Almost 3 years ago to the day US gamers were able to play CAPCOM's fourth title in the Devil May Cry series on major consoles. While still not as critically acclaimed as the original Playstation 2 brawler, it carried on the traditions of the series while adding a fresh twist to the gameplay. Now iOS gamers can also get their hands on 'Devil May Cry 4 refrain', but with its diminished graphics, gameplay and storyline it's a far cry from the devilish title it could be.

Players are given a choice of two control schemes, either giving players an all-purpose attack button that switches between ranged and melee combat depending on their range or separate ranged and melee button to make the choice on their own. Navigating around each of the game's tiny areas is easy enough thanks to the responsive virtual stick, though making use of advanced features like dodging can be tricky to perform in the heat of battle. Combat itself revolves around 'combos', with additional points being awarded for managing to string together powerful attacks for as long as possible. This is made simpler thanks to the all-purpose attack button, though attempting to make use of the EX-act system (a method of boosting your attack power) borders on useless as you have to completely forgo moving in order to tap the opposite corner in time with your attacks.

Graphically the game is surprisingly detailed, though the tiny areas, low resolution textures and simple 3D models harken back to the Playstation 1 era rather than the gorgeous graphics present in the console version. This would be far more forgivable if the camera wasn't awkwardly positioned in many rooms, making it difficult (if not impossible) to track your targets as they enter the battle or are knocked back.

The word 'refrain' in the title is quite an apt choice as it serves to highlight two key issues with this release. Firstly, as in the musical sense the gameplay quickly devolves in to a repetitive sequence of attacks that require little in the way of strategy, even on boss encounters. Secondly, the story has been held back, leaving all but the bare essentials to justify moving forward.

'Devil May Cry 4 refrain' is a poor facsimile of an excellent 3D brawler, but with so few alternatives it's still one of the better releases available; caution is advised for fans of the series.