Dante's Inferno and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 dated @ Gaming Target

Written by John Scalzo on August 18, 2009

News: Go through Hell or level it with these 2010 releases.

More and more high profile games continue to pile up in the first half of 2010, making the normally quiet Winter months much more lively. Today, Electronic Arts used the 2009 GamesCom event in Cologne, Germany to announce the release dates of Dante's Inferno and Battlefield: Bad Company 2.

The game adaptation of Dante's Inferno, the first part of Dante Alighieri's epic poem "The Divine Comedy", will be released on the PlayStation 3, PSP and Xbox 360 on February 9, 2010. Developed by Visceral Games, the creators of last year's well-regarded Dead Space, Dante's Inferno will examine the nine circles of Hell in a way never before shown in a video game:

In Dante's Inferno, players will assume the role of Dante as he travels on an epic descent through Dante Alighieri's nine circles of Hell Ц limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery. Dante's journey is driven by his desire to reclaim the soul of his beloved Beatrice after she is dragged through the gates of hell by Lucifer. This new story is the wrapper to a smooth, fast-paced action adventure game that delivers a deep, fully customizable combat system with holy and unholy choices, innovative level design, imaginative puzzles, and best-in-class boss battles, all running at 60 frames per second.

EA also confirmed that the next game in DICE's Battlefield series, Battlefield: Bad Company 2, will be blowing up a building near you on March 2, 2010. The PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 shooter will use a new destructible environment engine that EA has dubbed "Destruction 2.0":

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 players will have a selection of 46 weapons that they can customize into over 200 different, high-powered firearms. There are over 15,000 kit variations possible in the game, giving each squad member the ability to choose the weapon upgrades and combat enhancements that best fits their playing style. Between the weapons, kit combinations and deadly vehicles, players will be equipped with a wide range of gadgets, accessories and character specializations to give them the edge in the heat of battle.

The DICE signature Frostbite engine delivers Destruction 2.0, adding a new layer of strategy to the all-out warfare. New to Battlefield: Bad Company 2 is the micro-destruction mechanic that allows players to be more strategic on the battlefield by chipping cover away bit by bit or taking down an entire building and watching it collapse with enemies inside.

We'll have more on both games soon.