A trimmed down version of Dante's Inferno that still offers mindless hack n' slashing fun
Dante's Inferno barely follows the literature its loosely based on, but does enough to let you know that it's about a man's journey through the circles of Hell. In the game, you play as Dante, a Medieval Ages crusader campaigning throughout the Holy Land. Blinded by the promise of total absolution from all acts committed during the campaign, Dante performs pretty much every possible evil known to Hell. This in turn leads to his soon-to-be wife, Beatrice, to damnation for losing a bet she made to Lucifer for the safe return of her lover. Dante then rushes to save her from the devil's clutches, in hopes of redeeming himself. This is basically the story in a nutshell, and what happens in between and through to the end is for you to find out.
Graphics:
The graphics are pretty good for a PSP game. Though there are some muddled textures, and sometimes the occasional shadow going up the ceiling glitch (like when you walk closely towards a wall). But other than that, graphics remain consistent and does a pretty good job considering the technical limitations of the platform. Each circle of Hell has its own distinct style and setting which sets it apart. Though enemy models are limited, each circle has its own specific monstrosity that resides there. But I found it kind of odd that you would have to fight them again in another circle. Some monsters are just rehashed versions of earlier encounters. Like the devil goat, devil goat with bigger weapon, devil goat with bigger weapon and wings, etc2x. Other than that, Dante's Inferno contains great vistas that certainly would make you think twice about the thought of burning in hell in the afterlife. Gargantuan monuments looming ominously in the background, great blazes of fire shooting into the subterranean sky, the writhing damned that reside in the very walls that you tirelessly scale. Sometimes the important scenes are shown using cut-scenes rendered from the game's higher end xbox and ps3 counterparts. After seeing such a scene, you almost forget that you're playing the PSP version. Though I wish some of the more awesome scenes could be played out instead of watched. Spell effects are decent, higher end spells look flashy, which is a good thing. Overall, graphics are good.
Gameplay:
The game is primarily focused on combat, and unfortunately i do have a few gripes about it. First off, theres no targeting system, let alone a guiding system. Its difficult to pull off a long combo and land every hit when you constantly have to change direction with the PSP's analog stick. Its also a bit tricky to hit targets with the righteous fury spell as you need to face your target when you move in a line. The problem is also evident when you use the far ranged cross attacks, as it is difficult to gauge the position of enemies when they're at a distance. And grabbing opponents may prove difficult every time you hit the R button, only to see your scythe extend into an empty space. You get get the hang of it after awhile, and some players might not find this a problem, but it was just a minor negative for me, considering that there's always a battle every few minutes. Secondly, i found it a bit uncomfortable that you can't cancel a combo mid swing. Especially when you use a crowd control attack, killing all the weaker mobs, only to leave behind far tougher enemies. As you keep swinging mindlessly, these moments leave you open to attack from opponents who do not flinch, thereby wasting portions of your life bar from cheap attacks from encounters such as this. But aside from these negatives, when the combat works, it's great mindless fun. Swiping your scythe mercilessly at foes, swinging them up into the air, only to send them back to the ground with a great heave. As well as using awesome spells that turns all enemies on the screen into a glittery pile of orbs. Boss fights were also pretty fun, but at most time were generally easy and consisted of spamming a few cheap spells.
The skill tree system uses an RPG style of leveling up, based on your actions of punishment or absolution, and the number of white orbs you collect. During the course of your journey, you will encounter the souls of the damned, forever grieving from their lives of sin. Depending on your decisions, you will earn holy or unholy points, which can be used to upgrade you cross and scythe respectively.
I found the platforming elements in the game kind of "thrown in" just to serve the purpose of buying more time before the next encounter. Sometimes i had some cheap deaths from falls that happened after a big battle, forcing me to replay the whole battle again. After each circle, you usually have to descend a series of ropes and ladders, and jump across the occasional fire geyser. Overall, the platforming elements for me were mediocre at best. The puzzles in the game were okay, nothing too difficult or too easy.
Conclusion:
Overall, i found the game to be quite entertaining for on the go entertainment. My play time clocked in at a bit past 10 hours, but in reality i'd put it around 12 after considering the number of replays I had to do after some cheap deaths. Don't let my negative thoughts of the game hamper you, I'm just giving my own honest opinion with my experience of the game. There's alot of great fun to be had with this bundle of portable goodness. I give this game an 8.