“When I say – Dante’s, you say – Inferno . Dante’s!”
“Of War!”
“Dante’s!”
“Of War!”
“Come on people. It’s not respectful to purposefully botch the name like that.”
“But, Dante’s Inferno is a derivative game that’s decent at best! It shames the poem it is supposedly based on and has no place in a post God of War 3 world!”
“Yeah, you have a point”
Just like the title of this post, the developers of Dante’s Inferno managed to ‘sneak’ a whole lot of God of War into their game.
Having never read (finished reading) the poem, I really couldn’t tell you how much this game mimics the story of that. Though I doubt it’s very much. A crusader (Dante) returns home to find the love of his life (Beatrice) murdered. He then sees her get taken away to hell and follows her in an attempt to free her from the devil’s clutches.
YAY :
- The combat isn’t all that bad. It’s very derivative of said big action franchise, but you’re not going to hate it while you play.
- The cut scenes tend to look very good. They also tend to either be out-of-engine CG or animated cartoon style, so take that how you will.
NAY :
- When thinking of Dante’s Inferno it’s hard not to be reminded of a newer segment on the Rotten Tomatoes show called “Homage or Stealing” where they show how some movies have VERY similar scenes. I know they were going for homage to God of War with Dante’s Inferno, but this is stealing. It even has distinct set pieces ripped out of the God of War franchise. If you’re going to make something that’s this similar to something else at least improve upon it. Don’t leave in the same annoying sections where you have to turn a wheel to lower a door all while being attacked, and if you let go of the wheel, the progress you made opening the door starts to fade. Sony Santa Monica was smart enough to get rid of that in their latest game.
- Remember when I said you’re not going to hate the combat? Well, that could have been a tiny lie. It really depends on the type of player you are. If you’re the type of person who usually plays good the first time around in games with a moral choice decision, you’ll discover that the cross attack is pretty overpowered. There are many fights where you don’t really need to do anything other than mash the cross button to win.
- Yes, this is a game about going through hell, but is making the devil’s dong during your inevitable showdown that huge, hairy, and visible really necessary?
The first part of this review might be a little harsh, but when I heard this game was a lot like God of War I figured they meant because of the quick-time events and that maybe they were being too quick to throw around comparisons. But, after playing it it seems like Visceral games just re-skinned an unused version of God of War and added in CG and cartoon cut scenes. I know this is harsh, but if you were thinking about playing this game don’t. Play God of War 3 instead.
If you don’t have a PS3 I’m sure you can find something else more deserving of your time.
