Well if you can’t make a great game, do all kinds of marketing and tie-ins to help generate some hype right? That seems to be what EA’s plan is for the critically-panned Dante’s Inferno. Previews have been less than kind to the title of late and hopefully EA will take that into account before releasing it (going on history alone, I believe ’fat chance’ is appropriate here). The film will be released in February, shortly after the game itself. Perhaps they should consider doing it the other way round so that sales of the film aren’t impacted by the game.

Both the game and animated movie are based on part one of Dante Alighieri’s classic poem, The Divine Comedy, better known as "Dante’s Inferno." Each takes players and viewers on a  journey through the nine circles of Hell. Dante’s Inferno The Animated Movie also follows Dante as he travels through limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, anger, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery in search of his true love, Beatrice.

Dante’s Inferno The Animated Movie from the creative teams behind some of the boldest animated films of all time - including Ghost in the Shell, Blood the Last Vampire, Tales of the Black Freighter, Ergo Proxy and Samurai Champloo - it provides a breathtaking new version of Dante Alighieri’s medieval classic, and the perfect way to delve deeper into the subjects covered in the interactive action adventure.

To give added distinction among each of the nine circles, EA and Film Roman are taking the innovative step of commissioning unique visions from multiple studios with experience creating some of the top anime in the industry to tell this classic story. Film Roman’s Joe Goyette ("Dead Space: Downfall") is the producer on the project, Victor Cook ("The Spectacular Spider-Man," "Hellboy Animated: Blood & Iron") is directing and Brandon Auman ("Iron Man: Armored Adventures") is writing. Each episode hails from the best animation studios within the USA, Japan and Korea.

As well as providing more insight into the characters and story adaptation featured within the Dante’s Inferno game, the movie explores aspects of the poem that Visceral’s thrilling action adventure does not.

Dante’s Inferno The Animated Movie marks the second such collaboration between EA and Film Roman, following 2008’s Dead Space collaboration - which saw Dead Space: Downfall released on DVD to huge critical and commercial success.

Dante’s Inferno The Animated Movie will be released on Blu Ray and DVD on February 8th 2010, shortly after the game itself. For more information on the game and film, visit www.dantesinferno.com