Dante’s Inferno looks like God of War

If you’re a hard-core fan of the God of War series but just can’t wait until the next installment is released in March, then you’re in luck, my friend.

Rush out today and buy Dante’s Inferno. God of War rip-offs don’t get any more blatant than this one.

Everything about it is like GOW, in a nearly comical way: the red and white accents on the god-like main character, the giant shiny weapons he swings around, the epic boss battles, the blatant nudity, the third-person view with woeful lack of camera control, even the button tapping cut-screen final-kill moves.

Technically, the game is amazing. The epic beasts that must be defeated are well designed and executed, and some of the cut screens rival the CGI found in big-budget movies.

Unfortunately, all that hard work is just pretty clothes on an obvious clone.

Grade: B-minus (technically sound, yet woefully unoriginal)

Details: PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms; $59.99; rated Mature (blood and gore, intense violence, nudity, sexual content)

Climb inside the skin of an alien

Aliens vs. Predator is like three games in one. Here, gamers can play as a space Marine in an above-average first-person shooter, or as a frenetic alien beast able to climb on walls or ceilings, or as a stealth hunter from a distant planet.

The graphics are great, albeit dark even on the lightest setting, and the action is intense. But the best thing about AVP is the great sound effects, including some straight out of popular movies. Anyone who has ever seen the sci-fi classic “Aliens” will never forget the sound of the creature’s screams or the report from the marine’s assault rifles, both replicated here in exacting detail.

Playing as a Marine is fun, and as an alien even more fun (even if the ability to crawl everywhere does induce queasiness after a while), but the lumbering attacks of the Predator leave a little to be desired. Still, having a ton of well-crafted options is always a good thing.

Grade: B-plus (nice variety)

Details: PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms; $59.99; rated Mature (blood and gore, intense violence, strong language, suggestive themes)

Create your own future

The spectacular “choose your own adventure” story line makes Mass Effect 2 an absolute masterpiece. Everything you decide has an effect on the future. Even from the game’s outset, players are allowed to create the physical appearance and overall demeanor of Col. Shepard and as he (or she) and his team fight to save mankind.

All the possibilities in this sequel to one of 2008’s best games leave players wondering “what if?” What if I’d sought out the doctor instead of hunting the assassin? What if I’d told that guy to get lost instead of being nice to him? It’s maddening fun, and inviting to play again, this time making the opposite choices.

Besides the many-fingered story arc, ME2 also boasts strong vocal talent provided by the likes of Martin Sheen, Seth Green, Keith David, Carrie-Anne Moss and Tricia Helfer. Add to that solid graphics and great interaction, and you’ve got a winner.

Grade: A-plus (superb gameplay abounds)

Details: Xbox 360 platform; $59.99; rated Mature (blood, drug reference, sexual content, strong language, violence)

It’s massive, and yes, it’s a mess

When a game is titled as plainly as MAG, short for “Massive Action Game,” we should have seen it coming: Surely, this outing will be full of run-of-the-mill gameplay.

And that’s just what MAG is: a big, generic mess. Sure, there are a bunch of different squads together on one map at one time, but that just means that most of the action turns into a giant quagmire of epic proportions.

And with too much room to move, there are too many places without much action, meaning low experience scores, which lead to hours of gameplay without scoring enough points to unlock anything new.

It would be great to get that new gun for my avatar or maybe see a different map for a change, but I guess I gotta wander around and hope I don’t get shot for 15 more minutes to earn some more points. Yawn.

Everything this game tries to be -- a souped-up version of the gold standard of online military action games, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 -- it fails at, and rather epically.

With no single-player mode to get players invested in the game, and even worse documentation, MAG disappoints. (I’m still trying to find where it says how to revive a fallen teammate.

I see the blank page for the notes in the manual, but no mention of what I’m supposed to do before they die.)

Grade: C-minus (a low-rent clone of Modern Warfare 2)

Details: PlayStation 3 platform; $59.99; rated Teen (blood, mild language, violence)