< Back             Devil May Cry 3 - Review

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Upon loading, the game treats the player to the graphically-pleasing sight of Dante dispatching several foes. The player quickly learns, however, that such showboating requires a great of patience and timing as the difficulty is somewhat misleading. This is DMC3's greatest flaw - the learning curve is almost vertical, turning off many players from the game. The endless barrage of enemies and the tiny life-bar leave something to be desired. Who would want to venture past that?

There are a few things in Dante's favor, which help the player even the odds. The Style system allows the player to customize the character to their personal tastes including Swordsmaster, Gunslinger, etc. In many games past, a button-mashing thumb was normally all that was needed to continue through the levels but DMC3 rewards the player for experimentation and innovation. These rewards come in the form of Red Orbs, DMC's currency, which the player may use to purchase items and upgrades.

These upgrades are part of DMC3's charm. By purchasing new skills and updating Dante's firearms, the player can increase their yield of Red Orbs, starting the cycle again to progress through the next level. To discourage the player from resorting to mass-healing as a way to overcome levels and bosses, the restorative items become increasingly expensive, adding to the need to strategize. Because of the game's difficulty even the various items and firearms wouldn't be sufficient to survive it weren't for the Devil Trigger mode that is acquired later in the game. In many cases where the player would initially be lost, the restorative and enhancing properties of the mode really assist.

Puzzles are scattered about these levels but always take a backseat to the action. The focus is on slaying everything in sight with the abilities afforded to the player rather than learn how to make certain blocks connect. Since the action itself requires a bit of careful imagination and quick thinking the player must resort to Dante's weapons, juggling between them to perform as effectively as possible. Acquiring these weapons comes from defeating certain bosses which, while not necessarily a fair trade to the punishment dealt by those bosses, certainly something to enjoy and use against the next horde of hell's legions.

Aside from the deceiving level of difficulty one of the knocks against the game is the camera angles. Although this will fade with time maneuvering Dante in the early stages is tough because knowing exactly where to the tilt the analog stick when a camera angle changes is confusing. Dante does not automatically turn to face the direction of the camera so pressing left when the angle shifts may put him in the path of an oncoming enemy. The angles can be adjusted but it wouldn't quite compensate if not for the targeting ability.

The plot is pretty sparse but mostly satisfying expounded upon in between missions (and sometimes during them) through the gorgeous cinematography that has no slow-down in the frame animation. The interaction between the characters, and in particular Dante and his brother Vergil, flesh out the history with several scenes full of Matrix-esque over-the-top action. The excessive posturing might annoy some gamers, but thankfully it never goes past the point of being more than a shrug-off and there's not denying it adds to humor to a gory, intense game.

There's no denying that DMC3 is hard. It drops the gamer into the deep end and those that don't overcome this and the initial confusion with the camera, will find endless frustration. Those that do overcome those initial obstacles will find that the gameplay just clicks, leading into fast-paced fun.