Franchise Uk

Frankenreview: Dante's Inferno

After going through a huge stack of reviews for our Dante's Inferno Frankenreview, I have determined that this game might have a few things in common with God of War. That, and Dante has no idea how to play Limbo.

Is it strange that a game revolving around a long, drawn-out philosophical exploration on the nature of hell be likened to a franchise that's essentially a long, drawn-out exploration of killing things in a bad-ass fashion? Kids, this is the video game industry, where developers make the impossible possible every single day.

But is it possible to write a review for Dante's Inferno without mentioning God of War? Probably not. Get under that stick, Dante!

Eurogamer
Basing your game on a 14th century poem set in Hell has certain advantages. For starters, you don't have to pay copyright fees or worry about the author of the source material complaining you've bastardised his work. In fact you don't have to worry about anyone complaining as only 27 people in the world have bothered to read the thing, and half of them are lying. But there are risks too. You can't employ many of the most popular action-adventure staples such as guns, cars, aliens, Nazis, wisecracking sidekicks and love interests with buttocks like two basketballs in a pillowcase. You're limited by the types of enemies you can create and the environments they can inhabit. As is the case with any game set in Hell, you risk ending up with one big lava level. So what's a developer to do? Why, find another game with no guns, cars or aliens and rip it off, or so it would seem in the case of Dante's Inferno. In fact, this game has so many similarities to a certain other series it's hard to believe it wasn't originally called Dante's Infernof War.

Total Video Games
Sadly, as far as Inferno's gameplay is concerned, far too much time is spent in Purgatorio. There are sections where it becomes difficult enough to be hellish, but very few moments (if any at all) where the level of gaming fulfilment reaches Paradiso. It's hard to think of any game on current-gen consoles that's quite as derivative as Dante's Inferno (and that's a long list of derivative games). By our estimates, Inferno is roughly 95% God of War, 3% Prince of Persia trilogy, and 2% original thinking. While the odd environmental puzzle section and some occasional rappelling makes Inferno mildly PoP in form, the amount of tricks that have been taken directly from Kratos' back-catalogue certainly books EA a second ticket to the fraudulent circle of hell.

Official Xbox Magazine UK
Unusually for a hack 'n' slash hero, Dante only has two weapons to choose from. There's a heavy scythe that used to belong to the Grim Reaper, and a crucifix that shoots out holy fireballs. Even at the start of the game when you haven't unlocked much, the combat still feels meaty. Your scythe hits home with a satisfying thud and showers of gore, and almost every combination of the X, Y and B buttons creates a new and exciting attack chain. It's empowering for the most part, but unfortunately, there are also times – particularly during boss battles – that the health system becomes a source of frustration. There are no storable health items, and very few enemies drop recovery orbs. If you pass a checkpoint with low health, you'll return there in a similar state if you die. It's only after repeated deaths that your health gradually increases.

Gaming Target
The only problem with the combat is that a lot of the in-depth and complex moves you purchase aren't necessary to win most battles. On normal difficulty you could burn through most fights using the base combos you start with (Hellish is a pretty good challenge on the other hand). Spamming light scythe attacks and standard cross attacks can be your full arsenal if you wish, but where's the fun in that? It's up to the player to string together moves and build impressive combos, but doing so is a lot of fun. The boss fights are well done and in these one-on-one brawls some cunning is surely needed to be victorious.

Destructoid
Visually, Dante's Inferno is stunning, both from a technical and artistic standpoint. Visceral's vision of hell — based on Alighieri's text as well as a broad range of artists' interpretations (including its own) — is as impressive as it is morbid and twisted. As you move your way through the circles — from Limbo to Treachery — the distinctions are clear, in both enemy design as well as the environments, many of which feel alive: contorted bodies and moving are part of the terrain, and you can hear their screams and howls echoing in the air. When you think it can't get more f*cked up (the souls of aborted babies attack with you their razor blade arms), it does. As you dive deeper into hell, you're in for a real treat, as the level design becomes more jaw-droppingly morbid and perverse as you plunge towards the final Circle of Hell.

