God of War, Age of Mythology and countless other games turned ancient mithology and tales upside down. Movies like Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven rape history and literature. Why should we complain that the same thing happens now with the Divine Comedy?
Stupid people that think it's a Devil May Cry game might be interested in finding out what the book is all about. That's better that NOT doing this, even if they'll read only the first ten pages.
Smart people that already know who Dante is shouldn't care. It's just a spin-off. A "what if". You have to admit a frozen Satan is damn awesome!
Also, it was used by countless other works (including video games) as a source of inspiration. Have any of you seen the movie What Dreams May Come?
And it's not like the Divine Comedy wasn't used by the author himself for other purposes than what first meets the eye, isn't it? An open-minded man like Alighieri would have no trouble in accepting his work to be turned into a game. Especially since deciphering the book is a game itself, I might add. It's similar to the works of Milorad Pavić.

It's not so much that they're doing a game of it, it's more that they're choosing a bad method of doing it. Like I outlined in my first post, there are a number of ways they could do it without butchering the story.
Even the Devil May Cry games do a pretty good job of not butchering it.
Also, the series Devil Man from Japan also does a very good job at not butchering it.
It just seems like the developers don't have respect for the source material.

But respect can be shown in different ways.
I think most people that read the book liked the actual description of Hell and Heaven more than the philosophical and political dialogue and ideas. If Dante didn't have such a twisted imagination, the book wouldn't have had so much succes - there are many more works that deal with such problems from those times, but not nearly as well known.
And we don't know too much about the story. This studio managed to incorporate a fantastic backstory and mythology in Dead Space, which is mainly an action game. I think they'll be able to put many of the book's ideas in this game... but then again, you simply can't put everything important there and hope that it makes sense. For a modern audience, the book DOESN'T make sense, we are not familiar with how things worked in medieval Italy. We see it in a totally different light than Dante's contemporaries.
Truth is, apart from a relatively educated minority, people today don't give a damn about Dante's ideas. They're just interested in Lust, Gluttony, the river of boiling blood, the Geryon and all those nightmarish images.
Is it reasonable to demand a company to give them something else? I think it's just wishful thinking.
I still believe that EA Redwood will make a great story too. I spent many hours thinking about Dead Space's plot, and that one seemed to be just Resident Evil in space.

maybe, at 21, I'm not a part of the modern audience, I read the book for the first time this past year, and I understood it fine.

The book is not about the politics of that time; sure they are mentioned but are just a tiny bit of the book. The most important part is the nature of man and christianity, wich still today is an important topic; and the book makes still sense if you explain the references to that time.
also i haven't played dead space so i can't say anything about the story, but i can say that the plot of an action game, good or bad, is and will be an intellectual fart compared to Dante's Inferno.
the problem is you can't cut off all the deep and too "complex" things, and add a lot of "cool and awesome" stuff, and hope that it still makes any sense or has any relationship to the book.
i'll say it again i wouldn't have any problem if thay called it devil may cry 5, instead they just slap "Dante's Inferno" on the title, forcing me to compare it to the book; and looking at the trailer they don't have any intention to recreate or "give respect" to dante's work, they just want another cash cow; so why the hell don't they call it "Demonslaye"r or something like that.

Same reason Fallout 3 isn't called The Elder Scrolls With Guns: Fallout I'd guess. If they claim it's based on some old book that was really popular way back when it'll make all today's retards think they're smart for playing it.

Einstein never lost a dance contest, your point is invalid.

WBGhiro - I think they will recreate Dante's imagery, at least. It's Dante's Inferno, after all.
So here's a question (more liek three, amirite?): has Dante himself paid respect to his ancestors' beliefs, when he included all those mythological monsters and locations? Even more, did he pay respect to Christianity by mixing it up with pagan myths? Can you really meditate about Christianity, while being inspired by a book featuring Cerberus and Medusa - which simultaneously talks about pagans' punishment?
And frankly, why would all these need a "respectful" treatment?
I still think Dante wouldn't have any trouble with this game. He did like controversial stuff, after all.
Have you noticed that the official site ( http://www.dantesinferno.com/home.action ) is called Dante's Inferno: The Divine Comedy?
Maybe they'll add Purgatory and Heaven too...

Now see (and I'm possibly displaying my massive ignorance of the subject) I was under the impression that was done by the Romans. Didn't they steal various pagan traditions and shove them in as part of Christianity? Winter Solstice = Christmas?

It doesn't.

So... you're just saying a line of nonsense and then telling me I'm wrong?

No, it was all nonsense. Said for the pure non sequitur humor factor.

Damn man, you already have two stars and the most posts of anyone on the forum. You don't need to spam.

No, but I thought it was pretty funny.