I started “Devil May Cry 4” for the XBox 360 a couple of Sundays ago and then finished it up last Sunday after ~20-hours of intense thumb blistering button mashing. This is the first game that I’ve actually finished in years. Usually, either, I will quit a game after 2-hrs because it’s just plain bad, or, I will play for 20 – 50-hrs, by which time I’ve cracked the battle engine and the game is no longer interesting to play. Some games I will continue because the story is compelling despite having built a character that overwhelms the battle engine (I fault the games for have poor level balancing — my husband says I’m an ass — hence the reason he wants me to join him in WOW). But to be honest, it is rare that a game has an interesting enough battle engine or story to keep me going until the end. As for “Devil May Cry 4,” it was all about the combos and the battle engine. At the end of each mission you are given a letter grade score for time to complete the missions, style, and the percentage of orbs found. I would get very upset and re-played the mission if I got less that a “B” combined grade and/or less than a “A” for style. Style was important to me because it was all about stringing together the combos, and nothing makes me happier in a game than stringing together attacks and acrobatics that result in massive damage and a big score. This game was very satisfying in that sense and I learned the button sequences for the combos quickly. At times my husband would look on in disbelief as he’d watch my character, “Nero,” rip his way though a horde of burlap sack looking enemies. Because he experiences my uncoordinated self daily, it’s hard for him to believe that I even have hand-eye-coordination (I’ve tried to explain that my problem is my foot-eye coordination and the hole in my lip when it comes to eating). Yep, I deal damage swiftly and with precision. The boss battles were fun too. My favorite was the dragon lady in the forest because I got to use both my sword and my gun and I had think fast to coordinate my attacks. Beyond the game engine, the story is throw away but the graphics are really good. I especially appreciated the photo-realistic backgrounds of the jungle levels. What I didn’t like about this game were the platforming aspects — actually jumping to platforms, sling shotting my way through with levels with grim grips, and jump pads. ARGH!!! Oh, and worst was this lame board game that they had the nerve to make players play twice!!! Talk about abruptly putting the breaks on the action. Anyhow, by the end of the game my thumbs were red and numb and my brain was spinning from all of the activity.  My brain was very happy because I hadn’t taken it out for some good strenuous exercise for while. (Actually, I nearly passed out when I finished because I forgot to eat … then the hand and lower arm cramps set in — OUCH!!! It was tough coming down from this gaming high). So, in conclusion, I highly recommend “Devil May Cry 4” for you twitch gamers and for those that like games like the “Onimusha”, “Shinobi”, and “Ninja Gaiden”. Oh, and the game is now discounted to $39.99 — so run out and get your copy now, or if you are in SD, you can borrow mine.

Next on deck for me is “The Darkness” on XBox360.

On a funny side note, my husband, not to be outdone by a sword-wielding-gun-brandishing-wife who finished her game, finally finished the story version of “Halo 3.” I joked with him that Master Chief’s big secret is that he is actually a she like Samus from “Metroid.” Wa-hahahaha!!! He gave me the stink eye. Apparently that wasn’t very funny.