New York Times (No score given)
It should be clear by now that the story in the game has almost nothing to do with the story of the poem. There is no reason this game could not be set in any of the hundreds or thousands of generic hells that have hosted video games over the years. What Electronic Arts has done, quite transparently, is appropriate Dante's brand to use as a light marketing skin on top of the God of War clone the company so clearly wanted to make. And so images of Virgil spout lines from the poem at you once in a while, and Dante's ranged weapon appears as crosses of light, but there is no heavy religious imagery and never any real sense of horror or torment. There are, however, a lot of bare female breasts. There is even a giant Cleopatra demon who spurts knife-wielding unbaptized children out of her nipples. You would like to hope that after so many centuries, “The Divine Comedy” can withstand something as fleeting as being used to hawk a video game. As for Mr. Jaffe, sadly, he shouldn't hold his breath for those royalty checks.

Kotaku
I've come to understand that creating a game based on something revered doesn't mean it has to be a copy or endlessly quoted. To work, the byproduct has to just stay true to the intentions of that work. That's what Dante's Inferno does. You could fill a book about how hell doesn't have switches or big flashing symbols or life and mana, but those are just the trappings of gameplay and mechanic. Certainly, the developers could have done a better job of weaving those basics of play into the tapestry of their take on hell. But that shouldn't lessen the impact of all of the things they did right. Dante's Inferno the video game is a metaphysical journey though and an animated illumination of medieval hell. It deals with morality and existentialism as aptly as it delivers an engrossing experience. It is not without its issues, it most certainly won't be for everyone, but it does something that very few video games do: It opens the door for moral introspection.

Not one review I browsed failed to mention God of War

Send an email to Michael Fahey, the author of this post, at fahey@kotaku.com.

I choose for my role on the site not to really involve posting news articles. It's not really my bag and quite frankly I find re-posting stories broken by other sites to be tedious and boring. But I do like to surf the net and occasionally I stumble upon tidbits of information that I find interesting.

Today is the first day of principal photography on the latest Saw film. I'm a big fan of the franchise, seeking the films out at every midnight opening and despite the fact that they focus on sadistic torture, I feel they are more character oriented than people realize. But the series has got progressively stale and with each new film you get the feeling the studio is robbing us blind and wants to run this franchise forever. Back in late November, Matt Horn and David Murphy of U.K. Radio station 107.5 Demon FM conducted an exclusive interview with Saw co-writer Patrick Melton. Melton and his writing partner Marcus Dunstan got their big break in the third season of Project Greenlight when their screenplay was turned into the horror film Feast. Two sequels were subsequently produced, but the pair also took over the reins of the Saw franchise when they were hired as the writers of the fourth, fifth and sixth films.

Horn and Murphy had previously spoken with Dunstan before the release of Saw VI, but this latest interview takes place sometime after its lukewarm reception at the box-office. As much as I hated Oren Peli's Paranormal Activity, we may have to thank that film for besting Saw at the box-office because it looks like the idea to conclude the series with two more films has been scrapped. According to Melton, the powers that be want the seventh outing to be the last.

Melton seems like a really fun and engaging guy and though he doesn't spill specific details, he talks a lot about Saw VII more than he probably should. Will all our questions be answered in this final installment? Is shooting in 3-D the way to go or is the post 3-D process (currently being employed for Clash of the Titans) just as good? Will we learn the fate of Dr. Gordon (Cary Elwes)? Where are all those skin jigsaw puzzle pieces and what exactly is Saw: Endgame? Melton answers many of these questions in Demon FM's exclusive interview. You can click on the photo to hear the audio version which runs about an hour, but since Horn's Saw questions don't begin until about three minutes in, you can also read my truncated transcript below. Be advised of spoilers from the previous Saw films and even Saw VII.

Matt Horn: Well I'm going to be going over the same generic questions I asked with Marcus. The one everyone seems to be asking is when is Saw going to end?

