In my 28 years of gaming I have never written a single game review. First of all I’m no writer, and secondly, given my schedule I’d rather play video games than write about them.

But Dante’s Inferno is an exception. Being a fan of hack-and-slash games, the teaser videos and game screens got me excited when they first came out a year ago. I remember the days when friends and I would waste quarters (and five peso tokens) on Golden Axe- the granddaddy of the hack and slash video games. From the basic Jump, Attack, + Use Magic formula of the genre, spawned such greats as the God of War and Ninja Gaiden releases, (and re-releases!) to mention a few. As the hack and slash genre evolved, combo systems were added, as well as parry attacks, upgrade systems, etc. (Devil May Cry era)

Visceral’sDante’s Inferno takes all these developments,then tweaks them to perfection. It is by far the best hack-and-slash control system I've experienced.

To compare it with God-Of-War (as I’ve read in many review sites) cannot be avoided because of the similarity with the gameplay, etc. but to say that Dante’s Inferno “borrows heavily” or “imitates” God of War lacks sense IMHO, because why should game developers risk reinventing the hack–and-slash wheel?

Visceral Games has successfully crafted the perfect hack-and-slash game with new features like being able to mount huge monsters and control them, a smooth attack and magic combo link system, and a more intuitive, non-contrived use of timing based button-press events. The levels I played were cleverly designed as well. Imagine pulling off a combo in the middle of sequential wall flame traps. I don’t want to spoil the rest. And to think I’ve only played the demo!

The only bad part in playing the demo was the release date. (Feb 2010) To while away the boredom and to satisfy my plasma screen bloodlust, I’m popping back my God-of-War Collection back in my PS3

Download the demo from PSN now or better yet, pre-order a copy now. On a side note, I’m not being paid by EA to write this, but if you enjoyed this review comments below will be greatly appreciated.