Dante's Inferno Video Game: PS3 Review

The action adventure game, Dante's Inferno was released on February 9, 2010. It is available for the PS3, Xbox 360, and PSP. The game is rated M for Mature. The rating is pushed to the extreme with graphic depictions of tortured souls and female and male nudity on the levels; it's definitely not for younger gamers. Dante's Inferno is an interesting, third person adventure that begins to lose steam after a brilliant start.

Dante's Inferno Story
The story is very loosely based on Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy. Gamers play as Dante the Crusader. During the war, he is stabbed in the back and close to death. In the next scene, players must defeat Death and take his Scythe. Returning home to Florence, he find his beloved Beatrice dead. You learn that Beatrice made a deal with Lucifer and he appears to drag her soul away. Dante must battle through the Nine Circles of Hell and face his own sins in order to save Beatrice. The narrative is also told in different ways, relying on cutscenes, movies, and animated sequences. These scenes are great for giving some depth to Dante's character and work well most of time.

Dante's InfernoGame Play
The game play is very similar to the God of War series. It has a fast paced, hack and slash type style with platforming and puzzle solving. The main weapons are Death's Scythe and the projectile attack of the Holy Cross. As the game progresses, you can unlock new combos attacks and abilities. There are two skill paths to choose, Holy and Unholy. By collecting souls of your enemies though Absolving or Punishing, you pick which skill path to focus on. Dante can also use magic attacks and take control of demons by using the in game button prompts. These huge demons help Dante by smashing through barriers.

Although the first half of the game keeps players engrossed with the combat and detailed level designs, the last hours suffer from repetitiveness.The enemies mostly remain the same during the second half. The puzzles feel tacked on. Their only purpose seems to be hindering Dante's progress, not challenging him. The unique designs of earlier levels like the unbaptized babies in Limbo or sexually imagery and prostitutes in Lust fade a bit on later levels such as Heresy. Another problem is the static camera angles. Instead of the right thumb stick controlling the camera, it is used to make Dante run. I spent earlier parts of the game dashing around when I shouldn't and being frustrated that I couldn't look around.

Dante's Inferno Replay Value
With the two skill paths, there is some replay value if you want to explore the different abilities available. The game is relatively short and entertaining enough to play a few times without getting tired of it. The biggest boost to Dante's Inferno replay value is the announced downloadable contents. Dark Forest is a prologue featuring Dante's travels to Florence. It promises new puzzles and enemies. It will be available in March. The Trails of St. Lucia will have a new playable character, online co-op, and combat trails editing. It will available in April.

Dante's Inferno isn't for the easily offended. There are plenty of images that might turn off some gamers. It is a game about Hell and everything that makes it the place of the damned. There are many times the vile, yet beautiful graphics work well. The latter half of the game suffers from a lack of creativity that makes me wonder about what could have been. Dante's Inferno isn't a bad game, just one that could have used a bit more polish.

Sources:

Personal Experience

www.dantesinferno.com