Malik
(3/23/09)
After way too much
time, on Saturday my copy of Demon's Souls arrived. Let me put that
a different way; it's here!!!
Unfortunately, I
didn't get all that much time to play the game, but I could form a
few initial thoughts. Mainly dealing with character creation and the
first couple of dungeons.
First of all, it's
sad that the Asian version, with it's full English support, has a
Chinese instruction manual. This means you don't know shit going
into the game, except for what is found online. Well, there is a
small insert (equivalent to four pages) in English, but this only
really covers the basic controls. This means you are still lacking
in 55 pages worth of information. You don't know what the classes
means, how to perform more advanced techniques (like weapon upgrades
and repairs), and much of anything else. You also miss the info on
what the status ailments are and how to recognize them on your
character.
As for starting
the game, the English is definitely easy enough to understand. It
may suffer a few "Engrish" moments, but since I've been playing the
Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (in English), it's not that bad.
I mean SUGC has more English games with "Engrish" than the Asian
Demon's Souls will suffer from...and those were games with little in
the way of text on most of them. I mean just play some Golden Axe
1-3 and you'll find more examples than in the Asian Demon's Souls.
The character
creation is very similar to Oblivion. That is to say you pick a
class (however, with no customizing of skills and attributes at
start), sex, and you make your facial design. Just like any game
with facial design (like Oblivion or any recent Tony Hawk), you can
make a large variety of faces that all look pretty bad, and one or
two faces that look decent. Still, there are enough sliders to allow
one to kill time in the hope of making a cool looking avatar. You'll
fail in the end, but you can try.
At this point, I
had picked a male noble as my gender and class. I knew that the
noble started with a MP regenerating item and an easier time to
level up at the start (due to being the lowest starting level of the
classes), since each upgrade costs more as your class level
increases. Thus a thief or barbarian ("barbarous fellows" in the
Chinese instructions), who are level nine to start, are hardest to
level since they cost the most to advance.
Now my first
impression of the game, beyond wishing that my TV supported 720p (no
1080i support in the game, yet), was that this game looks amazing
even in SD. I mean this is a damned pretty game...in a ruined
kingdom on the verge of hell way. I mean the opening movie alone was
breath-taking (you can find it on youtube...if you look).
My second
impression, after I started to move my character around some, was a
very simple word; f#@$! That was when I met my first enemy. The very
first fight, in the tutorial level, will show you quickly how much
you need to think in this game. Button mashers need not apply, and
button mashers will hate this game with a passion. After clearing
the tutorial, which includes the first boss destroying you (you can
beat this "must lose" boss, but then the game will kill you flat out
immediately after), you start the real game. That means you can now
buy equipment and repair equipment. You still have no access to
leveling up your stats, since this comes after the second level
(first real level).
Well, you will
wish you could level up early on, since the first level will kill
you...many times. In fact, I have not cleared it yet. I have found
many ways to die, but most come down to me being a little impatient.
If you have trouble with Splinter Cell style games since you like to
rush through the stealthy stuff, then you will need to retrain your
way of thinking. I know I had to change how I played this game right
away.
To show you how
brutal this game is, you're constantly in a weird form of online. In
it, until you advance some, you can interact with other players only
by leaving messages (mainly warnings or begging for health...if
someone rates a message as good, then the author gets a health boost
for leaving a useful message) and you leave a blood stain when you
die. If someone clicks on your blood stain, they will see your last
few seconds of life. Usually this is a funny montage of your body
being pummeled by all sides or of your body falling down a pit while
thrusting your blade. Good humor, but also a good warning. A warning
of both how you died so it could be avoided and a warning of how
damned hard this game will be.
Despite my sucking
at this game, I still have to say I love it. I love a game that is
hard, but only as hard as you make it. If you think and don't just
react blindly, you will not have too bad of a time. If you try to
act like Rambo, then you will see what would have really happened if
one person took on an army (of demons in this case); that one person
would die. This is not a game for the feint of heart, but it's also
a game that can be quite accessible to gamers who are willing to
give it the chance it deserves...and willing to pay some import
costs.
My one real doubt
on this game is that it would ever see a North American release.
This game is too hard to be considered a candidate for success in
America. It's not something that would see too well, but then again,
with an Asian release in English (and supposedly the Korean version
has English as well...supposedly...not a guarantee from myself), you
don't need it to come to the States. A few clicks on the net, and
you're ready to go. Hell, the game was cheaper for me to import than
it would be to buy from a local store if it did come to the US
(after taxes, even with shipping costs being negated).
