Devil May be Extremely Difficult!

For all those people who thought (correctly) that DMC 2 was a lackluster sequel to the excellent DMC 1, this is the developer's sweet revenge. Devil May Cry is INSANELY hard. How hard? Let me see: I spent half an hour repeating mission 2 (2!), trying to defeat an enemy who I remember annoying me when I played the first DMC. To add to the frustration, you can save your progress in DMC 3, but you cannot save your position, and you can only continue at the same location with the acquisition of a yellow orb.

But don't let the words "insanely hard" turn you off. This game is truly fantastic and it's a worthy sequel to the first game. Speaking of the word sequel, it's not really a sequel, but a prequel to the first game, which still has my head spinning because, obviously, Dante is much more incredible than he was previously. In DMC 3, we get to meet a member of Dante's family- his brother. While in the normal world, you would sit down and mingle with a guy's brother, and he might trade stories about when the two were younger. In DMC3, you'll have to take Dante on a hellish quest to beat the living crap out of the badass sibling that he "just doesn't like."

What makes this game so enjoyable despite its difficulty is the new system that DMC incorporates into the game. First off, what's new is the style system which gives you a choice between four sets of specialties. In each style, you will be able to level up and gather new skills under the umbrella of that style. What does this mean? This means that DMC 3 gives you what makes RPG's so great and incorporates them into a stylish slash-em-up.

The style system hasn't left, either. In fact, it's new and improved because the style system has a gauge and you can only fill it up if you use a variety of moves instead of just button mashing. This turns the player into an artist, trying to see what kind of demon-fragging virtuoso you can become. With so many moves and style abilities to unlock, it almost unlikely you will get bored taking on a room full of bloodthirsty demons.

If you consider yourself a pro at using Dante, you're considered a novice in this sequel. I cannot say enough that this game forces you to think fast and develop proper strategy. You could just slash and shoot, but it rarely works. Overwhelming is the word of the day, because the AI will not let up on you. As for the bosses, you will have to either bring your A-game or just turn off your PS2. Once you discover a proper battle plan, they will still be difficult because this AI has zero sympathy. Luckily, the controls are as great as ever, including the ablility to cycle through enemies by clicking L3 or locking onto the closest enemy by using R1. With a great variety of weapons (which employ different fighting styles), and the ability to switch between your firearms and melee weapons at a blazing-fast pace, you can chain any number of move combinations you want.

Now, on to graphics. Graphics are not mind-blowing, but they are great for PS2. It's not on the level of a Final Fantasy X or X-2, but they probably didn't have as much of a budget to spend as Square-Enix does.

The sound is great. You get the moans, groans and shrieks of each demon type, so you know who you're up against even before you see them on-screen. Dante screams, shouts, grunts and says little phrases like "whooooo!" (when he's spinning about a stripper pole) or "break it down!" (when he knocks a demon back to the ground after slashing it in mid-air.

The voice acting is not superb, especially since more and more A-list actors are jumping on the VG voice acting bandwagon. This is not a super-serious action/adventure journey, so Dante doesn't take too many baddies seriously in cut scenes. Some of DMC's cut scenes are cheesy, and it will not apologize for it. Even though the VA is not the best, each character was well cast and the acting definitely isn't something you would press mute for. It's just that the bar is s high now these days that people might want big hollywood voices in their titles.

The environments are beautiful, but thanks to a lacking camera, you cannot get a 360 view. You can only see to the left, right and center of Dante, and only most of the time. That is one gripe, and the other is the lack of interactivity.

Sure, there are secret missions and destructable elements that yield goodies, but in this greatly expanding video game world, people want more. Hopefully that will be addressed in the next-gen DMC sequel. This STILL does not take away from DMC 3 because it's all about the action, and the action is excellent. For every enemy, there is a different strategy, and if you mix all of these enemies together, then you've got a satisfying fight.
DMC 3 is an RPG without the wait, which makes it one of the best games I have ever played. Did I mention that it's INSANELY difficult?