Those of you who've been following our E3 coverage would know that Electronic Arts are pretty excited about a project from Visceral Games, the hellish Dante's Inferno. With the developers of Dead Space behind the game, we're pretty excited too.

The game hasn't made everyone excited though, as several protesters have made evident outside the E3 in Los Angeles. The protesters, from a church group in Ventura County near Los Angeles have descended upon the event, carrying with them banners sporting slogans such as "Hell is not a game", "My high score is in heaven", and "EA = Electronic Anti-Christ".

The Los Angeles Times reports that the protesters handed out posters, and and argued that the game should never be released, urging reporters to ask Electronic Arts to reconsider their decision to bring the game to market.


The Los Angeles Times gives an example:

Matthew Francis, one of the protesters, said he and his fellow church members were particularly upset that Dante's Inferno features a character who fights his way out of Hell and uses a cross as a weapon against demons.

Dante's Inferno is based on Dante Alighieri's epic The Divine Comedy, which many academics believe forms the basis of the modern depiction of Hell seen in cinema, novels and other entertainment media.

In the game, players assume the role of Dante, as he travels through the nine circles of hell in search of his beloved Beatrice, who was murdered. Not only must Dante rescue his love from the fiery afterlife, but he must also face his inner demons, using a scythe and a Christian cross to fight off a number of foes.

While it is highly unlikely that Electronic Arts will cancel the game due to a small scale protest, it will be interesting to see how far the protest reaches in the mainstream media - and whether it will bring attention to other games that focus on similar content. (Perhaps even those that contain a God Mode?)

Thanks to GamePolitics.com for the tip, and, The LA Weekly for the images.