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[Corpsepyre]

Visceral surely had their heart in the right place for this game. The weekly making off videos they put out before the release were indicative of the fact that they wanted to make a compelling game based on the property, and I was really hyped.

When it came out however, the results were mixed to bad.

What went wrong, in your opinion? Was it the slavish adherence to the GoW formula that they just couldn't nail? The less than stellar script? Both of them combined?

It sucks that the game didn't turn out good. There was a lot of potential that just wasn't realised.

It didn't help that GoW3 came out a month later, and pretty much annihilated the entire game in the first 20 minutes alone, and made Dante a thing of the past.

I'd still love to see a sequel sometime though it's highly unlikely. There were moments of brilliance in there (the level design for the most part which was super grotesque).

 

[iJudged]

I enjoyed the game tremendously!

 

[Doctor_Thomas]

Don't make a game based on epic poetry and basically make it God of War.... IN HELL.

 

[Tidus_Great]

same thing as castlevania LOS. tries to be god of war but just not as good as god of war.

 

[JayEH]

The book was better.

 

[Derpyduck]

Don't make a game based on epic poetry and basically make it God of War.... IN HELL.

I loved the setting, and I found it to be a much more fun game than GoW3 at the time.

 

[Ogimachi]

Don't make a game based on epic poetry and basically make it God of War.... IN HELL.

Yup. It was a worse insult to the source material than Game of Thrones.

 

[Mesoian]

It probably stemmed from the idea that because making a video game based on the Canti poem was so interesting and original, the rest of the game could be whatever game standards demanded it be and it would still be alright.

That idea was false.

But the game didn't suck, so...::Shrugs::

 

[stuminus3]

The whole thing was just so absurdly misguided, it had no chance before it was even out of the gate.

 

[mdubs]

I like it more than God of War, would have liked to see a sequel.

 

[Manmademan]

same thing as castlevania LOS. tries to be god of war but just not as good as god of war.

Castlevania LOS was the most successful Castlevania of all time though and DID get a sequel, so not a great comparison.

 

[Corpsepyre]

Yup. It was a worse insult to the source material than Game of Thrones.

Uh, not sure if serious.

 

[bigboss370]

I liked it alot. In and of itself it was a good game. But when the GoW comparisons come out it falls very short

 

[Ultryx]

I loved it, so here I am still waiting for a sequel!

 

[Miles Quaritch]

Nothing went wrong, it's a damn good game.

Unique level design, unique bosses, good combat engine, Virgil expositions. Damn good game, shame EA decided not to pursue it as a series.

 

[FZW]

Loved the game, finished on PS3 and when I ditched that console I double dipped on 360. Finished it again.

 

[synchronicity]

I thought it was great, so what happened for me was that I played a great game.

 

[RedRooster]

I enjoyed the game tremendously!

Agreed. I played it way before I was active on any videogame forums though and didn't even know what it was about, so going in with that fresh view probably helped.

 

[AndyD]

Don't make a game based on epic poetry and basically make it God of War.... IN HELL.

This. I still enjoyed it, but it was too similar for comfort.

 

[Regiruler]

Castlevania LOS was the most successful Castlevania of all time though and DID get a sequel, so not a great comparison.

This statement greatly saddens me for some reason.

 

[ShockingAlberto]

The only people who care about the property as a property were people who would be offended by what they did with it.

Everyone else looked at it, saw very little special, and shrugged.

 

[Beartruck]

Castlevania LOS was the most successful Castlevania of all time though and DID get a sequel, so not a great comparison.

And then Lords of Shadow 2 came out, bombed, and killed the series, so I'd say the comparison is fair.

 

[Hedge]

While it was an alright game, it did quickly seem.. same-y.
I'm not sure if it was the environments or the combat, but it never really felt like I was progressing. It wasn't a bad game, though.

 

[revolverjgw]

The use of Dante was silly, but the game was solid, nothing went wrong. Enjoyable B-grade GoW knockoff.

 

[DrKelpo]

loved it.

 

[Palculator]

I remember Brad Shoemaker talking on the Giant Bombcast about how the developers actually had the nerve to leave the CliffNotes to the original poem on journalists seats during a press event, as if that helped you understand this perfect adaptation.

Also, didn't EA send out blank checks to reviewers to test their level of greed? Like, ones you could actually cash in.

Edit: They sure did.

 

[Manmademan]

And then Lords of Shadow 2 came out, bombed, and killed the series, so I'd say the comparison is fair.

except "trying to be like god of war" is not why LOS2 bombed, and LOS didn't, since the combat portion of the gameplay is largely identical.

 

[TheMoon]

I liked the game a lot, mostly due to how successfully it realized the setting. I had played GOW 1+2HD shortly before and just got so sick of the whole Kratos thing that I'd take Dante's Inferno over more GOW any day of the week. Gameplay wise, both amounted to roughly the same for me so I never saw much of a quality difference there.

Castlevania LOS was the most successful Castlevania of all time though and DID get a sequel, so not a great comparison.

sales != good.