Patrick Melton: I mean, I think it's going to end with Saw VII. I have a very strong feeling its going to end with Saw VII. That's something we're debating now. You saw in previous interviews or discussions where we thought Saw VIII would be the last one where we had the first trilogy and the second trilogy and then sort of a grand finale wrapped up in two films. But frankly because Saw VI hasn't performed as well as we anticipated, the idea is well why make two movies when we can make one really excellent movie that wraps up as best we can? And it's going to be in 3-D which sort of adds to the spectacle. So if you had to ask me, I don't own the franchise, nor do I run the studio, but I have a feeling, a strong feeling that it's going to be Saw VII which will be also known as Endgame. And nothing's official yet, but that's where we're hoping things will go.

MH: Well we heard from David Hackl that it might be Saw IX.

PM: (Laughs) Uh, I don't think so. No. And you know, a lot of it comes down to, ya know, the performance at the box-office. Had we opened at the traditional numbers, I think they would have gone with business as usual, but business was down to half that not only saw fatigue that comes with a franchise that opens, that plays every year, but also the desire of fans to have a bit more resolution and I thought we had it to a certain extent in VI, but there is of course a bit of a cliffhanger. Unsolved business, er unresolved business. And so if we're going to do it again, I think everyone wants these films to be events and they don't just want them to be, ya know, these sort of small little movies that don't have as much gravitas as the previous film. But this one, discussions around camp lately have been this to be officially the last one.

MH: Okay. It's a shame really, actually. There's also talk of a reboot as well.

PM: I've never heard that. Like redo the first one?

MH: Yeah

PM: I don't think so, no. Ya know maybe, ha, maybe ten years from now. Ah, but I don't think so. At this point everyone is very focused on making Saw VII and seeing if we can make this sort of the grand finale.

David Murphy: Even if Saw VII is going to be in 3-D, what about the idea of releasing the series in 3-D again. Does anyone fancy that?

PM. Oh. Oh the whole thing? You mean all, every movie? Well, um when the discussions were had, the talk about 3-D started around Saw V. People started talking about it and so tests were done not only with…see like during VI David Hackl was shooting sets with the 3-D camera just seeing how they looked and felt to see if it could work…but at the same time a company had put the first Saw into 3-D using the other technique of, ya know they do it in the computer and they pull out different parts of the movie, those scenes in 3-D, it's not authentic 3-D. But I think that that was a thought, it's very expensive, but some people, I think Lionsgate, they were discussing maybe putting them all in 3-D so they could have the same experience, but I've heard it's not, it doesn't look as good as actually shooting in 3-D. But that's a possibility that they would do this in 3-D and maybe do the first one in 3-D with the computer program.

MH: I also asked Marcus since you said Saw VII might be the last Saw, does that mean we'll ever find out whatever happened to Dr. Gordon?

PM: I can't say anything official yet, but I think the thought around the camp is that let's solve all questions by the end. Including that question. We wanted to resolve that because it is the 700 pound gorilla in the room…with a vague end in sight as most people have had, its sort of been been pushed off with us being able to often put…we read the scripts we had, we've always put in certain clues from each movie what happened to him, but a lot of that has been taken out of the films, but it seems that though right now the thought is to answer that question and wrap everything up in a wonderful nice package.

MH: Does that mean that sort of his…is his fate, is it going to be something like “oh he just died of blood loss” or there's going to be some sort of Eric Mathews type trap?

PM: Well I can't, of course I can't really say anything yet, but it will be resolved and it's not going to be anti-climatic, I will guarantee that.

Dave: So it's not going to be like “Oh my God!”

PM: Ha, ha. I can't say.

MH:Oh, oh dear. You can never get anything out of writers can you Dave?

PM: I mean cause a lot of it…the exact nature of how it plays out is still undecided at this moment , but the question will be answered, it's just a matter of how exactly.

DM: Well especially, a lot of the ideas they're ever changing to the point of production as well so even if you said right now, they could change…

PM: True, I don't want to say something that doesn't pan out.

MH: Well from what you were saying with Saw VII, a lot of the fans have been saying “Are they just doing this for the money?” The money aspect of it or are you doing it for the storytelling? What would you say to the fans who believe that?

