Dante's Inferno

Dante's Inferno is a game that aspires to be the cross platform 'God of War' but that it misses the mark, as so many others before it, is quite evident from the start. The boys at Sony Santa Monica must have had a big laugh.

Don't take me wrong, this game is not bad by any stretch of the imagination. It is just that there are so many similarities in gameplay and visuals that there is a big chance that you may feel cheated if you have ever played the God of War series.

The visuals are quite good and is at the upper end of the this generation of games. Although the developers are 100% justified in making the visuals as they are (since you are literally travelling through hell), a bit more colour would have been better. The only colours I remember when I think about this game are red, yellow and orange, in other words blood, fire and rock. Cut scenes are pre-rendered and could have used a bit more polishing as the transition between gameplay and cutscenes can be quite sudden and sometimes ugly.

The gameplay is what would be expected from a hack and slash game although I must say that a Scythe does not exactly make a spectacular weapon. There is a kind of secondary attack called the cross attack which is a type of ranged attack. As you progress further through the game you will find yourself cheating the game's difficulty level because these cross attacks get stronger while you can stay at a safe distance and finish off enemies. The gameplay could have been polished a bit further but is alright as it is. The music is decent but not memorable and certainly not epic.

The game starts in an epic manner but then descends into this mess with no real motivation in terms of storyline. The developers have taken video game nudity and mature rating to a whole new level that cannot be explained here. The are very few types of enemies and most of them look the same except for some subtle differences in their attack patterns. You will be taking on these guys again and again throughout the game which would feel a bit repetitive.

If you love hack 'n slash games then this game will not disappoint you as it is a pretty decent slasher with good visuals. But do not expect a God of War or Ninja Gaiden and do not expect a great story that would keep you engaged throughout the entirety of the game.

There are a lot of mixed reviews about this game, and I won't get into detail about them. They are extensively covered on gaming forums. However, being a fan of the hack and slash genre, and a big fan of the God Of War series, I found this game pretty amusing. The game starts out extremely fast, with a lot of great action, and then slowly degenerates towards the end. However, the story makes up for everything else that is missed in the game. Overall, it is definitely worth the price (25$, when this review was written) for the Divine Edition if you're into this style of games.

Great game, deep story & game is done very nicely...great PS3 title to add to your library.