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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)Horror, 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 a third-person action-adventure game published by Electronic Arts developed by Visceral Games (formerly EA Redwood Shores).[3] The game is loosely inspired by Inferno, the first book of Dante Alighieri's epic poem, The Divine Comedy.[4] The story of the game is written by Will Rokos and produced by Justin Lambros.[5]

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

Gameplay

Dante's Inferno is an action-adventure where players take a third-person control of Dante, the game's protagonist, and engage heavily in fast-paced combat, platforming and environment-based puzzles. In the game, Dante's primary weapon is a Death's Scythe that can be used in a series of combination attacks and finishing moves, and his secondary weapon is a Holy Cross that fires a volley of energy as a projectile attack. In addition, Dante can use numerous magic based attacks and abilities channeled from a mana pool to help in combat, many of which are obtained as the game progresses. Another form of combat available to the character is an ability to take control of a large scale demon capable of dealing devastating attacks after its rider has been killed, a tactic oftentimes required to overcome a hazard or obstacle. A quick time event system is used when attempting to discharge the demon of its master and during boss fights, where players must press the highlighted button on screen in order to continue the chain of attacks, or be countered and wounded otherwise.

Many attack combinations and abilities can be unlocked and/or upgraded in exchange for souls NOT, an in-game currency that is collected upon defeating enemies or locating soul fountains of CHEESE. Each of these purchasable skills fall into two categories; into Penis (represented by blue orbs) and Vagina (represented by red orbs) skill trees. At the beginning of the game, both skill trees are equal in power, but as Dante gains more Holy and Unholy experience in his fights more Holy and Unholy abilities become available for purchase. That experience is collected through the game's "Punish or Absolve" system, where enemies upon defeat are either be punished and dismembered by Death's Scythe or absolved and saved with the Holy Cross. Much experience can also be accumulated in punishing or absolving the damned souls of many famous figures in history that appear in Dante Aligheri's original The Divine Comedy—upon choosing their fates, players enter a mini game where the characters' "sins" move towards the center of the screen, pressing required action symbols once the sin in place. Players are rewarded with more souls and experience the more collected.

There is plenty of platforming in the combat including swinging between ropes, climbing walls, and the environment-based puzzle sequences can impair progress. In addition, there are numerous hidden passages where biblical relics can be found and equipped to improve a certain ability of Dante's.

Story

See also: Characters of Dante's Inferno

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.

Voice cast

Film and animation

Main article: Dante’s Inferno: An Animated Epic

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 an animated direct-to-DVD version of the story that is set to be released simultaneously with the video game.[6] 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.[7] 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 difference in storyline and has been divided into four different styles.

Downloadable content

Currently two pieces of downloadable content (DLC) were released: Dark Forest and Trials of St Lucia. Dark Forest added 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 will be released on April 29, 2010.[8]

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.[9] In addition, EA conducted an unsolicited mailing in which checks 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."[10] 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.[11]

A playable demo was released for PlayStation 3 on December 10, 2009, and for Xbox 360 on December 24, 2009.[12]

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.[13]

A commercial for the game was shown during the 2010 Super Bowl and was noted for its unusual (and possibly ironic or satirical) use of Bill Withers' song "Ain't No Sunshine". Time magazine reporter James Poniewoziek referred to the ad as "something magical and funny".[14] According to EA product manager Phil Marineu, the decision to air the ad was to concentrate on more solid titles that they believe can break through to the masses.[15] WWE promoted this game at their website. Dante appears as part of Smackdown! Roster.