PM: Oh, I think anytime something is very successful, in films especially, there's the automatic thought: “make another.” So I think the more money something makes the more likely there's going to be a sequel. However, no one wants to see the Saw franchise beat down into the ground and opening at five million dollars and no one really caring. That's why a decision is close to being made and an announcement is probably close to being made that this is the grand finale. I think certain powers that be will always be hesitant to say that so distinctly, but that's where our marching orders are leaning towards. We're not putting “Saw VII” at the top of our script books, we're putting “Saw: Endgame”. So that's how we feel about it. I think that people sometimes get bummed out when they see major cliffhangers at the end of the movie and they're like “Oh, c'mon! Now, you've answered five questions but you just brought up six more.” So I understand it, I feel that and as a fan of the first three movies we had those same feelings sometimes. But the filmmakers on this movie, the producers and the studio too, respect the franchise quite a bit and no one wants this to be something that becomes less than its always been. There is a reaction from the last movie not opening as big as it did in that we think that perhaps if we were going to do two movies, let's do one movie that's big, bad that sort of wraps things up as it should on our own terms.

MH: That kinda means that you're going to have to add a bit more running time to the film then? Really, surely?

PM: Probably. Probably It'll probably be a little bit longer. I don't think anyone wants to make a long boring movie. If we're promising to answer all questions it will likely result in a movie that's a little bit longer. Most of them have come in around ninety minutes or so. The third one was the longest although I might be mistaken on that. It'll probably have a bit larger, bulkier running time, but hopefully that will just be because there's so much great stuff going on. Hopefully, that won't affect the pacing…it will just be a bigger, bigger event.

MH: Will we revisit any of the survivors (of Saw V) like Pamela, Brit or Mallick?

PM:Yes, actually we will. One thing that's tricky with the Saw movies, because they are serialized which is good in some ways, but its difficult in other ways because it's hard to bring back certain actors because of a scheduling conflict or they want a ton of money. It often isn't feasible to bring them back but there is a huge centerpiece in VII that involves people that survived Jigsaw's traps. Two who would arguably have survived, Brit (Julie Benz) and Mallick (Greg Bryk), would be a part of that. And so, I don't know if they will specifically be in the movie, but they will be there spirit.

MH: Is the house fire that “The Fatal Five” were involved in the Saw II or the Saw I house?

PM: Yeah, its funny, the house that was in Saw II is the same house that Agent Strahm (Scott Patterson) entered in Saw V. We made a much bigger deal about it in the script and we intended it to be a much bigger deal in the movie, but when it was filmed, it didn't really register with people for some reason. The house that was used in II was never found and the basement of the house is “the bathroom” and all that is the same place where Hoffman (Costas Mandylor) lured Agent Strahm and killed him there. Which is why he would never be found. Or he wouldn't be found until Hoffman decided to give up the house which would in turn give up “the bathroom” and all the locations. But those are the same, that's the same house which uh, might be a big deal in Saw VII. We'll see.

Dave: You know that sort of fire alarm that you hear in Saw I? Is that the house fire?

PM: Yes, that was supposed to be the house fire that Mallick set that was part of the five person game in Saw V. And you know we had a lot of these little details which more tied together and often when we make the films it gets lost or it doesn't work so they have to be cut or they feel like too much put into the shot for people. And so that was supposed to be connected to the alarm that goes off in the first movie…

Dave: Detective Tapp (Danny Glover)…

PM: Yeah that he finds out. And then throughout Saw V we had this thing where Brit was trying to find out “what's the connection, what's the connection between us?” And initially think “Oh it's the fire”, but then at the end of the movie, when Agent Erickson (Mark Rolston) comes in and finds her dying she looks up and she recognizes him, essentially saying “I know you. You and the other guy are the agents that were investigating the fire that tried to arrest all of us.” So once that connection was made Erickson would realize that Strahm is the connection to her, the connection between all of them, which would sort of tie up the A story and B story. It was shot, but didn't really work and so the filmmakers were hoping people would be able to make that connection, but they didn't. And so that's why the A and B stories felt like they were standalones when in fact they were supposed to be totally married and come together in that moment.

MH: Are the whereabouts of the jigsaw pieces ever gonna get explained? Is there a big wall of jigsaw pieces of skin somewhere?

PM: Yeah, yeah. We wanted to get to that, um I hope we do. We've been planning on it, but we'll see. That is very astute though. We would like to answer that cause there does seem to be a great deal of skin jigsaw puzzle pieces hidden. Where are they? We would like to answer that.

