by StewartS - March 22, 2005 When the original Devil May Cry blasted its way onto the scene back in late 2001, the gaming world was knocked for a loop. Never before had there been such a fluid, over-the-top presentation of stylish, hardcore action with attitude and panache to spare. Then came the announcement of a sequel and expectations were insurmountably high. A fact made all the more painful when the final product of Devil May Cry 2 was revealed to be a bland and lifeless shell barely resembling the resplendent glory of its predecessor.

But all of that is in the past.

Now, Devil May Cry 3: Dante�s Awakening is here and it seems that Capcom has made every effort to make players forget that Devil May Cry 2 ever existed and delivered a second sequel that is more than worthy of being heir to the Devil May Cry name.

Let's Rock, Baby

At the start of DMC 3 we find a young Dante just opening up his devil hunting business, sans the snappy name of Devil May Cry (he hasn�t come up with a name yet). He receives an �invitation� from a dark man known only as Arkham, who implores him to meet up with Dante�s twin brother, Vergil. Vergil, it seems, is trying to open a portal to the Demon World where their father, the fabled demon knight Sparda, locked away his power a couple millennia ago. Apparently Dante somehow holds the key to unlocking this, but just how remains a mystery. Along the way, Dante meets up with some other interesting characters such as fellow demon hunter Lady and some clown (literally) named Jester (who provides some genuine laughs). Each of the missions are prefaced and succeeded by a cut scene which furthers the story and fleshes out the characters some, but what players will really enjoy is the return of Dante as a smarmy, cocksure bad ass. No longer the silent type he was in DMC 2, Dante is back to the wise-cracking demon slayer we all knew he is supposed to be. Dante serves up some truly funny lines giving the cut scenes some much needed levity. While the narrative is certainly stronger than it has been in the past two games, there still isn�t much to it. Then again, you�re not playing this to hear a good yarn, are you?

One of the things that made the original DMC so exhilarating was the seamless mixture of hack �n slash swordsmanship and twin-fisted gunplay. Action games had used swords before, sure, and guns are certainly no stranger to the genre. However, it seemed that no other game had the sense to combine the two until DMC. Throw in the ability to juggle enemies in the air alongside a remarkably free-form combo system and you�ve got something special. DMC 3 retains all of that and even cranks it up to the proverbial �11.�

No longer sluggish and seemingly lethargic as he was in DMC 2, Dante is as nimble and responsive as ever. This time around, though, the gameplay is as diverse as you want it to be, offering up four different �styles� to choose from: Trickster, Swordmaster, Gunslinger, and Royal Guard, with each one offering up a different specialty for Dante to master. Trickster focuses more on evasive maneuvers, allowing Dante to dash and run along walls.

Swordmaster favors a more adept use of Dante�s various bladed weapons.

Gunslinger affords the use of shooting in two directions at once (which is actually quite useful in this game rather than being random and ultimately pointless as it was in DMC 2) and a shotgun version of the Stinger maneuver.

Royal Guard is a defensive style allowing Dante to block attacks and dish out some devastatingly powerful counter attacks.

Each of the styles can be built up with experience points gained from fighting with them with newer moves being unlocked as levels increase. The beauty of each of these styles is that they provide the game with a sense of freshness and diversity that is lacking from many action games and show that no two people may play the game exactly alike. This is especially evident with the combo system which is just as free-form as ever, thanks in large part to the ability to now switch weapons on the fly. There really is nothing quite as cool as doing a Million Stab with Rebellion, launching the enemy into the air, switching to Agni & Rudra (Dante�s twin swords) to dice them, juggle them for a bit with the pistols then slamming them back to the ground with a blast from the shotgun finished off by a swift Stinger maneuver. And that�s just one of the countless combos that can be pulled off, combos that are crazy, stylish and limited only by your own imagination.

Just as in previous games, new moves may also be bought and the weapon level-up system returns from DMC 2 (one of the only redeeming qualities that game had). However, one of the most noticeable changes from previous games it the limited use of Dante�s Devil Trigger abilities. Given that DMC 3 is a prequel, at this point in the story Dante has quite figured out just how much power he has within him, thus the appropriate sub-title of Dante�s Awakening. Given that you don�t even receive your �Devil Powers� until around Mission 7, it sort of makes sense that Dante is just now learning to use his abilities and would be limited in how well he can use them. What this really means is that powers like Air Raid and Vortex from the original are no longer existent (at least not how you remember them) and the Devil Trigger really only serves as a �Berserk Mode� in which Dante�s strength is amplified and his health slowly regenerates. It would be a bigger issue if the rest of the combat weren�t so fantastic. But as it stands it�s really only a minor sticking point, as is the inability to change styles on the fly, but that�s not much of an issue either as styles may be changed at any of the God of Time statues.

