As a big fan of the God of War series (having played God of War for PS2, then God of War and God of War II as the God of War Collection in HD for PS3, and currently playing God of War: Chains of Olympus on PSP Go), I was interested to see how the most recent “God of War clone,” Dante’s Inferno would stack up. As a prior student of reading Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy, I also wondered how it might stack up to the original poem upon which it is based. Here’s my take on Dante’s Inferno, along with a brief supplemental comment or two on Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic.
Game Title: Dante’s Inferno: Divine Edition
Platform Reviewed: Playstation 3
Also Available: Xbox 360; Playstation Portable (both regular editions, not Divine Edition)
Created by: Visceral Games
When I first played the demo for Dante’s Inferno, it felt very familiar in terms of gameplay. It felt like the God of War with a few minor changes and upgraded graphics. (Bear in mind that I was comparing it to the original God of War games for PS2 at the time, not with the E3 demo for God of War III, due out in March.) I was intrigued, but not overly so. I’m glad that I did not let that initially cloud my view of the game.
Story: The game follows a somewhat altered version of the tale told by the real Dante in the first part of his Divine Comedy, Inferno. In this case, Dante is the main character, a knight from the Crusades, who left the love of his life, Beatrice, behind with his father when going off to war, promising to protect her brother (a fellow Crusader) and to forsake all others in terms of pleasures of the flesh. Along the way, Beatrice made a wager with Lucifer, essentially to protect Dante, but the wager hinged upon Dante being faithful to her, and, in a moment of weakness, he succumbed to lust. That event, and all that spiraled out of it, led to the deaths of Dante’s father and Beatrice, and now Beatrice is in Hell.
In this case, unlike in the poem, Lucifer has plans for Beatrice that are revealed throughout the game, which may or may not allow him to escape from Hell into Purgatory, then forge onward into Paradise in an attempt to either claim control over, or destroy, Heaven.
When Dante faces Death (literally) at the hands of a figure from his past Crusading sins, he refuses to allow his actions to condemn others and battles Death. He defeats Death (presumably just rendering him non-corporeal, as it’s not like everyone on Earth becomes immortal or anything) and takes Death’s bone scythe as his weapon. He then descends down into the Inferno, going on a quest through all of the Circles described by the original epic poem, seeking to save Beatrice’s soul and defeat Lucifer.
As crazy as it all sounds, it actually plays really well, given the source material, and the little tidbits here and there (like the poet Virgil’s “shade” or spirit at your side with bits from the poem within his advice) make for an engrossing atmosphere. Most of the reviews I have heard argue that the game has a great first third, good second third, and lousy final third. I do not agree, particularly in story terms. I actually find that my enjoyment of Dante’s Inferno probably surpasses my enjoyment of the God of War series in story terms because I am far more familiar with the original Inferno than I am with Greek mythology.
Gameplay: Make no mistake: this game plays a lot like the God of War games. You have face buttons for jump (and double-jump) and two levels of attack, a dodge maneuver with the right stick, character movement with the left, magic that can be used with a shoulder button, a block button, a grab action (though this is a shoulder button, not a face button), and unlockable attacks that use a shoulder button and face button. Heck, you even have the equivalent of a Wrath of the Gods ability in the form of an upgradable Redemption Meter.
Unlike in the God of War games, you do not have different weapons to swap out for your scythe. You do, however, have a projectile weapon, Beatrice’s Holy Cross (which fires off spiritual energy crosses that are surprisingly effective), which alters how you would play this game compared to God of War.
You are also face with numerous quicktime events (though using the left stick more often than in God of War) and interact with cranks, levers, doors, and crates like in God of War. Some of those quicktime events allow you to ride on a giant beast, which also alters the game dynamics a bit.
There are some interesting differences, however, that add to the complexity of the gameplay, in my opinion. For example, most enemies can be grabbed or weakened to the point of having the “R2″ symbol over their heads. Upon grabbing (or hitting R2), you snatch up the enemy and have the choice to either Punish or Absolve them. Either way, the enemy is wiped out, and you gain spirits (the equivalent of red orbs in God of War to spend on upgrades), but you also gain either Unholy or Holy experience points, depending on which you choose. As you gain these points, you slowly raise in level (0 – 7) in your Holy or Unholy level. This, in turn, unlocks new levels on your skill trees. In this game, unlike in the God of War series, you do not simply upgrade one item at a time in very linear fashion. Instead, you have a skill tree that lets you pick and choose upgrades that are unlocked as you achieve a different Holy or Unholy level. Most Unholy upgrades deal with attacks, while Holy upgrades deal with magic or the Holy Cross power.
