Almost 3 years ago to the day US gamers were
able to play CAPCOM's fourth title in the
Devil May Cry series on major consoles. While
still not as critically acclaimed as the original
Playstation 2 brawler, it carried on the traditions
of the series while adding a fresh twist to
the gameplay. Now iOS gamers can also get
their hands on 'Devil May Cry 4 refrain',
but with its diminished graphics, gameplay
and storyline it's a far cry from the devilish
title it could be.
Players are given a choice of two control
schemes, either giving players an all-purpose
attack button that switches between ranged
and melee combat depending on their range
or separate ranged and melee button to make
the choice on their own. Navigating around
each of the game's tiny areas is easy enough
thanks to the responsive virtual stick, though
making use of advanced features like dodging
can be tricky to perform in the heat of battle.
Combat itself revolves around 'combos', with
additional points being awarded for managing
to string together powerful attacks for as
long as possible. This is made simpler thanks
to the all-purpose attack button, though attempting
to make use of the EX-act system (a method
of boosting your attack power) borders on
useless as you have to completely forgo moving
in order to tap the opposite corner in time
with your attacks.
Graphically the game is surprisingly detailed,
though the tiny areas, low resolution textures
and simple 3D models harken back to the Playstation
1 era rather than the gorgeous graphics present
in the console version. This would be far
more forgivable if the camera wasn't awkwardly
positioned in many rooms, making it difficult
(if not impossible) to track your targets
as they enter the battle or are knocked back.
The word 'refrain' in the title is quite an
apt choice as it serves to highlight two key
issues with this release. Firstly, as in the
musical sense the gameplay quickly devolves
in to a repetitive sequence of attacks that
require little in the way of strategy, even
on boss encounters. Secondly, the story has
been held back, leaving all but the bare essentials
to justify moving forward.
'Devil May Cry 4 refrain' is a poor facsimile
of an excellent 3D brawler, but with so few
alternatives it's still one of the better
releases available; caution is advised for
fans of the series.
