The Good: DMC4 takes the best of the previous games, adds in some 720p mojo, and comes out as what I'd almost call the distillation of the ideal DMC experience. The in-engine cut scenes are moody and well-realized, while the rendered vids are breathtaking and not at all shy with the attitude or the action. New character Nero is an absolute blast to play: his Devil Bringer attack (in addition to the tried-and-true sword/gunplay combo) is a game-making mechanic that resembles a punch; Nero's right fist is not quite human, and his glowing glaive will reach out and pull enemies to Nero or pull Nero to the enemy, context depending. The feeling of control this gives the player over the dance of battle is hard to overestimate - it's a blast and meshes beautifully with Nero's swordplay. But Dante isn't gone - you'll be playing both characters throughout the game, and they both play like aces.

Boss battles are another major win for DMC4, which seems like it's taken a page from the God of War franchise with scripted, metered boss fights that feel new and uncliched. One of the early missions has you step into a room where two ethereal, female ghost-sprites spin in midair, caressing each other and cooing lesbionically. It's only after the first phase of battle that the sprites are revealed to be organic puppets hanging from the antennae of a giant frog demon like the ironic lantern of some deep sea beastie.

The non-battle music is gorgeous and gothic and seductive. The battle music is a speed-metal mashup that reminds me of The Queen of the Damned - you'll either love it or hate it. Likewise, the voice acting was above par in my opinion, but stylized enough that some simply won't gel with the tone.

The environments benefit enormously from the new generation of hardware, and I found myself getting lost in the midst of battle because of how gorgeously the room in which I was fighting was lit, or by the detailing on proud castle walls. This makes it more fun to solve the relatively simple puzzles and platforming challenges in the game, which aren't terribly new but sure are shiny.

The Bad: Again with the repetition. Why, with a franchise so full of variety when it comes to combat and armaments, should Capcom choose to set yet another DMC game in a loop of repeating environments? It's all good and well that some missions take place in precisely the same area as the previous missions, since it provides a Zelda-like chance to use new powers and abilities on previously unaccessible areas. That quickly gets old, however, because DMC4 is not Zelda, but a stylish action game, and style and repetition are not exactly good buddies. Style can get old fast.

It gets worse when you begin playing as Dante: you'll revisit all the areas you've seen before. It feels a bit like a cop out, and it doesn't help the relatively unvaried combat music and number of different types of enemies. You'll also fight all the same bosses over again with Dante, which is a cop-out, as well as a serious letdown.

The darkness: the game's too dark! I don't know if it's a matter of overestimating the black-level performance of today's flat-screens or just a heavy-handed mood-o-meter, but every time I've seen DMC4 (ie, not just on my own television), the shadows have been pools of undifferentiated black that threaten to drown the otherwise gorgeous visuals. Like a boutique hotel with a hallway so dark you need a flashlight, there's moody and then there's silly.

The shadows. On both the 360 and PS3 versions, while the graphic details are exquisite and the lighting steady if not overabundant, shadows cast by characters and objects seem to constantly squiggle as if they're the shadows of manikins stuffed with vibrators. It's not intentional (I hope), it's not pretty, and it's more than a little distracting.

The Final Round-Up: If you've been looking forward to this game, you won't be disappointed. If you found fault with its predecessors, those faults are generally improved but still extant. If you're new to the series you might not even notice some of the gameplay-related concerns, and DMC is a beautiful, dark adventure that's simple to pick up and challenging for tried-and-true series fans. There are some visual gripes, but given the overall polish and visual style, these are relatively minor complaints. There are also some gameplay gripes, which are less forgivable - making players replay areas over and over and then sending them right back to the beginning again, even with all the plot justifications in the world, feels like a slap in the face.

The Verdict: Almost any fan of the DMC series should definitely mark this game as BUY IT! sooner or later. Anyone looking for an engagingly sexy story packed with awesome violence should also BUY IT!. But if the last two DMC games let you down more than a little, you might want to TRY BEFORE YOU BUY. The bottom line is that DMC4 is a fantastic game with a few annoyances that, by and large, you have to be "into" the game to notice in the first place. Tiny's $0.02: BUY IT!

[PS3 owners: I tried out the "sandwich" install and found the backstory recap helpful. Once the game is installed onto the PS3 hard drive, the room-to-room loading times are vanishingly minimal. Plus: a sandwich.]