Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening

"Strap in. This ride's going to get a little hectic."

I don't usually do reviews for games. There are two reasons for this: One, I'm lazy. Very lazy. Virulently lazy, if that makes sense. Two, I've never really cared all that much to share my opinion. I like to keep things to myself, and though I'll write the pants off you any old day of the week, I mostly write stories, and the occasional essay to keep me balanced.

I am not in the habit of writing reviews.

Now, that being said, I have to make an exception. A rare case, indeed. I came across a game so awesome, so tricked out, so mind-blowing despite it's faults, that I had my eyes glued to the screen in anticipation, enjoying every minute from start to finish. From opening scene to ending credits, I was fixated, absorbed, enthralled. No other game has even come close to rivaling this experience for me. No other game delivers the delicate mix of hard action and involving story, riveting characters and incomparable music.

This game is Devil May Cry 3.

But I can tell you that Devil May Cry 3 rocks all day long. Let me show you why.

We'll start with the game play, the meat and soul of any game for any genre on any system. Devil May Cry 3 satisfies, but be warned: This game is NOT easy by any definition. (Unless you cheat, of course) Hordes, and I do mean HORDES, of demons will be sent your way each level, forcing you to use every move in Dante's arsenal to the fullest, forcing you to think strategically and plan ahead, forcing you anticipate, eviscerate, and then decimate each and every opponent. Even the simplest of enemies attack in group, giving your thumb the ultimate workout as you hack, slash, shoot, snipe, punch, kick, and annihilate your way through the waves. Bosses come often and they come hard, and oftentimes all it takes is a slip of the finger to decide whether you emerge victorious.

You will lose. Your thumb will ache. And, most likely, you will come back for more.

It's almost like your enemies don't want you to win. Imagine that.

But it's not like you're simply thrown to wolves, naked and bare. Dante comes equipped with all the necessary accouterments. There's Ebony and Ivory, of course, for all your testosterone-inducing needs. And Dante wouldn't be Dante without his needlessly large but ever potent sword, the Rebellion this time around. Not satisfied? Don't be trouble, new weapons will be coming your way soon enough into the game. Five weapons for melee mayhem. Five weapons for long distance destruction. And while each one of them has their own nuances and intricacies to fit your playing style, not a one of them truly sucks; they're all potent in their own way. What's that? You wish you could switch them on the fly, mix things up, unleash some truly hellish combos? Done and done. Choose two weapons for both up close and long distance, and you can switch between those two on the fly. This leads to the following common scenario:

Dante whacks the enemy a few times with Cerebus, his three-way nunchucks (it's not as lame as it sounds, trust me) We then switch to the Rebellion in mid-combo, and hit the enemy with an attack that launches them skyward. Next we bring out the guns and shoot at the enemy while he's falling, juggling him with bullets. And we end it by switching to everyone's favorite problem solver, a Missile Launcher, and blasting the enemy to dust. Literally.

Sweet.

And if that's not enough customization for you, a variety of different styles are at Dante's disposal. Each style brings a new way of play to the table, allowing you to pick your poison and destroy how you wish to destroy. More of an up-close, hands on type of player? Choose the Swordmaster style, and slice, slice, slice away to your heart's content. Do you have a little John Woo in you? Then go with the Gunslinger style, and give your enemies the ultimate lead enema. You're a tactician, a thinker, a man willing to let his enemies come to him and sow their own demise? Look no further than the Royalguard style, a martial arts that turns your opponent's attacks against them.

Each style works like an RPG; you must accumulate experience before you reach the next level and are rewarded with new attacks to choose from. Though there are only three levels for the styles (save for two, very special styles) and reaching them requires a few hours of hard work, it all works to make you a better player, building your experience and then giving you never power when your ready. We call that ‘depth', and it's something few games in the action genre truly have.

But enough talk about game play; I could literally go on and on and on singing it's praises. And there are so many other aspects to cover. For instance, sound.

We often take the sonic aspect of gaming for grant it. After all, only a certain few video game songs actually stick in our heads past the playtime. The timeless echo of the Super Mario Bros. theme. The haunting renditions of Metroid, which told story simply by ear. The angelic voice of Utada Hikaru in Kingdom Hearts. But the challenge of video game music is that it must fit. It must aid the experience, but at the same time, not detract from it. It must remain separate, while remaining whole.

In this Devil May Cry 3 succeeds. I would even dare say that it excels.

Music is, like many things, a subjective art; you love it or you hate, hit or miss. But there is no denying that Heavy Metal soundtrack laid out for Devil May Cry 3 fits. Nothing else would do. No soothing melodies, no elevator muzak. When you make a hellish game, you need hellish music. The guitar thumbs, the bass quakes, and the drums thump as you make your way through the armies of darkness, starting up with the appearance of each foe and quieting down as soon as the final blow is struck. It intensifies you, heats the blood and makes you ready, takes on a personality all its own. A few minutes in, and you won't be able to imagine this game playing with anything else.

