Capcom's premier franchise may still have the words ‘Resident Evil' stamped slap-bang through the centre of it, but Devil May Cry continues to find quite an audience too.

Instalment four in the slashing action franchise finds a game that's consciously aware of what its audience wants, and happily serves it up. Lots of action. Lots of hacking and slashing. And glorious looking enemies. While there are chunks that will feel oh-so-familiar - which we'll come to shortly - there's little denying that Devil May Cry 4 is a rampant, highly entertaining game.

A few things have changed since the last time we saw the franchise, though. Firstly, there's a new lead character, with Dante from the first three games now sent to the shadows (although you do get to play as him later on in the game), while young protagonist Nero - replete with bleach-blonde hair - steps into the main role.

Nero is as handy with his weapons as you'd hope and need him to be, but he also has an added trick up his sleeve, pretty much literally. For Nero's arm is the second smart addition, given that it's demonic, and thus can grab enemies, smack them about a bit and also offer some defensive options. As a way of shaking up the fighting mechanic a bit, it does its job.

And there's something else in Devil May Cry 4's camp, too. It absolutely looks the business. As a glistening, modern-day console game this is a superb visual workout, and our Xbox 360 has rarely been treated to anything looking quite so majestic. When you find yourself fighting another stunning looking boss, it's hard not to feel the pulse pounding, and equally hard not to be impressed.

But then there's a problem, and that's that if you're looking for much more than we've discussed, then you're flat out of luck. Because anyone who has played their way through the first three Devil May Cry games - once they've got past Nero's arm and some of the impressive new weaponry - is likely to struggle to find much more that's different. Sure, it looks nicer than it ever has, but the game itself has a feel of same-old, same-old about it that's hard to shake off.

That's not to say, of course, that Devil May Cry 4 isn't fun. It delivers entertainment in absolute spades. Few games offer action like this, and while innovations are thin on the ground, what Capcom does present is gleaming and quite brilliant to play.

For the overwhelming majority of gamers, that'll be ample, and the game delivers exceptionally well. But there's a tinge of disappointment that Devil May Cry has become so important that not as many chances as you'd like have been taken with it.

A smashing action game and a sound sequel in a quality franchise. Would it be too much to ask for a bit more risk-taking from the developers, though?