Game Rant » Dante’s Inferno

Dante’s Inferno Review

Tom Copeland — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 22:53:28 +0000

Short Version: Dante’s Inferno offers up a solid, if somewhat shallow and short-lived, action experience. If you are looking for a stop gap until God of War 3 arrives, Dante’s Inferno will likely satisfy your thirst for button mashing action.

Game Rant reviews Dante’s Inferno

Dante’s Inferno isn’t necessarily the first videogame to be based on a piece of classic literature – but it is the most mainstream title to do so. Published by EA and developed by Visceral Games, the team behind 2008’s fantastically terrifying Dead Space, Dante’s Inferno takes its cues from the epic Dante Alighieri poem, The Divine Comedy, specifically the first chapter, “Inferno”.

Rather than directly re-telling the poem stanza by stanza, Visceral have instead opted for a thematic re-imaging of the source material, using the poems key ideas and imagery to…

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Dante Brings the Smackdown!

Riley Little — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 11:42:03 +0000

Dante seems to have left his Inferno and joined World Wrestling Entertainment.

As advertising for the new game Dante’s Inferno, WWE and Visceral Games have teamed up and thrown Dante on the roster as an actual WWE SmackDown Superstar. This has been done before with the likes of Jack Black’s Nacho Libre in the past.

I’m pretty sure that Dante is a fictional character, so you shouldn’t be looking forward to seeing him go head-to-head with John Cena, however, it’s safe to assume that Dante and his bad-ass scythe would finally be able to make Hulk Hogan retire.

What do you think Game Rant audience? Lame or awesome?

Source: WWE

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Dante’s Inferno Nets Praise From God of War 3 Director

Trung Bui — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:46:58 +0000

While many called Dante’s Inferno a blatant God of War rip-off, God of War 3‘s director, Stig Asmussen says different. In an interview with UK Official Playstation Magazine, Asmussen had this to say about Dante’s Inferno:

“We’ve been intrigued about Dante’s Inferno. This is my favourite genre, and the more people that are making the better.”

“And this is a really rich story they’re building on, it’s very interesting. The day that the demo came out we were trying to download it on PSN at midnight. We all wanted to see it”

The hack ‘n’ slash genre that God of War popularized looks to be on the come-up. Games like Hideki Kamiya’s own hack ‘n’ slash offering, Bayonetta and the older Ninja Gaiden series have definitely put style and violence…

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Sony: PS3 Better for Publishers Than Xbox 360

Trung Bui — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 02:11:31 +0000

After reading the title to this article, I know what you’re all thinking: “How can that be true?” Well, SCEA’s Senior Vice President of Publisher Relations Rob Dyer seems to think that it’s a pretty solid fact. It is true that the Xbox 360 had a year lead time in its console release and that certainly put Sony in a position where they not only had to play “catch-up ball” as Dyer puts it. Though, with the recent $299 price drop for the PS3 and more people picking up the system since it became a bit more affordable, there are more systems in more homes. It is because of this growing number that Dyer says the PS3 is a better platform for publishers over the 360.

Before the price cut, they had a two-to-one advantage; if you were a third-party…
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Dante’s Inferno Developer Live Chat

Alex Sanderson — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:54:41 +0000

Today, a few members of the Dante’s Inferno development team will be chatting live from 5-8 PM EST to answer any questions you have about their latest creation. Below is the current schedule for each team member.

5:00 – 5:45 pm EST = Vince Napoli, Combat Designer
5:45-6:30 pm EST = Zach Mumbach, Assistant Producer
6:30-7:15 pm EST = Jonathan Knight, EP
7:15-8:00 pm EST= Justin Lambros, Producer

Click the link below to join in the live chat:

Launch Day Live Chat With the Dante’s Inferno Team

Dante’s Inferno is published by Electronic Arts and developed by Visceral Games for the PSP, PS3 and Xbox 360. It’s available now!

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Dante’s Inferno DLC is Coming Up… or Going Down

Will Delaney — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 19:22:23 +0000

Been playing so much Dante’s Inferno already that you’re feeling the affects of sloth? Are you a glutton for downloadable content and are lusting for more from EA and Visceral’s new title?

Included in the game’s case is an insert that reveals what DLC is to be expected in the near future.

Here’s what we’re looking at:

February

Soul Packs
Poet Costume
Animated Feature Film Costume

March

Prequel Level

April

Trials of St. Lucia
New In-game Abilities

Note: the insert states that all of this will be “upcoming downloadable content available for purchase.” So there’s a good chance that most of the new content will not be free.

