Dante's Inferno Super Bowl Ad is Surprisingly Classy

February 3, 2010 7:14 AM

EA has given an advance look at the Dante's Inferno television commercial due to be shown during the Super Bowl on Sunday, revealing a somewhat different approach to marketing Visceral Games' blood-soaked adaptation of the revered epic poem.

Seemingly playing to an audience it believes more refined than your average video gamer, EA has cast aside the painfully snappy tagline "Go to Hell" in favour of the philosophical--and less controversy-courting--"Hell Awaits" and focuses more on a tale of love and damnation than demonic doors opened by stabbing them in the guts.

Dante's Inferno arrives for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on February 5 in Europe then February 9 in North America, followed by a PSP version later--retailers list February 23. Word has leaked that a DLC pack will bring online co-op and an editor on April 29.

Alice O'Connor

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lectR

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February 3, 2010 7:21 AM

While I understand the point of using that song for the video, it definitely felt like it was just overlaid on top of a bunch of footage. It just didn't seem to fit or have the effect, I think, they were going for.
- GodZilly
  
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  February 3, 2010 7:29 AM
  
  Yeah I agree. I was confused if I had something else running in the background at the same time.
- vujinovicm
  
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  February 3, 2010 7:29 AM
  
  exactly. that was bad.
- node
  
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  February 3, 2010 8:15 AM
  
  Agreed. Cool footage, terribly clumsy musical juxtaposition. Everyone wants to be the damn Gears of War Mad World commercial now.
- stgdz
  
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  February 3, 2010 8:16 AM
  
  It creates a little bit of interest for people that know nothing about the game.
- AroundTheFur1380
  
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  February 3, 2010 10:54 AM
  
  I disagree, the thematic element of the song "There ain't no sunshine when/where she goes" is a clever stab at hell, the major animation beats go along with the beats of the song, and the pullout at the end functions to bring out the song even more as the action gets even more crazy at the precise moment you can't see it clearly. This was well done. I have been, still do occasionally, produce/animate commercials, and I would have been proud to be attached to this.
- getlefty
  
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  February 4, 2010 2:59 AM
  
  It's no Mad World (or even the "Rendezvous With Death" spot, which was also awesome) but it's a good way to present the game. They obviously could have done better by showing game footage but seeing as how they probably changed it (noticing that the girls boobs aren't hanging out for the first time ever) it's probably the best they could do with the time they had.
  
  I'm sure the original ad was much better.