PlayStation LifeStyle » Dante’s Inferno

This Week in PlayStation – May 28th

Kyle P. — Fri, 28 May 2010 16:59:59 +0000

As announcements for new games and hardware come and go, it’s easy to lose sight of the momentous events that shaped the gaming world into what it is today. This Week in PlayStation highlights Sony’s rich videogame heritage, which dates back to the 1980′s. Step back in time with us as we put the spotlight on events big and small that have significantly altered the gaming culture.

This Week in PlayStation May 22nd – May 28th

May 22nd

2001 - The awesome-cult title, Red Faction, releases exclusively to the PlayStation 2.
2002 - Take-Two reveals development on Conflict: Desert Storm. The game is scheduled to release for the PS2, PC, GameCube and Xbox, in the Fall.
2006 - Banking on the early success of the wildy-popular show, LOST, Ubisoft announces development on a videogame based on the IP.
2008 - In a rather unorthodox move, Take-Two reveals that they are announcing the cover athlete for NBA 2k9 during an intermission of the first game of the NBA Finals.

May 23rd

2008 – The title that could never match the original hype gamers had for it, Haze, becomes available to North American PS3 owners.

May 24th

2007 - Two-time FIFA Player of the Year, Ronaldinho, is announced as the cover athlete for FIFA Soccer 2008.

May 25th

2000 - Gamers get their robot on, as Super Robot Taisen Alpha releases for the PlayStation.
2001 - CART Fury Championship Racing releases to North American retailers, for the PlayStation.

May 26th

2009 - The first portable title of its kind, Rock Band Unplugged for the PSP, releases to North American and European retailers.
2009 – Sucker Punch’s highly anticipated PS3-exclusive, inFamous, shocks North American retailers.

May 27th

2003 - Hulk terrorizes PlayStation 2 owners, as it ships to North American retailers.
2008 – The final competition of Electronic Arts’ FIFA Interactive World Player 2008. Alfonso Ramos defeated Michael Ribeiro, 3-1, to become the best FIFA player in the world, and in doing so, won a $20,000 USD cash prize and the invitation to attend the FIFA World Player Gala, in early 2009.
2009 - EA details the games they will presenting at the 2009 E3 convention. Topping the list include Brutal Legend, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Spore, Dante’s Inferno, Dragon Age: Origins, FIFA 10 and The Saboteur. Geeks around the world nearly explode with excitement.

May 28th

2008 - Teaming up with Allen Carr, Ubisoft announces development on a Nintendo DS game that will help smokers quit their addicting habit. The game is based on the series of books and videos that have sold over 10 million worldwide.
2008 - Just a sign of the times: Take-Two announces the once-Xbox 360 exclusive, Bioshock, is coming to the PS3. The new version will have additional content that Xbox 360 owners did not receive.

Job Listing Hints at Dante’s Inferno Sequel Hell-Bound

Matt Baker — Tue, 18 May 2010 20:39:15 +0000

Creators of Dante’s Inferno, Electronic Arts and Visceral Games, have seen both critical as well as commercial success for the hack-and-slash title. Not releasing a sequel would surely be a deadly sin, however, it may come sooner rather than later.

The job listing, dug up by superannuation suggests that a new game in the franchise is in the works.

Visceral Games is looking for an experienced Environment Artist for an existing action/adventure franchise. This is a major opportunity to contribute to a bold new franchise, heavily backed by the EA Games Label.

Interestingly, the project is the sequel to a major new IP at the award-winning Visceral Games, The game from Visceral Games will be heavily backed by EA who are “100% committed to this IP”. The game sequel will apparently set new quality standards and make the franchise the “world-leader in the action/melee-combat genre.” Well, they did a good job on hyping what ever the game could be.

Dante’s Inferno executive producer Jonathan Knight said he had read the entire divine comedy but had no plans for creating a sequel to the game.

Create Hellish Levels in New Dante’s Inferno DLC Video

Matt Baker — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 20:37:45 +0000

Dante’s Inferno’s upcoming DLC, the Trials of St. Lucia, will give players a fully customizable mission maker to craft their own twisted levels for Dante to encounter. A new tutorial video shows the new DLC in action.

