Lest it be said that video games are nothing more than mindless pastimes devoid of any intellectual substance, along comes Dante’s Inferno for the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360.

Granted, the game is a very loose adaptation of a chapter in Dante Aligheri’s classical masterpiece The Divine Comedy.

But then again, not very often will one come across something with a trace of something even remotely close to a 16^th century classic, with all the hordes of tasteless and cerebrally bankrupt first person shooters gunning it out in all the next generation consoles.

Hardly are there any really original games in the market being released these days. The 80’s and 90’s are long dead with the coin-op arcades, and along with it the demise of very original games in terms of concept and style.

Nowadays, big name gaming companies play it safe by sticking with tried and tested formulas. In other words, if a game formula makes a bucket load of money, why change it and risk losing a lot of money developing a game based on an entirely new concept?

Alien Vs. Predator is the millionth rendition of the first person shooter since Doom was born almost two decades ago. This now brings us to Dante’s Inferno.

The very first thing jaded gamers will notice is that Dante’s Inferno bears a very striking resemblance to the God’s of War series. That may be both a good thing and a bad thing. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery , Kratos of Gods of War may now be blushing pink all over.

So here we have a game that has Dante going to Hell in search of his beloved Beatrice, but he moves, kills demons and perhaps even smells like Kratos. Can that be such a bad thing?

If you loved God of War, then think of Dante’s Inferno as a good excuse to try the same thing out in a different setting.

The setting of the game is the Nine Circles of Hell. Yes, Hell and with it visually spectacular sceneries of gruesome debauchery and adult themed nakedness that hits you squarely in the face as you plough through the first few chapters.

Children and people with sensitive tastes and sensibilities should not play this game, period.

The people who made this game are definitely pushing the M rating to the extreme. However, after a few hours things start to seem drab and repetitive. It’s like everything ran out of steam and Hell itself starts to simmer down.

Cynics will assume that either the development team was rushing to catch a deadline release date and had to finish everything really quick or the superb images in the first few hours of the game was put there just to grab your attention and make you want to buy the game.

To say that Dante’s Inferno is a good game is like saying Michaelangelo’s paintings on the Sistine Chapel are neat drawings. God of War fans will either love or hate this, but casual gamers may want to give this a try if they are in the market for something out of the ordinary.

Order your copy now, and see you in Hell.