Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition

"A big step forward for the series"

As many know I really didn't like the original Devil May Cry. It came off as a giant mess. Boring combat and tedious boss fights due to fighting them about 4 times each during one play through. I don't know why I bothered with this game. Maybe it was the high scores; maybe because I needed one more game in the buy 2 get 1 free sale. Or maybe because I'm a tool and will buy anything hyped (well, not really). Is Devil May Cry 3 better than 1? It has to be better than Devil May Cry 2 right?

Meet Dante, our hero from the first game. He's younger now because this is a prequel. Monsters attack his business which he is just starting; a giant tower appears in the city. His twin brother is causing problems. A not so cute girl with a rocket launcher is seeking revenge. What more could you want? Well, a lot and that's because the cut scenes are frequent but don't deliver a whole lot of story. The story is good though and I enjoyed it for what it was. Heck, it was much better than the first two games. It's kind of funny since this title comes before the first two, chronologically; it is also the best in the series thus far. I find that funny, perhaps Capcom should have started from the beginning....

Graphic wise Devil may Cry 3 is a leap ahead of the original. The CGI scenes look really good and flashy. In game graphics are nice. Enemies are way more interesting this time around and the bosses are bigger and way better as well. I personally don't like the design of the tower; a lot of the rooms look alike. I also don't like the younger look of Dante, too emo with a dab of the look that teenage girls go gaga for. He just doesn't scream "badass" to me like he does for most others I guess.

Sound wise the game is tight. I really loved the gothic metal sounds of the songs. It of course varies and you don't get a gothic metal sound but it ranges from those two types. Voice acting is decent. I don't care for Dante's voice but everyone else was fine. Sound effects are also nicely done. Each weapon has its own sound so you can easily tell which you are using. Useful when you're switching from one to another.

I actually found the control this time to be much more fluid and smooth. I found that it was easy enough to button mash if need be but by the midway point you'll need to take time to learn about switching weapons, juggling and pulling off some of the other moves to advance your combo meter. Some puzzles require this as well. It very easy as well, making this a game that is quick to get the hang of but to master everything it has to offer, control and combo wise it will take some extra time.

Devil May Cry 3 takes the same idea that the first game had, rather than the crappier sequel. The game is broken into 20 missions. They are fairly linear but full of enemies. Most rooms get locked and you'll need to kill everything in them. Not to hard but in the later levels the difficulty really jumps up. Enemies become a little more ruthless and more on screen. Usually you get a few enemies and then they slowly respawn. The bosses are huge and require a little bit of thought when it comes to taking them down.

Game play itself is redefined but at its core the same. Imagine more weapons, not many more though. Also imagine more moves and combos, they feel much more intuitive this time around as well. I quickly found myself pulling off really cool looking moves and without using too much thought. New this time is styles. There are 3 or 4 and you switch them to give you boosts in certain areas. Easier to dodge, guns do more damage ECT. Not to hard to figure out but some styles work better on certain enemies.

The puzzles this time are just as weak as last time. Find X item to use in X spot. Attack X object and pull off a big combo to break it. It doesn't go much deeper than that. I really wish they would dump the puzzle aspect for this and go with a little more action. A few puzzles here and there would be fine, if they were done correctly, none of these are though.

Replay value is sky high this time around. You get about 5 difficulty settings. A Heaven or Hell mode which has you just fighting enemies over and over and over. You also get a demo mode where you can watch all of the cut scenes that you've seen back to back. There is also that second playable character that has the same amount of difficulties for his story. While he plays differently, his entire game is the same which is a minor let down.

The good far outweigh the bad this time and thank god. While it isn't game of the year material, in my opinion of course. It is a fairly solid title at a low price and offers enough replay value that you actually get more bang for your buck than most other games. It's a solid action title but the puzzles really break the flow of the game. Despite the little things I mentioned above this game is a fantastic rental and good buy, if you're into the whole mindless action with mindless puzzles game play.

Story - 7/10
Graphics - 8/10
Sound - 7/10
Control - 9/10
Game Play - 8/10
Replay Value - 10/10

Final Score - 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 07/31/06