Dante's Inferno

The Divine Comedy of Dante Alighieri, Inferno, is one hell of a read. I only read it because I saw the commercial above for "Dante's Inferno." It's a new video game that was promoted during this year's Super Bowl and it caught the interest of millions of Americans. Even my dad – who does not play video games – was captivated by the awesome display of visuals in this commercial. It made me want to play a demo of the game, so I downloaded it on my friend's XBOX 360.

I've never played God of War, but the gameplay in Dante's Inferno is similar to that. The demo begins with the main character, Dante, defending himself against a wave of attackers on a dock. After you kill off these nuisances the game progresses and you find yourself being stabbed in the back by an assassin. This is a pain in the ass, seeing as how you just fended off 50 men. Your death takes you face to face with Death where you find yourself fighting for your life, again. It's very strange. Once you defeat Death you are bequeathed with his massive Scythe; the same one you see in the trailer. Meanwhile, as all this is happening, I keep demanding to know, "When do I get to go to Hell?" I think that was the big appeal of this game. We all want to explore our notions about Hell to see how Dante's Hell matches up with the one we have pictured in our head. The human psyche has been obsessed with the afterlife for thousands of years. It doesn't surprise me that there's a video game now devoted entirely to exploring this unknown kingdom.

Eventually you do find yourself in Hell (in the game). Your passage is guided by a fallen poet, Virgil, who leads you through the Nine Circles of Hell to try and find that hot chick in the white dress, Beatrice. The dialogue throughout the game is spoken in meter much like the book and every corner you turn is filled with vile wretches. After I read the book I reflected back on my gameplay experience and saw how the two stories lined up: they don't. That's OK with me though. I'm not a historian nor am I a paid critic. In the book Dante does not die, fight with Death, or acquire killer fighting abilities. He just makes his way to the bottom of the Earth, talks to some souls along the way, and then sees Lucifer's feet. It's intriguing the way he describes his experiences, but it doesn't compare to fighting off demons with Death's Scythe!

Overall, I'm appreciative of Dante's Inferno. I consider both works, the book and the game, to be outlets of entertainment.

~Anthans