There are also items to find and use throughout the game. You will find numerous Damned throughout, including historical figures like Pontius Pilate. Upon doing so, you may choose to Punish or Absolve them, earning a big jump in Holy or Unholy experience. Absolving them starts a minigame where you have a chance to load up on more Souls (”red orb” equivalent). You’ll find fountains that are orange (souls, like red orb chests in GOW), green (health, like green orb chests in GOW), and purple (magic, like blue orb chests in GOW). You will not find the equivalent of the Phoenix Feathers or Gorgon Eyes to upgrade your magic meter or health bar in Dante’s Inferno, but you may do so through your skill trees. You do, however, come upon up to 30 silver coins (yes, from Judas Iscariot) that give you huge bonuses of Souls to spend for every five you find, and there are numerous Relics to be found, which can be equipped (and upgraded as you gain Souls with them equipped) to augment the character, which is something God of War did not allow.
Game Design: Whether we’re talking enemies or level design, this game is creepy and very well done. Enemies include such creepy designs as unbaptized babies with blades for arms, lust-driven women with killer scorpion-like stinger that emerge from between their legs, huge gluttonous creatures that puke acidic sludge, hard-to-kill enemies covered in gold, and so forth. The bosses in particular are rather creative, as you fight Cleopatra’s lover Mark Antony and Lucifer himself. (To say anything more about the bosses would give away too much.)
The levels themselves are very detailed and fit well with the way they are described in the poem. You’ll find Gluttony rather disgusting, Greed bright with molten gold, and so forth. This is one of the best looking games of this type that I’ve seen in a long time, and that’s including The Force Unleashed. It certainly surpasses the recent God of War Collection, though that was just an HD remaster of the original PS2 games. We’ll have to see how the full package of God of War III compares to Dante’s Inferno visually.
The Verdict: I actually really enjoyed this game, so much so that I am on my second playthrough to continue upgrading Dante’s abilities and to find the few Relics and Coins I missed the first time through.
It is definitely not a game for children. It contains more nudity, violence, and disturbing images than just about any game I have ever seen. It makes the original Mortal Kombat look like Teletubbies.
However, if you enjoyed the God of War games, you should enjoy Dante’s Inferno, perhaps even more than the series that inspired its gameplay.
Grade: B+
Supplemental Information: I feel the need to add a bit more information here that does not fit within the actual review.
First, there is a companion animated film that was released on DVD and Blu-Ray, Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic. It takes us through the course of the game’s storyline in a rather well-done animated tale, though the visual style does change a couple of times, since parts were done by six different creative teams. Do not watch the animated film before finishing the game, unless you want the plotline’s twists and revelations spoiled for you. It’s worth a watch, though.
Second, there is considerable downloadble content (DLC) coming for Dante’s Inferno. While beating the game gives you the Gates of Hell Arena mode and Dante’s Crusader costume, this month will see the release of a Poet costume (whatever that is) and a costume based on his animated appearance. This month has already seen the release of three versions of “Soul Pack,” one of which is free, which can be purchased to have more Souls to spend (but, let’s face it, that’s incredibly lame and rather pointless if you actually play the game much).
March will see the release of a special prequel level, which I believe is entitled The Dark Forest. This promises two new enemies to fight, another new costume, a new relic to find, and about 30 minutes of new gameplay. What’s better: those who purchased the PS3 version of the game will be able to download this for free, while Xbox 360 players will have to purchase it.
Later, in April, a new scenario, Trials of St. Lucia, featuring online co-op and a new playable character, Dante’s “guardian angel” St. Lucia, will be released. A trailer for the DLC is within the game.
Finally, let me note that there is a difference between the version of Dante’s Inferno. Obviously, the PSP version doesn’t look as good as the Xbox 360 or PS3 versions. However, more notable is that the PS3 version is the Divine Edition, while the Xbox 360 version is not. This gives the PS3 exclusive “making of” video content and an in-game (accessible from a menu screen) copy of the entire original epic poem. The “making of” videos include a really good documentary called Dante in History that talks about the real Dante Alighieri, the inspiration for his works, and more. As a history teacher, I was quite impressed.
A Warning: Finally, a word of warning. This game is not for kids. I have never, ever seen a video game as dark and adult as this one, and I’m a guy who loves the Dead Space series (also by Visceral Games) and similar dark, horror fare. If I were a parent, I have no idea at what age I would believe that my child could handle the imagery in this game. As a high school teacher, I can say that I think that there are plenty of students I have run into over the last eight years who I do not think could handle the adult themes in this game. I would argue that it is as close to an “Adults Only” game that I have ever seen outside of an actual “AO” rated game. How the ESRB didn’t give this one such a rating is beyond me.
A dark, horrific adventure game that follows in the footsteps of God of War admirably, which may have the potential to get new audiences interested in the real Dante Alighieri’s works. If you can get this one for PS3 (the Divine Edition) instead of PSP or Xbox 360, you will be doing yourself a favor in terms of a lot of added value here.
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