Sympathy, no, true love for the ‘Devil’

Warning! Playing the complete package that is Devil May Cry 4 may cause heart palpitations, quickness of breath and moisture of the hands and temple, also known as “love at first sight.”

Other side effects may include watery eyes from its spectacular visuals; total immersion into the involving story and detailed characters; contentment from the varied actions of the playable characters; ease of play from the comfortable controls; consuming desire to solve the compelling puzzles; and complete awe of the cinematic cut screens.

This is the kind of game to which all others like it should be measured.

From the moment the stunning new cut screens introduce the story and characters (with an opening movie that is so good, legendary action movie director John Woo probably feels threatened), to the seamless integration of playable action (with smooth controls to match), gamers can appreciate the care that was put into this title.

Attacking enemies is done any one of three ways (with handgun, giant sword or demon powers) in a very comfortable manner. Exploring the environments and discovering the hidden rewards gives DMC4 an almost nostalgic feel, as do the giant boss battles at the end of each level.

In fact, DMC4’s only drawbacks are the clunky between-mission interfaces and the at times hard to control third-person camera.

But when you’re in love, the little things don’t seem to matter.

Grade: A (Almost perfect, camera issues notwithstanding).

Details: PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms; $59.99; rated Mature (blood, language, sexual themes, violence).

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Speed racer

What WipEout Pulse lacks in variety (and correct letter casing in its title) it makes up for with plenty of intense racing action and throbbing techno beats. The format may be simple -- win enough events to move on to the next set of tracks -- but the racing is anything but.

Like the floating land speeders of “Star Wars” souped up on wowie sauce, the futuristic racers hit a track that scoffs at the rules of gravity with twists and turns that could never exist in reality. Add in some missiles and bombs to impair your competition and you’ve got some frenetic, high-speed action.

Perfectly translated to the PlayStation Portable platform with its smooth controls and detailed visuals, Pulse -- the latest in the futuristic racer series -- won’t disappoint techno-loving speed freaks.

Grade: B (Bountiful racing, with very little else).

Details: PSP platform; $29.99; rated Everyone 10+ (fantasy violence).