The first movement of the epic poem The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri relates the story of Dante himself descending into Hell for a guided tour. And though his work is regarded as one of the most important literary masterpieces of all time... that Dante guy had one twisted imagination. In his descriptions he holds nothing back, describing in putrid, horrific, visceral detail every sight, sound, and smell he encounters there. The very idea lends itself to such interesting -- if nightmarish -- mental images; it's hard to believe it's taken this long for the video games industry to make a game out of it or Hollywood to develop it into a big-budget movie. In an unprecedented move, Universal Pictures has bought the film rights to this EA Games property -- before the game has even been made. A couple weeks ago we had the chance to spend some time with the development team and go hands-on with a few levels, overall the experience of which was simply fantastic.
Dan Harris is writing the script for the live-action film, and genre fans will recognize his work from X-Men 2 and Superman Returns. Universal acquired the movie rights to this hot video game property in a bidding war between four rival studios, all of which took place before the game even had a title. Starz Media and EA Games are also developing a feature-length animated film as a companion piece, employing several well-known masters of anime to bring their unique visions to each of Dante's "nine circles of Hell." EA's Jonathan Knight was the first developer to see the potential in Dante's classic literary story. Reportedly, he read the poem a few years ago and suddenly felt like he'd been handed the blueprint for a video game just waiting to be made. This group of developers/producers is really passionate about the game and it shows, in what’s shaping up to be one hell of an action/adventure title.
In Dante's Inferno, you play a third-person action game, as Dante, who's ventured to the entrance to Hell and plunges inside in pursuit in search of his deceased true love, Beatrice. The version of Dante presented in the game differs from history's Dante, in that this hero is a darker, battle-hardened veteran of the Crusades. As the game's story goes, Dante's beloved Beatrice has been taken to Hell unjustly by Satan himself and Dante sets out to rescue her. But to do this, he'll have to traverse down all nine circles of Hell; past tormented and tortured souls, subjected to horrors beyond human imagining. And he may just have to confront his own demons (the metaphorical kind, though he'll slay plenty of the real ones, too) and balance the scales for his own sins that have been committed in the past.