 

[Professor Renegade]

After reading Inferno I've been thinking of picking up the game just to try it. I know that it's probably going to suck in comparison to the poem, but I'd like to have a chance to see one of the few adaptations of Inferno.

 

[Mesoian]

After reading Inferno I've been thinking of picking up the game just to try it. I know that it's probably going to suck in comparison to the poem, but I'd like to have a chance to see one of the few adaptations of Inferno.

I mean...treat it for what it is, a god of war clone.

There is very little that can be referred to as artistic in Dante's Inferno.

 

[Manmademan]

I liked the game a lot, mostly due to how successfully it realized the setting. I had played GOW 1+2HD shortly before and just got so sick of the whole Kratos thing that I'd take Dante's Inferno over more GOW any day of the week. Gameplay wise, both amounted to roughly the same for me so I never saw much of a quality difference there.



sales != good.

success= sales, and this is a thread about why Dante's inferno was a critical and commercial failure. LOS is neither, despite what some posters desperately wish it was.

it's a bad comparison.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

Mediocre God of War clone that came out a month before the actual God of War 3

also Satan's penis

 

[geomon]

I really like the game.

 

[PaulloDEC]

I really liked it! I mean, it was shameless in how much it played like God of War, but as copycats go I thought it was really good. I especially enjoyed using the cross in combat.

 

[Tidus_Great]

success= sales, and this is a thread about why Dante's inferno was a critical and commercial failure. LOS is neither, despite what some posters desperately wish it was.

it's a bad comparison.

gow3 = 92%
LOS = 82%
Dante inferno = 75%

on GR

so maybe we can call LOS the b level god of war and Dantes inferno the C level god of war?

 

[BrianRoyale]

also Satan's penis

That's all I remember from that game.

 

[VoltySquirrel]

Yup. It was a worse insult to the source material than Game of Thrones.

 

[JumpJeff84]

I never played it, but I heard it runs at 60fps.

Is that true? If so, that's pretty cool.

 

[An-Det]

I played it a few months ago for the first time and thought it was fine. Not amazing, but it was enjoyable enough that I would have played a sequel. However, I felt that it stayed way too close to the God of War formula while slapping a new setting on it and calling it a day. It didn't really make a name for itself or have any gameplay hooks to distinguish itself, and with God of War 3 releasing shortly afterwards I can see why it didn't catch on. The setting and narrative was cool (especially Virgil's conversations) though, and I definitely would have liked to see more.

 

[Green Mamba]

Execution means nothing when the concept itself is bad.

 

[User 479360]

I really enjoyed it. Sure, it wasn't revolutionary and borrowed too much from GoW, but it was a lot of fun. I'd replay it if I had time and owned it.

It's certainly 10x better than those boring Castlevania Lords of Shadow games.

 

[Northeastmonk]

I never played it, but I heard it runs at 60fps.

Is that true? If so, that's pretty cool.

It didn't age as well as some other games. That's the best way I can put it.

It did some things well, but it probably won't get recognized because of the way the industry is heading.

 

[Muffdraul]

I bought it, I played it, I can't remember a damn thing about it.

All I want is for Visceral to make Dead Space games. Without EA suits forcing them to fuck it up by making it more appealing to today's dudebro enthusiasts or whatever. Go back to whatever they were doing that lead them to make Dead Space 1 and 2.

 

[kunonabi]

Castlevania LOS was the most successful Castlevania of all time though and DID get a sequel, so not a great comparison.

Doesn't mean it was any good.

 

[Samir Sedlar]

Well personally speaking, I quite liked Dante's Inferno, It was a pretty good game, sure it didn't mount up to God of War 3, but I think it had it's own coolness.

When it came to Art Direction, each circle of hell was distinctive and looked great, It was probably the best part of the game, Boss battles were good, the combat system though similar to GoW3 could have stood up as its own with a bit fleshing out, over all it was a good game.

It is wishful thinking, but I'm still waiting for Dante's Purgatory, It is a sad day when Visceral starts doing Battlefield, Visceral who made Dead Space & Dante's Inferno IPs which are two of my favorites.

 

[Freezasaurus]

What went wrong, in your opinion? Was it the slavish adherence to the GoW formula that they just couldn't nail? The less than stellar script? Both of them combined?

I thought it was actually a solid game. It was obviously a blatant GoW clone, but as those go, it was rather enjoyable. It was a hell of a lot better than

Spoiler

GoW: Ascension

 

[Namikaze]

Couldn't finish it, the combat was incredibly shallow. I really should have played it before I finished games like DMC4 and Bayo 1+2.

 

[Ridley327]

Mediocre God of War clone that came out a month before the actual God of War 3

also Satan's penis

Wasn't the story that Visceral had one guy working specifically on the dong physics? Try explaining that part of your resume to a new company!

 

[PAULINK]

I loved this game, but people just saw it as a god of war clone, so it never got it's chance to shine.

 

[MMarston]

Really enjoyed the game, especially for its visuals and creature designs which were inspired by some of the illustrations of the poem out there.

Honestly though, I couldn't really see where else would it go from there.