Before I delve further into these observations, I must confess I have only completed through Mission 8. I have not yet taken control of Dante, so I cannot comment on changes to his gameplay (though the prospect of switching styles on the fly is quite enticing.)
Whilst I enjoyed switching blades mid-combo in Dante's Awakening, I found myself rarely swapping firearms in the heat of battle for any practical purpose. None of the options really compared to the twin pistols, and the decelerating effect their fire had on descent was a crucial component of my evasion and regrouping. This said, predictably I am not opposed to being equipped with the Red Queen (sword) and Blue Rose (revolver) for the entirety of Nero's play time. The Queen's Rev Guage adds a lot of depth here, allowing for modified versions of Nero's special sword commands, known as Exceed Attacks.
I really have to say here, though, the Exceed System is not very original. Order Sol (from GGXX/ and GGXX^C) and his Charge ability functions almost exactly the same way in both its three tiered enhancement of special moves and the methods by which one can build up charge. But, c'est la vie.
But this gun and sword dichotomy, immediately familiar from the last game, is fundamentally altered by the addition of the Devil Bringer, which is implemented for Snatching enemies from a distance to begin or continue combos, or to deal damage with an enemy-specific throw. This throw, called the Buster, can also be enhanced by the Devil Trigger transformation, and this combination can inflict even more punishment and has its own unique animations for each enemy (including bosses).
And so far, yes, DMC4 has been a bit of a Bossathon, keeping with Capcom's penchant for boss fights. So far I've liked these encounters, and found the design and implementation to be superior to the last iteration. Barring any shortcomings in the rest of the campaign, I should be poised to review this game quite favorably in the near future.
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