Electronic Arts makes a huge bet with Dante’s Inferno

Fresh off the success of Mass Effect 2, Electronic Arts is launching one of its big bets on a brand new video game as it debuts Dante’s Inferno.
The game goes on sale today. EA spent an estimated $3 million or so on a Super Bowl commercial touting the game. EA chief executive John Ricciteillo said the ad helped drive more than 3 million downloads of content related to the game as well as strong preorders. It will be interesting to see if EA can score back-to-back hits. In its first week, Mass Effect 2 saw 2 million units sold. But that is a sequel to an established franchise. The Dante’s Inferno game is much more of a risk.
The game from EA’s Visceral Games studio is a brand new property loosley based on the classic Dante Aligheri’s first epic book in The Divine Comedy. Lucifer’s minion’s from Hell steal the soul of Dante’s beloved Beatrice. Dante, who is no longer a bard but a beefy knight, enters Hell and fights through the nine circles of Lucifer’s dominion to rescue her. He cuts a big swath through the demon beasts using Death’s (ridiculously long) Scythe and Beatrice’s Holy Cross.
In a lot of ways, the book is suited to video game adaptation. Levels in the game correspond to the levels of Hell, which include Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery. In each circle, there is a big fricking boss to fight, not to mention vicious little demons too. For each enemy you vanquish, you decide whether to punish them or absolve them. You’ll run into topless demons in Lust. And in fact, I could swear that when I read the classical Dante’s Inferno, Beatrice was not topless as well. But throughout the early part, she’s got one or two bare breasts in every scene. It’s surprising that this game didn’t get an adults only rating. But I suppose it is no different than an R-rated movie.
Beyond the game itself, Dante’s Inferno is another attempt at creating a cross-media entertainment property. As it did with its original sci-fi game DeadSpace, EA also contracted to have an animated film made about Dante’s Inferno by Starz Media. This one has six different segments created by six famous animation film directors. EA also commissioned a comic book and launched a toy character based on Dante. These cross-media investments can either magnify a giant success or help dig a bigger crater for a bomb. The game is coming out on the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3, and it naturally has a mature rating.
I’ve just started playing the game and it is visually cool.  But the scythe-driven game play is clearly a derivative of the God of War series. So while the game story is original, the game play is kind of a copy of the Sony game’s combat system. That’s OK, since the God of War series is a lot of fun. But it puts the risk that EA is taking here in perspective. Some gamers may like the God of War comparison, while others may be turned off by it. The Scythe play is fun. You mash the buttons and various combos help you beat the enemies en masse. You can block and counter and use the Holy Cross when you need to shoot someone far away. Dante also earns redemption points as he dispatches demons and reaps magical abilities as well.
You collect a lot of things along the way: souls, green orbs to replenish your health, purple orbs to replenish your mana energy, and statues of Beatrice. The characters are also quite interesting and there is a whole lot of action to go with each little tidbit of story. You can just mindlessly mash buttons and get a thrill from the mayhem that it causes on the screen, from a duel with Death itself to mowing down the hordes of Hell. It’s quite addictive, but I don’t think it’s a masterpiece that will last through the centuries. If you like hack and slash games, Dante’s Inferno may be your savior.