Games PlayStation3 Demon's Souls
Demon's Souls
Game Info:
| Platform: | PlayStation3 |
| Developer: | From Software |
| Publisher: | Atlus USA |
| Players: | 1, Online Play |
| Format: | 1 BD-ROM |
| Gallery: |
Editor review
Please welcome back our dearest friend, corporal punishment
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Though the RPG is no longer the niche genre it used to be a number of years back, it's still difficult to generate any appreciable hype for a new franchise. Without a loyal following or the words "final fantasy" shamelessly plastered somewhere in the title, most original RPG titles are, sadly, relegated to obscurity. Demon's Souls is not one of those games; in fact, it is one of the most anticipated dark horse titles that this genre has seen in a long time. The product of veteran developer From Software, better known for their mecha-bashing Armored Core franchise, Demon's Souls is hailed as the spiritual successor to the company's cult PS1 RPG series, Kings Field. Many casual and even hardcore RPG fans probably never got around to playing the King's Field games (myself included), so one can't help but wonder where all of the hype for Demon's Souls came from. The answer is actually quite simple: it's just an outstanding game in every aspect. It hearkens back to the early days of electronic entertainment not only in style, but also in substance where a game actually had to be fun and rewarding to play, rather than relying on sequel hype and name recognition to drive sales. This, my friends, is how you successfully create and market a RPG. The game revolves around the Kingdom of Boletaria, a land surrounded by a mysterious black fog that has sealed it off from the rest of the outside world. King Allant XII of Boletaria whose greed for souls has awakened the Old One, a legendary beast that feeds off of souls, from its eternal slumber and in turn unleashed demons that wreak havoc all over the kingdom. Fortunately, a Boletarian soldier named Vallarfax managed to break free from the fog and spread the word about Boletaria's fate. Warriors and adventurers from far and wide driven by their greed dared to enter the cursed lands, but none have returned to enjoy the spoils. You take the role of the noble stranger who enters the land not to fulfill worldly desires, but to free the land of Boletaria of its twisted fate. The game is clearly not story driven and only serves to explain the who, what, why, where, when, and how. Once you get your feet wet, it really won't matter as you will be too busy trying to stay alive to care. Demon's Souls pulls no punches and is not meant for the uninitiated; gamers will need to have their balls screwed on tight to make it through this hellish ride. The game is called Demon's Souls for a reason, as souls serve as both experience points and the defacto currency in the cursed lands. Souls are earned solely by defeating enemies and can be spent at the Nexus, a sort of town center for the game. Unlike most RPGs, there is technically no leveling up; a player can spend their souls to beef up their basic stats with their progress indicated by their Soul Level, which rises with each stat point increased. As your Soul Level rises, so does the amount of souls needed to increase stat points. It wouldn't be a wise decision to spend all of your souls on juicing up your stats as you're undoubtedly going to need them for items and services such as item repair or learning new magic tricks. Needless to say, souls are a precious commodity in the cursed lands so good thing no one can take them from you... right? Wrong, while the game doesn't end when you die, you are severely penalized for making such a mistake. Not only will you have to start the level over when you die, but all of the enemies you previously dispatched spring back to life and the best part is, you lose ALL of your souls. There is some good news, however, as you can recover your lost souls if you can safely return to the site of your death and touch your bloodstain. Keep in mind that if you die AGAIN before you recover your lost souls, they are gone forever. Sadly, the likelihood that you will die again is almost a certainty as combat can be truly unforgiving. The combat system, while deceptively simple, is actually amazingly deep. At first glance, it may remind you of Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance or some other medieval themed hack-and-slasher, but should you decide to treat it as such, then you might as well pull your pants down and bend over because this game brings spanking back to the 21st century. Mastering the combat system makes up the bulk of the challenge as it is very intolerant of mistakes, but on the flipside, it also rewards players with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside when they conquer a tough opponent. Players of the Gothic series of PC RPGs will find the combat mechanics very familiar; depending on the weapon you are wielding, every strike will take a certain amount of time to perform and recover from, meaning you will have to time your attacks accordingly or face a devastating counterstrike. You can also decide to block or even parry your opponent's attack to set them up for a counterstrike while more dexterous players can opt to dodge or roll to a more advantageous