Devil May Cry 3
by Dusan_G
"AND I WILL REIGN DOWN UPON YOU HELL, FIRE, AND BRIMSTONE!"
Wow is all i got to say about this Prequel (Before the original) to the original Devil May Cry, and the very dissapointing Devil May Cry 2. I thought that capcom and the devil may cry franchise would never get up after being buried under twenty feet of crap and dirt, along with Superman 64, in every person's backyard who bought the sequel. Well people, just like the undertaker, Dante has Awakened. And he's badder and tougher, oh so tougher than ever.
Graphics: 9.5 *That's by Xbox Standards*
The only other great lookin PS2 game that I've seen is Metal Gear Solid 3, and folks, it looks like it has got some competition. The environments are amazingly detailed. And though the enemies sometimes can get a little repetetive, they are very detailed as well. The Cutscenes are reminiscent of a Dragon Ball Z episode, you actually feel the hatred between Dante and his brother Virgil. The menu screens are also very well done and easy to navigate. Dante himself looks great, with his coat waving and swinging as he bounces off the walls. The weapons and their effects look great as well. You really feel like youre pumping an enemy full of lead and shotgun shells. Though i did like the guns, i most liked the melee weapons, mainly because they seemed to make a battle run as smooth as silk. It's like watching Jet Li do ballet, with a huge sword or three sided nunchucks. You can also see the difference of effects and actions in the different styles, i used swordmaster and gunslinger. I also liked how they showed the difference of age of Dante. You can see that he's not so hardened, which makes him more fun to use because you can actually see him doing all the crazy stuff that he does throughout the game. The framerate and animations were also great, there were a couple times when the frame rate chugged a bit, but not distracting in the least bit. There were also a few times when the camera messed up and you couldnt see as much, mostly because you still dont have total control over the camera, but again, nothing that affects gameplay or distracts you.
Sound: 9.0 if you dont mind rock / 8.0 if you do *This is probably be me*
The sounds of the game is what really drew me into this title. The voice acting was very well done, once again, you could feel the anger in the characters voices. I also liked that they followed the newly formed trend and intensified the music as you went into battle, and slowed the pace when you finished a fight, but not so much as to demean your victory. The menu music was also a bit creepy, which isnt bad at all, it has almost this lightly demonic tone, but not gothic, which would have really changed my mind. A couple things i wish they would have had was some orchestrated music. In a game like this, an orchestra in some cases would have topped the Rock, because in some of the bigger boss fights, you almost dont want the fight to be as frantic, so you can think. Other than that, Capcom put a lot of focus into this games sound quality.
Gameplay: 9.25 / 8.5
Now first off, im going to say that this game is pretty short. If youre an average gamer, playing on normal difficulty, then it'll probably take somewhere between 7 to 8.5 to finish. But then again there are different styles of fighting which up's the replay value, which i did. Most people will probably go through the game about twice. So then your gaming experience is doubled. Which brings me to my next point, the newly integrated 4 styles of fighting, Trickster, Royal Guard, Gunslinger, and Swordmaster. Trickster is when you excel at evasive tactics, such as jumping off of walls to avoid attacks, or dodging. Royal Guard is when you excel at Counter Attacks, which is pretty much self explanatory. Gunslinger is when you excel at none other than the Guns (Ebony & Ivory), Shotgun, And Bow. Swordmaster is when you excel with melee weapons. I also like the new semi-control over the camera which was a big draw back of the last game. Also in this game is an rpg like element where you look for some of the different types of orbs to upgrade your style, actions, weapons, or max life. You can upgrade each of these and when you do, that item changes, not drastically, but enough to keep you wanting to upgrade your character. The enemies in the game are fierce and many. This has to be one of the harder game's in the PS2's library. Don't kid yourself, this game is not for the weak of heart. There are points in the game that get you a bit frustrated and make you think of, but not pushing you to, throw your controller against the wall. And for this, it is very like the 2004 Game of the Year nominee, Ninja Gaiden. It's almost every bit as difficult, and almost every bit as satisfying. So by no means should the difficulty scare you off, if anything, it should inspire you to become a better gamer. Now, here are my overall Score's.
Overall Score
9.0+/-
*If you enjoy a challenge, then You should up the score to a 9.25 or higher depending on how much of a challenge you do enjoy.
*If you are an average gamer playing on normal, and enjoy a challenge, but get frustrated fairly easy down the score to a 8.75 or lower depending on how easily you get frustrated.