But what of the voices? After all, games like this need to have good characters, characters who hold interest, and one of the quickest ways to get people to lose interest in a character is to give him a stupid voice.

Again, Devil May Cry 3 delivers. Dante's voice acting is top-notch, and while, at times, he sounds like a hyperactive, pizza-eating, cocky teenager, he IS a hyperactive, pizza-eating, cocky teenager, so it fits. Each character's voice fits the mold from which it came. Lady, a bazooka carrying schoolgirl with serious family issues to work out, keeps fury held under her every word; you can almost see the venom seeping from her lips. Arkham, a man whose scarred face is only a pale reflection of his scarred heart, speaks like a preacher, only instead of preaching about angels and salvation, he talks of demons and damnation. And Vergil…Vergil must be heard to be believed; there's no other way. Likewise, each stage comes alive as the enemies moan, groan, screech and scream with every move. It's an unmatched resonance, a smorgasbord for the ears.

And what of the story? One would think that a game such as this skimps on the story, that it ignores it and focuses on maximum action. One would think that, since other games in the action genre are subject to such cliche plots and trite characters, that Devil May Cry 3 would be no exception, that it would fall in line with its brethren and be a simple jaunt from start to finish, with no meat in between. One would think that Devil May Cry 3 is nothing but the equivilant of an Arnold Schwarzeneggar film: Loud and action-packed, but nothing more than a popcorn cruncher. Empty and soulless.

One would think wrong.

Devil May Cry 3's story is one of demons and despair, of paradise lost and paradise gained. It talks of betrayal, of two sons and a daughter living in the wake of their fathers, fighting as much inside as they do without. And while some may call Dante a two dimensional character, a caricature who's only limited to making catchy phrases, kicking ass and looking so good while he does it, before the end credits roll you'll see a glimpse of a deeper man. Look hard enough, and you will see that even a devil may cry.

Videogames are undeniably a graphical experience, and while graphics do not a good game make, it certainly never hurt to look pretty. Devil May Cry 3 will win no prizes for it's graphics. It's not ultra-realistic, it doesn't employ some fancy new technology. The cels aren't shaded, the envelope isn't pushed. Devil May Cry 3 keeps things simple and clean. A few transparency effects her, some decent lighting sparkles, and good explosions are a must. Beyond that, there's little here that hasn't bee done before.

This is a good thing.

By not exploiting over-the-top graphic, by not going for some mind-boggling level of realism, Devil May Cry 3 manages to keep things at even pace no matter what Dante does; moves that would look ridiculous with realism become believable somehow, giving the game a sort of anime feel that does it justice. And because of its graphical balance, no matter how many enemies assault you, no matter how big they come or how furious they attack, no matter what way you choose to send the back to the pit, you will never see a hint of slowdown. Not one iota, not one bit

While Devil May Cry 3 doesn't exactly have the looks, it has the moves; there's no doubting that. Each cut-scene was beautifully choreographed, and it shows; characters move with a fluidity and style that defies words. Every flick of the finger, every nod of the head, every motion of the body adds to an overall sense of motion, of life within the game. It combines with the music and the action and voices to create a sense that has no parallel, like watching a movie unfold piece by piece before and after every mission.

There's one aspect that can utterly ruin any game, one facet that ultimately tips the balance of success and failure: Control. After all, no matter how good a game is, no matter how many things it manages to do right, what's the point if the player can't even control the character? And in a game such as this, where split second thinking is an absolute must for survival, nothing less than the most responsive of controls will do, anything less and defeat would be your only option.

Need I say it? Devil May Cry 3 satisfies.

The moves come as if you were making them yourself, with your own two hands. There is no move that can't be reliably made with practice. No attack that you can't achieve when you need to achieve it. The system is intuitive, allowing for the most insane of combos with the most minute of concentration; looking stylish has never been so easy. Can you throw down with the same skill that Dante shows in the cutscenes? No, sadly. The distinction between gameplay Dante and cutscene Dante has been a gripe with the entire series, and it doesn't change here. But Devil May Cry 3 comes as close as you could conceivably get.

Now, I come to the conclusion of this, my first review. I'm tying the bow on my package, you might say. If my experience in writing has taught me one thing, it's that an ending must bring all that came before it to a head, it must resound, vibrate, strike the matter at its core and decimate from within. Here's my bid.

Some games are like lighting. Brilliant and dazzling, but brief and fleeting. Other games are like roller coasters, whirlwind affairs that are great for the duration, but hardly warrant a second run.

Devil May Cry 3 is a supernova. Rare. Powerful. Awe-inspiring. And unlike any other phenomena in the universe. Should you rent Devil May Cry 3 or buy it? Buy. Without question, buy. Despite its minor flaws, this game is a roller coaster that never stops.

Go for a ride.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/17/05