It was just a horrible, horrible nightmare. Surely something as preposterous and arduous as “Infected Tank” and “Infected Helicopter” couldn’t exist as gaming bosses, could they’ The tank provided a battle that all but required the skill to keep out of sight of the other tanks, whilst hacking and shooting away. Rinse and repeat with the remaining two tanks, then came the “Infected Helicopter” – infected with what exactly’
This was an exercise in futility and it just got worse. Devil May Cry 2 managed to undo everything that excelled in Shinji Mikami’s first Devil May Cry. Gone was the Dante arrogance that endeared him to many, instead a tired, bitter old demon posing as Dante had replaced him.
However, if the second in the series was the proverbial nightmare, then Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening is without a doubt the stuff dreams are made of. Devil May Cry 3 is the finest title in the series to date – better than the first.
With a cocky swagger and attitude to match, we’re acquainted with Dante as he begins his new venture with his Devil May Cry agency (before the events of the first Devil May Cry), when a mysterious gentleman pays him a visit and before he’s even had time to finish his pizza, five scythes are rammed through him from out of nowhere. Without batting an eyelid, he calmly walks over to the jukebox, sticks on a track and proceeds to dispose of his foes in the most stylish cut-scene sequences seen in the series (and it gets even better as you progress), and perhaps on the medium in general.
This is what it’s all about – style. It’s about hitting a “Blast Off” launcher with Rebellion, juggling the enemy with Ebony and Ivory, (surely the best pairing in a game, no’), switching Devilarms (weapons), blowing them away with the Shotgun in mid-air, then charging with a Stinger before switching to Cerebus and finishing them off with a few hits. Then taunting them by hitting “Select” , thus pushing your Style-Combo meter into that elusive “SSS” rank. Complicated it might sound, but in actuality, the execution of such a series of moves is actually quite simple. This is possible due to the intuitive control-system that has been implemented. Switching Devilarms mid-flow, for example, is simple enough by hitting either the “L2” or “R2” buttons respectively. It’s a mechanic that sounds far more difficult in theory than it does in execution, as you become acquainted with Dante, the system clicks into place seamlessly. The camera system works well, it can get caught behind an object on occasion, but this is easily rectified by using the right-analog stick to correct it. It is easy to pick up and string a few moves together, but if you really want to turn on the style, then it’s only your imagination that’s poses as your limit.
You are given four different “styles” to choose from – Trickster, Swordmaster, Gunslinger and Royalguard. Each of them has their own different properties. Royalguard for example, allows you to evade and block/parry enemy strikes by pressing the ‘O’ button at the correct time, doing this three times in a row will allow you to release a charged action which will destroy nearby enemies. In true pseudo role-playing tradition, additional abilities for your chosen style can be added to your repertoire by either purchasing them or attaining them by levelling up. Similarly, new moves can also be bought for your selected weapons as well, thus increasing an ever-expanding move-list – each move can actually be viewed as a video, too.
Its a combat-system that grants the player a vast amount of freedom with Dante to exploit each style and use any combination of Devilarms to compliment their own preferred technique. The Style-Meter becomes active when you’ve successfully landed a series of hits, and alternating your attacks will cause the meter to rise until you’ve stopped the combo or you’ve taken a hit. Keeping the combo active will require you to dispose of multiple foes until you’ve run of enemies to kill or you’ve been hit yourself. However, repeating the same combination of moves over and over again won’t work; the meter will continue to drop if it finds you repeating a similar pattern, thus requiring you to keep things fresh by mixing it up. Sure, enemies can still be defeated using a tried and tested method, but what’s the point in that’
The puzzle element is still very much a staple of the series, and remains so in this iteration, although more often than not, these particular exercises will require you to acquire a particular artefact which is used elsewhere. Nothing incredibly taxing, but it breaks the play up quite nicely. At the end of each mission, you are given a grade assessing your performance for the successfully completed mission, with this being a product of your Damage, Orbs, Style, Items and Time ratings. Each of the 20 missions can be replayed at any time, allowing you to improve your grade, thus ensuring a healthy amount of replay value for those keen to “SSS” rank every mission – no mean feat I can assure you.
Given that the Japanese version of Devil May Cry 3 was a challenge in itself on the “Normal” mode; it’s European and American counterparts really have its work cut out, since the Japanese “Hard” mode is actually the “Normal” mode for the western iteration of the game, making it quite possibly tougher than Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden. That’s before the appearance of the additional difficulty modes (unlocked when the game is beaten), which are designed to ensure that even the most “hardcore” of players who think they’ve got Vergil beaten, remain engrossed within the game. In addition to the alternative difficulty modes upon completion of the game, Capcom have also loaded the game with a host of extras, just to give you that extra incentive to keep coming back.
You would think the PlayStation 2 architecture would be showing it’s age during the latter stages of it’s tenure; quite the contrary, as already demonstrated with Konami’s sterling Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Devil May Cry 3 is aesthetically impressive; reverting back to the gothic overtones that became synonymous with the series; grandiose environments that exude an uncanny resemblance to Sony’s ICO in places, complimented by an industrial-cum-Rob Zombie inspired soundtrack that ties everything together seamlessly. A notable mention must go to the awe-inspiring boss encounters, which are executed with aplomb.
Now comes the hard part; who would’ve thought sticking a number at the end of this review could prove difficult’ Is it a nine or is it a ten’ Devil May Cry 3 is the best action game on the current generation of systems; it has everything you could ever want in such a title within the genre – including the most important facet of all, depth – and lots of it too. The only thing left now is to pretend the second one never happened.