All the chaos that comes from the combat could have been calamitous had it not been for the crisp controls. Simply put, Dante responds like a dream, dashing, dodging, leaping, shooting and slashing all directly on demand. The control layout is somewhat different than it was in DMC 1, so players who have been brushing up on their demon slaying in preparation will need to take a little extra time to get accustomed, but once players familiarize themselves with the new layout, it�s all cake and rum punch.

Now, let�s get one final thing straight about the gameplay. Devil May Cry 3 is hard. Forget Maximo. Forget the Xbox version of Dead to Rights. Forget Ninja Gaiden and even its infamous Hurricane Packs. Devil May Cry is one of the hardest games ever. And in case you are wondering, that�s a good thing. In fact, hard may not be the best word choice. Challenging would be a more apt description as hard connotes impossibility, which is hardly the case. DMC 3 demands that players be quick on their feet and improvise. The game has a definite rhythm to the battles and it demands that players get in tune.

DMC 3 demands that players work hard for their victories, especially in the boss fights that cap off each of the 20 missions, but once players find their groove (leveling up weapons helps, too) they�ll find that the game isn�t impossibly hard, just more challenging than they are used to. This may also be due to the fact that Capcom decided at the last minute to make what was the Hard setting on the Japanese version, the default Normal mode for the American release. Furthermore, some have criticized the continue system that forces players to start a mission from the beginning should they die without a yellow orb in their possession. This might have been a problem had the missions been longer than the five or so minutes they take to complete. Regardless, I find nothing wrong with a game demanding perfection from its players and find the challenge welcome in a generation of gaming that offers so much hand holding when it comes to defeat. And really, it�s all about the combat which is just as glorious and exhilarating as one could hope for.

Slaying demons never looked so sexy

From a purely aesthetic standpoint, DMC 3 looks fantastic. While there isn�t much diversity in the locales (the majority of the game takes place is a giant tower), many of the game�s areas still manage to look distinct with an impressive amount of detail to them. All of the environments are richly textured with some nice, gothic designs in the architecture. The framerate, for the most part, stays at a silky smooth 60 frames per second and only (briefly) dipping below that on a few rare occasions.

Character models are nicely done with hair and trenchcoats whipping in the wind or glowing from the light of flames when appropriate. Though, the monster designs could have used a bit more imagination in their creation. The bosses are all fantastic and it seems that the art team used all their inspiration for them and decided to just hand out scythes to a half dozen of the same looking baddies. This is a minor complaint since you�ll be more worried about kicking their collective ass and less about what kind of shir they�re wearing, but it would�ve been nice to see a little bit more diversity.

There aren�t many of the PS2�s infamous �jaggies� mucking up the presentation, either. One issue of concern may be the continued use of the fixed camera system as used in previous games, but Capcom seems to have elminated the �invisible enemy� problem that plagued previous entries in that you rarely (if ever) get hit by someone off screen. The camera can also be rotated, but only in limited amounts and in certain areas, though the game gives no indication as to when or where this can be done.

Overall, though, DMC 3 looks as good as any other top-tier game on the system should.

The sounds of the fury

If there were to be one area where DMC 3 falters slightly it is in the sound department. Voice acting (thankfully) isn�t a problem, as each of the voice actors does a fine job of giving their characters plenty of personality with very moments of over emphatic delivery. It�s the rest of the sound that comes off as being a bit bland. Sound effects are delivered solidly with pistols, shotguns and swords sounding as they should. However, it�s the monsters and the soundtrack that could have used a bit more panache.

All of the monsters sound alike, save for maybe a few of the flying wraiths. It�s not bad, per se, just a little bland. The same goes for the thumping, death-metal techno soundtrack, Its pretty cool at first until you realize they use the same track for every single mission in the game. Again, not bad but certainly suffering from a lack of diversity.

A pure, pulse pounding rush

Minor quips aside, I can�t remember the last time I played an action game that was this exhilarating. Wait, yes I can and it was with the original DMC. Your pulse will literally be pounding with the intensity of the game. I kid not when I say that my heart was thumping out of my chest at the end of the first mission, so frantic was the action. Simply put, this game is a blast from beginning to end.

A fantastic return to form

DMC 3 is everything DMC 2 should have been and more. It takes everything that made the original so visceral and enjoyable and cranks it up to a level of polish and prestige that is truly unrivaled in the realm of action on PS2, or any other for that matter. If you love action, and especially if you�ve been waiting for a return to form for this franchise, look no further than Devil May Cry 3.