Back from my little hiatus on writing, I’ve come with a review of a game I literally just finished five minutes before typing this first line. Dante’s Inferno was one of two big name releases to hit on the same day, other being Bioshock 2. It was a tough decision, but ultimately I went with Dante’s Inferno simply because the game is based on the Divine Comedy. I followed the concept art and the leaked screenshots closely in anticipation before the release, and what really drove me closer to the decision of purchasing this game was the Super Bowl trailer which I happened to catch while walking through the living room.

When I finally had my hands on a copy of the game, I immediately popped it into my Xbox 360 and went straight into the game. I watched the title screen for a moment to see the video that plays and took a few moments to switch on subtitles in the options. Then, just for the sake of keeping in tone with the game, I went to Hell. The game did pull heavily from the Divine Comedy like I was expecting, and pleasantly surprised to confirm. Even Virgil makes several appearances as your guide through the nine circles of Hell. A friend of mine was worried the game would play Dynasty Warriors style, but he was completely wrong and was later informed of how close the style resembles God of War with a dash of Devil May Cry. The slight feel of Devil May Cry could just be the general setting of the game and the ridiculously hard last boss.

Only a few gripes come to mind really, the last two bosses’ health being one of them. Without spoiling anything for anyone, it makes sense for the last boss to be really tough but when I can’t even see the health meter move slightly while using my strongest attacks. Yea, there’s something a bit off there. My other gripe doesn’t actually have to do with game play at all, it has to do with this little piece of laminated paper you get in the box that is a DLC release schedule for the game over the next three months. Seeing that actually made me pause for a few moments to contemplate why they hadn’t just delayed the game a few weeks and work the DLC into the full version. Now I’m not going to point the big red foam finger that says they are “milking profits” but it’s lying on the table for anyone to grab it and have a go.

Right off the bat you get to fight one of the most iconic figures when people consider the Afterlife. Needless to say, beating the hell (no pun) out of Death was very satisfying, and even more so when Dante picked up his weapon and that was his weapon for the rest of the game. I also have to give props to the guys who designed the scenery and Inferno itself. It looks incredibly gruesome and pain-filled. You guys nailed it on the head.

This is one of those games that doesn’t offer up unlimited re-playability, but there is a bit of it if you intend to achievement/trophy whore it up. Is paying the full price worth it? Sure, I have yet to see another game explore the depths of Hell quite like this one to date. Pair that with the fact it is based off of arguably one of the greatest pieces of literature ever written, and you have a game that is well worth a forking over the cash for. The only thing that could have made this an even better buy is if it was an open world game so you had to explore Hell rather than run through a fairly linear path with some puzzles.

The game weaves a story of love and sin. All this is laced with the main character coming to terms with his own transgressions and eventually facing up to each of his mistakes that lead to his situation. The game was enjoyable to me, and visually paints a picture of what Dante Alighieri’s masterpiece does with words. One little note I would like to point out: under the Special Features option in the menu is a time line of Dante Alighieri’s life from his birth in 1265 all the way to his death in 1321 detailing major events that happened.

Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3

AMMIH Rating: 4/5

SMS (Sicky’s Motion Sickness) Rating: 1/5