10 February 2010
Dante’s Inferno
But you can’t ignore the fact this is a God of War clone at its core, and many of the ideas here feel tired, familiar and dated. Nor can you ignore the fact that God of War III is nearly here. If it’s a toss-up between that game and this one, as it probably will be for PS3 fans, you’re best off waiting to see how Kratos’ next adventure turns out. All the same, Dante’s Inferno is worth considering if you’re a diehard hack-and-slasher fan who loves blood, gore, fire, brimstone, layered but simplistic combat systems and tits. This is more than one big lava level and it’s not a terrible game. It’s just not an original one, and it’s arrived a little too late.
(Eurogamer 6/10)
Ultimately, our issue is simple – if you’re going to shamelessly riff on a formula popularised and pretty much perfected by another massive game title – yes, God of War in this instance – you better be damn sure you do it better. And, sadly, aside from its excellent combat system, Dante’s Inferno misses the mark in almost every way. It’s dated, uninspired, repetitive, clumsy and almost totally forgettable. But – and this is a big but – there absolutely is fun to be had from Visceral’s superb fighting engine and, truthfully, the simple act of hitting things until they explode is a pleasant enough distraction. That’s going to be more than enough for the less discerning, more forgiving player, particularly with multiple difficulty settings to tantalise with further grasps for perfection. Anyone else, however, should quite reasonably demand more.
(IGN, 7.0)
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