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Dante's Inferno (video game)

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Dante's Inferno
Developer(s)Visceral Games
Artificial Mind and Movement (PSP)[2]
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Writer(s)Will Rokos
Composer(s)Garry Schyman
Platform(s)PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation Portable[2]
Genre(s)Third-person hack and slash, action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player
File:DanteInferno Game.jpg
A screenshot of the game in early development.

Dante's Inferno is an upcoming third-person action-adventure game to be published by Electronic Arts and in development by Visceral Games (formerly EA Redwood Shores).[3] The game is very loosely based on Inferno, the first book of Dante Alighieri's epic poem, The Divine Comedy. [4] The story of the game is written by Will Rokos, who wrote the film Monster's Ball. [5] The game was produced by Justin Lambros and assistant produced by Zach Mumbach.[6] According to the offical Dante's Inferno website the game will be released in Europe on 5th February 2010.

DC Comics' Wildstorm imprint will also carry a serialized adaptation of the game sequence, beginning in February 2010.

Gameplay

The game has been touted as being very similar to the God of War games,[7] in which there are light and heavy attacks as well as magic. Dante's primary weapon is a scythe, which he steals from Death, as seen in the opening preview of the game. He also has magical powers such as a holy cross (given to him by Beatrice before her death) which fires a burst of light that destroys anything in its path. It has not yet been confirmed if there are more powers or weapons that Dante can use. Also, there is a feature called beast taming where, in the game, demons ride huge beasts and if Dante is able to kill the rider, he can control the beast. Depending which beast is controlled, he can use them for different attacks such as breathing fire on his enemies or bashing them. He is also able to condemn or absolve his foes and many damned shades throughout the journey, gaining righteous or unholy points with each absolution or condemnation. The resulting effect from the more righteousness points attained, the more powerful holy cross attacks become and the more unholy points are achieved, the more powerful Dante's scythe becomes.

Story

The plot of the game differs much from that of the original poem. For example, Dante is not depicted as a poet but instead he is a knight from the crusades. The game also introduces new characters that were not mentioned in the poem.

List of characters of Dante's Inferno

Plot

Dante's Inferno is very loosely based on the first part of Dante's Divine Comedy. The player controls Dante, a veteran of the Third Crusade, who chases his beloved Beatrice and attempts to free her soul from Lucifer, who needs to wed a heaven-bound soul to break free of Hell and make another attempt to take over the Throne of God. As his pursuit takes him through the monstrous entities within the nine Circles of Hell to save Beatrice, Dante must face his own sins, his family's past and his war crimes.

