Devil May Cry 3:Dante's Awakening comes very close to topping the original. It's a compelling adventure that will keep your hands glued to the controller.
You play as Dante who has proved throughout the first two Devil May Cry games that he is an all around bad-ass. From fighting enemies while impaled with their weapons to simply blowing' $%&@ up, you got to be tough to top this guy. Well now we see his younger days, and guess what, he's as tough as ever. At the beginning Dante is around the age of 20 ( my guess, not official)and his youth shows. From shouting cheesy one-liners to being obsessed with parties, Dante is not yet the battle hardened, disciplined warrior of the first two DMC games. Yet that doesn't in the slightest mean that he's a wimp.
Throughout the games fantastic cut-scenes Dante appears even more invulnerable than ever. Fighting enemies with giant blades stuck in his chest, arm, and leg, while eating a slice of pizza is one of the most memorable things I've ever seen in a video game (or even a movie for that matter).
The story ( which was definitely not a plus in the first two games) holds up surprisingly well. While it doesn't really twist and turn or mess with your head that much, there are still a few surprises to be had. Just like with Star Wars episode 3, things will get gradually get more and more familiar and you'll start to see the connections with the first game.
Now lets finally get to the game-play. You have the choice between using a mêlée weapon (sword, nun-chucks, guitar) and a ranged weapon (handguns, shotguns, missile launcher). You can run around with only two mêlée weapons and ranged weapons at a time. But you can switch each with the press of a button, mid-combo even. Fling an enemy into the air with your sword, keep him suspended in the air with your handguns, let him fall down just in time for you to bash him with nun-chucks, right before you blast 'im in the head with the shotgun. Hard sounding combo's like these are made easy with the slick control system.
You also get a choice of combat style's. Swordmaster allows you to use all your mêlée weapons to their full potential with more combo's and special attacks. Gunslinger (my personal favorite) does the same thing with your firearms (such as targeting multiple enemies with your handguns). Trickster enable's you with better mobility as you avoid attacks by running up walls or somersaulting out of the way while you wait for the opportune moment to attack. Royal Guard gives you defensive abilities, blocking and pushing away enemies, attacking only when it's safe. There is also Doppleganger and Quicksilver which allow for duplicates and control of time, but are more like special items than styles of combat.
I know just about everyone I talk to about this game says it's just this side of impossible, but from where I'm standing that just can't be true. I am by no means a expert at gaming. I almost never go above the Normal difficulty setting for any game. So I stayed away from this game for a long time. When I finally decided to try it, I ended up completing it over the weekend (and I do not mean the full 48 hours). Yes the game is hard but once you get the hang of the great controls it will definitely get easier. Besides, that is why Capcom allows you to replay missions and collect more orbs and experience points. It might just be me, but I honestly don't think it's that hard of a game.
What can I say, this is just a great game. If I truly have an actual can't-deal-with-it problem, it's Dante's frat-boy attitude. You get really sick of him talking all the time like a complete brat and wish he'd just be more quiet like he was in the other games. If you can except that, you have one great gaming experience on your hands. In Dante's favorite victory quote: JACKPOT!
