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Dante's Inferno (PS3) Status: Finished playing I started playing this game on Monday 10 February, 2014 // I stopped playing this game on: Tuesday 20 May, 2014
Current opinion of this game
I really liked it. Gross and imaginative, but compelling and fun as well.
May 7, 2014 04:13:50 PM
The version of the game I have came with some special bonus DLC, one of which was a prequel "mission". So, I played it the other night and...well, I wasn't really impressed. There's a point when adding more information and things to do simply detracts from the magic of the original experience. So, while I've always been a fan of "deleted scenes" and "extended director's cuts", it seems that it's always hard to keep up the level of quality. In the case of movies, those little extras are, generally, short. They tend to add a few snippets of information that can enrich the original experience. In the case this prequel DLC mission, it doesn't really add all that much and if anything breaks the experience somewhat. After all, Dante uses powers and abilities that (in the game's chronology) haven't yet been acquired or developed, so the whole thing makes little sense. Perhaps I should have played the DLC first?
May 7, 2014 04:10:10 PM
Finished! I still don't get the bad rap for this game. Yes, I recognize and understand that it takes the tried and tested "formula" from God of War, but still. Playing this game was both enjoyable as well as, at times, wonderful. By wonderful I mean it created wonder (and amazement) - some of the locations and art are simply stunning. Creepy, but stunning. That seems to be a rare experience in videogames nowadays. A sense of awe. Or, to put it differently, it seems to be something we don't appreciate as much? Are we perhaps all jaded by "epic" CGI?
March 10, 2014 09:22:18 PM
I don't understand why this game has such a bad rap. I've never read Inferno (by Dante Alighieri) and I don't feel quite qualified to get into the whole "oh my god what have they done with this literature classic re-imagined as a videogame" argument. I'm now quite curious to read Inferno just to see what actually served as inspiration. My experience so far? Wow. Epic is a word that has lost a lot of its luster recently, but it really fits the bill for this game. It's a beautiful (albeit twisted, gross, and disturbing) game. I would hope that it won all sorts of awards for art direction and that sort of thing. Favorite bit so far? There are some platforming sections in a marsh. As you get close to the water, skeletal hands rise up. As far as I can tell it's an effect that is purely decorative - but it looks incredibly creepy. In terms of gameplay I think that it's fair to call it a God of War clone. I don't mean that in a judgemental negative way. Rather in the sense that it really learned from the series (not sure if this game came out before or after God of War III, which I haven't played). I've only played GoW1 and 2 in the main series, and this game would be a fitting part of that series (except that it's not, obviously). At this point I've clear all but 3 of the circles of hell. I'm not sure what to expect later on except for some huge fights? It hasn't been too hard so far (with a few exceptions, like one or two boss fights - especially the one whose name I forget but involved impaling his tongue on a spike...)

Dante's Inferno (PS3)