Malik |
Malik
(3/24/09)
I got in more time
with Demon's Souls yesterday and realized that the game really
needed a fresh perspective from myself. After taking a day off from
the game and coming back, it all makes much more sense.
The challenge is
still there, but it's also more manageable when you realize how to
take your time. For example, I'm playing as a noble/royal/aristocrat
(seems to be a dozen translations for each term in this game based
on your region), so I need to rely on that all so awesome magic I
started with. It's not just a tool to ease me into certain
situations...it's a way of life. Or maybe it's more of a way to stay
alive.
It also helps when
you find some of the important key items for this game. By key
items, I mean the cling ring (75% HP in soul form instead of 50%)
and the thieves' ring (smaller radius to draw agro). Without these
items, a player can quickly be overwhelmed. With them, the game
becomes slightly forgiving.
I think the
coolest part of this game, as I've seen so far, is just the grand
scope of how much this game does. Between the true feeling of danger
that you always face and the massive bosses that confront you, this
game is made to keep you on your toes and visually stimulated to no
end. Plus, there is nothing like the pure sense of danger you feel
when you get the notice that a black phantom (a player killer) has
entered your game and now may be on his/her way to claiming your
physical body for themselves. At this point, you not only have the
constant fear of death all around you, but you know that death has
you in it's crosshairs.
Anyway, I'm a
little on the sick side of things, so I'm not too sure if this
rambling post makes sense or not. I'm only certain of two things
right now. One being that I feel like crap. The other being that I
don't want to feel like crap. A cold or the flu...the gift that
keeps giving to all of your acquaintances.
Malik |
Malik
(3/25/09)
Despite what I may
have said about Pearl Jam, I still went ahead and bought the entire
Ten album for Rock Band DLC. I'm not sure why. Actually, it's
probably because Alive had a hell of a fun guitar chart, so I
figured I'd at least get some good fun. For the most part, I was
right.
The charts for
expert guitar range a lot like the Nirvana almost-Nevermind album
pack did. You have fast, you have slow, and you have unusual. Most
of all, you have fast songs that will take great pleasure in kicking
your ass if you're not ready for them. In particular, if you play
the album in order, you'll start with Once, which is fast and
frantic. In fact, as you go through the album, the challenge level
on guitar slowly diminishes, but the charts do remain on a constant
level of fun.
If you're a Pearl
Jam fan, this is a DLC album for you, obviously. If you're not a
fan, but you enjoyed Alive, then you're in for good times. If you
just didn't did the hammer-on style of Alive, then you're best off
choosing carefully since most of the songs do enter this range, but
some songs (like Black) will offer something different. Most of all,
if you're a fan of solos, then these songs will offer quite a few of
those.
I'm still playing
Demon's Souls when I get the time, but I'm taking it slowly. In
particular, I'm trying to play with a little bit of a grind feel
right now. It's not that the game is too hard, but I currently have
my physical body and don't want to die on a boss. In your body, you
have more HP and you have the fun of being able to summon other
players to join your game. In soul form, which happens between dying
and beating another boss (or beating someone else's boss if they
summon you to their game), you have 50% or 75% (with a ring
equipped) of you HP, and that just adds a lot of stress to an
already difficult situation.
I'm also
determined to kill the red dragon in area 1-2, and that requires a
good deal of grinding just to obtain the souls (experience/money)
you need for enough arrows to slay this thing. Luckily, I think
tonight I should finally have the strength and equipment to kill
this flying flame thrower and continue on with my quest with a clean
conscience.
Malik |
Malik
(3/26/09)
After countless
passes through 1-1 to grind, I finally laid the dragon in 1-2 to
rest in Demon's Souls. Unfortunately, I wasted too much time on the
grinding for arrows without realizing the real amount I needed. To
put it another way, I finished with around 250 arrows to spare.
Considering, however, that the game auto-saves and that running out
of arrows midway through the fight would have resulted in a need for
more grinding to make a second attempt, I guess it wasn't a bad
thing. Better safe with some wasted time than sorry with even more
wasted time.
For those who want
to stop this giant flame thrower from torching their path and
putting extra hassle on the player, it's a simple process to kill
this dragon. You find a bow of sorts (which you should find in 1-1,
1-2, or 2-1) and a lot of ammunition. The easiest way is to find the
crossbow in 1-1 (fall off the area directly across from the first
blue eyed knight you find in 1-1), but the short composite bow is a
better option. Sadly, the location of that one escapes my memory.
