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This is a solid effort from Visceral Games. The game plays very similar to God of War I/II but the leveling system seems richer with more possible combos and the morality element (absolution or damnation) adds a unique twist to finishing moves and your overall leveling progression. The real standout for Dante is the artwork. The environments are beautifully rendered (if you can say that about hell) and wonderfully creative. I haven't finished the game yet but I can't wait to see the additional circles. Overall I think reviewers were a bit too critical with this one. Some were sensitive to the use of the underlying fiction and others feel it too closely resembles GOW. My personal opinion having read the Inferno is that it's a lot of fun to see the environments and characters in visual form (obviously the story has little / no overlap) and that what makes GOW great makes Dante's Inferno a blast to play too. Imitation is not a bad thing here.
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When I first heard about a Dante's Inferno video game a year ago, I instantly got excited with goosebumps. While I never finished reading the actual book, I was aware enough of it to know what the game was being based on and knew it had the makings of a great video game. As soon as they would allow me, I pre-ordered the game.A few days before the game's release, reviews started showing up online and with great interest I read them.. every single review, ALL OF THEM made out Dante's Inferno as a failed attempt to clone a gaming series called God Of War and rated the game somewhat poorly for doing so. I was bothered by this. I'm old enough to know that a review is only one person's opinion and that just because "Sam" didn't like a game doesn't mean "Tom" won't. So, I was going to get the game anyway. As for God Of War, I'd heard of it before, but I'm probably one of the few people that has NEVER EVER played that game, as I do not own a PS3.
So, the big day came and I got my copy of Dante's Inferno, along with BioShock 2 at a GameStop midnight launch. I chose to play Dante's Inferno first.. and wow! What a thrill ride it has been thus far for me. I ended up devoting that first day to the game as the game's story and fast paced adventure absolutely took over me. And while playing it, I didn't think about all the 6.5 and 7.0 scores reviewers were giving the game.. when my mind would stray, I would think about how all those reviewers said God Of War was better. Really? Because if God Of War is better than Dante's Inferno, then, my God, God Of War must be absolutely EPIC. For the first time in years, I actually want a PS3 now just to see, because I'm enjoying Dante's Inferno THAT MUCH. The game is a blast to play.. but no, not perfect. My only real complaints is that there are a few cheap death spots.. most notably on the level for GREED and I'm not a big fan of quick-time events. But beyond those areas, the game rocks hard.
As for BioShock 2.. the game I got along with Dante's Inferno. I've devoted a day to it, as well. Completely different kinda game. More slower paced, but great, as well. For now, though, I'm actually enjoying Dante's Inferno more.
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No SPOILERS. This is not a "bad" game (my review is really 3.5 stars, but that's not possible here). Five years ago, this game could have been all the rage. But it's horribly derivative now. But if this was just a God-of-War knockoff, that would be okay nothing wrong with going with what's good. Problem is, it's not. It's nowhere near as good, even after being later in time. Unless you're a DIE HARD for this genre (GOW, Devil May Cry, Rygar anyone?), you will find this game kind of boring if you've played some of the other titles recently. I would rent or borrow this first. Because I'm an addict I payed $56 to get it on release day I wish I would have waited. There is nothing horrendous about this game, just nothing great hence 3 stars.STORY
The "story" is there Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy (with some twists), but it doesn't seem to be intertwined with the action. It's kinda like story...action...story...action rather than one blended product. I rarely felt like it "mattered" (unlike say ME2).
GAMEPLAY
As for the gameplay, this really truly is a hack and slash again, not necessarily a bad thing but just hacking and slashing wave after wave of demon gets boring rapidly. Yes, you can use combos and some combos are cool, but you hardly ever need to. I'm mixed on the "puzzles" and on puzzles in general in games. In this game, they're out of place, and rather easy. Again, not necessarily bad (See where this is going? Not bad, just not great...).
VISUALS/GRAPHICS
The visuals are quite stunning though and kudos for the 60 FPS gameplay soon the be the industry minimum if you ask me. But the camera is annoying as all, well, hell. It's so awkward that it's a "fixed" camera unlike the MANY next-gen games that we're all used to where we have much more control over the camera. This takes away from the visual presentation IMO. I absolutely hate it.
VALUE
You can get through this game in about 12 hours. And I don't think there is any real reason to play it again. At $56, that's just not enough value for a game that's really nothing special. I'd wait till it's bargain bin or rent it or borrow it. At about $29, this game would be well worth it. In fact, I'll probably sell my copy now that I've finished it...
Honest reviews on Dante's Inferno - Xbox 360
A long time ago I picked up a role-playing game at Gen Con titled "Abyss" which was a reimagining of "Dante's Inferno" on steroids. It was gloriously violent, decadent, and imaginative. When the Open Game License was released for Dungeons & Dragons came out, I was convinced this was the chance for "Abyss" to triumphantly return and, after tracking down the license holder and a publisher, wrote an entire book for the game. But then the 4th Edition of D&D was released and the publisher's interest waned. "Dante's Inferno," the video game by Visceral Games, is what I imagine that tabletop game would have looked like.When I completed my manuscript I sent it to my cousin, a renowned scholar) on "Dante's Inferno." He demurred criticism, explaining that he had never played a video game before (it was a tabletop game remember) but that he appreciated the effort. I imagine that's the response most people familiar with Dante Alighieri's "The Divine Comedy" will feel about this game: it's not very accurate, but if the kids are interested in literature that's a good thing, right?
