Devil May Cry 3

[jimtendo]

Got my retail version today.

Definitely very favourable so far.
Was dissapointed that pressing the shoot button for Ebony & Ivory doesn't make it as rapid as it was for DMC, but more a stable kind of gunfire like DMC2
That is until i found out that kind of gunfire was a skill within a different fighting style. I think it's gunster.

Can't really add too much into this since i've given it a few hours or so.

But thumbs up (at the moment) regardless.

[Chadruharazzeb]

Some heavy styling going on in this game, can't deny it. That "

->Open Spoiler<-

Inside the Leviathan" level: remake of "The Corrupted World" or what!!

[venom743]

You got your copy already?

[Chadruharazzeb]

Mine shipped from Play-Asia the other day, but I couldn't wait 10 days to play it, so I was very, very n0rty...

See above.

[venom743]

Come on guys! Well, you've got the retail version too. So, no harm done!

[Chadruharazzeb]

Indeed.

Anyway, anyone who's familiar with the US version of DMC1 may find it all a bit tricky at first. For some reason the Yank DMC1 had the controls completely upside down, and although you can redefine the buttons on DMC3 (not many games let you do that these days ), I wouldn't recommend it: the O button which was the sword attack in US DMC1 is also the action/ examine button on the Japanese version, and it causes all sorts of headaches.

Best to stick with the defaults which if you were a DMC2 fanboy you'll be ok with. You should also be swept into the air with a sword and held in mid air by a barrage of gunfire.

[venom743]

Just did battle with

->Open Spoiler<-

Virgil

.
My God! That was intense!

[Chadruharazzeb]

Has anyone noticed where the Soul Calibur engine comes into the game? I was expecting it to actually become SC for the fight with Virgil, but apparently that doesn't happen.

[venom743]

I don't think it does. It was just a rumour.

[Saurian]

FFS - nobody else is gonna bother so I'll do it

How Devil Cry Cry 3 plays:

The game system is an evolution of the original Devil May Cry, there are ideas and weapons from Devil May Cry 2 here too but they have been applied as a proper gameplay system, unlike that game it's not just cosmetics. The way Dante moves and fights and the degree of control you have over him make it obvious the game is designed from Dante outwards - not some Gothic world with a character stuck in, it's Dante's world and the game is about learning how to use this tool you're given and unleashing hell with it!

First thing you'll notice is how Dante's fighting is split up into different styles; Swordmaster gives you an extra melee attack button which massively increases the combo possibilities and potential of the melee weapons plus he can use elemental magic which each weapon has. Gunslinger powers up your guns via an extra gun shot button, with rapid fire and charged shot ability and gives you gun specific moves like Twosome Time (Gunkata) and Wild Stamp (combo attack where you hold an enemy's head to the floor with your boot and pop caps into his head). Trickster is all about evasion, you have an extra evade button here - you can make Dante run up or along walls or perform a fast dodge with mad frame advantage! Royal Guard gives you a block button - here you can hold the button to block as you'd expect but tap the button with SF3 style parry timing and you'll parry (deflect) the enemy attack and cause the enemy to get knocked off guard - in addition each time you get a block or parry right Dante will charge energy, release this energy and it vapourises enemies nearby.

Each of these styles can be powered up to 3 levels and you gain even more moves each time a new level is reached (you dont have to buy them, they are yours to keep) - you power them up by using the techniques, which is superb as the game constantly encourages you to explore what Dante is all about, you cant just bash your way through the game - you gotta learn exactly how you're gonna deal the death. The way to get good exp points to level up the styles seems to be using them well and within high ranking combos. The combo system is excellent aswell - it rewards you for keeping the rate of hits high and fast but at the same time keeping them varied (if you repeat moves over and over you lose points). So in order to get a SSStylish grade you have to perform a big combo, killing multiple enemies at once and not overly repeating moves and at the same time using your style correctly - and it's addictive as hell!

As well as the different styles - every weapon that Dante picks up is a whole new attack system to learn! The difference between the weapons is staggering, daunting at first actually! I found the best and most fun way to get better at it is to simply keep repeating the first stage until my fighting did t3h Dante justice - now I'm banging it up and
switching weapons 3 or 4 times within aircombos alone (it's THAT mental!). Each weapon has a completely different button strike and command sequence for the strings and combos, it's well worth getting this down fully!

There's a huge amount of scope for refining your technique - you can repeat any section of the game you like at any time and it's wicked fun replaying them, for me it's about getting every stage down MINT! I hate taking hits while playing! and that's where the next wicked thing about this comes in - the enemy and boss design and behaviour!

Every enemy has multiple signposts to signal when it's going to attack and what type of attack is coming. Fighting a room full of enemies without getting touched while keeping a sick style grade is made possible by this system - you use your ears as well as your eyes to keep track of what's going on. There are both visual and audio ques as to when to dodge, so you dont have to concentrate on it so much that you're distracted from your pwn4g3 - you'll be in the middle of a combo and hear an enemy laugh and you dodge straight away and carry on fighting, it becomes automatic, everything just flows beautifully once you got it all down - no other game allows you to fight like this, it looks choreographed when you're throwing out something special! As well as dodging there is a sword deflection feature in there aswell now - you can strike an attack with your sword to stop it if timed well. Boss fights are the same, the boss will never just randomly attack, it will tell you when it's going to attack and how - you have to work out what means what and then what to do when it happens.

The game is insanely deep and very challenging, forget the 2nd Devil May Cry game - that game is the complete opposite to this in terms of approach; this is all about YOU! and it gives you the freedom to deal the exact level of pwn4g3 you crave. Another superb touch is that in the status menu you can access via pause - there is a library of every skill you have with explainations and videos!

Has anyone noticed where the Soul Calibur engine comes into the game? I was expecting it to actually become SC for the fight with Virgil, but apparently that doesn't happen.

That wasnt THE main fight with Virgil, that was just Dante's awakening....I say "just" - but my jaw hit the floor!

[Chadruharazzeb]

Nice summary, teh Saur... I thought you were refraining

I will be refraining from posting my opinions until the review is done. I'll still be reading the thread with interest, especially when dudes start posting in here.

[Saurian]

I am going to refrain cos I want to enjoy this fully, It's not about opinion - it's about how this thread gives nobody any clue as to what this game is about, cmon people how can you post about a game like this and say nothing?

This is me done - hope you have fun!

[Shoju]

Really like the fact that the controls change according to style picked. It Allows them to push each style further into different directions.

[Ravon]

Has anyone noticed where the Soul Calibur engine comes into the game? I was expecting it to actually become SC for the fight with Virgil, but apparently that doesn't happen.

Your right in no point during the game does it switch to a SC engine..
By the way people after you complete the game you can carry your weapons and skills you have learnt over into the next game..

[Chadruharazzeb]

I'm yet to find a practical use for Trickster. Am I missing something or is it genuinely pretty useless? Go gunslinger I say, it pwns.