Dante’s Inferno: Trials of St. Lucia will be released on 29th of April, 2010. Check out the tutorial video below:

PlayStation Release Horizon 04/26/10

Kishen Patel — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:39:12 +0000

Arcade fighter fans, unite, as PlayStation 3 owners see the “super” re-release of the critically-acclaimed, blockbuster sequel from Capcom, Super Street Fighter IV. While this would be a perfect time to pick up a PlayStation 3 arcade fight stick, let’s not disregard the next Dead to Rights installment from Namco.

PS3 -

2010 FIFA World Cup – South Africa (04/27)
Dead to Rights: Retribution (04/27)
Nier (04/27)
Super Street Fighter IV (04/27)
Dante’s Inferno: Trials of St. Lucia (04/29)
Record of Agarest War (04/29)

PSP -

2010 FIFA World Cup – South Africa (04/27)

PS2 -

No new releases

What are you picking up this week? Anyone picking up Super Street Fighter IV? Tell us in the comments section below!

Have ESRB Ratings Changed? Or is it us Gamers?

Samuel Castanon III — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 21:17:51 +0000

Think back to one of the most memorable moments in one of your favorite games; does that scene feature content that is violent, sexual or shocking?

Most gamers, myself included, have noticed that the ESRB is being much more lenient in regards to what is allowed under the sometimes nefarious M for Mature rating. This trend is a direct response to what consumers want from their games, as well as a cultural shift in morals both in the home and in popular media. How much have things changed during the history of PlayStation? Let’s take a look…

Adults Only

The difference can clearly be seen by comparing PSOne and PS3 games and their content. It’s easy to see that games feature much more brow raising situations than they did a little over a decade ago. My particular favorite example of this is the PSOne game that never was… Thrill Kill. Thrill Kill was developed in the late 1990s for the Sony PlayStation by Paradox Development. There was much hype surrounding the game, mainly for its focus on sadistic savagery, amputated limbs, gore and more. Thrill Kill even tested boundaries with the names of the games’ special moves, such as “Bitch Slap” and “Swallow This”. Despite the controversy, Thrill Kill was considered a technical feat for the PlayStation at the time, most notably for its ambitious four player simultaneous fighting, however, the game was given an AO (Adults Only) rating by the ESRB for sexuality, sexual themes, blood and gore. A first for The PS One. In response the rating, EA canceled Thrill Kill, citing they didn’t want to “publish such a senselessly violent game” and they felt that it would harm their image. They also deemed the game so sadistic, they wouldn’t even sell the game to another publisher. Here is EA’s official from Patricia Becker:

“We don’t feel that the game’s content is appropriate, regardless of who publishes it. Game companies have to accept responsibility for any game they publish. Sometimes we make choices that others won’t agree with. But we have to make careful decisions. It was the tone and tenor of Thrill Kill. When you look at Mortal Kombat, you look at a fighting game, as opposed to a sadistic killing game. Thrill Kill is a killing game. The product did not meet our standards for appropriate content.”

My how things have changed…

"Lust" Level, so Naughty!

Fast forward to now, a little over a mere decade, things have changed dramatically regarding the level of violence and sexuality allowed in popular media. More games than ever are receiving M for Mature ESRB ratings that would have surely been rated AO Adults Only back in the PSOne era. Two most recent examples are Dante’s Inferno and Heavy Rain. Both are widely accepted, highly regarded (well one of them), and have went on to sell over a million copies of each game.

Dante’s Inferno earned its M rating for “blood and gore, intense violence, nudity and sexual content”. The game features extensive nudity, including a level using blatantly phalic symbols as pillars, giant scorpion tails coming out from places they shouldn’t and attacking Dante, on top of violence at every turn.

Get'n it on SIXAXIS style

Heavy Rain on the other hand also got an M rating for “blood and gore, intense violence, nudity,sexual content, strong language” and missing from Dante’s Inferno, “the use of drugs”. This M rating covered “guiding the advanced UI to either use drugs or fight the urge, willfully kill people with actual consequence and choose how you start having sex with another person”. Heavy Rain certainly pushed realism to its limits, and even provided consequences for these actions.

