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Impressions: Dante's Inferno and Bayonetta Demos
Gratituous Violence + Full Frontal Nudity = Future?
by Mikhailov
I don't have much to say about these demos, so I'll try to keep this piece of writing brief. Chances are I'll be lynched afterwards, or at least made fun of.
Bayonetta offered a game where you get to slow down time and shoot guns with your feet. Dante's Inferno offers you a chance to experience The Divine Comedy. I hate to say that neither demo did it for me. I'll start with Bayonnetta.
I died a few times playing this game, so I can assume the difficulty level is quite high. This isn't really that big a deal because there's probably an easy mode in the final release. I was also treated to a wall scaling cat fight between the witch and a "witch hunter" of sorts. I'm not sure who she is to be honest. At the pinnacle of her powers, our protagonist (or antagonist) strips completely naked and her clothing becomes a demon that eats whatever boss you happen to be fighting at the time. The visuals were stunning to say the least. I can see this game becoming popular. I, however, did not feel convinced because I was too frustrated, and I found the game a little tasteless.
Now for Dante's Inferno.
This game offered a "God of War" style gameplay that offered hack and slash, unholy and holy spells, and the same minigames that Kratos himself is known to participate in to defeat his foes. Upon playing the game, I was engrossed in Dante's story. I felt bad for the hero upon finding his wife half naked and dead outside of her house. I didn't feel as bad when her all naked soul started talking to him. I have to be honest, I'm not digging this naked thing and I'm a guy. The game takes a LOT of liberties in the story from giving Dante a wife in the first place to making him sew the story in his chest in a cross shape (something I really don't understand). Virgil shows up, and we really don't get to see hell itself in the demo. They saved that honor for the final release.
Neither game made me say "I need to buy this." This is too bad becase I really expected Dante's Inferno to captivate me. It really should have because I love the book, but I don't care for the liberties they took (too many). Plus in both of these games, there is much more nudity than I am used to seeing. You would think being a guy I wouldn't mind, but I'm not a fan of this newfound showing of breasts in games. Video games are already way too violent. Throwing in gratituous nudity on top of it makes things even worse, and says some pretty bad things about women (heroines and damsels in distress alike).
There's also that teacher part of me that knows my middle schoolers wrongfully play Modern Warfare 2. I don't want them to think of a classic work of literature as a gore and boob fest on top of it.
Yes. Nudity in a game has turned me off to said game. Is there something wrong with me?
Comments
Alright. I have to say that I, too, played the Bayonetta demo in the very same living room you did. We tried it out together. Not too shabby a game. It reminded me of the first Devil May Cry in respects to gameplay and character design. However, I don't agree with the nudity being too out of place. Witches, of myth, have always been promiscuous in their ways and have always had some form of eroticism about their practices. They love the body and what it is capable of doing.
With that out of the way I will say that the demo was as classic as Capcom can get with their demos. They highlighted the protagonist' powers and capabilities. Sure there's nudity involved and they deemed the game a Mature rating, but if you disagree with it so much why even bother to complain. I, for one, won't complain about the nudity. I will complain about the gameplay and the high difficulty curve. But that's all.The nudity is a portion of the game's characters.
Now for Dante's Inferno. I didn't care much for the demo, either. It was too much like God of War. I understood the reason for the story being sewn into his skin. I also understood the premise of the story. I thought that the imagery of his wife half-clothed, and dead, to be a most horrific image in itself. Who would want to come home after defying fate of death and have his wife raped and killed before their arrival? I sure as hell wouldn't. But, overall, I would have to grade the game on its gameplay and its difficulty. I died a couple of times before I got a hang of a few things; everybody does.
I understand your educator standpoint. I can agree with certain points of view because of my own morality. I, however, cannot agree that you would only complain about the nudity in such titles as these. Games in general are rated as they are for a reason. These two titles are rated "M" for Mature. People who purchase these games understand what the rating entails.
Have a nice day.
@QMarc80: But they don't. Parents don't know what they're buying even though it says it right on the box. Either they don't know or they don't care.
And I'm not complaining about it, nor is it the only part of the games that I don't care for. It is, however, part of my decision to not purchase these games. In regards to Dante's Inferno. I didn't have a problem with that one scene, but then it just kept going and going every time her spirit showed up.
@Mikhailov: When people are born they are naked. Would it not be logical the other way around, too? I won't be purchasing these titles either. I just wanted to be logical.