You know what’s not adapted into games enough? 14th Century Florentine poetry. I mean we get movies adapted fairly often, and even games based on books aren’t completely unheard of. But poetry? We hardly ever see that. 14th Century Florentine poetry is even less well represented, with one notable exception – Dante’s Inferno.
To be fair, the game may not be the most accurate representation of its source material. In fact, actual professors weighed in to rage against the way the game had altered key elements, centring their complaints around the game’s representation of Beatrice as a damsel in distress.
Despite the divergence from the source material, Alex was fairly fond of the title, rating it at 8/10 in our review. Starting things off with the obvious comparison, he commented that “Dante’s Inferno has successfully taken a swipe at Kratos and Bayonetta with a deft swing of Death’s scythe.” Both the God of War series and Bayonetta set a very high water mark for the hack and slash genre, so even attempting to hit their standard is impressive.
However, that’s not to say the game is without its problems. Alex complained that “the combat is repetitive ad nauseum, the morality choices hardly game affecting and, despite being a linear experience there’s some odd signposting on occasion and exploration is limited,” all of which are a serious drag on a game. In particular, repetitive combat in a hack and slash game can really ruin your enjoyment.
Fortunately, there was plenty of other things that raised the game up. Alex plucked out “the sense of scale in the delightfully detailed visuals as you make your way through the various stages,” as a highlight, as well as the way the game’s progression mechanics draw “you in with the promise of better power-ups and more impressive abilities”.
Returning to the earlier comparison to other titles in the genre, here’s what Alex had to say when wrapping up his thoughts:
So, whilst God Of War might have a little more muscle, and Bayonetta much more style, Dante’s unholy mission and constant, unweilding toil give the game just enough distinctive qualities to warrant a purchase for fans of the genre. There’s nothing terribly clever about the game, but it’s a wickedly tasteless ride through the mind of a developer keen to escape the confines of the slow, claustrophobia of Dead Space. Not essential, but bloody good fun.
Sounds pretty positive overall, and it’s always nice to have games that are simply “bloody good fun.” However, it’s not my opinion that counts here, it’s yours. If you’ve played Visceral’s 2010 entry into the hack and slash genre then now is your time to shine.
If you feel like sharing your opinions on the game with the wider world, all you need to do is drop a comment below. Once you’ve done that, we do ask that you include a rating from the Buy It, Bargain Bin It, Rent It, Avoid It scale, simply picking which of the four categories best sums up your attitude towards the Hell based adventure. We’ll round up everyone’s thoughts in Monday’s Verdict article, meaning you’ve got until Sunday evening to get your thoughts down.
Tuffcub
10/10 just the final cut scene. But it.
Taylor Made
An unholy rip off, cheap knock off of the great God of war!
Besides that it’s a fun game though, one thing that was better than God of war was hell.
Bin it
Tuffcub
Its much better than God Of War.
Forrest_01
Yeah, it is. I actually cared about Dante’s journey – I actually stopped caring about Kratos about half way through the first game.
skibadee
love this & GOW both great games.
skibadee
& buy it dirt cheap on PSN
parryman
Button bashing mayhem and some good battles.
Rent It.
I had it as a rental many moons ago, pre-warned of its God of War clone nature I was weary, but I found it less clone and more homage.
if you like hitting the same buttons in the same order it’s great. Doesn’t need much forethought, just hit the pad and violence follows.
cc_star
Sooooo wish EA saw fit to sign off on a sequel.
Loved large parts of this game, undeniably it petered out before the end. Most probably as a result of Xbox 360’s 6.3GB limitation, but before they tried to reduce the size of the title by resorting to challenge rooms it was a fantastic adventure.
The ranged attack was a bit too handy making spamming the button an easy thing to do, which made the combat more repetitive than it otherwise might have been. But the combat had a great feel to it, helped by the visuals being absolutely locked to 60fps.
Floating across the Styx Marshes on what appeared to be a large lilypad is one of the best gaming moments this generation as Phlegyas rose out of the water. Just stunning.
No mention of Dante’s Inferno would be complete without mentioning Garry Schyman superb original composition, the soundtrack matched the game and the action perfectly and imo is one of the best ever.
The campaign does fade in quality during the final quarter of the game, before the final boss, but as the title is cheap now it’s well worth picking up. Even after you’ve finished there will no doubt be more of the skill & magic upgrade tree to complete and there’s tons of challenge rooms to complete.
Buy it, especially if you see it at a good price.
XisTG
Buy It (or, by now, bargain bin it).
This is by far one of my favourite games from this generation, from the same guys that brought us Dead Space (also a favourite of mine).
The main diference from the GOW series (aside from attacking enemies with a cross, BE GONE EVIL CREATURES!) would be, imho, the environment. You really feel like you are descending into hell and that you are the only ray of light in all that despair.
Also, the enemies are some of the creepiest out there. You can get yourself poked by some sort of enlarged penis and everything!
element666
It’s been a while since I played it,so I’m not going to say much apart from I thoroughly enjoyed it. Definitely a buy it from me,especially as its really cheap now.
JR.
Agree with the review. 8/10 is fair. Buy it. It’s probably dirt cheap now anyway.
DividSmythe
Rent it. Is which I did. I only played it because I read how easy platinum it had. I was very upset when I got the collectible but died straight after and carried on through game. Then at the end never got plat because of. I did get it at later date. Funny rude bits made me cry with laughter as well.
Broonba
Definitely a Buy it from me. I got this off the Store for 8 quid & it’s been the best 8 quid I’ve ever spent. Both the game & the soundtrack were excellent. I’ll say it again…..Buy it.
Kevatron400
Loved the atmosphere in this game, and the soundtrack was just incredibly fitting. The initial circle, or limbo (I can’t remember which it was), where all the bodies were flying in from the sky, and eternal queues formed of hell’s newest residents snaked through the landscape were both particular highlights for me. Buy it (it’ll be in the bargain bin anyway).