  • Prologue - the City of Acre to the Gates of Hell[8]
    • Dante, the game's protagonist is shown stitching a bloody tapestry into his chest while stuck in a "dark forest" and screams in pain as the final stitch is finished. The tapestry immediately begins to show flashbacks of his life prior to the game's story. In the first flashback, Dante and his fellow knights are ordered by King Richard to capture the city of Acre and secure an artifact before Saladin can get his hands on it. During the raid on the Citadel of Acre, Dante is attacked by an assassin and left for dead. As he is about to die, Death appears to inform Dante that he is to suffer "eternal damnation for [his] sins" and that Dante's loved ones will also be punished. Horrified by the realization that the bishop has deceived him, Dante decides to redeem himself. In an act of defiance, he clashes with Death and takes his scythe as a war trophy after using it to slice its previous owner in half. He returns home to Florence with a determination to live his life in peace only to find that his lover, Beatrice Portinari, has been murdered. Beatrice appears to Dante as a spirit, telling him that she knew Dante would come for her. After this, Dante witnesses Lucifer drag her into Hell. Giving chase, Dante begins his journey to save Beatrice, cutting through an army of living dead to make it into a church where he sees Beatrice being tortured as her words of him breaking his vow to her confuse him. Desperate for more assistance, Dante blesses a holy cross Beatrice gave to him when they first made their vow of being true to one another, and pursues her to the otherside. After meeting the spirit of Virgil, who knows of Dante's crimes and agrees to help him in his quest, Dante uses a demonic beast to open the Gates of Hell and begins his descent into Limbo.
    • Confirmed Bosses: Death
  • The First Circle of Hell - Limbo
    • Dante begins his descent into Hell, fighting demons, unbaptized babies and other tormented souls. He rides on the back of Charon the ferryman, who he later kills by forcing a demon to rip his head off, to reach the serpentine King Minos, the Judge of the Damned, whom he must defeat to continue his journey. In the end, Dante manages to kill Minos by placing his tongue on a torture device and spinning the wheel around to split his face in half.
    • Condemned Host: Pontius Pilate
    • Condemned Souls: Orpheus, Electra
    • Confirmed Bosses: King Minos.
  • The Second Circle of Hell - Lust
    • Reaching the second circle of Hell, Dante discovers Lucifer is personally holding Beatrice's soul, even dressing her as his hellish bride and deceiving her into thinking Dante broke his vow to her. Dante must journey to the phallic tower in the center of this circle's endless hurricane to defeat Queen Cleopatra, who rules as one of Lucifer's regents.
    • Condemned Host: Francesca da Polenta
    • Condemned Souls: Paolo Malatesta, Semiramis
    • Confirmed Boss: Cleopatra and Marc Antony
  • The Third Circle of Hell - Gluttony
    • Having defeated both King Minos and Cleopatra, Dante journeys to the next circle, one populated by gluttonous demons, great landscapes made of living organs, storms of human waste and giant gorger worms with insatiable appetites. There he must face the "great worm", Cerberus, a mass of worm-like stomach protruding from an open maw.
    • Condemned Host: Ciacco
    • Confirmed Boss: Cerberus
  • The Fourth Circle of Hell - Greed
    • Defeating Cerberus, Dante enters the circle of Greed, which is mechanical in nature compared to the previous circles. Within the circle are occupants who are boiled alive in molten gold, condemned for being avaricious or prodigal with their riches. In this "factory of torture," Dante will be faced with the horrendous puzzles of the Wheel of Fortune, which is used to deliver punishment, come face to face against the fallen god Plutus, and confront the monstorous version of his own father.
    • Condemned Host: Gessius Florus
    • Condemned Souls: Fulvia
    • Confirmed Boss: Plutus, Alighiero
  • The Fifth Circle of Hell - Anger
    • Dante descends into the fifth circle of Hell and confronts Phlegyas, a giant, flaming demon whom Dante unknowingly rides across the River Styx, a toxic marsh which eternally drowns the wrathful and the sullen. Escaping the behemoth's fury, he witnesses the beast entering the City of Dis, guarded by the powerful Fallen Angels, and he must follow if he is to save Beatrice.
    • Condemned Host: Filippo Argenti
    • Condemned Souls: Boudica, Hecuba
    • Confirmed Boss: Phlegyas
  • The Sixth Circle of Hell - Heresy
  • The Seventh Circle of Hell - Violence
    • Awaiting Dante in Hell's seventh circle are the three abominable domains in which the fearsome Archdemons watch over the violent damned according to their particular sin: the first two being Phlegethon, the endless river of boiling blood which torments those who are violent against others and The Wood of Suicides for those who are violent against themselves. Within the Desert of Burning Sands for those violent against God, Dante encounters his former best friend and Beatrice's brother, Francesco, whose death during the Crusades was his doing. Now a horribly disfigured version of his former self, Francesco desires revenge against Dante for his state of being.
    • Condemned Host: Pietro della Vigna
    • Condemned Souls: Brunetto Latini, Guido Guerra
    • Confirmed Bosses: Francesco Portinari.
  • The Eighth Circle of Hell - Fraud
    • Fraud is an extremely dark place that holds those who used deception and lies to their own gain. It is split into ten ditches that each hold a different type of liar that are being punished in different ways. This circle is also home to every single demon and monster that appeared in the other circles. Each step down Fraud is a small arena in which Dante will have to fight his way through the relentless creatures of Hell as they ambush him.
    • Condemned Host: Thais
    • Condemned Souls: Tiresias, Myrrha
  • The Ninth Circle of Hell - Treachery
    • Having journeyed through all of Hell, confronted his past and atoned for his sins, Dante must now traverse the frozen wasteland of Cocytus to face Lucifer in his true form: a giant, three-headed demon. Only by defeating the Prince of Darkness himself can Dante save Beatrice's soul, as well as his own soul.
    • Condemned Souls: Fra Alberigo, Count Ugolino
    • Confirmed Boss: Lucifer

Feature film

Dante's Inferno has been optioned by Universal Pictures. The screenwriter for the film version remains unknown. Film Roman, the Starz Entertainment unit behind Dead Space: Downfall will release a direct-to-DVD version of Dante's that is set to be released simultaneously with the video game.[9] The only known detail about the Dante's Inferno project is that separate anime studios are being tapped to create visuals of the nine levels of the Inferno. Starz Entertainment is looking to sell both animated films to international TV buyers at the MIP market.[10] The animation studios that participated in the making of Dante's Inferno in order are Film Roman, Manglobe, Dong Woo, JM Animation, and Production I.G. The released movie shows a diffirence in storyline and has been divided into four different styles.