Although the two above examples are PS3 titles, this trend has been ramping up since the PS2. The Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt series, both which deserving received an M rating for “blood and gore, intense violence, sexual content, strong language and use of drugs”. Not to mention how it endorses sadistic killing of other people thorough the game (most of whom had it coming). These games sparked outrage amongst the press and even sent shock-waves into politics.

So is this change in the ESRB rating reflective of us as gamers wanting more of an intense experience, or is it a reflection of what in now considered common place in today’s society? Keep in mind, if the excessive violence and nudity that is prominent in many of today’s hottest games is so widely accepted, and so many boundaries have been pushed in such a short period of time, what will we be playing in the future?

PlayStation Release Horizon 03/01/10

Kishen Patel — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:48:27 +0000

After two months of heavy hitter releases, the best is yet to come with a certain godly title and a fantasy that will rob us of our money and time. This week, however, baseball fanatics are likely to be in for some bad company as the latest iteration of the Battlefield series hits the PlayStation 3.

Here are this week’s PlayStation releases.

PS3 -

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 Limited Edition (03/02)
MLB 10: The Show (03/02)
MLB 2K10 (03/02)
Resident Evil: Desperate Escape (03/04)

PSP -

Dante’s Inferno (03/02)
MLB 10: The Show (03/02)
MLB 2K10 (03/02)
Lunar: Silver Star Harmony (Limited Edition) (03/02)

PS2 -

MLB 10: The Show (03/02)
MLB 2K10 (03/02)

Any baseball fans out there? Which title will you be batting on? And is Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on your must-have list or will you be sticking to your guns with MAG? Tell us in the comments below.

No Heavy Rain in UAE Forecast

Matt Baker — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:42:26 +0000

Only a day away until it’s release in North America, Heavy Rain will be bringing about a storm of satisfied gamers with its dramatic experience. The PlayStation 3 features strong language, violence and sex; including full male and female nudity, the type of content that gets games banned from being released in certain countries. Despite this, Heavy Rain has been cleared for nearly all countries it is releasing, all but one.

The United Arab Emirates has banned Heavy Rain in the country, the decision voted for by the National Media Council. The ban may of been imposed due to the game’s nudity and explicit scenes.

Sony confirmed the exclusion of their PS3 exclusive in UAE via a statement to Kotaku:

The UAE’s National Media Council (NMC) has banned Heavy Rain on PlayStation3. Heavy Rain has an 18+ PEGI rating and has been conceived from the earliest stages as a genuinely adult experience.
This means that it deals with strong content including blood and nudity, but treats this content in a mature and sensitive manner. The game is not intentionally controversial or sensationalist, and all the themes and content are consistent with what consumers would expect to see in a mainstream Hollywood thriller.

Heavy Rain is not the only title to be banned this year in the UAE, though; THQ’s Darksiders was also restricted in the country due to its violent gameplay. Electronic Arts decided to not even unleash Dante’s hell in to the country as the firm believed Dante’s Inferno would receive the same fate as others. It doesn’t stop there though, every installment in the God Of War series have been prohibited and it’s not difficult to figure out way.

Heavy Rain will be released tomorrow in North America and Europe will receive the Origami Killer from 24th February onwards.

[Source]

Dante’s Inferno Gets Divine Discount

Anthony Severino — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:23:37 +0000

EA and Visceral Games’ recent hack-n-slash, Dante’s Inferno, has drawn strong comparisons to God of War III. With the new IP releasing so close to the latest installment of the well-established God of War franchise, Dante’s Inferno may have been skipped by those waiting to get their hands on more Kratos, when God of War III releases in just 3 weeks.

For those of you who were holding out on picking up Dante’s Inferno, one online retailer has a divine deal that might just get you to take the plunge into Hell.

As part of Amazon.com’s deal of the day promotion, the Divine Edition of Dante’s Inferno has had its price reduced to $45.99. Couple that with Amazon’s free super saver shipping, and you’ve got one hell of a deal.

