ERSB Details:
This is a first-person shooter featuring two modes of gameplay: single player, in which players control soldiers on a mission to stop terrorists; and multiplayer, in which players engage in team-based combat (“Conquest,” “Rush,” “Squad Rush,” and “Squad Death Match”). Both modes involve using machine guns, rifles, grenade launchers, and rockets to kill enemy soldiers on the battlefield. In single-player mode, players conduct missions on an unnamed Japanese island during World War II and then move into the modern day through jungles, deserts, and snowy terrain. The firefights contain realistic gunfire, loud explosions, cries of pain; large sprays of blood come out of injured characters during the fast-paced combat. There are also close-up depictions of knife-stabbing (flesh-impact sounds) and melee attacks with a power drill. Multiplayer mode tends to involve more goal-oriented tasks, such as “capturing-the-flag,” destroying and defending crates, point-based fighting. Characters use profanity (e.g., “f**k,” “sh*t,” and “a*shole”) during cutscenes and in the heat of battle.

So what does the greatest literary work ever composed, written by an Italian poet teetering on the edge of sanity have to do with EA’s latest hack and slash game?

To be honest, other than the overall concept, not a lot. Does this matter? Not really. Visceral Games have taken the concept of the circles of hell, but rather that having the main character a boring poet, they’ve given the honours to a veteran of the Third Crusade who has returned to find his partially naked girlfriend dead, and being taken down to hell by the devil. Such is his love for his Beatrice that Dante decides to face his own sins, his family’s past and his war crimes, as he pursues his love though the many circles of hell, dispatching of as many demonic monstrosities as he can on his way.  

Dante’s Inferno has been compared to many games that have come before it, but in reality, most of these games that Dante’s Inferno has apparently stolen from, have them selves stolen something from games that came before them.

So onto the game itself. On the surface it’s just another hack and slash, button mashing third person fighter. Yeah, you can probably tell it’s not my most favourite genre. But when you delve a little deeper, you can see that Visceral Games have done things a little differently. The first thing I noticed was that the right thumb stick is used to perform a quick dash rather that moving the camera. This took a little getting used to, but is quite a good use for the second thumb stick. However, this does mean that you’re left to the whims of the game mechanics as to how easy it is to look around, but for the most part it works well – occasionally you’ll die because of it, but you never have to go back very far when you come back to life.

The basic concept of the game is to descend through the circles of hell, and at the end of each circle you’ll face the end of level boss – a game mechanic that I am less than fond of, but one that is pretty much par for the course for this style of game. Along the way you’ll be killing all manner of things, as well as solving the occasional puzzle, finding special items that help you boost your characters attributes, and generally have a good old time.

Of course, being a religious type, your character has a rather unique dilemma. With every creature that you encounter, you can just kill them, or you can deliberately choose to punish or absolve them – this of course opens you up to being attacked by everything else that seems to want to kill you. Then there are the special characters that you meet, whom cower before you, it’s here that you only have the choice to punish or absolve. For the most part it seems like an easy choice; punish them. After all there must be a reason that they are in hell, right? Forgiveness has its benefits however, as when ever you absolve on of these special characters you enter a mini game where you can collect more souls. More souls equal the ability to upgrade you abilities. Who would have thought that a violent game that has you fighting your way through hell, would reward you by being extremely forgiving?

To spice things up, Visceral have thrown in the occasional quick time event, a nice cut scene where you have to perform the correct button pressing manoeuvres to progress, this along with the two radically different styles of cut scene make for an engaging storyline to the game. These cut scenes no doubt also helped Dante get it’s R16 rating, as in a number of them a naked Beatrice is encouraging you to continue the good fight and t save her soul.

So basically it seems that Dante’s Inferno is another outing for fans of the genre. Nothing really special. Well you could say that, and you may well be right. But Dante is a game that is fun to play, has plenty of challenges, and no doubt enough replay value to make purchasing it worthwhile. There is however, one thing that sets it apart. Gives it the edge over its predecessors, and that is the graphics and art direction.

I haven’t read Dante’s Inferno, and I’m not likely to either. I had been looking forward to Scott Derrickson’ movie rendition of the very long poem, but that project has long since moved on. I had confidence that Derrickson would have done justice to Dante’s vision. Whilst Visceral Games have hacked and slashed the poem, stealing only what they need as the basis for a game, and populating it with their on storyline, their envisioning of hell is, for want of a better word, beautiful.

I’m not someone who is prone to gushing about the art direction of a game, but the visual style, along with the sound effects, the calling out of the dammed, the reaching out on trapped souls, and the fact that you have to kill legions of babies with metal blades for arms, who crawl out of their dead mothers ruptured womb, all make for an experience that would make even the staunchest atheist contemplate the existence of a spiritual dimension.

In short, as a complete package, Dante’s Inferno, whist not being the most original game ever released, is a game that you won’t easily forget.