In the video game, Dante Alighieri (Graham McTavish) is transformed from an Italian poet to a Templar Knight on the Third Crusade. A deeply flawed warrior, he manages to break his vow to Beatrice (Vanessa Branch) before slaughtering Muslim prisoners of war at the city of Acre. Sin and death surrounds Dante, from his doomed fellow crusader and brother-in-law Francesco (Tom Tate) to his brutal father Alighiero (JB Blanc) to his forlorn mother Bella (Pollyana McIntosh). Dante's disillusionment is central to the belief that as a Templar his soul is untouched by the murders he commits it is a credit to "Dante's Inferno" that it takes on such weighty matters as the Papal Bull of the Crusade. But Dante is one tough mother, so when he is stabbed in the back and death comes for him, Dante wrestles the Geiger-like scythe from him and proceeds on a quest to return to Beatrice...only to discover that Satan has absconded with her soul into hell. Thus begins Dante's descent, accompanied only by the poet Virgil (Bart McCarthy).
And that's the part we've all been waiting for: fighting in literature's most infamous hellscape. The nine circles of hell are lovingly (hatefully?) inspired by Hieronymous Bosch and other medieval artists: ferrying with Charon, battling Minos, resisting Cleopatra, slaying the many-mouthed Cerberus, facing his father's greed, and overcoming the gigantic fire demon Phlegyas.
It's impossible not to learn about the original text by playing "Dante's Inferno" a quote flies at you every time you die. There are a variety of damned souls throughout that can be saved or condemned through mini-games which in turn gives you new powers, all of them drawn from the poem. You can't help but admire a game that's willing to teach you a piece of classic literature even as you beat it up.
There are a lot of flourishes in "Dante's Inferno" that have nothing to do with the poem and everything to do with its predecessors, "Devil May Cry" and "God of War," from the big honking scythe to the fact that Dante can fight for up to ten seconds in mid-air, from the completely unnecessary tassels that dangle from his arms to the power-ups that reward you for button mashing. This is a game where strategy is not so much rewarded as beaten out of you. And yet "Dante's Inferno" is also a jumping, puzzling game, brutally uncompromising in sending Dante to his doom. The medium difficulty is just about right for fighting but makes many of the other challenges too hard; the easy setting makes the various puzzles surmountable but the fighting too easy.
By the sixth circle the creative team behind "Dante's Inferno" seems to have run out of steam. Whereas in the previous circles we were gifted with whirling two-headed demons that spilled gold, corrupt infants with blades for hands, moaning temptresses with tentacles unfurling from their abdomens, and shuddering behemoths of disgusting filth, the sixth circle just starts repeating itself. We get horned demons, then horned demons with axe and shield, and then horned demons with wings and two swords that can turn into flames. The eighth circle with its ten "bolgie" is the worst, as a narrator explains the sinners and sins rather than actually showing them after spending hours with wailing corpses flailing, boiling, and skewered, it's obvious the design team ran out of ideas and budget. Things don't pick up again until the last circle, when you face down Satan himself. Compared to earlier battles, the final fight was a cakewalk.
The end of "Dante's Inferno" isn't the end of course in the game or in the poem but it will be interesting to see if Visceral Games can make Purgatory just as compelling.
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A lot of people say this game is like having God Of War for the 360. Well... the game has a similar gameplay but definitely the storyline is way different. I read the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri and let me tell you, the game is way more enjoyable if you read the book first. So from the book's perspective, this game is a very good approach. Of course the game does not cover all topics from the book but still the main thing is there.I personally like all these hellish and demonic themes. Dante's Inferno portrays in a good way all this inferno world. There are scary parts like when you arrive to the Limbo and you meet these babies with hooks instead of arms... and when you hit them, you listen them crying as newborn babies... damn... this is scaring. You see also people trapped in the walls, all of them mourning and crying. So in a way this game depicts the experience of being in hell, for sure a terrible place. There are putrid corpses all around, blood and fluids, impaled people, and a lot of satanic environments. I just love it :)
There are interesting things in the gameplay such as collecting souls and exchanging them for new abilities, once in a while and after certain combats you get some sorts of magic and from time to time you find people that must be absolved or punished. Depending on your decisions through the game, your virtue or evil will grow, allowing you to reach new abilities for each mood.
Yesterday I was playing and I came to a point when Beatrice, Dante's wife, was being kissed by Lucifer in an spectacular cinematic. God ... this game is dark... very dark.
If you play it fast, maybe you'll see the game falls short but I like to take my time to see every detail on screen... so for me the game's length is fine. The bosses are hard to beat, so you'll have your hands busy with this game. The colors, sounds and graphics in general are amazing.
The game is definitely worth its price. I recommend it if you like dark themes and of course if you are a dedicated gamer. Don't think about the God of War thing, you'll enjoy this game as much as you have enjoyed your GOW.
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