Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening

"The long awaited prequel is finally here"

Devil May Cry 3, its been on the top of every action gamers list since its production was announced, the long awaited prequel to one of the greatest games of all time. But enough fluff you're here to find out the facts.

Plot – 8/10
You are Dante, a brash teenager waging a war against the denizens of evil, using both sword and your favorite handguns ebony and ivory, exterminate the demons before they exterminate you. Its kill or be killed…and that's just the way you like it.
Hmm…that's not bad maybe I should write tag lines. The plot while not exactly Oscar worthy is more than enough to keep you glued to the edge of your seat as you guide Dante through his latest harrowing adventure.

Gameplay – 10/10
This game implements a new style system, before each level you can select from 4 (at first) different styles each with there own pro's and con's, and also with unique “style” moves. As you use each style you can gain experience with it, unlocking new moves and making Dante just that much more deadly with it. Swords, ice-chucks, handguns, and shotguns (just to name a few) are at your fingertips, and with the all-new ability to switch weapons in active game play, the number of different combos available is limited only by your imagination. Dante, like most people, doesn't want to be hit, so the developers made sure to load you down with enough acrobatic moves to dance your way through the enemies while blasting away at them. The best part of all is though, that all these moves will come easily to you, you will soon find yourself instinctively back flipping over an enemy scythe while blasting the guys on either side of you in the face with ebony and ivory. With its ease of use and multitude of combos, this game is sure to appeal to all types of gamers. Now after saying all that I have to throw a disclaimer in. This game is hard. I'll warn you now if you expect to tackle the higher difficulty levels, expect to put your social life on hold. This is a game where it's easy to be good but hard to be great. Luckily for those of you who don't fall into the hardcore gamer category there is an easy mode in the game that will allow you to enjoy the game without wanting to throw your ps2 out the window.

Sound – 8/10
The music in this game is extremely well done. It really keeps your adrenaline pumping, while still fitting in the dark mood that the game is set in. Sound effects are also top notch. Sword strikes, shotgun blasts, and enemy screams all sound extremely real (and in the last case creepily real), you wont find any hollow thuds here, you can tell great care was taken to make sure that everything in the environment would make the correct sound when struck. The only fault I could find was the poor voice acting, which unfortunately is becoming a weak point for lots of new releases. If you ever played the first one, I'm sure you can remember Dante's'…for a lack of a better word…”cool” voice, calm with just enough badass thrown in for flavor. In this one though, I think Capcom took the “teenager” facet of the game too far, Dante's voice is high and extremely whiny sounding. It's so disconcerting when you see Dante whoop ass in a cut scene with so much style and flair, and than BAM…suddenly you hear the dorky voice spit out a cheesy line. I think this is the first game I played where I actually wanted the main character to be a mute.

Graphics – 9/10
The in-game graphics for this game, while sharp, are nothing that I haven't seen before. Its not one of those games where your jaw is going to drop from the amazing visuals, but they counter that fact with a glitch free graphical environment. Clipping is well done; your sword will stop at all the right places when you attack the enemies or environment. The character models are very smooth, with no obvious flaws. The enemies are well detailed with an upped polygon count, which really shows. The game runs at an amazing 60 fps, so it looks very smooth. I encountered one or two cases of minor slowdown when there were a lot of enemies on screen, but certainly nothing that will cause you any problems.

Overall – 9/10
This is definitely a game that will keep you entertained for a long time to come. It has multiple difficulty levels (and believe me they are tough) as well as a plethora of unlockables. If you're a fan of fast paced hack and slash action than this game is a must buy for you.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/03/05