It’s cool to see a lot of DLC so close to the launch, though it will certainly fire up the normal DLC debate, “why wasn’t it available on the disc?”

Are you looking forward to it, or do you think EA is getting…

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Dante’s Inferno Banned In The Middle East

Tom Copeland — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 00:08:00 +0000

Unsurprisingly, Dante’s Inferno, a game about a Christian Crusader slicing and dicing his way through the nine circles of hell, will not be getting released in the Middle East. This news should come as no shock at all considering the area’s stance on religion.

It’s a bad time to be a gamer in the UAE as just recently Darksiders was banned for featuring religious subject matter, and the upcoming God of War III has also been denied a release simply for having the word God in its title.

EA’s official statement on the matter is as follows:

“Electronic Arts has decided not to release Dante’s Inferno in the Middle East after an evaluation process which is based on consumer tastes, preferences, platform mix and other factors.”

You can expect to read our review of…

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Sony Weekly Update (Feb. 4-10)

Ben Kendrick — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 15:28:23 +0000

Two highly-anticipated retail titles head up this week’s update in addition to a number of demos available through the PSN.

Heavy hitter retail titles BioShock 2 and Dante’s Inferno will both be unleashed onto retail shelves this Tuesday.

BioShock 2 is expected to provide a very similar experiences to its predecessor. The visuals haven’t changed much (though they didn’t really need to), the story is still immersive, and the developers added an intriguing multiplayer component that has garnered positive reactions. BioShock 2 is a great addition to the Q1 offerings. Expect Game Rant’s full written review to go live very soon.

Dante’s Inferno has a lot going for it – a lot of which was copied straight from the God of War franchise. The gameplay is action packed, the environments and characters show great diversity as Dante…

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Dante’s Inferno Goes Viral

Alex Sanderson — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:44:50 +0000

A little bird at EA‘s marketing team has been going around implanting ASCII images in different website’s HTML code to hype people up for their latest game Dante’s Inferno.

Within each image is the hidden website Hellisnigh.com. Along with each website comes a password with a number. When in the Hellisnigh.com website, it’ll ask you for 6 passwords to correspond with the number given with the password in order to enter the gates of hell. It may sound confusing but we’ve searched the internet high and low so you don’t have to.

Reap your rewards beyond the gates of hell:

Below are the websites where you can find each of the 6 passwords for yourselves along with the ASCII images that goes along with each one.

After…

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Dante’s Inferno DLC & Co-op Mode Announcements

Zac Landry — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:49:10 +0000

Originally thought to be an exclusive level for the PS3 Divine Edition of Dante’s Inferno, Dark Forest has been announced as downloadable content for the Ps3 (for those with the regular edition) and Xbox 360. Dark Forest takes place before the game’s storyline and finds Dante lost and disoriented in the forest. The level is to provide the user with more background information on Dante’s character and will be available sometime in March.

DLC that will add a game to the game and an online co-operative mode (named Trials of St. Lucia) was also announced yesterday. Han ten Cate, senior producer at Visceral Games had this to say about the editor.

“At the heart of it, there’s an easy to use and full-featured game editor that you can custom create trials, adding waves of enemies, including enemies from the core game as well as some enemies like the Summoner,…
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Dante’s Inferno Super Bowl Ad Rejected

Will Delaney — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 20:37:53 +0000

CBS has announced that they have rejected a Super Bowl spot for EA/Visceral Games’ upcoming game, Dante’s Inferno. This may not come as a surprise to many, due to the game’s questionable marketing techniques so far. From the fake protests at E3 2009, to the mailing of $200 checks to high-profile editors of video game blogs tempting them to succumb to greed, the marketing doesn’t seem to be grabbing the hearts of many gamers. Nonetheless, the Super Bowl spot continued their edgy campaign by including the tagline “Go to Hell” at the end of the ad. The ad has been revised to instead say, “Hell Awaits.”

The marketing turned me away from this game a bit, but apart from that, the demo was pretty fun and the gameplay seems very solid. I don’t see myself buying this…

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Dante’s Inferno Gameplay Montage

Jon Lavallee — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 07:37:40 +0000

A new gameplay montage of EA’s upcoming release, Dante’s Inferno, is up on YouTube. Dante’s Inferno, based off “The Divine Comedy” by Dante Aligheri, is about a warrior’s quest to save the soul of his love, Beatrice, from Hell after he comes home from war to find her murdered.

