Devil May Cry 3 - Dante's Awakening (Special Edition)

If you are looking for a deep combat system to master then this has arguably the best.

STORY: The reason this game is subtitled 'Dante's Awakening' is because it takes place before the original Devil May Cry, so consider this a prequel. Our main character is Dante, a brash young demon hunter for hire. Dante is himself half-demon with strength, speed and reflexes beyond human. Before he even has the chance to open shop, Dante is attacked by a horde of demons, and that is where the game begins. Other characters include Dante's twin brother Vergil who wants to gain the power of their father, the legendary demon Sparda. There is also Arkham, an ally of Vergil that seems to have his own agenda. Finally there is the nameless Lady who hates demons and is constantly finding herself, reluctantly, fighting alongside Dante.

I hope you're not expecting the story to be dark and moody because it is anything but. The cutscenes are actually silly, and the action is over the top. Overall the tone of the game is light-hearted (or as light-hearted as a game can be that focuses on slaying demons). I have no problem with the story being silly, but it all feels shallow. I would have loved it if this game took a more action/comedy approach such as the movie Rush Hour. In this player's opinion clever and funny dialogue would have made for a more enjoyable story to match the already great gameplay. I will say this about the story, it makes sense and is well paced, which is more than I can say for many games.

GAMEPLAY: Here's the gist. In some games you use swords. In other games you use guns. In Devil May Cry 3 you use both at the same time. The idea is that swords (TRIANGLE) do more damage, but guns (SQUARE) are long ranged. Between the two you are almost always attacking, and jumping (X) is equally important for dodging enemies. As you progress in the game you will acquire new melee weapons (called devil arms) as well as new guns, and you can equip two melee weapons and two guns at once for a total of four weapons. One of the main features of this game is the ability to switch weapons in real time. 

L1 toggles between your two guns, and R1 toggles between your two devil arms. Combat in this game is all about hitting enemies with combinations of attacks by utilizing all of your weapons. The ability to instantaneously switch weapons in mid-combo allows you to do so. Finally, throughout the game you will acquire red orbs, which can be spent to learn new moves with all your devil arms or to strengthen the fire power of your guns.

Another main feature of this game is choosing between fighting styles. There are four main styles including trickster (makes you more evasive), swordmaster and gunslinger (gives you more attacks with your devil arms and guns respectively) and royal guard (allows you to block and parry, which in doing so allows you to perform one of Dante's most powerful attacks in the game). Don't limit yourself to one style because you may find that different styles are more suited for different situations. Every time you kill a demon your style earns more experience points. Eventually your styles will reach a new level (three levels in all) giving you access to new style-related techniques.

I have only a few complaints about the gameplay. My biggest complaint is that the damage your guns do is disappointing. You'll see just how little damage they do when you fight your first boss by looking at his life meter as you shoot him. Your guns are supposed to complement your devil arms, not be made nearly obsolete by them. Fortunately there is gunslinger style, where I am quite satisfied with the damage my guns do (good damage at long range without making my devil arms obsolete at close range). I only wish guns were that strong irregardless of the style you are using.

Another problem I have is with the level design. This game is like Resident Evil or Onimusha in that you have to walk around solving puzzles, but they are almost always pointlessly easy and require little more than finding an item to put in a door to continue. I believe that by trying to make this game more well-rounded Capcom is actually holding this game back. This game's forte is action packed battles, so they should have made this game more like Megaman or the old beat-em-up games like Double Dragon where you just fight your way through to the end of every level.

What I like best about the game is that it is challenging, without being cheap. Nothing is left to chance. You live or die based on your skill alone. Also, each time you beat this game you get a harder difficulty setting. There is Easy, Normal, Hard, Very Hard, and finally Dante Must Die. Even ordinary fights that you normally breeze through become intense in Dante Must Die mode. The combat system in this game is deep, and mastering it adds to a lot of this game's replay value.

GRAPHICS: The graphics are top notch for a Playstation 2 game. Artistically speaking the character designs look great. White hair, red trench coat and black pants with a huge broard sword and guns, while different, works. And for such a dark looking game the colors are actually rather vibrant. The animation in the cutscenes is excellent, and the action is superbly choreographed. I have two problems with the graphics in this game. One is I wish the cutscenes were rendered in cinema graphics rather than the normal in-game graphics. 

My other complaint again deals with level design. Any one level looks great, but the problem is that too many of them look too similar. Only at the beginning and end of the game are the levels varied and unique. Throughout the middle of the game you are in a huge tower of gothic architecture for far too long. I would have liked for the game to have had a greater variety of locale.

SOUND: The music in this game is not as strong as the graphics. There are a few heavy metal tunes that are not to my liking that play when you fight the normal enemies. There is a boss tune or two that are fine, but not exactly memorable. The orchestra-style music when you fight the final boss is actually quite good as is the music while in the menu screen. Perhaps it just boils down to personal preference. Whether you like it or not, the music fits the situation and the timing is good.

SPECIAL EDITION: The Special Edition has everything the original had and more, so on that note there is no reason to get the original when you can get this one. The main new feature is a second playable character, Vergil. Vergil is great because he has a truly unique fighting style from Dante's and even has his own weapons and style. Unfortunately, he plays all of the exact same missions as Dante and has only one cutscene of his own at the beginning of the game and no more. 

The Special Edition also has Turbo Mode where the speed of the game is increased, Bloody Palace Mode where you can fight through literally thousands of levels of the in-game enemies, Demo Digest Mode that allows you to view every cutscene you have seen, a new boss that every now and then will fight you mid-level (which makes for a good change of pace) and a few other more minor things. If you already have the original version of this game there may or may not be enough new features for you. If you are really interested in playing with a different character then get it because that is the main new difference in the game. It also helps that this game is only twenty dollars.

OVERALL: In terms of violence, profanity, sexuality and offensive themes this game is not very bad in any particular category. There is a heavy focus on hell and demons, which parents may not approve of, but I could find nothing that was insulting to any religion. In-game there is little or no blood (demons typically turn into sand when killed), but in the cutscenes there is a little more blood, but nothing that would be considered grotesque such as people being mutilated. When it comes to sexuality there is only one scene in the game that parents would may not appreciate. It is sexually suggestive, and while you can almost see nudity you never actually can see anything. Finally, the profanity in this game is very light. If this were a movie I would rate it no higher than PG13.

NAME: DEVIL MAY CRY 3 - DANTE'S AWAKENING (SPECIAL EDITION)
SYSTEM: PC, Play Station 2, Play Station 3, XBOX360