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Devil May Cry 3: | ||||||||||||
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ribbing more than a few themes from medieval poet Dante Alighieri's Inferno, Devil May Cry 3 describes the early life of Dante the devil-hunter, son of the demon warrior Sparda and capering opponent of all things Nasty and Evil. Dante is a half-demon/human hybrid with an arsenal of otherworldly weaponry and extraordinary abilities. As he's settling into his unassuming new digs, Dante is attacked by a gang of demons and proceeds to defend himself with panache, pausing only to beat a jukebox into action before disemboweling his enemies with moves that out-Neo Keanu Reeves.
Moments later, a colossal gothic tower erupts from the ground several blocks down the street. Atop the tower stands Dante's malevolent twin brother, Vergil, thus prompting Dante to make for the tower and the inevitable mega-confrontation. Along the way, Dante must deal with a human demon hunter named Lady who despises Dante for his half-demon heritage. For reasons unknown, Lady has pursued Vergil's associate—a baleful human named Arkham—to the tower.
Known for its pioneering 3-D transformation of 2-D action game mechanics, the Devil May Cry series is about shuttling Dante from arena to arena, wherein multitudes of infernal creatures pounce and pound on him. In the hands of skilled gamers, Dante obliges by pounding back with dozens of gracefully (and impossibly) executed combos. The third game explodes the fighting options by incorporating several different fighting styles tuned to hand-to-hand, weapon, missile and defensive techniques. By collecting orbs (from slain creatures and breakable objects), players can "level up" Dante's styles, purchase items like healing potions and improve weaponry. A running "combo rating" gauge ranks moves in real time, and higher sustained ranks increase mission scores.
Great—if you're a gaming god
The devil may cry, but it's not likely. Chances are he'll in fact be cackling as players weep profusely, after botching any of the 30-some missions for the 10th or 20th time. That's because Devil May Cry is difficult in a way that can only be characterized as finger-breakingly legendary. The onslaught of diabolic bad guys is nonstop throughout, and there is simply no curve whatsoever to this learning cliff. Low-intensity gamers, or anyone with an aversion to old-school arduousness, should steadfastly avoid this game.
Fortunately the rewards of playing well are manifold, and like the virtues of mastering a complex instrument, skilled players will experience some of the most awesome and satisfying spectacles of stylish carnage available. Nothing beats slapping around Gluttony and Lust demons with a little Aerial Rave and Danse Macabre. Part of the challenge is learning to constantly improvise moves like these, one after the other, as the combo-meter goes up with stylistic variety but drops in response to repetition.
Visually Devil May Cry 3 is the best in the series, with complex 3-D areas decked in neo-gothic flamboyance—a huge improvement over the woefully generic locations in Devil May Cry 2. Problems creep in with a camera that still maddeningly hides enemies off-screen at crucial moments, and with the rabid button-punching and dashing around, rotating the camera manually is useless. The creature AI is also nearly brain-dead, piling on Dante in shambling or dashing waves, though the boss monster battles are clever, albeit formidable as early as the third mission. The soundtrack is a pleasing mix of uneasy atmospherics and aggressive wall-thumping tunes that complement the frenetic acrobatics perfectly.
There's no question that Devil May Cry 3 is harder than it needed to be. With a better camera system and more variety to enemy tactics, this would be an A game. As it is, this is the quintessential next-gen action game for fans of punishing hyper-brawlers, and those willing to patiently hone combos to turn Dante into the graceful demon-killing machine he is—in the best of hands—capable of being.
Yes, I suffer from "there's no way this game is better than me!" syndrome, and will consequently be on painkillers for the next several weeks. —Matt
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