Both Games Down

Great news guys! I’ve put in some solid hours and finally finished Dante'’s Inferno and Drake’s Uncharted 2. First off, if I had to recommend one over the other, I would definitely pick Drake’s. It capitalizes in so many ways that modern games fail at today. It is packed with a brilliant story, cinematic action, and truly spectacular gameplay. As I continued to dig further and further into the story, I became even more fascinated with the game. I think the best way I can describe it is that the game felt as if I were taking an active role in a Hollywood movie. I won'’t spoil too much for those of you who have yet to play the game, but the main plot is filled with mythological and historical lore, unexpected and truly painful betrayals, and a dramatic romance that makes Uncharted 2 one of the best games I’'ve had the opportunity to play in years. Now then, for the second game I’ve been devoting a similar chunk of time towards, Dante’s Inferno, I must say… I wasn’t extremely impressed but i still had a great time playing through the campaign. I will admit that the novel itself is one of my favorite journey stories and I was truly excited about the opportunity to play through one of my favorite narrations as a video game. The game stuck mostly to the epic but with minor changes. As for the gameplay, I believe Visceral Games lacked individuality. As a gamer with a long, long history of video game support, I found the gameplay to be eerily similar to older games, such as God of War and Devil May Cry. Obviously, game style will tend to overlap between titles of similar genre, much like how there isn’t just one western movie in Hollywood. However, it almost feels like Visceral Games took the explosive action and gameplay basics from God of War and simply copy-and-pasted them directly into their own game program. I can't bash Visceral Gmaes too much but Dante's Inferno provided nothing new to the gaming scene but a game worth a rent if you have time.

Dante's Inferno Demo Play/Preview

I started Uncharted 2 today and put a solid 4-5 hours in. The game starts off with Nathan stranded on a train that has crashed somewhere in the arctic. You later find out this is present day and the main storyline of the game will be played in the past. The main storyline follows much of the same set up from the first game with an old friend coming out of nowhere to send you on your adventure. The ancient explorer whose steps you will be tracing this time is Marco Polo. The game takes a while to get going but that’s nothing unusual. After introducing you to the controls Uncharted 2 really picks up and you find out very quickly that this game is going to own. Those that played the original will quickly pick on the flow of the game as no major changes were issued. The only minor differences I’ve noticed so far are more cut scenes and the area levels seem to be a bit broader. It also seems like the game rewards you more for be stealthy rather than just “ramboing” it up. By taking out your enemies in a quiet organized fashion Drake is able to make it through levels with faster and with far less gun fights. I like this change because it adds an entirely new game mechanic that instantly upgraded an already great game. Now Uncharted appeals to two different types of gamers the stealth fanatic and the BOOM HEADSHOT obsessed first person shooter fans. It also seems the developers put a lot of time into building the story and it has definitely paid off. Uncharted 2 is also a treat to look at and I would say this is a massive understatement. This is imo the best looking game on the market and will be probably until Final Fantasy XIII comes out. I also got Dante’s Inferno from gamefly today and will be put some hours into that in the near future. For those who don’t know, Dante’s Inferno is based on the epic poem the Divine Comedy which explores the 9 circles of hell. I’ll leave a preview video or demo video up for those who want to see more.

PC Games - E3 2010 - Dante's Inferno