If you haven’t picked up Dante’s Inferno, today is the time to do so, because after today, the price will return to its normal $59.95 retail price. Head on over to Amazon.com now and pick up Dante’s Inferno: Divine Edition.

Stig Asmussen Gives Dante’s Inferno Some Props

Matt Baker — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 04:59:25 +0000

Dante’s Inferno has been released upon the masses for the fans of games and the Divine Comedy alike. It’s no secret that many elements from Dante’s Inferno were directly inspired by God of War. What does God Of War III‘s director have to say on his game being imitated? Surprisingly enough, it’s rather pleasant.

God of War 3 director Stig Asmussen made Dante’s visit to hell a tad more heavenly, while he spoke to the Official PlayStation Magazine:

We’ve been intrigued about Dante’s Inferno. This is my favourite genre, and the more people that are making [these games] the better. And this is a really rich story they’re building on, it’s very interesting. The day that the demo came out we were trying to download it on PSN at midnight. We all wanted to see it.

Check out our review of Dante’s Inferno.

Visceral Preparing to Squash Dante’s Bugs

Matt Baker — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:03:05 +0000

The recently released God Of War inspired, Dante’s Inferno has been punishing players with a few of its own sins. Namely a few bugs that have cropped up in the retail version. The developer, Visceral Games is hard at work on a patch and are ready to make your stay in hell a bit more pleasant.

Visceral’s twitter indicates a patch for the ‘Greed Bug’ will be arriving soon.

We apologize for the Greed bug and a patch is coming in soon. Spread the word that a patch is coming. -Go to Hell -Go to Hell

The Greed bug:

Click here to view the embedded video.

The new DLC named ‘St. Lucia’, is in development and we should be receiving some new information soon.

Keep on following Twitter and Facebook and you will see more of St. Lucia soon.

Stick with PSLS as we cover the stories as they are revealed, be sure to check out PlayStation LifeStyle’s visit to hell.

PS3 Review – Dante’s Inferno

Joseph Peterson — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 17:30:22 +0000

When Dante’s Inferno was announced, many viewed it as a ripoff of our beloved PlayStation franchise, God of War. Now that the game has finally been released, it is time to see if it is worthy of a purchase with the God of War III release right around the corner. The game is being published by Electronic Arts and developed by Visceral Games. As the player, you take on the role of Dante, a protagonist who has lost everything. He begins his descent into Hell armed with Death’s scythe and a cross. The game has many connections to “Inferno,” written by poet Dante Alighieri, and is a part of “The Divine Comedy.”

The game begins with this quote, and it caught my attention from the get-go.

In the year 1191, European knights of the Third Crusade captured the city of Acre, about 30 miles from Jerusalem.
Under orders from King Richard, 3000 civilian prisoners were detained. They were held as ransom for a holy relic once taken by Saladin, the Kurdish protector of the Holy Land.
As the hot summer wore on, Saladin dug in and refused to negotiate. Richard grew frustrated, unsure of an attack on Jerusalem.
And the fate of the innocent prisoners was left undecided…

What do the terms Limbo, Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Anger, Heresy, Violence, Fraud, and Treachery mean to you? In Dante’s Inferno, they represent the nine circles of hell that the player must traverse throughout the game. Each circle has its own look and feel to it. Along the way, you will encounter various monsters in their respective circles. Depending on the circle, both the environment and the monsters will change. For example, in Lust, there are many sexual elements present, including constant moaning and women which attack Dante with horrific sexual appendages. Within the Gluttony circle, on the other hand Dante will encounter extremely obese creatures with mouths for hands. These creatures not only attempt to eat Dante, but vomit and defecate on him as well.

The storyline is simple, yet keeps you interested as you make your way deeper into the depths of Hell. Dante is a Crusader who did many things during the Crusades that would be considered sins. Though he was promised absolution of these sins by the Bishop, it turns out this is not true at all. During the attack on Acre, he is killed and is taken by Death. He then realizes that he has been deceived and wants to repent for the sins that he has committed. Dante fights Death itself and upon victory inherits his scythe. Afterwards, he begins his journey home to find his love, Beatrice, slain, and her spirit dragged to hell. He grabs the cross and begins his journey to save Beatrice’s soul which will take him through the nine circles of Hell.

