Poet, I beg you... give me strength: Dante's Inferno demo
We've played the demo for the upcoming Dante's Inferno, and this is the best version of God of War 3 you're going to get before you get... well, God of War 3. Our thoughts on the first level or two of the game.
By Ben Kuchera | Last updated December 10, 2009 2:33 PMText Size Print this articleLeave a comment The PR campaign for Dante's Infernowhich included such things as "acts of lust" perpetuated on booth babes and money being given to the presshas been incredibly obnoxious. The goal was to get us talking about the game, however, and that worked. An even better way, though, is to send us some content from the game itself. EA just delivered a disc with the demo of the game for the 360, and after playing through it a few times, it's clear the only sin here is... well, didn't we just talk about clones of existing, popular games?
That's not to say that Dante's Inferno is a bad game. Far from it. The controls feel great, the mechanics are all solid, and it's great fun to play and beat the hell out of the minions of hell. The game also doesn't make you wait for the goods; you'll see naked breasts within moments of playing the game. If you're 12 years old and don't care about Dante Aligheiri don't worry: this game won't force you to think very hard.
As I was punishing enemies by shooting white hot crosses at them from my crucifix, I couldn't help but reflect that when you try to take literature and move it into the world of gaming... gaming isn't going to look very good in comparison. The Divine Comedy is a classic work of art. Dante's Inferno simply wants you to feel like you're playing God of War 3.
But the name adds buzz!
Turning the Divine Comedy into a hack-and-slash game feels almost like satire, and has given the game publicity it wouldn't have enjoyed if the name were anything else. There is no subtlety on display here; we're painting in some very broad strokes when it comes to converting the story into video game form. It's time to kill some skeletons and save your topless girlfriend, bro.
You're granted a weaponof variable lengththat allows you to perform combos, which are counted on the left side of the screen, and of course you gain orbs from dead bodies which allow you to level up your attacks. You regain health and mana by tapping a button near fountains. Once you've hurt an enemy enough, you can hit a trigger button to activate a quick time event and rip them limb from limb. It's all very bloody, and I assume somewhere there is a focus group that thinks this sort of thing is shocking, but I couldn't help but feel as though I had covered all this ground before.
Sure, you can "Punish" or "Absolve" enemies and build up your "holy" or "Unholy" sides, and the burning crosses and religious iconography does add a little bit of flavor... but this seems more like a total conversion for God of War than it does it's own game. With the set pieces, the large-scale enemies, and the camera moving on its own... in the demo at least, Dante doesn't come up with a single original idea. As I said before, everything is executed well: the graphics are attractive, the animated cut scenes are depraved and eye-catching, and the controls are nice and tight. That just makes this a high class rip-off though, instead of a shoddy one.
Conclusion
If you can't wait for God of War 3, or you're an Xbox 360 owner, this looks to be a good buy. The production values are high, and I had a great time while playing. We only wish the game deviated from the formula the tiniest bit. This game is an easy punchline, and the concept and execution feel almost like a hyper-earnest Onion news piece, but at least it delivers what gamers want: action, action, action.
The demo should be live this evening on the PlayStation 3, and is coming to the Xbox 360 on December 24.
