Disaster Year: 2008 Awards - Most Smokin' Sick Style: Devil May Cry 4

Most Smokin' Sick Style: Devil May Cry 4

Even though if you've cleared it once, you've cleared it twice, Devil May Cry 4 deserves a place on any 2008 rundown list I vomit screenwards. Mechanic hopelessly stranded in the midst of last-gen third person action battlers, players are led up and down a garden path throughout. Chance of environmental interaction? Nil. Invisible walls? Everywhere. The world of DMC4 is nothing more than austere set dressing, writhing about with languid Gothic decadence prettying up your smash, pow, thumps. Always at arms length. Where DMC4 in any way about exploration this would be an unforgivable shame. Thankfully, it ain't. Although the game does have an element of treasure hunting, it's really only about pulverising enemies in an overwhelming mess of combo-chain aerial rave assaults. It's about getting your fight-plan so tiger tight that nothing stands a chance - no good demons hopelessly juggled into oblivion the second they rear their smelly heads. Styles, guns and arms raced through in an unending succession of linkable jabs and thwacks. It's a Guile tick-throw. It's taking out the Tyrant with only a knife. It's preying on every minute weakness you're presented with. It's Yoshitaka Amano flavoured keepy-ups. It's playing Pong with both paddles. It's pure video games. It's all of these, endlessly repeating minute after minute. It's Devil May Cry.