The environment itself is amazing, overall. You may actually feel as if you are in Hell as you make your journey through the game, and you will often find yourself aghast at the atrocities being visited upon Hell’s many ”occupants.” It is a dark and gritty environment with over the top gore. The game is definitely for mature gamers.

Graphically, the game has a unique feel to it as well. Given the mature nature of the game, the look of the game is much darker than most. It has to represent Hell itself, so it is a given that it would have a dark feel to it. The cutscenes look phenomenal as well, but there are two different type of cutscenes within the game: some have phenomenal, lifelike graphics, but most of the cutscenes have more of an animated look to them. Both look great, but are on opposite ends of the spectrum.

Dante’s Inferno Demo Takes Staggering Amount of Trips to Hell

The Great Thomasio — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 00:17:38 +0000

During EA’s Third Quarter Investor Call today, COO of EA, John Schappert revealed that the Demo for Visceral Game’s Dante’s Inferno had been downloaded an unbelievable amount of times and the figure will surprise you.

How many times has it been downloaded you ask? How about OVER 3 Million times since the demo was released back in December of last year. If you remember correctly, the Dead Space demo was also downloaded 3 million times, to go on to sell ‘only’ 1.5 million copies combined. With God of War III hitting in just over a month, will Dante’s Inferno share the same fate?

Dante’s Inferno hits today. Will you be paying for a $60 ticket to Hell?

Dante’s Inferno Condemned in Middle East

Kishen Patel — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:12:34 +0000

Since almost a year before the release of Dante’s Inferno (which is dropping this week), EA’s new intellectual property has been stirring up controversy. Electronic Arts is completely aware of this, and they are being a little proactive to avoid more controversy.

In a statement issued by EA, the powerhouse publisher announced that Dante’s Inferno would not be released in the Middle Eastern region due to “consumer tastes” and “preferences”. According to the official statement:

“Electronic Arts has decided not to release Dante’s Inferno in the Middle East after an evaluation process which is based on consumer tastes, preferences, platform mix and other factors.”

As most can easily speculate, with Dante’s Inferno’s heavy religious influence, it is natural that an area awash in religious controversy such as the Middle East would be avoided when it comes to this type of game. Dante’s Inferno releases in North America, however, on February 9, 2010.

[Source]

Dante Unleashes Hell Onto UK Charts

Matt Baker — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 08:12:29 +0000

Last week saw Just Dance still holding off Modern Warfare 2 from top spot on the UK charts, with Mass Effect 2 zipping all the way to the top. This week, the release of Dante’s Inferno shows its impact on sales charts…

Bioware’s RPG remains in 1st position on the UK charts for the second time running, while MAG drops down to 7th and Dante’s Inferno replaces Zipper’s MAG in 4th. Last week’s UK charts can be viewed here.

Week ending February 6, 2010:

PlayStation Release Horizon 02/08/10

Kishen Patel — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 17:19:44 +0000

Right after Super Bowl Sunday, here is another weekly PlayStation Release Horizon. Thankfully, video game releases are starting t0 pick up in quantity now that the NFL football season is officially over. This week, God of War fans eagerly waiting for the third and final installment of the series may find their fix with EA’s divine offering. Plus, if White Knight Chronicles did not fill your RPG fix, Square Enix is here to save the day. And how could we forget, the big daddy of February releases lands this week as well for PlayStation releases.

PS3 –

Bioshock 2 (Special Edition) (02/09)
Dante’s Inferno Divine Edition (02/09)
Star Ocean: The Last Hope International (02/09)

PSP -

Dante’s Inferno (02/09)
Hot Shots Tennis: Get a Grip (02/09)
Spaceball: Revolution (02/11)

PS2 –

No new releases

As you can see, this week has something for everyone. So what are you planning to pick up after your football hangover? If cash is tight from all the partying, we understand: you’re probably saving up for a much “heavier” title.