Now that the history lesson is over, let's look at where that has gone now, EA and Visceral Games', Dante's Inferno. A game that takes the writer, super charged in hero form, through the circles of Hell in an action/adventure style game. A game that has been closely compared to other games of this genre, like Heavenly Sword and another of a very Greek persuasion. What did we at AggroGamer think about this traversal of Hell, well read below. Go to Hell with us.
Graphics:
This is one of the areas of the game where Visceral needed to stand out or just be called a clone. In this area, they did just that, stand out. Not only were the graphics of this game truly up to par with being on a next generation console, each area gave you a very good depiction on how the designers think each circle of Hell would look like. With great lighting and great textures, not to mention very twisted ideas for scenery and character models.
This really takes form in the level of Gluttony and Violence. Two very different areas, both in mind set and visual needs. Gluttony, as you would expect, felt very grimy and gooey. Like being inside of the bowels of some disgusting and sick creature. Rivers of filth and bile flowed everywhere while you jumped from mouth/intestine/tongue/ect.
Swapping to the other example, Violence, it too was full of rivers and similar style platforms for Dante. But unlike other games where it looks like they colored the water red for blood, Visceral added touches that made it look like something completely different. While I am sure they used the same liquid technologies for all levels the game, why wouldn't they, they changed everything perfectly to give it a truly new feel each level.
As for the actual creatures, I will say I was disturbed by a few of them. I totally applaud Visceral on that as that is a difficult task. Cleopatra's model is on the top there. Followed by the lust demons that I have gone and dubbed "Vagina Ladies." So dubbed because one of their main attacks is that their labia's, or what I assume are their labias, rip forth from their loins and grow a spike to impale Dante. All while doing a sexy "striptease" dance.
Audio:
I had very mixed feeling on the audio for the game. At some points it was very cool and and points, like the Vagina Ladies, very disturbing. Like for instance walking through the nursery for the first time. Yes there is a nursery in Hell, for all the unbaptized babies. While in there you get swarmed by the little diaper wearing monsters. Their cries echoing through out the entire area, even after you cut them all in twain. For any that have children they care for, it is an eerie thing indeed.
One down fall I had during the game was that these creepy sound effects and soft score would get muted out when ever Virgil spoke to Dante. Yes as a gameplay mechanic it is nice for us at home to hear what the scholar shade has to say, but when you are standing next to a whirl wind of sex or boiling bog of blood, it should be harder to hear him. I'm sure Dante wouldn't be able to hear him all that clear in the game world. It just looses a bit of immersion when you go from pounding and creepy sounds to something soft while you get lectured on where you are.
One last thing here, the voice acting. It is a huge issue that can make or break the a game for any of us. Well I will have to say that it is done extremely well here. The voice actors chosen nailed the part and the ever changing voice, or at least seeming, ever changing voice of Lucifer was a nice touch. You always knew who was speaking to you, but it also seemed a bit to grossly different in tone.
Controls:
Here is where things get a bit, well, "cloney". A word made up just for this game. But the controls for the game are pretty much the exact same as the games listed at the top of this article. Not that it is a bad thing, but that it is sinfully close to them. Contextual presses and all. The only down side is that they are either too "loose" or too "tight" for an avid player like myself.
Dodging is done by flicking the right stick of the controller. Sometimes Dante would not react at the same time I pressed the stick to dodge, leading to an unwanted hit and combo broken. This happened to me when I made it to a 650 hit combo, leading to further frustration. On the converse though, sometimes while running around, my right thumb got just a little to close to thinking about nudging the stick and Dante would hurl himself across the screen. Sometimes into a wall. Sometimes off the side of a narrow platform, leading to my extremely quick decent into Hell.
While these were annoying, they were not game breaking for me. They did lead to a bit of Tourette's Syndrome coming out in my living room, but not un-manageable. Just a bit more QA and I think that they would have nailed this little issue down. That and how sluggish Dante just feels when he moves, but that is a who different subject.
Gameplay:
Much like the controls, this got very "cloney" as well. From camera angles being forced in bad places to having exactly the same combos with the scythe, it was a little bit too much the same as the above mentioned. Even down to having to hook your scythe into the side of one of Cerberus' heads so you could swing around and get a full clean slice off. Sounds like the Kraken fight to me, from the game of Greek persuasion that I will not mention here.
I will stop with that example because I could continue with the "cloniness," but that's not what we want to read. But I will say that some of the additions to the genre style would have to be Dante's Cross and the Holy/Unholy aspects of the game.
Like the other titles, you get your weapons and magics. But Dante's adds in the use of a cross with Holy power, and it is unlimited like Dante's want for redemption. But, while it was nice to have a third option, if you level up the holy side of things from the start, there is no real reason to use the magic or even the scythe at times. Spamming the cross would clear out an area with so much ease it got a bit ridiculous. Well if you forget that you are using the power of God to smite the minions of Hell at least. That and went the hard road of being Holy.
And was it a hard path as well. All the good combos and attack power ups were down the dark side. Which, if I wasn't a trophy/achievement whore, I would have balanced equally along the way. The upgrades for the Unholy side included new combos and super charging some of the really helpful magic powers. That and offering up the other mana and health upgrades. But in either instance, it was nice to have an upgrading system that worked based off your actions and not some set tree. Kudos on that Visceral.
Final Words:
In the end of the journey down the highway to Hell, this game is definitely worth a play through if not a purchase. It was intriguing in story, which was completely different from any of the above mentioned titles as well as a nice twist on the original work by Mr. Alighieri. I think if he were still kicking it on this plane of existence, he would totally give it a thumbs up. At least from a story stand point. Which is 90% of the reason to give Dante's Inferno a go.
The other 10% actually comes in with the replay value of the game. Something that I actually started right into after the end credits rolled up the screen. Partially to wrap up missed trophies/achievements and partially because it was a fun and intriguing game. Also to see how ridiculous the game is on Infernal mode. A mode that you will most likely need to sell your soul to Lucifer to beat. Not mention all the DLC already slated to roll out to keep this title a bit fresh each time.
Dante's Inferno was developed by Visceral Games and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3 and XBox 360 on Feb. 9th. Retails for $59.99 USD. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Played through the entire game on the Zealot setting on the PlayStation 3. Played through nearly half the game on the Infernal settings on the PlayStation 3.
