Review: Devil May Cry 4 Refrain - From The Big Screen To The Little Screen
by Staff Writer
February 4, 2011
Console titles are finding a place in iOS, and the most recent addition is Devil May Cry 4 from Capcom. You’re pitted in a supernatural world, and play as Nero who is equipped with the Devil Bringer arm in this “Refrain” version made for iOS. The action adventure game has you fighting all kinds of demonic enemies and bosses with sword, gun, and arm slam power at your disposal.
There are ten chapters that detail your fight with evil that include a complex storyline, and eight boss battles. The controls are easy enough with a virtual joystick, and four action buttons, though nothing iOS specific, and just shoe horning in the physical controller method. The game is filled with action though, and it's great to have all the different powers at your finger tips, and such a deluxe game on the go.
Now the game is completely full featured, and a nice addition to the App Store with such a deluxe fighting game. The game isn't without its problems though which are sadly, quite numerous. One big concern is that the enemy AI is just atrocious so that there is no real strategy or challenge involved, and it just becomes boring dispatching the enemies easily.
When fighting you can't lock on to an enemy, which is a problem when fighting multiple enemies or a huge boss. When facing a boss there are a lot of attacks that don't hit because you're not locked on, and it's tough to judge the distance from the enemy. You can use all kinds of weaponry, but when your attacks miss it's just frustrating.
The non boss enemies don't have a health meter, so you never know how much longer you need to attack them especially because they last longer the further you're in the game. It seems like you're smashing them for awhile, and they just don't go down, and it's so repetitive and bland since you're never in danger. The game feels more like a button masher than anything else which does an injustice to the console version.
The game has a nice design with all the details, but they pale in comparison to the best graphics on iOS. The level design isn't the most unique so that if you mix up the doors with changing camera angle, and enter a new area sometimes it looks like the one you just left, so you don't know if you're heading the right direction or retracing your steps. You can't control the camera which can be problematic from time to time.
The game goes by pretty quickly with just over an hour of play time including waiting for the story in the cut scenes. As you're playing the game it doesn't really engage you in the action because of the bland and repetitive gameplay so you don't even really care to finish the game, and when you're done there is definitely nothing to go back to. The lack of challenge is best exemplified by the demons that look as though they're dancing rather than in fighting stance.
Devil May Cry is good, but there are a lot of short comings which are only made up for the fact that there is a low price point of $1.99. There are more enjoyable games for only $2 without the pedigree which was really let down with the iOS version.
There are ten chapters that detail your fight with evil that include a complex storyline, and eight boss battles. The controls are easy enough with a virtual joystick, and four action buttons, though nothing iOS specific, and just shoe horning in the physical controller method. The game is filled with action though, and it's great to have all the different powers at your finger tips, and such a deluxe game on the go.
Now the game is completely full featured, and a nice addition to the App Store with such a deluxe fighting game. The game isn't without its problems though which are sadly, quite numerous. One big concern is that the enemy AI is just atrocious so that there is no real strategy or challenge involved, and it just becomes boring dispatching the enemies easily.
When fighting you can't lock on to an enemy, which is a problem when fighting multiple enemies or a huge boss. When facing a boss there are a lot of attacks that don't hit because you're not locked on, and it's tough to judge the distance from the enemy. You can use all kinds of weaponry, but when your attacks miss it's just frustrating.
The non boss enemies don't have a health meter, so you never know how much longer you need to attack them especially because they last longer the further you're in the game. It seems like you're smashing them for awhile, and they just don't go down, and it's so repetitive and bland since you're never in danger. The game feels more like a button masher than anything else which does an injustice to the console version.
The game has a nice design with all the details, but they pale in comparison to the best graphics on iOS. The level design isn't the most unique so that if you mix up the doors with changing camera angle, and enter a new area sometimes it looks like the one you just left, so you don't know if you're heading the right direction or retracing your steps. You can't control the camera which can be problematic from time to time.
The game goes by pretty quickly with just over an hour of play time including waiting for the story in the cut scenes. As you're playing the game it doesn't really engage you in the action because of the bland and repetitive gameplay so you don't even really care to finish the game, and when you're done there is definitely nothing to go back to. The lack of challenge is best exemplified by the demons that look as though they're dancing rather than in fighting stance.
Devil May Cry is good, but there are a lot of short comings which are only made up for the fact that there is a low price point of $1.99. There are more enjoyable games for only $2 without the pedigree which was really let down with the iOS version.
