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Inspired by the classic Italian poem by Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, Dante’s Inferno is the latest video game from Visceral Games. Returning home from the horrors and atrocities of the Crusades, Italian mercenary, Dante, has been assured of absolution from his mortal sins committed in the name of the church in the Holy Land. Dante, however, soon discovers not only is immortal soul still in danger, but his wife, Beatrice, has been murdered and her soul carted down to hell by a seemingly unstoppable dark entity. Descending to the infamous nine circles of hell,Dante begins his journey to save Beatrice and himself from eternal damnation.

Playing as Dante, you must battle untold evil demons while weilding Death’s scythe, coupled with the holy powers of the cross. However, this game is more than a simple hack-and-slash. In the course of your travels through the nine circles you will encounter famous historical figures that you can choose to punish or absolve. This allows you to earn either Holy of Unholy points depending on what you choose to do with these figures. You will also earn points during combat sequences using this same “judging ability” to punish or absolve your enemies. These points let you level up and purchase new attacks and abilities, allowing you to customize Dante’s skills and performance based on your preferred style of play. Thus the combat system is surprizingly deep, providing for numerous ways to chain attacks. The problem is that rarely will you need to chain attacks or use the more complicated combos purchased. Most enemies can be defeated with a single blow and even the more difficult enemies are easily defeated with basic attack combos.

The graphic design of Dante’s Inferno is spectacular and is what really sets this game apart from others. The depictions of the circles of hell of disturbing and vivid. And while the game uses a fixed camera system, it still plays smoothly, which is impressive. There is, also, a platforming and puzzle solving aspect to Dante that takes the game farther than a simple hack-and slash, giving a seamless break from the fighting. However, you should be aware that due to graphic cutscenes, Dante’s Inferno is definitely rated ‘Mature’ and is deserving of the rating. As you travel through Hell you will encounter gratuitous violence, including scenes of Hell’s residents being tortured. Some of these scenes will involk sympathy for the tortured, others are just simply disturbing. There is, also, loads of nudity, male and female in nearly every level. Visceral Games has also opted for the shock value aspect by including enemies that launch human genitals as ranged weapon attacks.

Dante’s Inferno is a great game that still disappoints in many ways. It has been compared to Gods of War by more than just few reviews. And while being compared to Gods of War is not necessarily a bad thing, Dante has been called a weaker version of Gods of War, which doesn’t inspire gamers to give it a try. However, the game is still great fun and worth playing, if only for the graphical depictions of Hell. Overall, classic literature doesn’t make for good video gaming, yet Dante’s Inferno is an excellent foray into what could become a popular sub-genre.

Available on: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PSP