tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5707645171160442312.post7038183049616667809..comments2010-06-18T09:49:57.790-04:00Comments on Press Pause to Reflect: Dante’s Inferno: A Failure on Two FrontsDaniel Bullard-Bateshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10930142428698229185noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5707645171160442312.post-13568819530522240582010-02-05T01:33:17.719-05:002010-02-05T01:33:17.719-05:00Very well written article. I especially love your ...Very well written article. I especially love your point about how they could've easily avoided a ton of this negativity were they to remove the weak tie-in to the poem. I think that there's definitely a great experience here; going through the 7 Circles as influenced by the medieval idea of what they were. And sure, it would make a great action game. But it has nothing to do with the literature. Honestly though, I don't mind it that much - I only read Dante's in school, in an advanced lit class. I was not entertained, so it doesn't mean much to me personally. I don't really care WHAT EA does with it.<br /><br />That being said, I disagree with you on the grounds of the God of War influence. I played the demo, and felt that the combat handled okay. It's clearly reminescent of God of War (downright rips it off, 80% of the time), and it's definitely clumsier (very valid point, that example with the QTE's), but it still feels like a satisfying game in the same vein. I read a review somewhere - Game Informer maybe - that Dante is still in that top tier of action games. Devil May Cry, Bayonetta, Ninja Gaiden. It's at the very bottom, but it's better than the second tier action games; Genji, No More Heroes, Onimusha, etc. And that much is true. <br /><br />I felt it handled fine, though it clearly isn't as good as God of War. Nor is it as unique as something like Darksiders - a game which gets unfairly pegged for ripping off GoW, ironically. I love Darksiders, and can safely say that the rhythym of its combat is very unique. The blocking/countering sucks in that game (it won't cancel your current attack, so it's quite unresponsive), so you end up dashing around a lot. The focus on defense and mobility lends that game a feel more along the lines of Bushido Blade or Power Stone distilled into an action adventure, which is pretty unique. You play it like GoW, you'll get killed and fast. Play Dante's Inferno like that though, and you'll win.<br /><br />Still, well written article. I suppose I'm not going to try to defend Dante's really - with Bayonetta, Darksiders, God of War 3 and really Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 coming out around it in the release calendar, it's clearly the worst game of the bunch, and very unecessary -, I suppose I just feel that another viewpoint must be heard. Not everybody cares about the tie-in to the literature, and how badly they fail at it, that much - even people who read the whole damn thing and recognize its significance.<br /><br />Still, excellent article. Glad they mentioned it on Game.Set.Watch.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5707645171160442312.post-19577165772533593232010-02-04T21:13:37.572-05:002010-02-04T21:13:37.572-05:00until I heard the game was coming out I had settle...until I heard the game was coming out I had settled on a wikipedia overview of the inferno (which turned out to be inaccurate). having heard and seen the inaccuracies of the video game I finally picked up the book (not the EA edition). I finished it and am currently reading purgatory. <br /><br />so I have EA to thank for getting me into the inferno. that said, the book already seems better and has deterred me from buying the game.<br /><br />maybe me and friends will get together to take turns playing the game. who knows, maybe I will be reading (or finished reading) paradise by then.<br /><br />THAT is irony.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5707645171160442312.post-809012013205164312010-02-03T16:52:22.815-05:002010-02-03T16:52:22.815-05:00I dont see why they used this piece of literature ...I dont see why they used this piece of literature in the title at all. If what they wanted was a gruesome action game set in hell than id like to believe there is enough creative talent to come up with something originalAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5707645171160442312.post-79156095792188818462010-02-02T17:42:25.845-05:002010-02-02T17:42:25.845-05:00I'm not quite ready to write this one off just...I'm not quite ready to write this one off just yet. The EA edition of the poem has a long foreword written by the creative director and he makes a pretty good argument for the game. <br /><br />Every single film adaptation and artistic breakdown of the Divine Comedy has meddled with the plot. So much of the text requires footnotes to even be comprehensible now so that there isn't much point in trying to stick to it perfectly. Some films have emphasized Beatrice far more than the book since technically she never even appears until Purgatory, others have left it out entirely. The first book of the Divine Comedy, the parts people want hear about, is the story about the citizens of Hell and what to make of them.<br /><br />Whether it's William Blake's paintings or Gustav Dore's ink sketches, seeing this depicted has always been fascinating. The lines change, the plots adjust, but really it's just about walking around seeing the punishments in action. The game mostly seemed to stick with this, both in the demo and in the art I've seen for it so far.<br /><br />I dunno how it will hold up on the design end. A third person brawler is probably the best choice for getting the player to notice the citizens of Hell and their quirks, but it's not going to be very good for delivering content. Whatever the case, I think Dante's Inferno is going to change the way we talk about games one way or the other.L.B. Jeffrieshttp://literatigamereviews.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5707645171160442312.post-67287605809965012442010-02-01T11:27:37.935-05:002010-02-01T11:27:37.935-05:00The first five minutes of the game also creates a ...The first five minutes of the game also creates a pretty amusing loop of logic. If I kill Death (who looks like he was heading toward the next Castlevania game) and grab his scythe, how in Hell is anybody supposed to die?Bruno Dionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03319186018672764919noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5707645171160442312.post-53306582373531829272010-01-27T09:40:25.026-05:002010-01-27T09:40:25.026-05:00When I heard they were making a Dante's Infern...When I heard they were making a Dante's Inferno game, I was excited. I loved the idea, and had read the actual literature multiple times.<br /><br />Then, I found out that they were completely screwing up everything I had envisioned.<br /><br />Saved me sixty dollars.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5707645171160442312.post-3601249163349591152010-01-26T14:02:48.599-05:002010-01-26T14:02:48.599-05:00Someone, somewhere at Visceral probably started ou...Someone, somewhere at Visceral probably started out with a good idea. But yeah, this is what happens when video game companies are owned by much larger companies that are only interested in upping their sales numbers. Good ideas tend to be smashed or chipped away at by profit and timing deadlines, and demands for popular themes and systems from other games to be incorporated because that's what's selling and thus what is the most valuable. Sigh... Definitely not playing this game.Awkward Silencenoreply@blogger.com