After getting some quality time with Capcom’s newest entry into the Devil May Cry universe, I began to feel right at home.  This comes as a big relief to me:  a number of significant changes have occurred with this the fourth installment and it makes me happy to see that the heart and soul of the title still remains intact.  Even with a new main character, complete with new abilities and play-style, veterans won’t take more than a few minutes to reacquaint themselves with the delicate balance of button-mashing and combo chaining.

I was worried about Nero taking over, even considering how closely he resembles our dear Dante.  A relieved chuckle escaped my lips after hearing Nero’s witty one-liner preceding the Berial fight ("I never tan," classic), and it dawned on me that Nero is such a close facsimile of Dante that I don’t even need to get to know this new guy:  I can just tag this new chapter onto the end of Dante’s ever-dramatic story and continue enjoying my time spent.  While I don’t expect everyone to treat young Nero the same way, I could see this detracting from the future of such a bright young star and forcing the full-time return of Dante.  Even his brother Virgil bore a striking resemblance, but at least his dialogue differed enough to make me care about him as a character.

Character development aside, playing Nero also feels remarkably similar to Dante.  The sword and gun attacks are similar, as are their multi-press combos, but the main (unsurprising) difference is Nero’s Devil Bringer.  Instead of releasing a special power from the weapon being used, the Devil Bringer has a number of uses in and out of combat.