The latest meeting of the divinely comedic twin siblings of Dante and Vergil falls rather violently into the second category. Something about their murdered mother’s amulet, their father being a two-thousand year old demon warrior, and unleashing the minions of Hell onto humanity… typical point of contention at reunions, really.
We join the warring brothers some years before the events of Devil May Cry, with Capcom giving fans of the game not only some background to the characters, but also attempting reconciliation for their insipid sequel: this is a love letter to fans of the original sealed with a lipstick-covered bullet.
Capcom’s first step into purgatory is to bring some character and swagger back to Dante. This cocky, flamboyant, dude-ish, twenty-something punk is the antithesis of the staid old geezer from the second game and, like an old friend, it’s a delight to be reacquainted with him. From his ice cold demeanour and insult-trading with the game’s bosses to his slew of new moves, this is the coolest Dante yet.
It’s probably this youthful joie de vivre that gives our young Dante his ability to fight using certain pre-selected styles. Initially four are available to the player: Trickster, Swordmaster, Gunslinger and Royal Guard. Aside from the generic set of combos that can be performed at any time, there are moves and attacks that can only be performed within a certain style and with specific selected weapons.
The use of any particular style is never essential to progress in the game, and their selection is merely a matter of player preference – you can choose to either look good by dodging about using Trickster, or blocking attacks (masterful use of Royal Guard’s parrying can open up some devastating counter moves if performed with split-second timing), or be even more brutally efficient by blasting or hacking up multiple enemies at once with Gunslinger and Swordmaster respectively. They’re all so much fun and so damn groovy to use, that sooner or later curiosity will compel you to try them all out, and with greater usage comes a greater number of moves per style.
As in DMC1, the player is rated and rewarded accordingly for annihilating the enemies in a gloriously stylish manner. Simply bashing away, DMC2-stylee, will win you no points here – once again it’s about using as many different moves as possible, avoiding repetition or the overuse of a certain weapon. Unlike the previous games, this time Dante can quick-switch between two sets of guns and two sets of devil arms (swords), and if these are combined with a style-exclusive move then the uber-desirable SSS stylish rating can be achieved for megabucks. If the financial rewards aren’t encouragement enough to diversify in combat, there are Combat Adjudicators dotted about throughout the game. These statues offer up precious blue orb fragments (which increase Dante’s life bar), but only if the player hits a score of SSS on them with a melee weapon – the process acting as a tutor in the art of playing the game as it’s meant to be played. It's entirely possible to finish the game by blindly hacking and slashing away with little regard for variety or style, but that would be missing the point altogether.
Games that are this much fun to play are few and far between; the exhilaration to be had through experimenting with different combinations of styles, guns and swords (and their own subsequent collections of moves) is a breath of fresh air; the more opponents Dante encounters, the better. The compulsion to revisit old areas – either by backtracking or using the neat Mission Select feature – and try out new skills on the hoards of Hell is a telling sign that Capcom have pistol-whipped the nail on the head.
A notable aspect of DMC2 that makes a return is the targeting system, but thankfully it’s rather more user-friendly this time round. The problem in the previous game was the size of the areas and the sometimes ludicrous number of enemies that had to be dealt with; having to cycle through all available targets wasted valuable seconds. Whilst the player must still scroll through each on screen enemy to get back to the desired target, the arenas are more compact and the quantity of simultaneous adversaries has been reduced, allowing for far tighter slaughter techniques.
Not only do the new environments provide opportunities for more intense combat, but the shift in location gives the overall visuals of the game a much needed prod after the dreary second game. The first few levels share the same sort of real world locations from DMC2, but soon after, Dante is drawn through areas every bit as gothic and beautiful as those on Mallet Island. Overgrown ruins, underground caverns, Coliseum-type arenas, and even a vile, pulsating organic level that replicates The Corrupted World from the first game. If the player-controlled action didn’t look sweet enough, these new environs are the cherry on the icing: DMC3 is one of the best looking PS2 titles there are, even in the wake of Metal Gear Solid 3. That’s some achievement.
It’s this superb engine that also propels the game’s story via some of the most brilliantly scripted cutscenes you’re likely to find in this generation. The plot is a cut above the previous games which admittedly isn’t saying much, but an improvement is an improvement nevertheless. What helps carry the tale this time – other than the superb action direction – is a combination of smart, witty dialogue and surprisingly effective voice acting. While it may lack any emotional value (who needs it in an action title anyway?), it’s hugely entertaining to watch Dante dealing with his dysfunctional family matters in his inimitably brash fashion.
If, for some reason, the pleasure of simply playing the game wasn’t enough to warrant a few replays, Capcom have included their usual assortment of unlockable extras to chip away at, including galleries, promotional/ making of videos, costumes and skill levels – even the most hardcore nutter fans of DMC1 found Dante Must Die to be a challenge; DMC3 goes one step further and introduces Heaven Or Hell skill once that’s done. By the time any committed gamer has had their fair share of the game, they will have amassed an almost RPG-like number of hours.
If there are any complaints with the game – and let’s face it there has to be – then the camera can still cause some irritation when judging the distances of certain jumps, and the music can get pretty annoying unless your really happen to be into White Zombie. Still, a wee bit of practice helps with the jumps and if you DO like horror-metal music then you’re laughing.
Devil May Cry 3 is everything that fans of the original have been craving for and much more besides as it surpasses DMC1 in pretty much every conceivable way. Even folk who weren’t too keen on the first game will find something to enjoy here: the game is as finely crafted an action game as anyone could wish for, wrapped up nicely with stunning visuals, a smart plot, lashings of ass-kicking style and plenty to keep coming back for. This is one reunion in which everyone is left smiling and glad they made the effort. Capcom, you are well and truly forgiven for DMC2.
Text by James Lafferty
You can find a guide to the Devil May Cry 3 Swordmaster style here.
You can find a guide to the Devil May Cry 3 Royal Guard style here.
