Dante's Inferno: After Thoughts

I actually finished Dante's Inferno lie 2 weeks ago.

I picked up the game on a Monday and smashed my way through it to finish it at like 2am on Wednesday morning... clocking in at 13 hours or so game time on the Hellish setting.


Yeah... I rock.

I really think I should have written this entry lat week while the game was still burning in my head.

But if it means anything, after I had finished Dante's Inferno... I just got right back into it again on a harder setting to get me all the collectibles and such.

The trick with Dante's Inferno is to look past the "inspired by the epic poem" crap and just play it as a mad beat-em-up. Cause at the heart of it, that's what it really is.

A fancy dressed beat-em-up.

If your looking for a coherent story narrative, this isn't the game for you. But if you're after a few hours of mad hack and slash fun, with lots of cool locations and interesting baddies. This be it brother.

The action is what kept me going... Once it picks up and you get into the flow of the combat... this game really delivers. I spent hours after I was done with the game, just playing through it again.; I didn't bother spending too much time in the "arena" that I unlocked after completing the game, because I found it kind of lame.

The 2nd play through wasn't as crazy as the first, even on the harder difficulty setting. This was because I had totally decked Dante up with a shizz load of upgrades and relics that made him an ass kicking master.

Most of what I feel about the game hasn't changed from my first impression. This was a game that only just falls short of greatness. If you can just look past the other shizz and play the game for the combat, then Dante's Inferno really shines.

The theme of Hell really plays out well too... and if you're a fan of fire and brimstone, then it does well to add to the game.

Sadly at the end I was left with a game that wasn't totally what I was expecting, and has taught me not to pre-order shizz anymore.

Well... except the Splatter House remake maybe :P

But serioulsy... Dante's Inferno has kind of shaken my belief in Visceral games too.

They had more than won me over with Dead Space back when they were Redwood Shores, but after playing through Dante's Inferno... the polish and innovation that shined in Dead Space didn't carry over at all.

The dismemberment game-play, the lack of a normal hud, the voice acting and the exploration. Not to mention a creepy story that's interesting enough to keep you motivated.

I gave up saving Dante's girlfriend about 1/4 way through the game. I just put Dante in the Isaac Clarke rig that I got with my special edtion of the game, and pretended I was playing a Dead Space expansion. For something that had so much great literature to pull from... i have to stress one more time how half assed the story is.

Now with talks of Dead Space 2 leaning more towards being an action shooter rather than survival horror, I hope these guys don't fuck up the next big "Must have or I die" game that I'm looking forward to.