A commercial for the fictional company "Hawk Panther" encouraged viewers to visit the Hawk Panther website in order to be able to steal their best friend's girlfriend. If the link to find out more about the Hawk Panther systems is clicked on a message appears stating, "TREACHERY! Thou are condemned to the 9th Circle. Thou hast broken the bonds of trust with thy kindred. Even conspiring to stealeth they best friend's soul mate is the worst kind of mortal offense imaginable. You shall pay for thy treachery by spending an eternity immersed up to your face, the place where shame shows itself, in the putrid, frozen waters of Hell." The site also shows a trailer of Dante's Inferno and a link to buy the game.[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 year after launching.[18]

Development

Controversy

Prior to Inferno's release, in June 2009, a protest began during E3 2009 in Los Angeles 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 still attempts boycotting the game with hope of a change before it was released.[22][23][24]

Special editions

The Divine Edition of Dante's Inferno, released only for the PlayStation 3, comes with Custom Divine Edition packaging, along with the actual game. It includes a making-of documentary, a documentary of Dante in history, a Wayne Barlow digital art book, the game's full soundtrack, a documentary on the creation of the music and audio, 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. This edition is both released in some parts of Canada and the entire U.S.

In Australia and Europe the Death Edition of Dante's Inferno was released. It contains a player costume of Isaac Clarke, the player character from Dead Space, a making-of documentary, the documentary "Dante in History", the full soundtrack, documentary on the creation of the music and audio, a digital artbook edited by visual designer Wayne Barlowe, over 10 minutes of scenes from Dante's Inferno: An Animated Epic, and digital reprint of the complete poem in English. It is available for both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. In Australia, the Death Edition is sold at EB Games.[25] In the UK, the Death Edition is a Game exclusive.[26][27]

Reception

The game has received average to generally favorable reviews. It has been criticized for its close similarity to the God of War series; however, it has been praised for its unique setting, art, and level design. [citation needed]

GamesRadar gave the game a 7.0 out of 10.[31]

Game Daily gave Dante's Inferno an 8.0 out of 10.[32]

IGN gave it 7.5 out of 10. and said Dante’s Inferno takes a bold, visually impressive take on a literary classic and adds in an intriguing action focus to create a different kind of action title.

Destructoid gave Dante's Inferno an 9 out of 10 and said Dante's Inferno is one hell of an entertaining package it's one that fans of action shouldn't miss.

GameSpot gave it 6.5 out of 10 and said "Dante's epic quest loses momentum long before you reach the end."[33]

The game currently has a Metacritic average score of 72 for the 360 and 75 for PS3 version.

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. ^ A Clip from Dante's Inferno - The Animated Feature
  7. ^ "Dante's Inferno matching Dead Space movie-for-movie". Variety.com. 2008-12-18. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  8. ^ Dante's Inferno : Trials of St Lucia announced
  9. ^ "Save $6.66 on Dante's Inferno Today Only". Retrieved 2009-09-09.
  10. ^ "EA mails journos $200 checks to promote game". Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  11. ^ "Pre-order 'Mass: We Pray' for free Dante's Inferno trailer". Retrieved 2009-11-20.
  12. ^ Creepy, Uncle (2009-12-01). "Dante's Inferno Demo Gets Two Release Dates". Dread Central. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  13. ^ "Wrath!". Retrieved 2009-11-03.
  14. ^ Poniewoziek, James (2010-02-07). "EA Sports: Dante's Inferno". Time.com. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
  15. ^ "EA Doubles Down With Dantes Inferno Super Bowl Ad | GameLife | Wired.com." Wired News. Web. 11 Feb. 2010. <http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2010/02/dantes-inferno-super-bowl/>
  16. ^ http://www.hawkpanther.com/?page=home
  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. ^ "Dante's Inferno: Death Edition (PS3)". EB Games. Retrieved 2010-01-19.
  26. ^ "Dante's Inferno GAME Exclusive Death Edition (PS3)". GAME. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  27. ^ "Dante's Inferno GAME Exclusive Death Edition (Xbox 360)". GAME. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  28. ^ 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)
  29. ^ "Dante's Inferno Metacritic". Metacritic.
  30. ^ "Dante's Inferno Game Rankings". GameRankings. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help); Text "http://www.gamerankings.com/xbox360/955367-dantes-inferno/index.html/index.html" ignored (help)
  31. ^ 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)
  32. ^ [1]
  33. ^ [2]
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