This game has some incredible action, but falls short in some areas.
In terms of challenge, this game is almost as tough as the critics claim it is. The game's normal enemies -- a rag-tag bunch of menacing demons eager to cut you up with scythes, shower you with volleys of magical arrows, and generally make a mess of Dante and his handsome red leather coat -- are actually a fairly shallow bunch. The common enemy demons usually have one or two attacks, as well as some evasive and defensive maneuvers. You can also see and hear their attacks coming from a mile away. However, if you aren't alert or attentive to sound cues, you will get blindsided and you will take damage. The real challenge in this game, though, comes from the bosses. Some of them are big, and some of them are small, but they've all got many attack patterns, and receive far less damage than they deal (that is to say, a lot). Couple this with the fact that you restart the current mission you're playing (of which there are 20) when you die, you'll be covering a lot of ground repeatedly. Various other factors contribute to the difficulty, making this game an endeavor suited only for those who are patient, observant, and determined.
I can enjoy a challenging game if the underlying gameplay itself makes it a pleasure to play. In this game's case -- rest assured -- it does. Throughout the game, Dante obtains an assortment of highly varied weapons and guns. He can carry two guns and two melee weapons at a time, and these weapons can be switched instantaneously during gameplay. With their fairly robust move lists, these melee weapons and accompanying guns can be combined to form breathtakingly freeform combos. Infinite permutations of combos are at your disposal, and are limited only by your imagination and the amount of destruction your enemies can handle. Whip an enemy up into the air with your sword, leap up and dice him with it, pummel him with your three-pronged nunchaku, give him a taste of lead from your handguns, and gore him through the middle with your sword -- all before he hits the ground. You can do this and much, much more. All of Dante's weapons have different various uses, so you'll never want to limit yourself exclusively to a certain pair of them. Another huge facet of the combat system is the "Style" system. The game provides 4 primary fighting styles for Dante to use (although 2 more are unlockable), which heavily influence the way you play. They're all extremely cool and useful, as well as being well-balanced. It bears noting that one style, Royal Guard, is actually a bit overpowered in some circumstances -- if you master the timings of your enemies' attacks, you can guard them perfectly and release massive damage on them. This is tough to do, but if you can become a master at it, it's just a little bit too powerful. Finally, the combat system leans heavily on something called the "style meter." This is a meter displayed during combat that indicates how stylishly you're playing. Gaining style can be done in a variety of different ways, depending on your play style, but it mostly requires you to constantly run your enemies ragged with varied attack patterns and flowing combos. The system really does force you to play competently, and leaves plenty of room for mastery (especially on higher difficulty modes). Overall, it's just brilliant. Combat is fast-paced, dynamic, fluid, and adrenaline-pumping, and leaves ridiculous amounts of space for master. Elite play is truly impressive, and once you get good at the game yourself, it becomes much more enjoyable.
Despite how much I love the gameplay, which is mostly comprised of the aforementioned combat, Devil May Cry 3 does have its flaws. For one, the enemy design is fairly uninspired. Average demons look like skeletal, gargoyle-type creatures clothed in ragged garbs, and have sound sets comprised mostly of angry howls and grunts. These kinds of enemies are in the majority, and they're mostly just dumb fodder for your awesome combos. This is all well and good, but they could be at least a little more varied and intelligent. There are some interesting and well-designed enemies, but overall, this area of the game does not seem to shine greatly. The game's bosses are a really varied bunch, though, and many of them are interesting and exciting to fight. Another fault with the game is its completely abysmal soundtrack -- the battle music for standard enemies is...a mish mash of weird electronic sounds and growling vocals with incredibly inane lyrics. This becomes extremely old when you hear it for the millionth time during battle, and it can't be turned off. The game sometimes goes through a seemingly hypocritical change of musical style at some points, though -- switching off from the "Dante is a badass half-demon rockstar"-propagating battle track, the final boss' theme is a dramatic orchestral track. There's also some interspersed choral music and other pseudo-metal/electronic tracks during the bosses. The last thing I have a bone to pick with is the game's story. Dante mostly feels like a very undeveloped character who constantly (and I mean constantly) spews sharp but pointless one-liners. Supporting villain Arkham succeeds at being creepy, Dante's brother Vergil has personality, and mysterious protagonist Lady are a colorful but somewhat lacking cast, and overall, I didn't care about any of them by the time the game was over. Many people seem to feel otherwise, but honestly, the story was far from inspiring to me, and at some times it seemed to make little sense.
Enough of the negative stuff, though. This game just has outstanding value. I've beaten all the difficulty levels -- 5, count 'em all -- and I'm still trying to get better rankings on the game's missions (there are 20). There's just so much to do. I estimate that I have over 200 hours clocked in on this game, although I can't make any assertions, due to the fact that the game's clock stopped counting my hours after I reached 99. If this sounds excessive, it's because it is. This is a game that I just keep coming back to. It's a bit of an acquired taste; don't expect to get into it if you can't stand getting punished by its difficulty, don't expect to get too much out of the story unless you're already a Devil May Cry fan, and don't expect many adventure elements a la God of War. Straight up, this game has one of the best, deepest, and most frenetic combat systems around, paralleled only by Ninja Gaiden's. If you're a fan of action games, especially ones that will challenge you and provide plenty of room for mastery, look no further than this.
I'll clarify my ratings here:
Gameplay: Despite that this game's adventure elements are nothing special, they are not the point of this game. The combat, however, is, and it's immensely tuned, enjoyable, and deep.
Graphics: A lot of the game's enemies are a fairly mundane bunch. Also, the level design feels very congested at times. That said, this is a graphically impressive game.
Sound: A low point. The awful soundtrack is the real culprit here. Voice acting is fine, if not great, although Dante's dialogue is mostly stupid one-liners.
Value: Incredible. Although most of it revolves around challenge, there's just so much to do here. There's far too much time to be spent on this game.
Reviewer's Tilt: I've just had so much fun with this game. I've played this game a lot, and I'm still compelled to revisit it.