Post by angelzeromatt on Aug 26, 2008 21:26:18 GMT -5
Welcome to the Real World - Episode IV
Name: Devil May Cry 3
Console: Playstation 2
Okay, I don't like doing number ratings for video game reviews, but since I'm stuck with doing it, I may as well just bite the bullet. After a long reprieve, this fourth review is coming onto the third installment of the Devil May Cry series, skipping the second which had an opening sequence that reminded me of Mission Impossible 2 and deterred me just as much. Anyways, on to 3.
Story: 6/10
So apparently Capcom learned from the past and decided to take an idea that involved a lot of story: they went into Dante's past and explained some things about how he got into the business and also about his brother, Vergil. However, the story, though holding plenty more enriching cutscenes and times when Dante gains new weapons and tests them out with great fervor, is still somewhat two-dimensional and lacking ground in that some things Dante says again have no real support to them. They just come out of nowhere. Add to that the idea that the dialogue was fairly predictable ninety percent of the time... You get the idea. An improvement over the first one, but not enough to make a big effect on the overall score.
Gameplay: 8/10
So, gameplay is fairly similar to the first, except there's a real Style gauge to tell you how close you are to getting or losing a Style rank in battle. Also, instead of just pounding guys, to build up the gauge, you have to keep using different styles of attacks and keep from getting too repetitive or stale. While this sounds like a pain, it's actually rather fun and calls for creative gameplay.
Devil May Cry 3 also introduces the Fighting Style area where you pick a style that gives you certain things you can do with the special button: Swordmaster, Gunslinger, Royal Guard, and Trickster to name the first ones. Having to use these instead of being able to do everything at once includes another element of strategy to the game that gives it a silver star...
Which is taken right off and thrown into its eye for the bloody difficulty of the game and the fact that getting hit even once makes you lose your Style gauge completely and gathering enough skulls to be able to use a style real well is a pain in the ass. So, gameplay suffers still, but it's also what received the most attention, again, in Devil May Cry 3. Sad, since the story could have been improved quite a bit with just a little more focus.
Music/Sound: 3/10
Okay, so the music hasn't changed one bit except you can barely hear it now with its ambiance-ness. Not only that, but the battle music is still punk rock or metal or whatever, but also with a loud scream guy singing. Honestly... It didn't work in the first one without a scream-singer, it won't help to add one in. Also, boss battle music felt lacking in several ways, especially when not keeping up the punk rock battle theme motif. It loses points for doing the same things again but messing up more.
Presentation: 5/10
So, what does this mean again? I keep forgetting what it is. Oh yeah, whether your first impression is that it'll suck or rock. Basically, I felt neither in the introduction of this game. Basically, it's just Dante getting impaled by seven scythes and then walking over to a box of pizza and eating some of it. Same thing as before with the whole "I can't die unless someone who sucks at life is at the control," They like to show off how suck you are and how rock Dante is. Not to mention the whole plot revolves around Dante wanted to beat his brother's katana-wielding ass into submission. Honestly, I just kept playing to see if the story ever got good, but it really didn't.
Overall: 7.5/10
Sorry, have to give a half-point deduction for redundancy. Honestly, even with the enhanced gameplay, the difficulty of even simple boss fights and improving styles and weapons was just such a crutch to the game. The added meat to the story also didn't help its pain-staking need for some depth to the characters and foundation for their actions. At least the voice acting was better in this one than the last one. Dante sounded a whole lot better and he indeed pulled off the Duke Nukem style of shouting things when pulling off sweet moves. Still, the game isn't bad but it isn't good either. It really is just mediocre at best and an annoyance at worst.
Replay value for this game settles on whether or not you have the Special Edition, where you can play as Vergil, because the higher difficulties are only there for supremely hardcore Japanese gamers. It's like taking Legendary from the first and second Halo games, rolling them all into DMC3's Normal and then making it harder and harder with three harder settings. Someone needs to stop making games so difficult.
