectives amid a hail of white-hot gunfire. It's a twitch shooter at its most extreme: an arena of quick kills, high energy, and tired pinky fingers mashing down the sprint key. This fire-from-the-hip shooter arms you with shotguns, sniper rifles, knives, and, fittingly enough given the ongoing motifs, a cricket bat. Unfortunately, a lack of fresh ideas keeps the game from being memorable, while some bothersome glitches and lag stifle your enjoyment.
The formula is a recognizable one. In fact, if you're well-versed in shooters, you can spot where Dirty Bomb derives its influence. There are ingredients from
Dirty Bomb moves at a brisk stride, but can't help making a few awkward stumbles. Expect the game to occasionally freeze, crash, and kick you from matches--all three could cause you to earn a punishment if you don't return to a competitive match quickly enough. These problems, while annoying, are thankfully rare, especially compared to the far more frequent problem regarding lag. And I don't just mean the slight, second-long delays in the menu--which is also irritating. While playing, some shots that clearly miss can somehow strike a target, while bullets from your enemies can still find your fleshy posterior even as you round a corner into safety. More than once, while in the death screen, I saw the stationary ghostly figure of my attacker, and his or her shot going through a wall and striking my opaque mercenary in the back--leaving me to scratch my chin and sigh as I waited to respawn. It isn't necessarily abysmal or game-breaking, but if you're a competitive-shooting stickler like me, you will become increasingly aggravated as the game's lag-charged issues become more obvious the longer you play.
These are not new problems, either. Skimming through the game's forums, it appears that lag and other server woes have defined the Dirty Bomb's development for some time. From what I gather, the game does perform better now than it has in the past, but the road to stability continues to stretch onward. The game would also benefit from more varied maps and game modes. In its current version, there are only a handful of stages to play on, and with modes that range from objective or, well, faster objective, the game does eventually stray into tedium. There is a team deathmatch on its way, which might curb the monotony.
Defined by its predecessors, Dirty Bomb straddles the divide between old and new, never quite able to step out of the shadows of the games that came before. Still, if you're looking for a decent multiplayer shooter on the very cheap, Dirty Bomb is a fast-paced possibility. However, I'm not confident that the core will improve enough for the game to reach beyond merely ordinary. While Brink sits in history as a game that tripped on its path to fame, Dirty Bomb will be fortunate to be remembered at all.
The fifth installment in the Elder Scrolls series, , but don't expect it to run completely smoothly for a while. It's still very much early on in development, but it's striking to see the potential of a cooperative Skyrim.
Ever since Nintendo concealed a magic vine in World 2-1 on
But this memorable bonus content, much like everything worth your time in Woolly World, is only available if you choose to hunt it down. You don't need to collect a single hidden item on your journey from 1-1 to the final boss. Some would say that gives Woolly World its inherent accessibility, in that players aren't forced to take the hard road. But if you want to be fully entertained, the hard road is the only real option. It is your own degree of curiosity, and your compulsive nature, that will determine which route you'll take.
The Limited Edition version of Rocksteady's we said "Arkham Knight is another slick and enjoyable Batman adventure. But what it brings to the series' table is not always for the best."
Danny sits down with the Kinda Funny crew to discuss which big publisher / developer won this year's E3.
