Dante's Inferno Review

03 Feb 2010 at 18:01:49 by Staff Writers
Systems used to review this title: (PS3)

I read Dante's Inferno a long time ago, and if I'm being fair, I don't really remember much of it. Like Ulysses, the unabridged version, I read it but couldn't make much sense of it. With only some of the more memorable and graphic moments pertinent in mind, I hoped the game would refresh my memory and I'd be able to understand a little bit more of the text by playing the game.

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Interestingly, unlike his text counterpart, Dante is a Florentine crusader, fighting in the Holy War in a bid to atone for his sins. Leaving his wife Beatrice behind, Dante goes on his quest, promising to stay true and faithful. Like all good protagonists pushing forward a narrative, Dante doesn't disappoint and promptly breaks his promise. Holding a prisoner captive, Dante agrees to release him in exchange for a night with his sister. Without giving too much away, this freed prisoner somehow finds out where Dante's from, the name of his wife and where she lives, and exacts revenge. Beatrice, disappointed by Dante's betrayal, descends to hell, paying for his sins. Dante challenges and executes Death, commandeers his scythe and begins his descent to Hell with the aim of freeing Beatrice.

Those of you that are a little confused with Beatrice's early introduction shouldn't worry. Although Beatrice only makes an appearance in the third part of the Divine Comedy in the text (Paradiso), the game is focused on Dante's struggle to face his sins, especially the betrayal of Beatrice. Emblazoned on Dante's chest is a weird tapestry of the worst moments of his life, the sins he's trying to atone for. These stories are triggered at certain moments in the game and you'll be offered a short, anime-style cutscene giving you insight into the character you're talking to, or as an introduction to a new circle of Hell.

Dante will not have to face the horrors of the underworld alone, however, and Roman poet Virgil will guide you through the nine circles of Hell, quoting passages from the text as you progress. It's worth paying attention to Virgil as he'll sometimes be holding back relics which will help you on your journey (more on these later).

So enough of the story, let's talk about the gameplay itself and whether or not it's worth sinking 10 hours into this title.

Your descent into the heart of Hell is varied and challenging, with different backdrops providing ever-changing moods to suit the realm you're in. As well as this, the attention to detail in the environments is also impressive, with locations like Suicide Forest and River Styx all making appearances. But it's not just the locations themselves, it's the people you encounter too. During the course of your journey you'll be able to absolve or punish those damned souls getting in your way (more about that later). A lot of care has been taken to place the characters from the text into the game and, as you come across them, it'll be your decision to absolve them; sending them to Heaven by completing a button-matching mini-game, or to punish them. With some of history's most notorious faces, like Attila the Hun and Helen of Troy, and various people from Dante's past making an appearance, it's a nice feeling to know that you can pass judgement on them, gaining souls in the process.

Souls are the in-game currency and by defeating, saving and punishing the population of the game world you release souls. These souls will allow you to purchase abilities in two different disciplines: Holy and Unholy. Similarly, by absolving the damned you gain souls and pump up your Holy Righteousness bar. By punishing the damned you still gain souls, but your Unholy Righteousness bar goes up. With small fry damned souls it's simply a matter of pressing the right trigger button to hook them on to your scythe. Once there, you can choose to either absolve or punish with the push of a button, although with larger enemies you might need to hand out some punishment before you're able to hook them. This is the basic mechanic for filling your Righteousness bar, with bigger enemies awarding more Holy or Unholy points as well as more souls. There are five levels of each branch to progress through, each level giving you more options for combos and and upgrades.

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