Then you grind for a lot of souls (quickest may be to just run
through 1-1, killing everything as you go, a few times) to get
enough arrows. Adding in some upgrades to the bow is not a bad idea,
either.
Once you have a
bow you like and enough ammunition (~200 arrows will do nicely),
just go to 1-2. Run through the fire dragon attack zone, avoiding
the fire. Once you reach the tower, go up to the roof and kill the
enemies along the way. Now stand where the archers were. The one on
the right (facing the start of the level) is best to copy, since you
can get two hits per pass. Face out towards the dragon attack, aim
(use L1 to aim better), and don't use lock-on aiming. Now with the
short composite bow, you can get two shots off per pass of the
dragon. Fire the first one right after the dragon roars (he will fly
into the path of the arrow) and immediately fire again. If aimed
right, you will hit twice. This will take a long time, but it's
worth it with the souls you harvest from this demon being slain. You
will get in the neighborhood of 7000+ souls for it, with no risk of
death.
Better still, you
will have less stress facing the archers and blue eyed knights at
the end of the stage and you can do some looting on the bridge
(where the dragon once attacked). You can even take a chance in the
dragon nest on 1-1, since the red dragon will be gone, to get some
better treasures.
The bad part is
that this means I'm still at the same point in the game I was
yesterday, but with a few more levels from the souls (experience) I
got from killing the dragon. Also, it sets me up nicely to start my
real playing today as I feel confident enough to take on a boss or
two, which is what I have in front of me now.
Anyway, today is a
short post since I don't have much of anything to talk about. I
really did waste too much time on the dragon.
Malik |
Malik
(3/27/09)
I'm finally
feeling a bit confident with Demon's Souls. I decided to finally get
over my fear of dying (which exists primarily for the loss of some
max HP and for the black world tendency shift) and to just get on
with the game. So, I'm now one more boss down and feeling good.
Unfortunately, this feeling of fear and dread is hard to overcome
since the game really plays on one's fear of the unknown. Bosses are
huge and imposing, dungeons are filled with very lethal traps and
pits, and you cannot rely on a past save point when the game is
always auto-saving your game with no backup save slot. In other
words, you mess up and it will cost you...a lot.
As for my other
game obsessions,
Rock Band, next week has a lot of tracks for DLC. However, only
two of them matter much to me. Yes, there's some SXSW related songs,
which I don't know and am therefore indifferent to until I know them
better.
There's also a
three pack of Sponge Bob songs. I get it, already. Nickelodeon is
part of the Viacom family. I understand. That doesn't mean these
songs are needed in any damned form. I just don't get why the
demographic for RB is adjusted, via DLC and not with on disk tracks,
to a group that doesn't fit the on disk demographic or even the
game's ESRB rating. The game is T, not E. Nickelodeon is more for
the people not quite rocking the T yet, but we keep getting this
stuff.
There's no harm to
myself over these tracks, but they just don't seem right for the
game. On top of that, time spent by Harmonix to chart and edit these
tracks for RB is time not spent on charting some more appropriate of
artists. I mean this time could be spent on more Rolling Stones
(there were rumors last year), more Jet, more Weezer (Blue Album,
anyone?), more ska (Bosstones, Reel Big Fish, etc.), more old school
punk (London Calling album would be the ultimate DLC), real examples
of The Ramones (songs that do more than fit the repeated chord
concept, like Pet Cemetery, I Believe in Miracles, I Wanna Live),
more Social Distortion that is not the slower stuff (Don't Drag Me
Down or Mommy's Little Monster), and losts of other
under-represented bands and genres.
At least next week
will see two great songs for $2 each. On one hand you have the
overplayed, but still awesome, Don't Stop Believing from Journey. On
the other hand, you have the song I've wanted since I first learned
of Rock Band DLC being a weekly thing and not seeing it on the
original RB1 on disk track list; Pat Benatar's Heartbreaker! Booyah!
So, at least with
two awesome classics and two possible SXSW tracks, I'd call next
week a good thing for DLC...even if there's a major demographic
issue with Viacom and their forcing of not-quite-right songs. At
least I can, barely, respect Sponge Bob more than Naked Brothers
Band and Jonas Brothers.
Malik |
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