My tour of the EA booth felt like a trip through hell. Because it was. Seriously — the demo for action-adventure game Dante’s Inferno had us go through the various circles of Hades. See! I’m telling the truth. Uh, sorta.
Now I know there are only seven deadly sins, but the developers at Visceral Games are so damn talented, they managed to create their own sin exclusively for Dante’s Inferno: imitation. Holy crap — Dante’s Inferno is God of War. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, you better believe Kratos is going to be filing a restraining order against poet-turned-demon-killing badass Dante Alighieri.
Everything (and I mean just about everything) copies God of War. Don’t believe me? Well, let’s compare:
Dante’s Inferno: In the game, main character Dante runs around slaying the shit out of various undead demons, beasts, and other ugly creatures with a big death scythe.
God of War: In the game, main character Kratos runs around slaying the shit out of various undead demons, beasts, and other ugly creatures with two, chain-attached blades.
Dante’s Inferno: Killing creatures gives Dante glowing orbs that both give him experience and replenish his magic/health.
God of War: Killing creatures gives Kratos glowing orbs that both give him experience and replenish his magic/health.
Dante’s Inferno: After weakening large enemies, Dante can perform button-based quick-time events to deliver a stylish finishing blow.
God of War: After weakening large enemies, Kratos can perform button-based quick-time events to deliver a stylish finishing blow.
Dante’s Inferno: The camera often pans back to show the immense scale of the environments in the game.
God of War: The camera often pans back to show the immense scale of the environments in the game.
Dante’s Inferno: Strategically placed fountains give Dante a chance to replenish his health before a big battle.
God of War: Strategically placed chests give Kratos a chance to replenish his health before a big battle.
Dante’s Inferno: Dante’s Inferno is based on the Divine Comedy by famous poet Dante Alighieri
God of War: God of War is based on a divine game design document by famous game designer David Jaffe.
OK, so maybe not everything in Dante’s Inferno is a duplicate of the soon-to-become most copied game of this generation. And, to be fair, Dante’s Inferno does look like hell. Oh, and that’s a compliment — the environments, enemies, and scale definitely deserve some technical praise. Sure, this is mostly a shameless ripoff of a popular game, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be fun as heck to play.