Electronic Arts' and Visceral Games' Dante's Inferno doesn't hit till February 9th, but Hell-bound gamers can get an early taste on PSN and XBLA right now. A demo of the action-driven title recently hit both download services like a razor sharp scythe to a sinner's skull, and I dug deep into the fire and brimstone-fueled fun to bring you my impressions.
The tutorial-heavy demo takes place at the beginning of the game, before Dante actually reaches the dreaded nine circles of the Netherworld, but don't let that mislead you; it's still brimming with hellfire, violence, blood, and bare breasts. Dante's Inferno is a Mature-rated title, and this teasing preview wastes no time in reminding us of that. It begins with our hero swiftly shredding through falsely imprisoned peasants with an over-sized battle axe. Here, the basics of light and heavy attacks, as well as jumping and evading maneuvers are introduced, while you make quick work of the pissed-off prisoners.
With plenty of shattered bones and spilled blood in Dante's wake, you proceed to a seemingly similar arena-like area, only to have a cutscene take over that sees one remaining nuisance sneak behind you and drive a blade into your spine. This is quickly followed by an appearance by the Grim Reaper, who informs Dante he'll be eternally damned for unknowingly fighting for the wrong side. This doesn't sit well with our holy hero, and he vows to defeat Death. What unfolds next is a satisfying boss battle with the ultimate baddie; armed with an enormous scythe, the soul stealer unleashes a variety of melee and ranged attacks that drop Dante quick if the player doesn't take the time to learn their patterns. Dashing, blocking, and jumping are all integral strategies if you wish to make Death your begging-for-mercy bitch.
The lengthy battle concludes with a quick-time event that has Dante carving his foe right down the middle. It's a fast-paced, fun fight that I can only assume hints at much more epic boss encounters to come; if the Grim Reaper serves merely as a tutorial boss battle, you can bet your chain mail-covered ass you'll be in for some serious beatings later down the line. This fight to the death—with Death—also serves to equip you with your primary weapon for the game, the aforementioned bone and steel scythe. It's pretty damn satisfying to hear the black-cloaked baddie begging to be spared as you take him down with his own weapon. Death is such a wuss!
No doubt feeling good about his victory, Dante returns home to Florence, Italy, where he quickly discovers a few things to sour his mood. A cutscene first reveals him stepping past a dead, fly-infested crow—never a good sign. He then enters his home, where what appears to be a man of the cloth lies dead with a crucifix driven deep into one of his eye sockets—bad omen number two. Following these grisly scenes, Dante heads to his backyard/graveyard, where the boob-baring corpse of his beloved Beatrice rests. A devastated Dante touches his lost love's lips, releasing her soul, which speaks to him briefly before wisps of blackness, reminiscent of LOST's smoke monster, drag her away.
Shortly after reducing a group of graveyard-dwelling undead creeps into piles of rotting flesh, Dante finds an ethereal—and still naked—Beatrice inside a nearby church, strapped to the altar. She's soon swept upward by an unseen force, but all is not lost as the brief encounter grants Dante with a projectile-spitting crucifix. You immediately use this new toy to turn attacking harpies into balls of fire, and fend off more zombies. Here, you also learn of the title's forked holy and unholy moral path. If you grab an enemy, you can then choose to punish or absolve them; the former swiftly and gorily finishes them off, where the latter takes longer, leaving you more vulnerable to attacks, and requiring you jam on a button as the spared souls disappear into a heavenly blue light. While both paths lead to the unlocking of specific abilities, it's assumed the more difficult and righteous route will ultimately yield better rewards. Playing as sinner and saint also means double the play-throughs for completion obsessives.
After condemning and saving a few souls, Dante descends into the church, which is now literally crumbling all around him, and heads closer to Hell's entrance. Flaming crosses fall all around him while fire-conjured baddies attack from all sides. These flame-fueled hordes become still, solid black corpses when hit with the ranged crucifix attacks, making them a single scythe swipe away from becoming useless piles of ash. As Dante further makes it to the depths of the falling structure, hellfire impressively begins to reveal itself through large cracks in the walls and floor, effectively driving a palpable sense of tension and foreboding. Before he can be sucked into the fire, though, Dante meets Virgil—a nice little call-out to Divine Comedy purists—who grants him with Righteous Path, a magic spell that sends streams of demon-impaling ice spikes through the floor.
The next few minutes of the demo allow you to unleash all the creative kill moves you've just learned on more rampaging zombies, persistent harpies and new sword-wielding satanic-looking creatures whose lengthy demonic horns dwarf the blades in their hands. While having a blast using these foes as fodder to test your magic ability, crucifix power, and combo-driven scythe skills, a screen-eclipsing monster soon bursts through the walls, immediately demanding your attention. The enormous beast, which recalls “Return of the Jedi”'s Rancor, is piloted by another creature sitting near its head. With a few well-placed slices to the larger enemy's stomping hooves, Dante is able to trigger a quick-time event allowing him to slay the smaller baddie manning the beast, and overtake the reins. Atop his new monstrous mount Dante can stomp, crush, breath fire, and grab; the last ability can also be used to bring helpless minions to the huge creature's hungry maw. Crunching on the skulls of hell-spawn as if was munching the heads off gingerbread men was a definite highlight of the demo.
This all-too brief taste concluded with Dante's ride prying open the gates of Hell. It made for an effective cliffhanger, as one can only imagine what a trek through the nine circles can do to the determined Dante, that this treacherous intro hasn't already. It's been said countless times that Dante's Inferno is essentially “God of War in Hell. This might be accurate, however, it in no way takes away from what promises to be one of the year's most interesting action titles. The gameplay, which is fast, frantic, and wildly entertaining, is complemented by a stunning visual presentation that never shies away from shocking with its graphic depictions of what awaits those brave enough to battle through the underworld. Just as God of War's Greek mythology backdrop is an integral part of that series' success, Dante's poetic inspiration, complete with the over-the-top fire, brimstone, blood, and boobs, can be credited with making this title as awesome as it's shaping up to be. Its netherworld narrative, combined with the violence-fueled gameplay and sexually-charged maturity, has me counting the days till I can go to Hell.
