So they've(Electronic Arts) made a game out of the original 14th century trilogy by Dante Alleghieri. Still waiting for the Peter Jackson epic movie on the Divine Comedy but it hasn't materialized yet. What are your thoughts on Dante's perception of Hell? It is based on 9 levels and 3 precepts: Those who sinned against themselves, those who sinned against others, and those who sinned against God. The general structure of Hell is a descending pit with 9 circles or levels and are based on the 7 deadly sins. Satan is in the middle of a frozen wasteland at the bottom and is supposedly buried in ice from his tears of exile. He was an angel once and due to his treachery he was exiled from Heaven and cast down into Hell. Jesus also descended into Hell according to the Holy Scriptures, but I'm not sure why He had to go down there. Inferno is a work of fiction, of course, but how much of it do you believe is true? Are there levels of suffering that sinners are assigned to if they had a particular career sin? If a sinner asks for forgiveness, and repents their sin, are they still destined for Hell, or is Hell only for the unbelievers? What do you think Hell is? Is there a caste system based on how you sinned in life? Or is there just a general suffering and it doesn't matter what your sin was?

Here's a link for the general overview of the Inferno if you haven't read it.:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante%27s_Inferno

I was familiar with this story . It was introduced to me by my father (a deacon) as an example of the ole fire and brimstone approach that he seems to find harsh and uncalled for.. He believes in an inherent goodness that makes us feel whole and only needs encouragement and opportunity not fear mongering to bloom
I myself am a non beleiver and while I believe in inherent goodness in some.. ALLL of us have primal aggression and territorial rage...which I would think dad saw in Nam long before he was a pious sort..

as far as the game goes it's great it's control and navigation scheme is basically identical to the awesome GOD OF WAR franchise.. So the fightind is awesome.. And for the judgemental types the ability to punish or absolve enemies and famous sinners in suffering such as ponctious pilot.. These decisions allow your character to evolve into a holy savior or avenger by the wrath of the richeous (sp)..
and for the historical type unlockable bonus items like a timeline of dantes life and more...

This game is wicked fun and I have beaten it on all skill levels and am looking forward to the downloadable add on that's
coming..

I think this is a great thing (obviously) and a great story with a good lesson... No mans word is infallable no matter what vestments are worn or position given by church society..
killings obviously wrong even in the name of god DUH!!??



I think it's a great way to introduce this to Many people who wouldn't have known it existed

I don't have a PS3 so I hope one day this game comes out for PC. But based on the several reviews and videos I've seen for Dante. This looks like a really difficult game. And Kudos to you for beating it on all skill levels. But what I was asking was, even though this was a work of fiction, do you believe there is a Hell even close to what Dante wrote about in his epic poem?

The Divine Comedy goes so much deeper than "The Inferno" really does. Purgatory is probably the saddest of the three chapters from Dante. To say the game is loosely based on the literature is like saying skateboard are loosely based on Canadian maple trees.

Hell doesn't exist. It's a man made concept just like religion....

I agree, and even many Christians agree (with the first sentence). I have been told (by a Christian) that the biblical reference used to justify a belief in 'hell' was actually just a place where trash and dead bodies were dumped and/or burned.

All I have to say is that Dante's Inferno sucks. It's a complete God of War ripoff.

Yes that's part of it. Jewish tradition back then was that burial was a most sacred thing (even more than today). To try to keep people from committing crimes, they would take the Jewish prisoners and burn them with the trash outside the city. This was unthinkable to them, and that's where part of the 'idea' of hell came from.

At first the Pope didn't want to have anything to do with the concept of hell, and even punished Dante for it, but then they saw how all of the christians were scared sh1tlezz by the idea of hell, and how it filled the churches of patrons, so they included it in their religious beliefs.

Historically that sounds rather true. We also had the 7 deadly sins, and the 7 virtues. What I don't understand is some sins like murder, rape, suicide merit an eternity in Hell, but some like pride, gluttony, or fraud don't seem to me they should warrant an eternal sentence of suffering in the depths of Hell. I would also think that whereever one winds up in Hell, was because they made a career out these sins, not a few or a few dozen. If this sin ruled their life, then maybe they would have that final judgement of damnation cast upon them. I don't believe in Dante's Hell at all, or even the Church's vision of it in the fire and brimstone sermons. Ironically, I think Earth is the Hell, and we must atone and repent during our life to get out of it.

That's quite true at least in the YouTube buzz about it. GOW gets mentioned quite frequently. They went a little overboard with Death's bone scythe. It's cool at first, but then gets a little played out after a while.

Would you also say the same of Heavenly Sword?

It doesn't really matter because 'sin' is a man made concept anyway.

God of war ripoff?? Id say yes but since GOD of war is not available on 360 .. for many Dantes is their only game of that type available I loved the god o war series and Dante is As good or Better than any of those games and Story wise is the Same...God O War wasnt the first of its kind either

(off topic still .. Eh o.p.??

Sounds like you tend to mentally justify a lot of stuff you do

What I do or don't do doesn't take away from the fact that 'sin' is a man made concept.

The game gets very repetitive. Even some of the bosses look the EXACT same as God of War's, along with the button layout. Yes, it's good for people who only own a 360 and can't play God of War, but they are missing out.

How does this follow? Couldn't it simply be that AngelArs is simply correct -t hat sin is a man made concept?

This sounds like a way to convince yourself you can dismiss anothers point of view without considering it....AngelArs *must* be motivated by a desire to justify, theres no *way* he could have a better reason for saying this.

What I didn't like about DI is that it recycles and respawns alot of the same enemies over and over. To say the game is a loose translation or inspiration by the poem is an understatement. I enjoyed the dialogue between Dante, Virgil, Beatrice, and the other characters, but the actual gameplay is lacking in creativity at times, especially the same enemies appearing over and over again.

Regarding the poem, as eloquent and artistic as it is, it is a work of fiction, as plausible as the existence portrayed might seem. I interpret the poem literally as stated, "Dante's Inferno." Which to me, means that it is a hell that Dante, the poet and the character, envisioned, but not what actually is.