position, all aspects of combat that are essential to surviving any encounter. To complicate things even further, the player must also keep an eye on the stamina bar, which determines how many actions you can perform, whether it be dodging, blocking or striking before retreating back to recover. It may sound easy enough now that you're imagining it in your head, but you have to keep in mind that even with the best defensive gear, carelessness will be punished with a swift death. Several of the game's monsters can murder a player in one or two blows, while weaker monsters attack in groups, making up for their lack of power with mob tactics. Should you choose to be impatient and try to sneak in just one more blow, you may meet an untimely demise. In this world, it pays to be patient and eternally vigilant of your immediate surroundings. In addition to the thrilling offline single player adventure, you can also choose to play Demon's Souls online. Much like everything else about this game, the online mode is impressively clever and unique. The option to play offline or online is entirely up to the player, with the offline mode being the preferred choice for beginners. For the purpose of being able to provide a thorough review, I played the game in its entirety in online mode. The differences between the two modes are largely transparent until you decide to go beyond the limits of your own world. Throughout your adventure, you'll notice white, wireframe figures running around; these apparitions represent real players that are adventuring in a parallel world and their actions can reveal anything from good sniping positions to combat strategies for enemies ahead. You can also leave or read messages in the world for others to read or touch other players' bloodstains to watch how they met their maker, very helpful for spotting pitfalls or surprise attacks from hidden beasties. If you want to actively participate in online adventures you can either choose to enter another world as a Black Phantom or a Blue Phantom. If you decide to be a Black Phantom, you will forcibly invade a random player's game with the objective of killing the host player to swipe their souls. If you're more of a co-operative player, you can offer yourself to be summoned to another player's world as a Blue Phantom, where you can help them fight through the level's hordes of monsters or a tough boss battle. The seamless integration of the online play with single-player play is what makes this whole system great; the whole process is automated and simplified so a multiplayer session can be started hassle free. If you simply cannot beat a particular boss, get some Blue Phantom players to help you out or if you're bored of beating the snot out of the AI, invade another player's world and attempt take their souls! It's simplicity is also its weakness, however, as there is little to no control given to the player regarding their choice of allies or foes, making it difficult to set up a session with your real life pals online. While items can be traded from player to player, there is no interface to facilitate exchanges, so players have to drop and pick up items, giving dishonorable players a chance to walk away with your precious loot with practically no consequence. There's definitely room for improvement in the system, but it's still a worthwhile addition to an already excellent package; I hope other developers are taking notice as I'd love to see a similar online integration system in future titles. Demons Souls doesn't fail to deliver the visual department, either; the world is appropriately dark and dreary, with a genuinely creepy atmosphere mixed in with next gen visuals. The textures are highly detailed and excellent use of bump mapping results in some impressive looking surfaces, especially with equipment. The humongous bosses are rendered terrifyingly well, from their imposing size down to their unpredictable behavior. The experience is only marred by occasional slowdowns when too much is happening on screen and is especially notable during multiplayer sessions. The camera can also be a bit burdensome at times, especially when locking on to a target in a small, enclosed area which results in nauseating rapid-fire panning particularly with agile opponents. The sound design also deserves a lot of credit, as it truly adds that genuine medieval Europe feel to the the entire game. Even though there is very little spoken dialogue in the game, the fantastic voice overs bolster the atmosphere and to the immersion factor of the game. The music has a decidedly medieval theme as well, with no shortage of vocalizations and plucked string instruments. Besides Valkyria Chronicles, this IS the RPG to have for the PS3; it's been ages since a game of this style and caliber has graced the genre. If you can endure the slings and the arrows that the game's brutal difficulty curve will throw at you, you'll find a fulfilling and rewarding experience that can only be had after an epic struggle and in time, will have you begging for more. As the old saying goes, with great risks come great rewards, and From Software's risk to release an old school, noob-slaying, anime free RPG in this day and age has no doubt paid off in spades. | |||||||||
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