Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition

"Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition is without a doubt an action game for hardcore gamers only."

Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition is without a doubt an action game for hardcore gamers only. This manages to be at once, its greatest edge and worst failing.

Devil May Cry 3 was easily one of the most talked about action games released for the current generation of systems and for good reason. Many a gamer was drawn into its beautiful visuals, fitting soundtrack, complete with moody Gothic music and harsh heavy metal riffs, and high challenge that only Ninja Gaiden can compare to. It sold well and was considered a return to the true roots of action games, harking back to the days of Nintendo. Back when games were actually challenging to complete and didn't force you to spend hours sitting through a nonsensical story.

However many gamers were put off by the difficulty of the original and, for once, a game company took notice of the fact that its players were not enjoying their game. So when Devil May Cry 3 became a Greatest Hit for the PS2, Capcom actually didn't just give us the same game, repackaged. We got one with a toned down difficulty level, a new fighting arena level and the ability to play as Virgil, Dante's twin brother and arch – nemesis. These unlockables can be accessed by either beating the game, or having a DMC3 saved game on your memory card, meaning that you can actually get immediate access to Virgil and skip playing through a second time if you have even so much as rented the original.

As for the game itself, this one definitely has all the sights and sounds you could hope for in a system that gave us things such as Final Fantasy X and God of War. The visuals in the levels are suitably gothic and moody and the enemies are all well animated, from the simplest enemies on to the largest of bosses. The combat animations are beautiful and your ability to jump all over the place, kill multiple enemies with every swing of your blade and even use your enemies as a glorified surfboard all do their best to show off the graphical quality of this game. In addition, all of these wonderful scenes come with a plethora of sound effects ranging from the bang of the shotgun to the whirling death that is the Cerberus, a nunchaku type weapon. Adding on top of this are the graphic and sound quality of the in game cut scenes and the cinematic ones. While many of the things he does and his lines are so over the top and cheesy that you might want to roll your eyes, you will get a few chuckles and smiles out of the antics of Dante, the protagonist and some of the bosses.

Not only does this game have graphics and sound, but also it's no slouch in the plot department or in the options. While the plot is nothing groundbreaking, it's told in a manner that will keep you interested in it, especially if you have played Devil May Cry 1, to which this is a prequel. The characters are mostly likeable, with very few that you will find boring or unnecessary and the voice acting is mostly top notch. On the game play side, you can choose between a total of six different difficulties, some of which need to be unlocked, two protagonists, a turbo mode where you can speed up everything roughly twenty percent, which is nice for making the game even yet more frantic and an arena based area where you can fight in 9999 levels of combat. As twins, the two protagonists Dante and Virgil do share some moves, but Virgil has many quirks and a very interesting weapon, which sets him far apart from his brother. Sadly though, Virgil has no real storyline to speak of, merely playing through Dante's levels after a simple introductory cut scene.

With all this packaged into it, DMC3: SE is definitely sounds worth the twenty bucks you have to shell out for it and for those who are able to play action games religiously, or are willing to spend hours learning the nuances of each fighting style, melee weapon combo and fire arm then it is. But if you're simply looking for a game to pop in and play, the frustration of seeing even basic enemies swarming your character and delivering pot shot after pot shot and killing you can grind on your nerves and do so quickly. So unless you're willing to put up with possible hair pulling frustration, then you may wish to simply avoid this game.

However, it should be noted that it's not quite as bad as it was in the original DMC 3, so it is nowhere near as hair pulling. The normal mode from the regular game is now hard and easy is now normal. In addition, they have added a new method of you using your continues. In the previous game, if you were to die, you needed a yellow orb in your inventory and this would let you continue the stage from the last checkpoint area. In this version, you can choose between the aforementioned method of continuing, called Gold mode in this game, or you can use the new Yellow mode. When doing so, you have an unlimited amount of continues with which to draw on, but if you happen to have a yellow orb then you can continue from that very spot where you died, health fully refilled and ready to fight again. This will utterly ruin your ranking you get at the end of each stage, not only forcing you to use an item, which costs you points as is, but your ranking will plummet from all the damage you took. Still, to some it is considered better than having to start all over again. I personally found it to be most useful simply for the unlimited continues aspect. This lets you save red orbs, the currency in the game, since you never really need to buy the yellow orbs and can simply use the ones you find in stages. This will allow you to save up for things like, weapon upgrades, gun improvements and buying health increases.

Also, the weapon and fighting style system never really grew on me. At the beginning of each stage, you have to pick a fighting style, one out of four to start, but expanding up to six in time, and choose up to two melee weapons and fire arms. While the fighting styles are cool when taken on their own, having to pick between them is blindingly annoying, especially since it seems to make little to no difference much of the time. For example, the Sword Master Style gives you access to special melee attacks, including using your sword as a projectile for a lot of damage, and the Trickster style lets you dash and zip around the battlefield. But in the end it seems to end up a matter of personal preference on how you use your styles. If you use guns a lot, then Gunslinger is the name of your game, giving you access to some wicked stunts with your guns, but if you've got some good reflexes and timing, you can use the Royal Guard style which lets you avoid damage from enemy attacks and return that damage to them and then some.

In the end, it has been my experience that people pick a favorite or two and cycle between them, sometimes mid stage, especially since you can only change it at the beginning of each stage and at Divinity Statues, which is conveniently also the only places you can purchase upgrades and change your equipment. Also, while the weapons are interesting, it ends up being much the same as the fighting styles, you will end up with a few melee weapons and fire arms that you prefer above all others and will attempt to use those weapons regardless of the situation at hand, not bothering to change weapons or styles to suit the fight most of the time. This ends up making this option feel redundant and leaves me wishing they had made all of these abilities of the styles simply advanced attacks to purchase.

Also, with all of the graphical upgrades to this game, and all the options they put in for the game play, you would at least think that they would have done something with the camera. Its mostly static camera angles, although you can whip it around by targeting different enemies and in some areas you can control it, albeit incredibly slowly, with the right analog stick. This ends up leaving you unable to see your foes much of the time and you will get cheaply hit by those enemies that you can't see, especially those that have charge attacks. It's incredibly frustrating and it only serves to make a hard game even more unbearable.

Let it never be said that Devil May Cry 3, in any of its forms, is a bad game. The presentation is top notch, the game play is immensely fluid and well done, however it is marred by its difficulty and steep learning curve. This puts it out of reach of many a gamer, although those who can enjoy this will find this game to be one of the best games released in recent memory.

Pros: Blisteringly paced combat, a variety of weapon and fighting style choices, awesome enemy designs, multiple character choices, and many unlockables to be found.

Cons: Difficulty can be jarring for casual gamers; dealing with the fighting styles can be annoying and feel superfluous a lot of the time.

Score: 6/10

Recommendation: If you have the time and / or the patience to put into mastering all of its nuances, then this is a must have. If not, then you're better off getting something else.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 06/29/06