DM: I have a question about the way the plot of Saw VI is related to the other Saw films, namely Saw III, because we came full circle. Saw VII for example is it inside the circle or outside the circle? Will it relate to a particular film or the whole series if its going to be the endgame?

PM: VII is going to incorporate all six films and wrap things up, that is the intent, that is the plan as of now, how we can do that as effectively as possible. Because if we're saying this is the end it should appropriately be the end and reach back to as far back in history as the films have gone.

DM: What about the video game, would that go into it at all?

PM: Well the video game, we've had to keep those separate, but I really enjoyed them. I thought the video game was a lot of fun.

MH: You know Daniel Matthews and people like Mrs. Gordon and her child and Jeff's child and Vick's wife? All those characters that sort of, I wouldn't say left the series, but haven't really been like “Oh my wife or my husband's disappeared” or anything like that. Will that be answered in VII?

PM: I don't know if those specific actors will be in it, but they will be addressed. Especially Dr. Gordon and family.

MH: In Saw II in the bit with the eye, you see someone limping. Is it the Dr. G?

PM: I can never say anything definite upon that, but we'll certainly find out sooner than later.

Is this Dr. Gordon implanting the key behind Michael's eyeball in Saw II? Hmm…

The 54th annual Eurovision Song Contest produced a worthy winner in Norway's chirpy Alexander Rybak. The ultra confident fiddler from Oslo (although born in Belarus) handed the poisoned chalice of hosting next year's event to Norway with a resounding victory. Securing a record 387 points placed him streets ahead of second placed Iceland with 218.

The 22 year olds self penned 'Fairytale' was an undoubted 'pre-tournament' favourite and certainly lived up to all the pre match hype. However, other creditable entries were on hand to give him a decent run for his money, notable the aforementioned Iceland entry. Their 18 year old Yohanna delivered a faultless performance of 'Is It True?' which, by Eurovision standards, was a good no gimmicks play it straight honest to goodness actual tune. Good on her!

My personal favourite 'Hora Din Moldova' was predictably enough performed by Nelly Ciobanu of Moldova. A catchy little number with the added benefit of a bunch of traditionally attired nutters prancing around the stage with a seemingly severe case of St Vitas Dance. Somehow failed to hit the mark with the voters though, finishing 14th with just 69 points!

Still strong entries from the likes of Greece, Turkey and France all helped the evening move along with some style helped by a typically elaborate stage setting.

But the biggest winner this year had to be whoever came up with the new voting system. Not only did it take about three hours less to trawl through it also appeared to have ironed out a good many of the political bed hopping problems. The much missed Terry Wogan would surely have been mightily impressed if not a little shorter of things to grumble about.

Which brings us on to the mighty El Tel's replacement Graham Norton. A sound and somewhat obvious successor to the Wogan Throne Norton should be allowed at least a couple of years before any direct comparisons are made. He did okay but you simply can't replace an institution over night which Mr Norton is undoubtedly as acutely aware as anyone. His performance was a little understated and overshadowed but he'll no doubt grow into the role given time.

Finally the UK entrant. Well, a little awkward for me to judge as I simply cannot abide anything that Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber produces. Nothing against the chap, it's just not to my taste. I did catch the first episode of the song selection process 'Quick Let's Come Up With Another BBC Saturday Night Andrew Lloyd Webber Vehicle' otherwise known as 'Your Country Needs You.' In this Sir Andrew and his assistants trawled round Europe gathering some good advice from a number of sources as to what exactly makes a winning Eurovision entry.

They politely listened to it all. And then promptly ignored absolutely everything they were told. Poor old Jade did her level best with the dreadfully dull 'It's My Time' and, thanks no doubt, to the new voting system managed to achieve a highly creditable fifth position. Unknown territory for the politically friendless UK in recent times.

Who knows. If next year we can combine an actual catchy tune with an entertaining performance and a little Euro magic thrown in we could actually win this thing in Norway. Good news for the BBC's licence fee payers?

We just need the BBC to find Sir Andrew something else to do next year.

Is Lulu free by any chance?