I would suggest this game only to those who really want to know about Dante's past and get to use a guitar that shoots out electric bats every time you play a chord.
Name: Devil May Cry 3
Console: Playstation 2
Okay, I don't like doing number ratings for video game reviews, but since I'm stuck with doing it, I may as well just bite the bullet. After a long reprieve, this fourth review is coming onto the third installment of the Devil May Cry series, skipping the second which had an opening sequence that reminded me of Mission Impossible 2 and deterred me just as much. Anyways, on to 3.
Story: 6/10
So apparently Capcom learned from the past and decided to take an idea that involved a lot of story: they went into Dante's past and explained some things about how he got into the business and also about his brother, Vergil. However, the story, though holding plenty more enriching cutscenes and times when Dante gains new weapons and tests them out with great fervor, is still somewhat two-dimensional and lacking ground in that some things Dante says again have no real support to them. They just come out of nowhere. Add to that the idea that the dialogue was fairly predictable ninety percent of the time... You get the idea. An improvement over the first one, but not enough to make a big effect on the overall score.
Gameplay: 8/10
So, gameplay is fairly similar to the first, except there's a real Style gauge to tell you how close you are to getting or losing a Style rank in battle. Also, instead of just pounding guys, to build up the gauge, you have to keep using different styles of attacks and keep from getting too repetitive or stale. While this sounds like a pain, it's actually rather fun and calls for creative gameplay.
Devil May Cry 3 also introduces the Fighting Style area where you pick a style that gives you certain things you can do with the special button: Swordmaster, Gunslinger, Royal Guard, and Trickster to name the first ones. Having to use these instead of being able to do everything at once includes another element of strategy to the game that gives it a silver star...
Which is taken right off and thrown into its eye for the bloody difficulty of the game and the fact that getting hit even once makes you lose your Style gauge completely and gathering enough skulls to be able to use a style real well is a pain in the ass. So, gameplay suffers still, but it's also what received the most attention, again, in Devil May Cry 3. Sad, since the story could have been improved quite a bit with just a little more focus.
Music/Sound: 3/10
Okay, so the music hasn't changed one bit except you can barely hear it now with its ambiance-ness. Not only that, but the battle music is still punk rock or metal or whatever, but also with a loud scream guy singing. Honestly... It didn't work in the first one without a scream-singer, it won't help to add one in. Also, boss battle music felt lacking in several ways, especially when not keeping up the punk rock battle theme motif. It loses points for doing the same things again but messing up more.
Presentation: 5/10
So, what does this mean again? I keep forgetting what it is. Oh yeah, whether your first impression is that it'll suck or rock. Basically, I felt neither in the introduction of this game. Basically, it's just Dante getting impaled by seven scythes and then walking over to a box of pizza and eating some of it. Same thing as before with the whole "I can't die unless someone who sucks at life is at the control," They like to show off how suck you are and how rock Dante is. Not to mention the whole plot revolves around Dante wanted to beat his brother's katana-wielding ass into submission. Honestly, I just kept playing to see if the story ever got good, but it really didn't.
Overall: 7.5/10
Sorry, have to give a half-point deduction for redundancy. Honestly, even with the enhanced gameplay, the difficulty of even simple boss fights and improving styles and weapons was just such a crutch to the game. The added meat to the story also didn't help its pain-staking need for some depth to the characters and foundation for their actions. At least the voice acting was better in this one than the last one. Dante sounded a whole lot better and he indeed pulled off the Duke Nukem style of shouting things when pulling off sweet moves. Still, the game isn't bad but it isn't good either. It really is just mediocre at best and an annoyance at worst.
Replay value for this game settles on whether or not you have the Special Edition, where you can play as Vergil, because the higher difficulties are only there for supremely hardcore Japanese gamers. It's like taking Legendary from the first and second Halo games, rolling them all into DMC3's Normal and then making it harder and harder with three harder settings. Someone needs to stop making games so difficult.
I would suggest this game only to those who really want to know about Dante's past and get to use a guitar that shoots out electric bats every time you play a chord.
