More gaming temptation via BioShock 2 and Dante's Inferno

by Stevie Smith - Feb 8 2010, 09:51

Not even six weeks into 2010 and the videogame marketplace has already been graced with two potential ‘Game of the Year’ candidates in Bayonetta and Mass Effect 2. Looking to continue that trend and tap into the current stream of critical praise, this week sees the emergence of BioShock 2 and Dante’s Inferno.

Although perhaps not as widely anticipated as SEGA’s Bayonetta or EA’s epic RPG Mass Effect 2, 2K Games’ BioShock 2 promises more underwater thrills throughout the submerged city of Rapture, while EA’s demonic Dante’s Inferno is likely to appeal to cross-platform hack-and-slash aficionados and those PS3 owners struggling to suppress their hunger for God of War III.

Released to retail tomorrow, and an unknown quantity insofar as it’s a new IP, Dante’s Inferno has managed to pull in generally favourable feedback from print and online review outlets. Moreover, in terms of critical assessment, review aggregation service Metacritic presently shows the game carrying an average of 76/100 across 26 different reviews.

According to Computer and Video Games magazine, while the Visceral Games action adventure is something of a genre “copycat” it’s hard to care when the package is “this thrilling, brutal and frankly, awesome.”

Destructoid follows a similar vein of positive and negative appraisal for Dante’s Inferno, concluding that “it’s one that action fans shouldn’t miss,” despite not being a wholly original gameplay experience.

Also available in stores from tomorrow (Feb. 09), though not yet carrying the same level of review feedback as Visceral’s bloody action epic, 2K Marin and 2K Australia’s return to the city of Rapture in BioShock 2 still looks set to quiet sceptics by delivering a worthwhile sequel.

Specifically, although Metacritic’s aggregation for BioShock 2 presently only stands at a mere seven reviews, the game’s average is hovering at 91/100 and leading online games magazines such as IGN are lauding it as “a game in which story, setting, and gameplay are expertly blended to create an experience that’s as thought-provoking as it is entertaining.”

So that’s another twin-barrelled blast of temptation discharged towards the already well-holed pockets of weak-willed gamers everywhere (this writer included). And, with the likes of Heavy Rain, Final Fantasy XIII and God of War III still to adorn the first quarter, it’s truly a great – if somewhat expensive – time to be a gamer.

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