Devil May Cry 3

The third instalment of Capcom's stylish demon blasting and slashing action/platformer franchise, it had the task of returning the series to the original's heights after the dismal second game. Did it succeed? Oh my, yes... in fact it far surpassed the original in every way.
Devil May Cry 3 is a prequel to its predecessors, and follows the struggle between Dante and his brother Vergil, both sons of the legendary demon Sparda. Vergil seeks his father's power, and it falls upon Dante to stop him lest the world be turned into a demonic wasteland as a consequence. Cue an adventure filled with slick gunplay, smooth swordplay, comic and cheesy moments, and a very stylish gothic look.
The gameplay consists of platforming, solving puzzles, and principally fending off hordes of demons. The focus when fighting is to show off as much as possible: mix up attacks, hit fast, and you can boost your meter from 'Dope' up to 'Stylish', therefore earning more points to upgrade your equipment and purchase recovery items. However, fighting stylishly and surviving is much easier said than done: DMC3 is by no means an easy game, far from it. It is likely to punish first-time players quite severely, and many boss battles are nothing short of 'hardcore'.
And there are 5 difficulty levels to top it off. Although a challenge is certainly a good thing, it is a tad imposing; however, the special edition version is more forgiving, and comes with the added option of playing as Dante's brother Vergil, who is fantastic to use although not quite as much fun as Dante.
The game was very successful, critically and commercially. And it deserves it too. It earns a 9/10 from me (10 for the special edition), and 9/10 for its target audience of 15+.