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Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening (PlayStation 2) artwork

Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening (PlayStation 2) review


"When I think of sexy, the first thing that comes to mind is a lovely young woman. But when it comes to games I think “Devil May Cry 3.” The wait is finally over, and Capcom finally did things right. Anything and everything that went wrong with Dante's second outing has been fixed. There are all sorts of changes and some new features to make this game perfect. "

When I think of sexy, the first thing that comes to mind is a lovely young woman. But when it comes to games I think “Devil May Cry 3.” The wait is finally over, and Capcom finally did things right. Anything and everything that went wrong with Dante's second outing has been fixed. There are all sorts of changes and some new features to make this game perfect.

For starters, Capcom has changed the story and added some great characters. At the beginning our protagonists Dante is just sitting in his shop. A costumer comes in, only to know about Dante’s past. What is it with all of these bad guys knowing Dante’s dad?! The man who comes into the shop goes by the title of Arkham; he is looking for Dante’s most prized item, his amulet. . The amulet was given to him from his parents on his birthday. His brother Virgil also has an amulet that is identical. Maybe there is some kind of secret between the amulets!!! Anybody who played DMC will know who Virgil is. In the first game he went by the name of Neo Angelo. And I am sure that should ring a bell for a lot of fans. This time around Virgil isn’t a demon from the other world. He is alive and well, and ready to take down Dante at any costs. Dante and Virgil never were the loving brothers that most families have. In fact, they have fought each other more than once, with swords even.

Virgil’s main goal is to resurrect the demon power that was once lost. And he wouldn’t get anywhere without his buddy Arkham. Everywhere you see Virgil you will find Arkham right by his side. Another main character is a young lady, who happens to come out of nowhere. This lovely lady simply goes by the title ‘Lady’. When Dante first runs into the girl is where she shows that she knows how to kick ass. This girl seems to have made her way to Virgil to take him down. But what are her reasons? You are only to find out that she has relations with somebody in the story, and she wants to put an end to the terror that person has caused. Virgil has taken his demonic powers to raise a tower out of the ground. And within this tower lies the power to connect the human world to the demon world. I’m sure now you can only guess what Virgil has planed for our buddy Dante.

Since Dante has a huge escapade right before him, he will need the necessary equipment. The developers went in the right direction in the weapon field. Dante has all sorts of weapons to take down any demon. He starts out with his infamous Rebellion sword, which has a lot more detail to it. As you make your way through the game you will run into all different kinds of weapons. Dante has the ability to wield Agni & Rudra, dual swords blessed with the elements of fire and ice. The guns now seem a little similar to the first game. Obviously they couldn't leave out Ebony & Ivory; these guns are a must when it comes to Dante being a BA like he is. The shotgun has returned as well, and it seems to pack more of a punch than before. It will help you knock back enemies that will fly towards you. This game wouldn't be complete without some weird gun as well. In the first title there was the Nightmare gun, which could shoot out lasers at multiple enemies. Now there is a gun that is similar, but this gun can not only lock on more enemies; it can shoot a powerful blast into the air and rain down bullets. If that doesn't please you then there is always the mighty powerful rocket launcher. Capcom didn't want to make the fans sad two times in a row, and I believe they will make you happy with the weapon selection.

Having weapons is great, but when you have a giant sword you don't want to have a 3-hit combo; that is to boring for any gamer. Now alongside a great weapon selection Capcom added what are called “Styles.” And with each style you have specific abilities to help you throughout the whole game. But they didn't want the Styles to be too boring. So with each style comes with three levels. And with each level you will unlock new moves to make Dante seem like an unbeatable demon. One of my favorites to start with is the Gunslinger. Dante can do the unimaginable with this style. Capcom brought back the “Two Sometime” move back and made it even better than before. With Gunslinger you can actually control where Dante shoots his guns. Not only that, but you can also power up your guns and shoot “super” bullets. What makes this style really unique is with each gun you find it has its own moves. And with each level you go up the guns will learn even more powerful attacks. The unfortunate thing about the Styles is that you can't have them all equipped at once. There would be nothing to make me happier than being able to run upside a wall, do an air-hike, dash three times to my enemy, and unleash a powerful attack with Agni & Rudra. But I am not that lucky, but I am fortunate enough to have such a wonderful additive to the game.

That’s enough about styles and weapons. I know you all would love to know about the graphics, and I shall tell you. The details in characters are the most noticeable thing to me. The lips actually match up with the characters words, and that is a big deal when it comes to gaming. Capcom made sure that our characters didn't look old either. It is easy to tell that Dante as well as Virgil are still young little demons. But then again you can tell that Arkham has to be pretty old. Although all of the game takes place in the one main area, there is much to explore. The developers made sure that we knew what it was like to live in Dante's hometown. For example, on the third level of the game you will go through town and find your way to a strip club. So I'm guessing that Dante lives around a bunch of horn balls, or he himself is one considering the club is not even 20 feet from his building. Everyone knows that the castle in the first game was perfect, so Capcom brought back the feeling by adding a HUGE tower to the game. This tower really looks like a castle itself, but when you make your way in and out of the tower you will realize how realistic it is. With a huge tower in a big city, you know something big must be going down. And a huge tower would be nothing without its enemies.

The enemies in this game are really something else. There are a whole load of them and each one of them is diverse in its own way. The first enemy that you run into is like a mini grim reaper. These guys always come in packs, attempting to make Dante scared. Within the first couple levels you already have a diverse selection of monsters to fight. Unlike the previous two games where you fight the same monsters mission after mission. One thing to remember is no matter how cool the boss or other monster may be, they all go down from our hero. The bosses in this game are an actual challenge, which pleased a lot of fans. You will run into a different boss almost every other level. Capcom made sure that this game would not be too repetitious when it came to battling. The first boss in the game is basically an overpowered Scythe from the first title. But for being the first boss, you will learn what you are facing throughout the whole game. Just the first battle alone will get you use to dodging attacks and timing especially. So the boss battles aren't just something added at the end of each level to piss you off, they actually teach you how to use your Styles and your weapons. As I mentioned before the bosses in this game give you a challenge. You will find yourself begging for mercy with certain bosses, and then you will find others really easy to take down. But note that they all become harder with each difficulty.

The difficulty is what makes this game worth the challenge. You cannot simply button mash your way through this game. Some battles will require you to actually use your head. There are so many button combinations that will help you take down any foe. You have to know what you're up against with each level though. Unlike the second Devil May Cry, you cannot go through Easy mode, and then adapt to Normal mode that quick. With each level of difficulty you go up, the smarter the enemies are. You shall be forewarned that there is no shooting constantly and winning the battle. You actually have to get down and dirty with your swords as well. The enemies will start to block even your swords when you challenge them at higher levels. But you must prove to them that the title Ultimate Devil Hunter actually means something.

The difficulty is what drives a lot of weak players away. But you must know that a great challenge is what makes the game great. So if you can prove that you're a real man then you should buy this game. Passing up Dante's Awakening is a huge mistake.



alucard517's avatar
Community review by alucard517 (April 18, 2005)

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