Dante must fight through the nine Circles of Hell to fight the Lucifer’s demons, and his own, to save Beatrice. The video dishes a heaping serving of gameplay, including various magical powers, weapons and baddies. Check out the video below.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK-VEOygPyQ

If you like what you see and can’t wait for the February 9th release, the demo is available now and it definitely provides some generous gameplay. Dante’s Inferno releases on the Xbox 360, PS3 and PSP.

What do you think of the gameplay footage? Have you played…

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Former EA Exec: “EA is in the wrong business”

Eric Taylor — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 23:50:01 +0000

The slowdown in video game sales has hit EA particularly hard. After laying off 1500 employees in November, the company slashed its 2010 financial forecast last week.

Mitch Lasky, a former EA exec, responded to the news by saying, “EA is in the wrong business, with the wrong cost structure and the wrong team.”

Lasky sold his mobile entertainment business to EA in 2005 for $680 million, and ran EA’s mobile division (EAMobile). Lasky backs up his argument with cost structures and financial figures. Some market analysts agree: “Investors feel betrayed,” said analyst Michael Pacter of Wedbush Morgan.

EA’s response to Lasky’s statement has a bit of history. In 2007, EA appointed John Riccitiello as the company’s CEO; shortly after, Lasky left the company. “The clear message is…

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Sony Weekly Update (Dec. 10-16)

Ben Kendrick — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:06:56 +0000

Hey Game Ranters, another Thursday, another update to the Sony PlayStation Store, and another Game Rant Weekly Update.

There are no scheduled retail releases for either the PS3 or PSP this week – but fear not, PixelJunk Shooter has been released on the PlayStation Store. The title continues Q-Games’ streak of innovative and engaging releases (all of which are exclusive to the PSN). PixelJunk Shooter features two player local compatibility, a great soundtrack, charming story, great gameplay, numerous collectible items, and an attractive $9.99 price-tag. Without question, Shooter is Game Rant’s featured Sony release of the week.

Also available this week through the PlayStation Store is the demo for the upcoming EA novel-to-game release: Click to continue reading Sony Weekly Update (Dec. 10-16)

Dante’s Inferno Demo to Defile Holidays on PSN & Xbox Live

Jason Weissman — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:02:08 +0000

Rather than spending time with family, Visceral Games is hoping gamers will prefer a short trip to Hell this holiday season. Visceral Games and publisher Electronic Arts recently announced that the heavily promoted button-masher, Dante’s Inferno, will be available as a free downloadable demo via the Playstation Network on December 10, 2009 and Xbox Live on December 24, 2009.

The demo, titled the “Gates of Hell,” will include the entire opening level of the game and introduce players to “Dante Alighieri’s re-imagined past as a crusader who returns home to Florence to discover his true love, Beatrice, murdered. As her soul escapes her body, she is kidnapped by the dark shadow form of Lucifer. Sworn to her rescue, Dante must journey to the Gates of Hell and beyond to battle undead monstrosities, unholy boss demons, and Death himself.” Visceral…
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Could Bayonetta Upstage The Competition?

Jason Weissman — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:40:38 +0000

Sega’s Bayonetta has certainly made waves over the last few months. It even has the support of Cosplayers who’ve dressed up like the protagonist before the game was even released. Famed Japanese gaming magazine, Famitsu, awarded Bayonetta a 40 out of 40 and U.K.’s Edge magazine gave it a 10 out of 10. Released in Japan on October 29, 2009, the title has sold over 270,000 combined on the Xbox 360 and PS3 in its first four weeks of release according to VGChartz.com. But is the title any good or is this just hype?

I had the opportunity to play the demo yesterday, and if it is representative of the entire experience, I think gamers will be impressed. This is one insane idea for a game. If Kratos (God of War) and Dante (of Devil May Cry fame) had a baby, it…
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Dante’s Inferno Demo Arriving in December

Riley Little — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:23:49 +0000

EA may have brought its business prerogative into question with all the layoffs and the fact that they are cutting their line up for 2010 in half, but Dante’s Inferno seems to be putting along just fine. You can even look forward to a demo coming soon to Xbox 360 and PS3.

For those not in “the know” Dante’s Inferno is a game similar in style to God of War, but instead of it being based on Greek Mythology it’s based on the poem by Dante Alighieri titled “The Divine Comedy”. There is plenty of blood to spill and monsters to slay in this game and it is looking to be a contender for God of War’s crown.

The demo will be titled “Gates of Hell” and will have the entire opening level of the game, leading right…
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