Demon's Souls
I've followed Demon's Souls a little bit by reading some articles and reviews online, but I couldn't really help thinking that a 3D action-RPG would end up playing like Morrowind or Oblivion, two games I couldn't really get into. I don't know if I should say that those two games are BAD games, but I think that providing a player with too many choices, or at least too many irrelevant choices, leads to a diluted game. If a player can make a retarded half-orc with a mongoloid face and run around the countryside killing cows, smashing furniture, and raping people in villages, that's probably all they'll end up doing. At least, that's what I do in those games. I guess it usually doesn't really feel like there's much impetus to save the princess and kill the bad guy when there are so many other things that you can do.
The other problem that I have with those games is that I feel like RPGs and action games usually end up being one or the other, with no game really being an "action-RPG". When I think of a game being heavy in the RPG department, I think of having lots of options for equipping and developing characters, with a need for the player to put a lot of thought into stat allocation, weapon and armor selection, and job or class assignment. Combat in these games is usually turn based and menu driven. Action games might include some light RPG elements, but typically the focus is on making the game fun to play, with cool animations and tight controls. The strategic element here is usually based more on learning patterns, taking advantage of the environment, and the kind of reflexive playing that is usually associated with action games. In my opinion, games like Morrowind and Oblivion don't provide too many options for character development and the combat is limited and sometimes frustarting. Somehow they manage to take the worst of both worlds and create a game that barely stands on its own, with the real appeal being the kind of open world freeform gameplay made popular by games like Grand Theft Auto 3.
Demon's Souls is a very linear game. I mean, you can choose which level you want to go to, and the levels are really huge, but if you would describe Morrowind or Oblivion as "nonlinear," then Demon's Souls is essentially a Mega Man game. I think this is one of the game's biggest strengths, however. You see, Demon's Souls is a better RPG than most pure RPGs and a better action game than most dedicated action games. The amount of options for creating and customizing your character is really impressive. You collect souls throughout the game, which replace both currency and experience points, that are used for purchasing equipment, purchasing spells, levelling up your character, levelling up your weapons and armor, and a few other things. This gives you a lot of options, as you can forego equipment and consumables in the interest of levelling up more quickly, or you can delay your development in order to purchase better gear and healing items to make it past a tough point. The controls are tight and responsive, with a stamina system that makes sense and adds a lot of strategy to melee combat. Any time you swing your weapon or block an attack with your shield, stamina is lost, and if your stamina were to hit zero, you actually accrue a bit of negative stamina, which has to recover before you can do anything. Of course, you can increase the amount of stamina you have through levelling up your character's endurance. This is an example of how well the RPG and action elements of Demon's Souls integrate with each other. There's a huge selection of weapons, each with a different style, which means that while you might have a favorite, you will probably carry at least two with you to respond to changes in the environment and your enemies' armor types.
I don't really want this to be a review of Demon's Souls, but I want to talk about why I like it. Demon's Souls feels really meaty and in-depth, the kind of game that you could play for hours and hours like Final Fantasy Tactics, just for the fun of levelling up and customizing your dude (and his gear). On the other hand, Demon's Souls would fit right in at an arcade, in my opinion, with its huge bosses, fast combat, and great controls. When you're in the Nexus (the hub of the game) you have a lot of choices, as I've said, for how to prepare for the next section or, in most cases, how to retry whatever section you've just failed. During the actual levels, however, the game is moving so fast and you have so much fun just fighting guys that you don't really stop to even think about levelling up or allocating points. In fact, there have been times where I've gone in to a level just to grab one or two things to level up my weapon, and I end up just playing the level for an hour or two instead. I've only had the game for a three day weekend, but I've played it for 15 hours already. I know that's not much compared to how much time some people spend playing Street Fighter 4 or Dragon Quest 5, but for me it's a lot. In fact, as an example of how easy it is to get absorbed in this game, I played for about 8 hours before I realized I could talk to the girl in the Nexus to level up. I played for about 14 hours before I realized I could buy spells in the Nexus.
I also think that the multiplayer component is really cool. Co-op and PvP are both available, but I haven't experienced either yet. What I like is the system of being able to leave and rate messages left by other people. The messages might contain clues about enemies' weaknesses or nearby treasure, or sometimes they might be there to ask for help. Whenever you rate someone's message (or they yours) the person who left the message regains all of his health, which gives you incentive to try to help people out. Even cooler than that, is you can click on pools of blood on the ground and see a red ghost dude pop up and watch how he or she died, which might save you from the same fate. Also, at times, you will see white ghosts running around, which I'm pretty sure are other people playing at the same time, so even though you aren't interacting with them directly, the game feels like you're playing with tons of people. I really like this system and hope it's used by more games.
