Devil May Cry 3

Easily my favorite hack n slash game ever made. I love Ninja Gaiden Black and Bayonetta immensely, but DMC3 is simply the king. I can't think of a category that matters where DMC3 doesn't come out on top in regards to the genre. From the combat system to the way the game just carries itself. Some things may be hit or miss with some people, most commonly criticized on its unforgiving difficulty. And while it certainly is challenging it just makes the reward so much sweeter when you finally master something. And it's so addicting that you might find yourself driven to SS rank every mission.

Now that the HD collection is out, if you haven't played it yet and you're a fan of the genre. Do yourself a favor and dive into this masterpiece.

The original Devil May Cry was a land mark action game. It was the first game that showed 3D 3rd person action games could play like the classic 2D games. Tight control, pattern based bosses, and a high learning curve with an unrelenting difficulty. In a time of games that were far too easy and lasted 5 hours, Devil May Cry stood head and shoulders above the rest as being addictive, over the top, difficult, just plain stylish game that was remarkably fun to play. It is one of my favourite games this generation of hardware, and maybe ever.

Then Devil May Cry 2 was released 1 years later. And DMC Fans like myself were bitterly disappointed. Who was this mute clown who looked like Dante but had none of the cheesy coolness of Dante in DMC? Why the heck did they change the functionality and utility of sword combos? How come the dual pistols wouldn't fire as fast as you hit the button, Like DMC1? How come the bosses were ridiculously simple and could be killed just by taping down the shoot button and walking away for a half an hour? DMC2 was a soulless mess, looking aesthetically like DMC, but the game play didn't live up to the high watermark set by the original.

Which Bring us to Devil May Cry 3. Capcom listened to the fans and went back to the drawing board for DMC3. Dante is back with a vengeance, smug, louder, and just plan cooler than before.

Devil May Cry 3 is my new favourite action game and quite possibler my favourite action game of this generation. It was an incredibly rewarding experience to battle through the game and conquer it on its highest level of difficulty, Heaven or Hell! mode. Even now after 65 hours of playing, I still want to plug in the disc in and see what other kinds of sick combos I can come up with. This is a game where your battle tactics and how you play the game are limited by your imagination. Dante's been on vacation for the last four years, but this game is a hell of a way to make up for lost time.

For you people that misunderstood the title. I am not saying Capcom F'ed up with this...I just wanted to yell because they should go back to making triple A titles like this again. The game follows Dante in his younger years and how he defeated his brother Vergil, stopped the end of the world and how he got the name for his office.

The gameplay is your standard hack n slash with a mix of swords and firearms and the game...holy crap it's difficult. This game is not for the person who wants to breeze through the game. Sure, there are pros out there who probably sees this and thinks "What do you mean difficult?". But for the general person, this game is not easy...yet there are multiple difficulties, even easy is very challenging. but the gameplay is otherwise good.

The graphics are pretty average for 2005 when this came out. They look really neat though.

The soundtrack is a nice mix of orchestrations and metal music. Favorite track for me probably goes to the one and only battle theme for the first part of the game simply called "Taste the Blood".

In general, this game is good, one of Capcoms best. But I do not recommend to people who only want to breeze through it or hates challenges. Otherwise, it is a great game.

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!

No matter how much I praise it, you have to experience it to know how good it is