Downloadable Content

Currently two pieces of downloadable content are planned for release: Dark Forrest and Trials of St Lucia. Dark Forrest will add a prologue level.

Trials of St Lucia will feature cooperative gameplay and a game-editor. Players will be able to share their created maps and levels with others. The new playable character in this DLC is St. Lucia, a Christian martyr described as Dante's Guardian Angel. Trials of St Lucia is planned to be released on the 29th of April 2010. [11]

Marketing

Electronic Arts partnered with GameStop for a one-day promotion of Dante's Inferno on September 9, 2009. Those that pre-ordered the game were offered a $6.66 discount, the Number of the Beast.[12] In addition, EA conducted an unsolicited mailing in which cheques for $200 were sent to selected video game critics, with the following note: "In Dante's Inferno, Greed is a two-headed beast. Hoarding wealth feeds one beast, and squandering it satiates the other. By cashing this check you succumb to avarice by hoarding filthy lucre, but by not cashing it, you waste it, and thereby surrender to prodigality. Make your choice and suffer the consequence for your sin. And scoff not, for consequences are imminent."[13] A viral marketing campaign was also launched featuring a website and ad for a fake religious game called "Mass: We Pray." When attempting to order the game, the website deems you a heretic and plays to a trailer for Dante's Inferno, as well as providing links to the related Facebook app.[14]

A playable demo was released for PlayStation 3 on December 10, 2009, and for Xbox 360 on December 24, 2009.[15]

A video posted by Veronica Belmont on YouTube revealed another promotional item sent to the Qore and PlayStation: The Official Magazine offices, and to Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw of the Escapist's Zero Punctuation column. The package contained a small wooden box which, when opened, played the Rick Astley song Never Gonna Give You Up, thus 'Rickrolling' the journalists that received it. The music could not be stopped through any means other than destroying the box using the hammer and goggles provided. Belmont is shown destroying the box, having given in to Wrath as the note then found within the box predicted.[16]

"Go To Hell" Application

Visceral Games created "Go To Hell," a Dante's Inferno-themed application that lets users condemn their friends, groups, or photos to one of the nine circles of hell. They can then vote to punish or absolve them, or torment them with activities like beast massage or succubus castration. [17]

"Battle of the Damned" RPG

The Facebook application developer Lolapps, Inc. similarly adapted a Facebook role-playing game, "Battle of the Damned", that lets users fight through the nine circles of hell to rescue their murdered and damned wife. It rose nearly 1 million monthly active users in less than a week after launching. [18]

Development

Controversy

Prior to Inferno's release, in June 2009, a protest began during E3 2009 in San Diego to oppose the game. Around 20 protesters, claiming to be from a church in Ventura County, held up signs that called the game sacrilegious and labeled it possibly insensitive to people's beliefs. Protesters even went as far as calling EA the anti-christ.[19] This led to many people accusing EA of creating this as a marketing hoax to promote the game. A few days later, it was officially confirmed by EA spokesperson Tammy Scachter that they had hired people to protest the game and that there was no actual protest.[20][21]

Later, in October 2009, it was announced that the game would include an Xbox 360 achievement and a PlayStation 3 trophy entitled "Bad Nanny", which rewards players for killing unbaptized infants. This sparked a conflict with the International Nanny Association (INA), in which they encouraged supporters to oppose the game. The INA claimed that the achievement is offensive to real nannies and that it also promotes real-life violence. In retaliation, the INA asked the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB) to omit the reward and elements of infant violence. The ESRB insisted that its role was merely to label products appropriately, not to censor them, so their request could not be met. Despite this, the INA is still boycotting the game with hopes of it being changed before release.[22][23][24]

Special Editions

The PlayStation 3 will release a Divine Edition of Dante's Inferno. Along with the actual game, it will include developer commentaries, a Wayne Barlow digital art book, the game's soundtrack, the Dark Forest premium downloadable content pack (available March), and a digital copy of the complete Longfellow translation of Dante Alighieri's Inferno. This edition costs the same as the standard edition. As of January 14, 2010, it is only known that America will receive this version.[25]

Australia and Europe will exclusively receive the Death Edition of Dante's Inferno. It contains a player costume of Isaac Clark from Dead Space, a making-of documentary, the documentary "Dante in History", the full soundtrack, documentary on the creation of music and audio, digital artbook edited by visual designer Wayne Barlowe, over 10 minutes of scenes from Dante's Inferno An Animated Epic, digital reprint of the complete poem in English. It will be available for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. In Australia, the Death Edition is sold at EB Games for an extra AUD$20[26]. In the UK the Death Edition is a GAME exclusive and retails for £10.00 more than the standard.[27][28]

