Scot finds it in himself to forgive Capcom for Devil May Cry 2...

WARNING: This game will consume your soul if you let it. There's challenging and then there's challenging. Devil May Cry 3 is liable to make you pee your pants with frustration. However, persevere with it long enough to learn the ropes and gain some valuable experience and your reward will be one of the finest action-adventure games you can buy for your PlayStation 2.

Your initial reaction to Devil May Cry 3 will be delight. The opening cut-scene is about as over-the-top as one can imagine a cut-scene to be, but it at least confirms one thing: the old Dante is back. You'll watch as he jumps around the room dispatching demons to the beat of a techno-metal soundtrack, using their dead bodies as makeshift surfboards before knocking them for six with bullet-propelled snooker balls. It may be one of the most absurd cut-scenes I've ever seen, but it's hard not to raise a smile to its wild and rowdy charisma. Capcom certainly found that attitude again.

It's unfortunate then that the almost-vertical learning curve is going to put a few of you off. As great as Devil May Cry 3 is, it seems to derive enormous amounts of pleasure from kicking the living crap out of you. When you first start out in the game, you will die. You will die a lot. It's incredibly likely that, for the first two or three hours at least, you'll find it near-on impossible to get past the third mission. You'll be offered to restart the game in "Easy" mode. Take it. There's no shame in that. It's still going to kick your ass.

This doesn't make much sense. You were so good at the previous ones.

There lies the problem. For most, the underlying difficulty with the game will be because of your approach. Devil May Cry 3 is more of a technical action game than the last two. It requires more thought, more technique, a little more pizzazz. Simply hammering enemies with the attack button just won't cut it anymore. You now need to shake up your attacks, varying combos to raise your attack meter while backing off when the time is right to reassess the situation. After practice, you'll learn to anticipate attacks, rolling or dashing away from danger and sneaking in a few sly combos from the side when the enemy is least expecting it. But even with a new "cautious" perspective, the action remains as relentless as ever.

Cut to shreds

The third mission end-of-level boss is a perfect example of this new approach. It will cut you to shreds on your first encounter, but only because you're not giving yourself the time you need to prepare yourself for the battle. It's not all about the offence; sometimes, you just need to back off and watch as the enemy unwittingly reveals its sequence of attack, enabling you to exploit its weaknesses and dexterously evade its strikes. With patience, persistence and a mastery of your own moves, the bosses eventually become engaging, exciting routines, superbly designed to test your understanding and expertise of the game.

The difficulty level is an important point to address, but much, much more has gone into Devil May Cry 3 to make it one of the exceptional action games of the PS2. As a prequel to the previous two games in the series, we get to watch as Dante unleashes his massive potential as a demon hunter - hence the sub-title to the game, Dante's Awakening. The back-story is surprisingly impressive, presented brilliantly by the in-game cinematic cut-scenes, and those who acquainted themselves well with Dante in the previous two games will enjoy watching as his shrouded past is finally, marvellously unravelled. As mentioned above, the cut-scenes are all ludicrously over-the-top, but it really adds to the nature of the game, especially once you see Dante back to his old wise-cracking, pompous ways.

As far as the game goes, it's still Devil May Cry at heart, but with a few notable improvements to try and broaden its appeal. There are now different styles of fighting you can choose to suit your way of playing. "Trickster" is the default, and focuses on dodging and skilful manoeuvres, while "Gunslinger" and "Swordsman" both speak for themselves. The last one, "Vanguard", is a difficult defensive style that is incredibly useful once mastered, but, as with most things in this game, is incredibly difficult to do. Each style can be levelled-up through constant use, so it's useful to pick one you like and stick with it to maximise its potential. Due to the game's shortish length (although made longer thanks to the challenge) you won't have a chance to upgrade every style - you'll have to go back through if you wish to do that.

Weapons can now also be changed on the fly, which is useful for a number of reasons. Firstly, you'll be getting a lot of them, and secondly, switching between them in the midst of a melee does wonders for your attack meter. Each of these weapons can be upgraded to accommodate more skills or just grow in power, which means you'll want to chop and change them frequently to uncover their full potential, as well as test and compare their effectiveness against the vast number of different demon species you'll find littered through the mysterious tower you're investigating.

Devil May Cry 3 breathes new life into the series. There's no getting around the challenge, even if the "Easy" mode does go someway to calming a few headaches, but those willing to bite the bullet and put the time in will walk away with something very special indeed. It's everything that Devil May Cry 2 could, or indeed should have been, and puts the series back up there in its rightful place with some of the finest action games available. It's a game that does something people feared would never, ever happen: revive that once-great name, and make it so easy to forgive and forget.

GAME's Verdict

• A welcome return to form.
• Top-notch presentation.
• A rewarding, extraordinary challenge.

• A very steep learning curve.
• Camera issues still rear their ugly head.
• It's still a tad on the short side.

Review by: Scot Bennet Version Tested: PS2
Review Published: 31.03.05