Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening Review

In ‘Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening’, we take control of a young, reckless, and action-hungry Dante. This is a prequel to the previous two titles, and unfortunately, it could have been the best entry if not for one fatal flaw.
The action in this game is extraordinary. The first change to the combat system is that you can choose between four styles: Trickster, Swordsman, Gunslinger, or Royal Guard. Each style has it’s own special moves and it’s own benefits and downfalls. Each style can also be levelled up, and if you stick with a certain style throughout the game, you will find yourself kicking a lot of butt (stylishly, of course). There are a few new weapons, including some very cool ice nunchucks and some new guns. Due to the addition of style and new weapons, there is also an increased variety of moves. With the sword for instance, a certain button-command will have Dante dash forward and stab his sword into the enemy several times. The same thing with the nunchucks is a cool martial arts spinning move. Some other cool additions is the ability to jump onto a downed demon and surf across the room with your guns blazing. All of these additions to the DMC combat system make the combat intense, cool, and fresh.
The story, albeit simple, does the trick. In brief, Dante has just set up his freelance demon-hunting business, only to be attacked by a barage of demons. After defeating them, he witnesses a tower burst through the center of the city. It seems that Virgil, Dante’s twin brother, is behind this, and Dante must get to the end of it. As I said, the story works. It is not cluttered and overly complex, and it does it’s job (explaining Dante’s origins) effectively.
The game’s ‘fatal flaw’ is unfortunately it’s difficulty. The lack of continues or checkpoints makes the game very difficult, and I never once was able to simply make my way through a level. In fact, I often ended up repeating entire levels anywhere from 3 to 12 times. I do appreciate a challenge, but the challenge in DMC3 was overkill. After repeating the same battle ten times, the originally exciting combat system becomes boring and painful (my fingers were killing me!). It is a shame that such a potentially brilliant game is brought down by a matter as simple as difficulty. There is indeed an Easy setting, but it is still by no means ‘easy’.

Since the difficulty trails throughout the entire game, it is hard to forgive it. The highlight of the game is shadowed by the tedium resulting from repetition, and unfortunately, I cannot give this game the excellent rating that it should have deserved.
On a scale of 1-10, Devil May Cry 3: Dante’s Awakening gets a 7. Rental is suggested, though if you really want to beat it you may need to keep it for an extra week.