Reception

GamesRadar gave the game a 7/10, citing repetitive gameplay as a detrimental aspect of the game, dismissing it as a "God of War clone".[29]. IGN awarded it a score of 7.5, praising the art style while criticizing the derivative gameplay.[30]

Destructoid said that the game was superb giving it a 9.0, noting that it "borrows heavily from predecessors" but concluding that "it's one that fans of action shouldn't miss".[31]. Game Daily awarded the game 8/10.[32].

References

  1. ^ a b Reilly, Jim (August 18, 2009). "IGN: GC 2009: Dante's Inferno Gets Release Date". IGN.com. Retrieved 2009-08-18.
  2. ^ a b Robinson, Martin (April 22, 2009). "Dante's Inferno for PSP". IGN.com. Retrieved 2009-04-23.
  3. ^ "EA Sends Players to Hell in Epic Action Game Dante's Inferno". Electronic Arts. 2008-12-18.
  4. ^ EXCL: Dante's Inferno Artist Blog - 60 fps: The Number of the Beast
  5. ^ Will Rokos EA's Dante's Inferno
  6. ^ Week Six of Dante's Inferno Live Dev Chats - Dante's Inferno on the PSP
  7. ^ "God Of War Comparisons A Compliment, Dante's Inferno Dev Says". 1up.com. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
  8. ^ Haynes, Jeff. "Dante's Inferno Demo Hands-on - Xbox 360 Preview - at IGN". Xbox360.ign.com. Retrieved 2010-01-12.
  9. ^ A Clip from Dante's Inferno - The Animated Feature
  10. ^ "Dante's Inferno matching Dead Space movie-for-movie". Variety.com. 2008-12-18. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  11. ^ Dante's Inferno : Trials of St Lucia announced
  12. ^ "Save $6.66 on Dante's Inferno Today Only". Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  13. ^ "EA mails journos $200 checks to promote game". Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  14. ^ "Pre-order 'Mass: We Pray' for free Dante's Inferno trailer". Retrieved 2009-11-20.
  15. ^ Creepy, Uncle (2009-12-01). "Dante's Inferno Demo Gets Two Release Dates". Retrieved 2009-12-24. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |publsiher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
  16. ^ "Wrath!". Retrieved 2009-11-03.
  17. ^ "Visceral Games Tells Facebook Users to Go To Hell". Retrieved 2010-01-11.
  18. ^ "EA Launches Dantes Inferno RPG with Lolapps to Promote New Console Title". Retrieved 2010-01-11.
  19. ^ Fritz, Ben (2009-06-03). "E3: Protesters target Dante's Inferno game (Updated)". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  20. ^ Fritz, Ben (2009-06-04). "E3: Dante's Inferno protest (UPDATED)". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  21. ^ Sliwinski, Alexander (2009-06-05). "EA confirms Dante's Inferno protest was staged". Joystiq. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  22. ^ Warmoth, Brian (2009-10-23). "'Dante's Inferno' Baby-Killing Achievement Angers Nannies". MTV Multiplayer. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  23. ^ Stein, Scott (2009-10-23). "Dante's Inferno makes nannies everywhere furious". CNET News. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  24. ^ Williams, Bryn (2009-10-23). "Dante's Inferno 'Bad Nanny' Achievement Draws Fire from the INA". GameSpy. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  25. ^ Another Dante's Inferno Live Dev Chat -- TODAY! Go Beyond the Game!
  26. ^ "Dante's Inferno: Death Edition (PS3)". EB Games. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
  27. ^ "Dante's Inferno GAME Exclusive Death Edition (PS3)". GAME. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  28. ^ "Dante's Inferno GAME Exclusive Death Edition (Xbox 360)". GAME. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  29. ^ Pellet, Matthew (2). "Dante's Inferno Review". GamesRadar. GamesRadar. Retrieved 2010-02-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  30. ^ Haynes, Jeff (2010-2-3). "Dante's Inferno Review". IGN Xbox 360. IGN. Retrieved 2010-02-04. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  31. ^ Chester, Nick (2010-02-03). "Dante's Inferno Review". Destructoid. Destructoid. Retrieved 2010-02-04. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  32. ^ Template:Http://www.gamedaily.com/games/dantes-inferno/xbox-360/game-reviews/review/7883/2399/
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