Walkthroughs & Tips

Review by: GenoForPrez

Reviewers Score: 9 / 10

Posted: May 11, 2006

Title: Devil May Cry 3
System: PS2
Genre: Action
Overall Score: 9/10

Slightly repetitive, but still an absolute must play.

Story: 9/10

At the beginning of DMC3, Dante is about to start his own business. He's kicking back and
eating some pizza when a stranger suddenly enters. He says that he has been sent by
Dante's brother to extend an invitation. From there, all hell breaks loose---literally. Dante's
brother, Vergil, has uncovered a secret related to the amulets he and Dante received from
their mother. He has teamed up with the mysterious stranger from Dante's shop to deprive
Dante of his amulet and put it to use inside the colossal Demon Tower. It is up to Dante to
protect his amulet and see to it that his brother does not succeed in his dastardly scheme.

Despite the dark themes in the game which might otherwise serve as a visual downer on
the player, Dante is full of sarcastic wit and can never enter a fight without talking a little
smack to the monster he's about to knock around. This relieves some of the overwhelming
seriousness and makes the game a bit more fun. Most of the time, Dante's dialogue is pretty
funny, but a few times you can tell that the humor is forced, so it comes off as sounding
a little cheezy. And don't even get me started on the ridiculous stunts he pulls in the cut scenes.
I mean, I realize it's fantasy and all, but they try to make him look so good that it just comes
off as looking silly. But for all I know, that might have been their intention. Whatever the case,
it's still entertaining in its own little way.

I didn't really like the story through most of the game because it struck me as very cliche
and the characters didn't seem to have much substance or clear motivations. But as the
game goes on, I grew to enjoy the intensity of Lady and her relationship to her father. And
best of all, there are some unforgettable moments between Dante and Vergil that are sure
to make you smile. Let's just say I was going to rate the story an 8, but the interactions
between Dante and Vergil definitely kick it up to an easy 9.I don't want to spoil any surprises,
so I'll just let you discover those little goodies on your own.

Gameplay: 9/10

DMC3's gameplay is, not surprisingly, extremely fast-paced and action-packed. However, I'm
not going to lie to you... the game is very difficult. Do not let inexperienced gamers
near this one or they might have a heart attack and die. Fair warning.

One of the things I enjoyed about DMC3's gameplay is how much you can vary
Dante's fighting style. When you begin the game, there are four fighting styles to choose
from:

Swordmaster - Specializes in sword techniques and melee combat.

Gunslinger - Specializes in gun techniques and long range combat.

Trickster - Makes equal use of guns and swords but specializes in crafty evasive maneuvers.

Royal Guard - Specializes in blocking attacks and then following up with surprising counter strikes.

Quicksilver - (earned from a boss) Special style that lets Dante use magic to slow time, allowing him
to attack enemies at the speed of light.

Doppleganger - (earned from a boss) Allows Dante to double the action by duplicating himself.

You may change styles at any time between levels (sometimes during levels), but sadly, you can only
perform the techniques of the style that is currently equipped and you have to level up under that style
to be able to use all of the techniques. Leveling them to maximum takes quite a while. So be sure you
know which one you want before you start. Quicksilver and Doppleganger are exceptions, as they come
fully leveled when you earn them.

Throughout the game, Dante also discovers new guns and new melee weapons which allow him to use
even more new techniques! The sheer number of new toys to play with in DMC3 keeps the gameplay
feeling new and refreshing.

Complaints about the gameplay simply include the camera and the lock-on system. Dante can attack
monsters normally, but for most special moves and for best accuracy, he needs to lock on to an enemy.
You do this by holding down R1 and switching targets via L3. This proves to be greatly helpful, but it does have
a few small bugs. For example, when Dante locks onto an enemy, he will automatically spin to face them.
However, when an enemy dies, the game automatically locks on to the next nearest enemy for you. The bad
thing is that enemies don't have health bars (except for bosses) so you don't know when they are going to die,
and when your lock-on suddenly changes, Dante will continue his combo in the direction of the enemy that just
died, which completely exposes his back. So you will have to tap the R1 button to get him to spin the right way
and sometimes you may actually have to completely release the lock-on and spin Dante manually. This is not
a major problem, especially if you are playing in trickster mode, since you are leaping and dashing about like
a madman anyway.

The behavior of the camera is usually very accomodating, but there are a few points in the game where you have to
fight in tight spaces and the camera is definitely not your friend in those fights since it will often give you a very clear
shot of a brick wall or Dante's shoelaces or anything else that is completely unhelpful. There is also one boss fight where
you have to fight two bosses at once. They run all over the screen, often in opposite directions, so the camera spins
wildly to try and track them both, which leaves you feeling very dizzy and mostly confused as to what in the hell is
going on. In those situations, I found myself evading like crazy and fighting only with pistols---otherwise I'd have been murdered.

A final but small complaint: although you continually receive new weapons in the game, the difference in power between
the weapons you find makes some of them seem sort of useless. They are still cool to watch, but in comparison to
the others, become nothing more than trophies.

Warning: Bosses in this game are HARD. I don't usually condone typing things in all caps, but in this case it was
necessary. In order to beat this game, you will really have to master the controls and purchase quite a lot of healing
items before taking on the later levels. No exceptions. I am terrified to play this game in Hard Mode. I suspect that
the disc itself would eject from the console and dropkick me in the face. Highly recommended if you're looking for
a serious (but fun!) challenge.

But on a whole, very satisfying gameplay.

Graphics: 8/10

Nothing jaw-dropping, but they did an excellent job of making the game look gothic and were good about paying
attention to detail in backgrounds and levels. Most of the animations and cut scenes more closely resemble
the in-game quality as opposed the dazzling cinematics you would see in a Final Fantasy game. Nothing great,
nothing bad. Overall I'd say the quality is pretty standard. The art, however, is worthy of mention. The did a great
job of applying classical gothic style to the Demon Tower and the bizarre nature of the later levels was made me
happy. There is one room that will remind you of walking around inside an MC Escher painting and yet another
where the ground, previously absent, forms beneath you as you walk. They had some good thinkers in the art
department for sure.

Replay Value: 10/10

With six fighting styles to master, five types guns, five melee weapons, hidden levels, multiple difficulties, and
various unlockables (including new costumes for Dante!), the game definitely has replay value. If not to go back
and fight your way through all the levels one more time, then at least to attempt to master Dante enough to find
all the hidden goodies. The only thing that might stack up against replay value is that most of the game utilizes
the same sort of fast-paced, chaotic combat over and over (though they do throw in a few interesting battles to
keep you on your toes) so you might take to yawning if you play the game too excessively. But on a whole, the
game is a blast and I can definitely say that it will always be good for a quick fix.