Reviewed on: XBox 360

Available on: XBox 360, PS3, PSP


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With only 20 countries represented, most Kiwi’s will automatically cry fouls as the closest thing to national pride is pulling on an Aussie jersey. But that’s a minor oversight in a game that delivers the goods to this tried and tested genre.  

One of the biggest changes to previous outings in this sub genre is that Sega have re-invented the wheel, and done so in a very compelling way. The controls are varied – depending on the event – but always intuitive and easy to pick up, whilst managing to be challenging at the same time.

Graphically, Vancouver is a treat. You’re given the choice of two camera views, the standard view from behind the person you’re controlling, and for those of you that want more realism, there’s the first person view where you get to see the action through the goggles.

Motion blur is used to good effect, creating an illusion of speed that gets your adrenaline pumping and puts your reflexes on edge.

With a couple of different styles of gameplay; Training, Olympic Games, Challenges and Online, there’s enough here to keep most sports fans happy.

If you’re not a sports nut however, and you don’t find enjoyment in doing the same thing over and over until you nail the perfect run and make it to the top on the on-line leader boards, then Vancouver might be a little light on longevity, but still worth a look.

Reviewed on: XBox 360

Available on: XBox 360, PS3, PC


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It’s all sensory overload for a sci-fi geek; a brilliantly conceived world.

The original Mass Effect was one of my favourite games, and it’s gripping narrative, dragged me along relentlessly. However, it was also a game with many flaws, which became even more apparent to me on my second play through. The frame rate was atrocious, the texture load time was horrible, and the general feel of movement and combat simply lacked something.  

Mass Effect 2 fixes all of that. In this game, not only are the graphical hitches ironed out, the graphics actually look a lot better. Some of this is due to the much improved art-direction, and some of it is simply down to technical prowess. Biotic powers shimmer delightfully and certain vistas are breathtaking. I found myself stopping to stare on a number of occasions, sometimes at glowing cityscapes, and sometimes at desolate landscapes. I haven’t done that in a game since the days of LucasArts adventures like The Dig.

Mass Effect 2’s mechanics are honed to perfection too. The combat is much closer to a Gears of War style cover-shooter now, and guns and powers have a satisfying weight to them. The wide variety of powers and ammunition make combat incredibly tactical.

As a whole, Mass Effect 2 has been streamlined a great deal. Levels are less open now, and it’s very clear when you are going from a “talky bit” to a “shooting bit”, because suddenly your path becomes a lot more linear. Loot-gathering (not to mention a personal inventory) has been all but done away with. Instead, you find various upgrade schematics while you are on missions, which can then be researched back on your ship, the Normandy. This was the one developer decision I wasn’t completely convinced about. Perhaps a happy medium can be found between the overly finicky inventory system of the first game, and the non-existent system of the second, when Mass Effect 3 rolls out. It wasn’t a major sticking point though, and to be honest, I hardly thought about it during the game. There are still plenty of ways to customise your character, of course.

I would hate for all this talk about technical proficiency to obscure Mass Effect 2’s greatest strength, however. Because all of these things – art design, gameplay mechanics – simply serve to make this game one of the most emotionally engaging stories in videogame history.

As you traverse the galaxy fulfilling missions and recruiting squad members, you can take the time to get to know your crew. You can help them out on special missions which will gain their loyalty, something which is essential to surviving the suicide mission at the end of the game. The characters you meet are masterfully designed and written. Many of their stories are unbelievably dark, and almost all of them involved moral quandaries with no easy solution. On one occasion, as my wife watched me play, we actually disagreed on the ethical solution to a problem. It’s that deep.

It’s also easier this time to play as a renegade (a bad guy) as opposed to a paragon (a good guy). Whereas in the first game, some of the renegade choices seemed petulant, or just plain out of character, here they make sense. You are working for a terrorist organisation in Mass Effect 2, after all. You can make some downright badass calls as a renegade, and it was more than once that I was tempted away from my paragon path, just to enjoy watching Shepard shut someone up.

All of the above adds up to something often sorely lacking in videogames: emotional resonance. I found myself caring about the characters I met in this game in the same way I would in a novel I was reading. I don’t think I skipped a single line of dialogue throughout the whole game.

So sure, Mass Effect 2 has great gameplay, it has great graphics, it’s cinematic. It’s also great value. A fairly story-focused play though took me close to 40 hours, and I’m itching to play it through again.

But the real reason to play this game is because of the sense of immersion its world, and the sense of emotional connection to its characters.

Other reviewers have been wondering if this could be the game of the year, as early as January. My opinion? Mass Effect 2 is the best videogame of the last ten years.

Reviewed on: Xbox 360

Available on: XBox 360, PC


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Hot Damn i love my job. Last year i had the chance to meet with Kieran Brigden from Creative Assembly and get completely blown away with Total War Napoleon.

Over the next few weeks were going to bring you more information on Total War to whet your appetite. So sit back and hear about the genius that is Total War Napoleon.