While everyone's in a tizzy over Electronic Arts' upcoming third-person action title Dante's Inferno, it seems some people might have forgotten -- it's certainly not the first game based on Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy.
In 2000, Boston-based Irrational Games began working on what was to be their first console title, a third-person action game called The Lost. Loosely based on the "Inferno" portion of Alighieri's epic poem, the story revolved around a single mother who loses her daughter to a tragic car accident. Suicidal, she makes a deal with the devil and is given the chance to fight through Hell to recover the soul of her lost daughter.
More info and videos after the jump.
In development for PlayStation 2 and Xbox, The Lost was announced attached to publisher Crave Entertainment, and was even shown to the press at industry events like E3. Unfortunately, the title was apparently plagued by development and legal issues, and eventually shelved. Irrational Games' (now 2K Boston/2K Australia) first console game, BioShock, would be released several years later to rave reviews.
Irrational had described the game as a "survival horror action RPG" and "a dark modern day re-telling of Dante's Inferno." The player was going to be able to switch between four different characters each with its own unique magic and weapons, and each with its own fully-upgradable attributes. Irrational also promised "storytelling at it's [sic] digital best."
The rights to The Lost were eventually sold off to FXLabs, who released a re-tooled version of the game -- with entirely new artwork and stripped down gameplay -- in India for the PC as Agni: Queen of Darkness.
Video of the game's trailer and an early version of the title in develpment can be seen below. You can also check out some thumbnails of
screenshots and
concept art of the game, thanks to
Internet Archive. We've also dug up some
art assets from the title (which also looks to have been called
Infernal Abyss at one point), found in the online portfolio of artist Michael Swiderek, who currently works at 2K Boston.
Would you have had more faith in a game loosely based on the Divine Comedy had Ken Levine and company been the minds behind it?
Contest:
12:00 PM on 03.02.2009
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I have no idea whether or not this game will be good or not, but I have to raise an eyebrow at how many people are trying to defend it...even when the integrity of the game itself hasn't really been brought into question.
Oh, I know what it is, and that was a stupid mistake. Fixed.
BECAUSE IT WAS BEING MADE BY FUCKING IRRATIONAL! It may look stupid, but I'm sure it was fantastic, because Irrational is [was ;_;] fantastic
But I also have to raise an eyebrow at how many people are trying to attack it. The worst complaint that anyone should have is that it looks like it'll probably be cheesy. Complaining about the "Dante's" part of the title is akin to arguing over mere semantics.
But I also have to raise an eyebrow at how many people are trying to attack it. The worst complaint that anyone should have is that it looks like it'll probably be cheesy. Complaining about the "Dante's" part of the title is akin to arguing over mere semantics.
Site issue ironed out. It's visible once again.
I think thats the point, to look as bland as hell,lol
Really wanted to play it :(
I GET IT! Nice one.
I guess I just have a personal thing against people who use someone else's name for the sole purpose of promoting a game. I guess other people don't care that much, and that's cool I guess.
TBH I have my doubts about the game itself simply because 1. Jonathan Knight doesn't seem to have fully grasped the concept of Inferno and 2. There's that weird game mechanic of Dante having a tapestry sewn into his chest. In an interview, Knight said something along the lines of "Dante doesn't even know why he's doing it," which to me says that no one on the creative team could think up a good reason as to why an ex-Crusader would sew all of his sins onto his chest.
The visuals are great and the game's controls should be good since they're basically exactly the same as God of War, but their Dante character seems bat-shit crazy.
I'm also a little turned off by the fact that they can't seem to decide if they want the game to be based on actual Christian lore. Dante is an ex-Crusader and the 9 levels of Hell are a Christian concept. Yet, oops--the infallible God messes up and lets an innocent soul go to Hell (though this could be attributed to a personal test for Dante).
I'm sure this things will be explained better when the game is released, but there are a lot of unanswered questions concerning the depth of the plot. I guess it is a bit unfair to say it seems like there's not a lot there at the moment, since it's still pretty early in development.