dantes-inferno
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Dante's Inferno 'Divine Edition' heading exclusively to PS3
EA has detailed a special edition of Dante's Inferno, titled the "Divine Edition," which is coming exclusively to the PlayStation 3 next February. For the same $60 the Xbox 360 version costs, EA will give you the "special edition," which includes a developer commentary, a Wayne Barlowe "digital art book," the game's soundtrack, and ... wait for it ... a digitized "complete Longfellow translation of Dante Alighieri's Inferno." That's right, folks -- you can read the classic work on the same system that's being used to tear it apart. The demo is currently available on the PlayStation Network and will land on Xbox Live on December 24th. %Gallery-45836%
Dante's Inferno comic descends into retail
In case you were wondering what Dante's Inferno would be like if it were made into a book, EA has just announced that the first issue of the Wildstorm comic book based on Visceral's upcoming action game has shipped to retailers. The first installment of the six-issue miniseries, for which the full cover art can be seen after the break, provides the background for Dante's demon-slayin': the murder of Beatrice, and Dante's subsequent trip into the abyss to rescue her soul. If the concept is something you're into, and if the cover art captures your attention, why not swing by your local comic shop on the way to Hell?
Dante's Inferno demo on PSN Dec. 10, XBLM Dec. 24
There are plenty of beloved Christmas Eve traditions observed across the globe. Whether it's roasting chestnuts or watching the Christmas Story marathon, everyone's got a different way of marking the arrival of St. Nick. EA's hoping that the 360 owners among you will start a brand new, equally-sentimental tradition as it releases a demo of Dante's Inferno for XBLM on Dec. 24. The sample includes the entire first level of Dante's demonic journey into hell and goes great with eggnog. Those preferring PSN will get the demo on Dec. 10, a date which has the dual benefit of (1) being two weeks earlier and (2) not making the baby Jesus cry.
Pre-order 'Mass: We Pray' for free Dante's Inferno trailer
We had an icky feeling when we first watched the Mass: We Pray teaser. Not because of the toll excessive devotional gameplay might take on our souls, but because we were pretty sure we were being virally marketed to in some way or another. It turns out, our unease (also felt by a few others, including The Escapist) was spot on, as We Pray has been revealed as the latest move in the Dante's Inferno marketing campaign's fight against good taste. Clicking to pre-order the game on the website or to get a better look at the controllers, now triggers a message about heresy, along with a trailer for Dante's Inferno and a link to the Facebook app, "Go to Hell." Sorry if you were looking forward to We Pray! [Thanks, Thomas]
Video: The story of Dante's Inferno
To: Electronic Arts CC: Visceral Games RE: Voice-over suggestion for latest Dante's Inferno trailer ATT: dante-story-trailer.flv Male (30s, 40s - Gruff, gravelly voice) "The denizens of Hell stole the woman he loved ... but they didn't realize they were messing with the wrong 14th century Italian poet. In a world where the damned scream out for absolution, one man will fight for justice. It's time for some serious payback, and the Devil just wrote a check he can't cash. Electronic Arts presents ... Dante's Inferno. Next Spring, there's going to be Hell to pay." (Alternate closer: "Next Spring, it's damned if you do, damned if you die.") Thank you for your consideration,
Dante's Inferno anime remains faithful to Visceral source
With talent from "Blood the Last Vampire" and "Ergo Proxy" (oh, and "Samauri Champloo") involved, it should've been clear that "Dante's Inferno: The Animated Epic" was going to be sickeningly violent. A newly released trailer for the straight-to-video anime spin-off reveals that this Dante's Inferno project isn't a single film, but rather a compilation of animated shorts, much like "The Animatrix," "Batman: Gotham Knight" and, most recently, "Halo: Legends."We're pretty certain Dante Alighieri is rolling in his grave right now, as this anthology of multiple interpretations of Visceral Games' interpretation of the original epic poem is so very far removed from the source. But hey, it's Alighieri's fault for not having the foresight to write about someone's head getting chopped in half!Expect The Animated Epic to arrive on DVD and Blu-ray in February, the same month as the game.
