Dante's Inferno Xbox Review

Dante's Inferno Xbox Review
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Introduction to the Dante’s Inferno Xbox Review

There are a few games which dare portray the depths of hell in quite the same eloquent, vaguely disturbing way as Dante’s Inferno. This Dante’s Inferno Xbox review will cover why this is a great Xbox game to own, but also why it could have been just a little bit better.

Dante’s Inferno for the Xbox 360 takes players through the 7 circles of Hell, through which you will battle everything from gluttonous monsters, to unbaptised babies. The portrayal of the sins in the various levels is highly artistic and and often unsettling, yet after several hours it soon turns in to a battle against knights and wizards, which while fun for hack and slash gamers, can soon become monotonous.

Dante’s Inferno is a great game in it’s own right, but through the haze of blood spattered affects there are some downsides which I will cover later in this Dante’s Inferno Xbox review.

The Story Behind Dante’s Inferno

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The premise of Dante’s inferno is a tale of love and betrayal. Dante, a warrior is overseas fighting in a grim war. Beatrice, Dante’s fiancée, fears for his safety, and in desperation bargains with the devil for a guarantee of Dante’s safe return. The devil agrees to the bargain only on the condition that if Dante is unfaithful, Beatrice’s soul will be forfeit.

Needless to say Dante fails to resist the all too voluptuous charms of the slave girls. He returns home only to find his wife laying dead, his house burned to the ground, and the soul of Beatrice being dragged down in to the Netherworld. Dante then embarks on an adventure to rescue his scorned fiancée. To do this he has to fight through all of the nine circles of hell, defeating creatures spawned from each of the nine deadly sins, each of which is hellbent on destroying Dante.

Reception of Dante’s Inferno

While Dante’s Inferno is a great game in it’s own right, it has often been likened to Gods of War. It did receive a large amount of criticism from critics and game players alike because of this. On page two if my Dante’s Inferno Xbox review I will go over the aspects of this game which have made it incredibly playable, and the aspects which have provided some bad press for this devilish game.

Dante’s Inferno has received a huge amount of publicity, from viral campaigns to figurines being shipped with the game. This in itself backfired slightly from people who would have had a game which was slightly more polished, than a figure of a man with a scythe. While the graphics are fantastic, some people feel that the game could have had a little more work put in to the long term playability.

Dante’s Inferno Controls and Interface (3 out of 5)

Despite the hack and slash dredge that Dante’s Inferno can fall in to, the interface is surprisingly intuitive, and you will quickly pick up the techniques needed to punish or absolve souls. As you progress through the skill trees you will unlock moves that require combos, and special controller movements. As mentioned later though, you might find yourself hacking and slashing rather than playing with some of Dante’s more entertaining moves.

The interface of Dante’s Inferno is also very slick, and helps guide you through Dante’s abilities and fighting moves.

Dante’s Inferno Visuals (5 out of 5)

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The visual affects in Dante’s Inferno are highly detailed, and fantastically imaginative. You will find yourself fighting through an immersive world with some entrancing visual effects and intimately crafted monsters. While the graphics are not particularly groundbreaking for technological advancements, they have spent a huge amount of time visually portraying the circles of hell with some evil mutated denizens.

The creatures in Dante’s inferno have raised a few eyebrows. There are un-baptized babies crawling around, whores with nipples which shoot out to attack Dante. Images such as these are a very convincing portrayal of each of the nine layers of hell, but they also push boundaries a little too far.

Dante’s Inferno Audio and Ambiance (4 out of 5)

The sounds, ambient noises, and musical scores that accompany the impressive visuals of Dante’s Inferno are impressive to say the least. The demonic noises mixed with the background sounds of tortured souls helps to draw you in to the games exquisite atmosphere. The sounds of battle only go to highlight and contrast the ambient sounds to help you delve even further in to the game.

Dante’s Inferno Gameplay and Entertainment Value (3 out of 5)

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While the overall visual effects in Dante’s Inferno can be pretty enthralling, the game play does leave a little to be desired. The game has a fairly good premise with a good or evil finishing moves to provide some superb power ups depending on your alignment. Unfortunately most of the monsters you face can be taken out in one or two hits. This turns the game from a skillful game, to a button mashing mess which can quickly become boring, even with the wide range of more skillful moves available.

While this repetitiveness might sometimes make the Dante’s Inferno gameplay feel a little boring, the button mashing adventure can be pretty entertaining sometimes. The wide variety of denizens which inhabit the underworld can help to keep things fresh, and the story line though fairly simple, is very involving.

Conclusion to the Dante’s Inferno Review (3 out of 5)

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While Dante’s Inferno does have some great qualities. It has definitely been overshadowed by Gods of War, a very similar game which preceded Dante’s Inferno. The visual effects and imaginative enemies are definitely entertaining, unfortunately some people find it gets a little tiresome after only a few hours of game time.

If as much time had been spent perfecting the combat mechanisms Dante’s Inferno could have been a great game, as it stands however it is simply a visual feast with an unoriginal play style. Of course while it might be unoriginal, it uses the same system as many other older games which were hugely entertaining.

Dante’s Inferno gets 3 out of 5 stars, while it is not a bad game, it does feel way too mediocre for something which could have been amazing.