All in all, this is probably one of the best game I've ever played. As a kid I always wondered what games would be like as technology advanced, but I didn't really expect them to be as terrible as most games are now. I would kind of dream about games like this. If I didn't own a PS3, I would buy one just to play Demon's Souls. If Demon's Souls comes out on PSP, I'll buy a PSP. I just can't stop gushing like a gay little girl about this stupid game.
This is harsh. Evaluate me.
The other problem that I have with those games is that I feel like RPGs and action games usually end up being one or the other, with no game really being an "action-RPG". When I think of a game being heavy in the RPG department, I think of having lots of options for equipping and developing characters, with a need for the player to put a lot of thought into stat allocation, weapon and armor selection, and job or class assignment. Combat in these games is usually turn based and menu driven. Action games might include some light RPG elements, but typically the focus is on making the game fun to play, with cool animations and tight controls. The strategic element here is usually based more on learning patterns, taking advantage of the environment, and the kind of reflexive playing that is usually associated with action games. In my opinion, games like Morrowind and Oblivion don't provide too many options for character development and the combat is limited and sometimes frustarting. Somehow they manage to take the worst of both worlds and create a game that barely stands on its own, with the real appeal being the kind of open world freeform gameplay made popular by games like Grand Theft Auto 3.
Demon's Souls is a very linear game. I mean, you can choose which level you want to go to, and the levels are really huge, but if you would describe Morrowind or Oblivion as "nonlinear," then Demon's Souls is essentially a Mega Man game. I think this is one of the game's biggest strengths, however. You see, Demon's Souls is a better RPG than most pure RPGs and a better action game than most dedicated action games. The amount of options for creating and customizing your character is really impressive. You collect souls throughout the game, which replace both currency and experience points, that are used for purchasing equipment, purchasing spells, levelling up your character, levelling up your weapons and armor, and a few other things. This gives you a lot of options, as you can forego equipment and consumables in the interest of levelling up more quickly, or you can delay your development in order to purchase better gear and healing items to make it past a tough point. The controls are tight and responsive, with a stamina system that makes sense and adds a lot of strategy to melee combat. Any time you swing your weapon or block an attack with your shield, stamina is lost, and if your stamina were to hit zero, you actually accrue a bit of negative stamina, which has to recover before you can do anything. Of course, you can increase the amount of stamina you have through levelling up your character's endurance. This is an example of how well the RPG and action elements of Demon's Souls integrate with each other. There's a huge selection of weapons, each with a different style, which means that while you might have a favorite, you will probably carry at least two with you to respond to changes in the environment and your enemies' armor types.
I don't really want this to be a review of Demon's Souls, but I want to talk about why I like it. Demon's Souls feels really meaty and in-depth, the kind of game that you could play for hours and hours like Final Fantasy Tactics, just for the fun of levelling up and customizing your dude (and his gear). On the other hand, Demon's Souls would fit right in at an arcade, in my opinion, with its huge bosses, fast combat, and great controls. When you're in the Nexus (the hub of the game) you have a lot of choices, as I've said, for how to prepare for the next section or, in most cases, how to retry whatever section you've just failed. During the actual levels, however, the game is moving so fast and you have so much fun just fighting guys that you don't really stop to even think about levelling up or allocating points. In fact, there have been times where I've gone in to a level just to grab one or two things to level up my weapon, and I end up just playing the level for an hour or two instead. I've only had the game for a three day weekend, but I've played it for 15 hours already. I know that's not much compared to how much time some people spend playing Street Fighter 4 or Dragon Quest 5, but for me it's a lot. In fact, as an example of how easy it is to get absorbed in this game, I played for about 8 hours before I realized I could talk to the girl in the Nexus to level up. I played for about 14 hours before I realized I could buy spells in the Nexus.
I also think that the multiplayer component is really cool. Co-op and PvP are both available, but I haven't experienced either yet. What I like is the system of being able to leave and rate messages left by other people. The messages might contain clues about enemies' weaknesses or nearby treasure, or sometimes they might be there to ask for help. Whenever you rate someone's message (or they yours) the person who left the message regains all of his health, which gives you incentive to try to help people out. Even cooler than that, is you can click on pools of blood on the ground and see a red ghost dude pop up and watch how he or she died, which might save you from the same fate. Also, at times, you will see white ghosts running around, which I'm pretty sure are other people playing at the same time, so even though you aren't interacting with them directly, the game feels like you're playing with tons of people. I really like this system and hope it's used by more games.
All in all, this is probably one of the best game I've ever played. As a kid I always wondered what games would be like as technology advanced, but I didn't really expect them to be as terrible as most games are now. I would kind of dream about games like this. If I didn't own a PS3, I would buy one just to play Demon's Souls. If Demon's Souls comes out on PSP, I'll buy a PSP. I just can't stop gushing like a gay little girl about this stupid game.
This is harsh. Evaluate me.
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