Dante's Inferno concept was greenlit immediately
The Dante's Inferno game concept -- a totally brutal action-adventure based on Dante Alighieri's epic poem -- seems like a hard sell to us, but it was no problem getting EA on board. As it turns out, EA was all in from the very beginning, according to Visceral creative director Jonathan Knight's recollection during a PlayStation Blog interview (that you can watch after the break). He got the go-ahead "pretty much right away," as EA executives apparently saw "the potential in the mythology" glowing green before their very eyes. "Nobody's really taken on that kind of medieval Christian notion of the afterlife as a very real place that you go to, you know, just under the ground, and there's monsters and demons and rivers," Knight said. "It's just a crazy, fantastical, incredible vision that Dante Alighieri had for Hell, and my execs immediately saw the potential there for a real game." In addition to the appeal of Hell -- a concept that "everybody has some knowledge of" -- we can imagine that EA appreciated what is basically a licensed game based on a public domain property, especially these days. %Gallery-45836%
Dante's Inferno demo burning up Xbox 360 and PS3 next month
Though Visceral Games' video game adaptation of the classic parable known as Dante's Inferno (which, fun fact, was actually a book adaptation of Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey) won't see the light of day until next February, we'll be getting our dirty, sin-soaked hands on a demo for the game in December. In 'The Gates of Hell,' players will be able to traverse the entire first level of the game, taking them from the surface world to the titular portcullis, where they must battle (and presumably kill) Death himself. We imagine the game gets much easier after, you know, there's no more Death.
GameX 2009: The expo in photos
Did we have a good time at this year's GameX in Philadelphia? Well, if you can't tell by all of our coverage, we certainly did. But there was certainly more to the expo than just interviewing people and checking out Warhammer Online and Global Agenda running on the show floor! There were, gasp, other games there! We got many neat photos of the various things on the show floor, from robots to steampunk to Egyptian statues, and we collected them all in one gallery for you guys to ogle. If you were interested in Bayonetta or Dante's Inferno, then also look no further, as we got some pictures of those booths in action as well. So enjoy the photos as tomorrow we wrap up our coverage of GameX 2009. Hope you enjoyed reading/watching it as much as we enjoyed writing/recording it! %Gallery-77053%
Infinity Ward's fourzerotwo thinks devs should 'take control' of marketing
With the release of the highly anticipated Modern Warfare 2 just over two weeks away, Infinity Ward's Robert "fourzerotwo" Bowling has been quite vocal with the press. Speaking with MCV, Bowling unequivocally states his opinion that game developers should retain control of marketing and PR for their own games. "I don't think any developer should not have control of how their game is presented or marketed or communicated," Bowling said. "And they should take control of that a lot, lot more." Using his own Twitter account as an example, he points out that he has a "direct line to our audience and the press," cutting out the "middleman" of a publisher handling marketing/PR duties. "Not only do we know the game but we know the gamer," he continues. Then he must know about the 160,000 or so people and nearly 600 Diggers upset over his studio's decision to not support dedicated servers on the PC, right? Ahh, the double-edged sword of control: while IW may be the one making vital decisions on its own game, the blame falls squarely on its shoulders when things go wrong. %Gallery-50567%
Dante's Inferno draws fire for baby murder Achievement
Dante's Inferno is getting flak from a nanny group over an Achievement for killing unbaptized babies -- not ironically, it's named "Bad Nanny." As GamePolitics points out, the International Nanny Association (INA) released a statement calling the 'cheevo "offensive to our association," as it seemingly defies the INA's goal to "promote and educate the public regarding the selfless work nannies do to support families." We here at Joystiq are thoroughly offended too, though mostly because we know that more than one person on staff will be once again be forced into a morally compromising position in the endless hunt for virtual grandeur.%Gallery-45836%
Academy Award nominee penning script for Dante's Inferno
A recent Visceral Games press release revealed the talent behind the script of Dante's Inferno: Will Rokos, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on the screenplay for Monster's Ball. We missed out on that one when it was in theaters, but a quick Wikipedia search taught us that it's a troubling tale of ingrained racial conflict, shattered families, coping with lost loved ones and brief, uncompromising shots of Billy Bob Thornton's testicles. So, yeah. Lots of overlap between that and an action-oriented video game based on a 14th century epic poem. %Gallery-64908%
Video: Dante deals with Anger, kills demons
The latest in a series of developer diaries for Dante's Inferno has been released and, as we've come to expect, it's more familiar gameplay wrapped up in the hideous guise of a ruinous literary interpretation (one that Dante himself would supposedly approve of, no less). It's hard to say that the game doesn't look enjoyable, because it really does. The scythe and cross, which feature heavily in the video, look like a lot of fun to wield. The pursuit of a smooth, 60 FPS frame rate is admirable as well. Unfortunately, the arrival of this "Anger" video also likely means the arrival of something in our own Chris Grant's mailbox. Some grim, tasteless thing that will shake our faith in humanity and the wisdom of EA's marketing department. And so, we wait.
