dante's inferno

Dante's Inferno is loosely based on the first book in the classic poem, "The Divine Comedy." In it, you assume the role of Dante, a Third Crusade-era warrior who must travel through the nine circles of hell in order to avenge the loss of his beloved Beatrice.

Much has been made about the game's similarities to the God of War franchise, so let's see if Dante's Inferno stands out by itself. Having been to hell and back, here are our final thoughts:

Jeff: Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but in the case of Dante's Inferno it borders on the lines of straight-up plagiarism. To be clear, we're not saying the game isn't enjoyable--far from it--we just can't remember the last time we've seen such blatant carbon copying in a video game. Dante's Inferno borrows so many elements from the God of War franchise that at times we forgot we weren't actually playing the latter. From health, magic, and soul pickups, camera movement and angles, to quick time events and save points, there's not much that separate Dante and Kratos.

Perhaps even more upsetting is that the title's developer is Visceral Games, the studio responsible for 2008's instant-classic Dead Space; a game touted for its survival-horror revival and impressive antigravity gameplay. With such a studio in charge of Dante's Inferno, one would imagine that creative spirit would translate to another new franchise, but whatever original content is present here unfortunately gets drowned out by the similarities to God of War.

Though we have seen attempts like this before, Dante's Inferno is by far the most technically accurate. Yes it does borrow plenty of mechanics from God of War, but it pulls them off very convincingly. Not everything is familiar, though; as you make your way through the nine circles of hell, the game does a great job at making you believe you've really entered the underworld. Plus, there are some enemies and themes here that provide plenty of shock value rarely attempted in gaming. Whether you consider that a "win" is another story. We also enjoyed the unique art style of the animated cut scenes that connect the jump to a new level and the holy/unholy leveling-up system is a nice element that adds a little dimension to an otherwise conventional action game.… Read more

Historically speaking, the months following the holiday season usually spell disaster for those gamers in the market for new titles. While January gave us Dark Void and Mass Effect 2, February is packed with even more high-profile releases.

The saga of Rapture continues as BioShock 2 hits store shelves February 9. This time around you'll suit up as a Big Daddy as you chase the creature known as Big Sister. For a sneak peek at one of the early levels in BioShock 2, make sure to check out this week's episode of preGAME!

That same day marks the … Read more

Electronic Arts's certainly not afraid of controversy. In fact, the company seems to be embracing it with arms wide open.

At a recent "Naughty or Nice" event in New York, we had the opportunity to play Dante's Inferno hands-on. The Xbox 360 and PS3 video game, which recasts the epic Dante poem as a God of War-type journey through nesting levels of hell, is certainly wearing its M rating on its sleeve (Note: while the ESRB hasn't officially rated this game yet, it's pretty clear there's no other rating it would achieve). The … Read more

Dante's Inferno is a shooter based on the infamous poem. The game takes you on a quest of vengeance and redemption as you make your way through the Nine Circles of Hell. From EA and developed by Visceral Games, Dante's Inferno will be released in early 2010 for Xbox 360 and PS3.