This is flat-out one of the best action games ever made - bar-none.
GAMEPLAY === 10/10
The highlight of the entire Devil May Cry series has been their amazing gameplay. It's almost amazing what Capcom is able to accomplish with Devil May Cry 3. Combat is always fluent, fast-paced and extremely fun. Everything you while in-mission is seamless and extremely well-done. At the very beginning, you will be able to get away with hacking away at enemies with your sword, but the first boss will quickly change this way of strategy. He, like many other bosses in the game, will take you down within seconds if you fail to adjust to situations and use strategy.
It's no secret that this is one of the most-difficult games ever made. Prior to this game, I had died once, maybe twice, in the entire DMC series. In comparison, several tries just to take down the second boss in DMC3. The learning curve at the beginning is extremely steep, and the fact that you lack weapons, skills, and Devil Trigger (Dante's strengthened "demon-form") certainly does not help to ease the pain of battle.
Basically, the combat throughout Devil May Cry 3 is the high-point of the game and the series in general, but unlike the previous games in the series, it will not allow you to fault and then maintain victory - you MUST strategize, and often retry many battles in order to take down bosses. What makes it more difficult, the "resurrection" system in the game is NOT forgiving, at all.
There are also many "puzzles" and trials that you will have to solve throughout the game, and it may not always be clear exactly what you are supposed to be doing next; this forces you to do a little self-exploration and discover.
All of this difficulty is the high-point of the gameplay. Throughout the game, you will unlock new abilities and weapons to master, which grants you greater diversity in the latter stages of the game. So, in a sense, the game gets easier as you progress, but that doesn't mean the bosses are going to bow down to your newfound power. All in all, this is one of the best games you will ever play gameplay wise, and rightly so.
STORY === 9/10
The storyline is far more developed than the stories in the previous games throughout the series. You once again play as Dante, the descendant of legendary warrior Sparda, who sealed off the demon-world and quite well known for his accomplishments. Throughout Devil May Cry 3, the story focuses in on Vergil, Dante's brother, and a new tower that has been brought forth, Temen-ni-gru.
You will see more progression of the story throughout this game, and a lot more work has been put into development, mostly through excellent cutscenes. Almost every mission has a nice plot development before and after it. This is a welcome addition to the great games that are already known for their superior gameplay value.
Overall, the plot will introduce you to tragic family stories, death, some interesting twists, and a great tale of two brothers; it surpasses previous stories by so much, that it deserves recognition.
GRAPHICS === 10/10
The graphics in this game are outstanding. Though they not be particularly landmark, they are pleasing to the eye throughout the entire game. Combat is unbelievably fluent for a game of its time, considering the complexity of moves and the speed at which they are executed.
In addition, cutscenes are much, MUCH better than previous installments. There are many, and each and every one is very well-done and will bring tons of beautiful action sequences to your attention.
The graphics in this game are not something easily ignored, as they add the surreal feel of the entire game, and overall make an incredible presentation.
SOUND === 9.5/10
The sound in this game is excellent. It seems Capcom knew exactly when and how to play songs throughout because the song always seemed to fit my mood. The background music that played was interesting and immersive. Everything was well-done. This includes the sounds of weapons in the game.
The typical metal-ish music is still in there, a great accompaniment when taking on several devilish foes; all the sounds in this game just work together with its other components in order to present a truly awesome game, and makes you feel good as you play it.
VALUE === 9.5/10
This game is just so fun to play that you will probably want to play it more than once just to kill some more enemies. In addition, it has several difficulty modes that may present new challenges in additional playthroughs. Honestly, the normal difficulty is more than hard enough for your first time through. Even the Easy difficulty can be quite difficult from what I hear. All I can recommend is that you stick with the game past the early stages, and you will unlock huge amounts of replay value, formed from various difficulty levels and secret rooms throughout the game.
TILT === 10/10
I loved, loved, loved this game. I'm a somewhat recent big-time fan of the Devil May Cry series, and I can easily tell you that this is by the far the best in the series. Everything about this game is fun, and its presentation is near flawless.
GAMEPLAY ===10/10
STORY === 9/10
GRAPHICS === 10/10
SOUND === 9.5/10
VALUE === 9.5/10
TILT === 10/10
BOTTOM LINE === 9.7/10
This entire review in a nutshell - GET THIS GAME.