Reception
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 84.1% (Dante's Awakening) 88% (Special Edition) |
| GameStats | 8.6/10 (Dante's Awakening) 9.0/10 (Special Edition) |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| 1UP.com | 9/10 |
| Eurogamer | 8/10 |
| Game Informer | 9/10 |
| GamePro | |
| GameSpot | 8.6/10 |
| GameSpy | |
| GameTrailers | 9/10 |
| GameZone | 9/10 |
| IGN | 9.6/10 |
| Play Magazine | 92% |
| PSM | 9.5/10 |
| GameDaily | 9/10 |
| Gaming Target | 9.1/ 10 |
| JIVE Magazine | |
| Kikizo | 9.1/10 |
Devil May Cry 3 was highly successful commercially, becoming the eighth best-selling game in Japan during the first week after its release. The game sold over 1,300,000 units worldwide, thereby earning Capcom's "Platinum Title" status. Devil May Cry 3 scored 84/100 at Metacritic and 84.2% at GameRankings. It was also included in Game Informer's "Top 50 Games of 2005" list and later received a "Game of the Month" award when the Special Edition was released. In 2010, IGN listed it at #18 in their "Top 100 PlayStation 2 Games".
Reviews typically praised the game for avoiding the mistakes of the previous title, as well as for the storyline, options for customization, "over-the-top" gameplay and new combat engine. The style-based combat engine was thought to produce fighting sequences that made those in other games, such as Ninja Gaiden and Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, appear unimpressive. Other aspects, such as the camera and controls, were also reviewed positively.
However, the first North American and European release was criticized for its difficulty even in reviews that gave it a high score. Reviewers took issue with Capcom's decision to turn the Japanese version's "Hard" mode into the North American and European "Normal" mode.
The Special Edition release (see following section) was ranked 9th in GameSpy's "Game of the Year" selection for the PlayStation 2 in 2006, and was praised for re-balancing the difficulty. Other aspects of the game, such as the inclusion of a survival mode called "Bloody Palace" and the addition of Vergil as a playable character, received positive reviews.
The PC version was widely criticized for being inferior to the PlayStation 2 version. Issues included the game engine, which was considered rough and under worked, the controls, and the inability to save the game anywhere on a given level and restart from that point in subsequent "loadings", a convenience afforded by most PC games. Jeremy Dunham of IGN gave the PC version a score of 5.8 out of 10 (compared to the PS2 version's 9.6), citing its "awful performance" and "craptacular controls" as major problems.
Read more about this topic: Devil May Cry 3: Dante's Awakening
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