TGS 2009: The Recap Post
Last week, the Tokyo Game Show brought in over 100 posts worth of news, previews, interviews, galleries, and videos. Clearly, a lot happened. If you're looking for a comprehensive list of all the goings-on during TGS 2009, Joystiq has you covered -- and organized! Click on a platform below to scan the highlights: (On the far right: that's "News" and "Culture" on the top and bottom, respectively)
TGS 2009: Hands-on with Dante's Inferno in the Land of the Lust
We've talked up Dante's Inferno and its similarities to God of War before -- and not much has changed in that regard in the game's latest build. So, instead of going deep into the gameplay here, we'll focus on the content we saw in the new level, based on the sin of "Lust." It's quite the hellish journey, especially for the folks at the ESRB. (Just a warning: despite our best efforts, given the subject matter, some of the content described might be considered NSFW. Read on at your own risk.) %Gallery-45836%
Overheard@TGS: A high five from the real Dante
"Well, you know, I do think Dante would approve of our game. He was a man ahead of his time," supposed a Dante's Inferno developer about Dante Alighieri, author of 14th-century epic poem the Divine Comedy; the first part, Inferno, serving as the game's source material ... in theory.
TGS 2009: Hands-on: Dante's Inferno (PSP)
While the PS3/360 game is largely criticized for being exactly like God of War, we could only wish the same held true for the PSP version of Dante's Inferno. Developed by A2M, the PSP version falls short of every benchmark set by Ready at Dawn's critically acclaimed Chains of Olympus. While few developers have been able to wring such incredible power out of Sony's handheld, it's immediately clear that A2M's efforts fall flat. Whereas Chains of Olympus featured volumetric fog and dynamic lighting, Dante's Inferno looks dull and lifeless.The console versions of Dante's Inferno do a remarkable job of copying Kratos' moves, button for button. The PSP game also does a copycat job: everything, from the standard strike, to the spin move, to the dodge, is mapped exactly according to the blueprint laid out by Sony. However, a good game requires more than just copying another game's controls. Dante's Inferno misses the flourishes that made Ready at Dawn's game so successful: visual flourishes, subtle pauses when striking, dynamic camera movement, and easily accessible finishing moves.%Gallery-51141%
Get greedy with this lengthy Dante's Inferno trailer
If you're looking for a trailer comprised of nothing but gameplay, then you're getting into the spirit of this Dante's Inferno trailer. You're being greedy and your greedy nature will not be rewarded -- that is, unless you're willing to work for that greed. You'll roll up your sleeves and sift through the trailer, extracting all of the juicy portions of gameplay one by one. Sure, you'll have to put up with producers and designers chatting up their version of the fourth circle of Hell, but thankfully all of that hard work is worth it, because there are some genuinely impressive environments and enemies to behold. Enemies and environments you've never seen in any other game ever. Seriously.
BioShock maestro making Dante's Inferno sound like Hell
We did a little background check on Garry Schyman, the guy EA has picked to write the score for Dante's Inferno. Yes, as the publisher brags, he did the music for BioShock. But it may be his earlier material that caught the eye ear of Visceral Games. We are, of course, referring to his work on the late-'80s sing-a-long sitcom Rags to Riches. Check it out and you'll know why he was tapped to create a soundtrack for Hell. Schyman, whose Inferno score has already been recorded at London's famous Abbey Road Studios, was also the composer for the likes of Destroy All Humans! and -- most recently -- Resistance: Retribution. You'll be able to buy (but not copy!) his latest soundtrack in January.
EA marketers send Joystiq a $200 check and we save their souls
click to check out the gallery EA's been slowly ticking off the levels of Hell by way of marketing stunts for the upcoming God-of-War-em-up Dante's Inferno. The first circle of Hell is "Limbo" ... and though we're not sure, the E3 "staged protest" was an early Dante's Inferno marketing stunt, so maybe limbo? Next is circle two: "Lust." Cue the controversial Comic-Con "Sin to Win" stunt wherein one "lucky" winner received "a night with the hottest girl at Comic-Con." Yeah, that didn't go over so well. Next up is "Gluttony." To celebrate the third circle of Hell, they mailed our own Randy Nelson a severed limb cake. We didn't reward them with a post for that one. However, the latest stunt is a little more creative. They've mailed this editor, and presumably the editors at several other media outlets, a check for $200. The packaging says that "by cashing this check you succumb to avarice by hoarding filthy lucre but by not cashing it, you waste it, and thereby surrender to prodigality." If your SAT dictionary isn't at arm's length, that last one means wastefulness. So, we either cash it and "succumb to avarice" or burn it and be wasteful. What's an ethical gaming blog to do ... ... how about this? How about we cash it, and donate all $200 to The White House Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization "that aims to advance women's leadership in all communities and sectors – up to the U.S. presidency – by filling the leadership pipeline with a richly diverse, critical mass of women"? Of course, we'll make the donation in EA's name. It won't make up for Sin to Win, but the road to redemption's got to start somewhere, right?
