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ddduran's Demon's Souls (PS3)
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| [October 19, 2009 10:11:44 PM]
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GAMEPLAY
Demon’s Souls definitely does not play around with the difficulty. I did not expect the game to get easier, but I also did not expect it to get harder. I have died a ridiculous amount of times and it is due to many things: insane bosses, smart enemies, my own stupidity, and long falls to my death. I am still not displeased with the game and I continue to play. I am, however, much more cautious when rounding corners and when approaching just about anything. I have now faced a couple of bosses and they were all very unique. All of them killed me at least once and I had to learn from my mistakes and try again. I have to commend the game makers for making all of the bosses seem very formidable and for designing them to be as challenging as they are. My mouth was agape as I saw that the second boss was the size of a tower. Literally.
The online component of the game is interesting and well thought out. This surprised me because I do not consider RPG’s to be multiplayer and the idea of mixing online into it kind of threw me off a bit. It is integrated into the gameplay in many ways including helpful hint messages, aiding in boss fights, and even player versus player fights. I have used all three methods and can say that they all flow very well with the game. The messages have been very helpful despite some of the ones that lie, which can be avoided due to the recommendation system. Basically, you can recommend hints that you found helpful and I do advise that players should trust hints that have many recommendations simply because some people enjoy lying. I won my first PvP fight (woot). It was nice fighting against a human player for a change.
DESIGN
One of the reasons that this game is considered so difficult by many is a huge turn-off to most is because there is such a heavy punishment system with little to no rewards other than self-satisfaction. The rewards are very scarce with the only major reward being souls that can be used to purchase goods. There is not a wide variety of equipment and that makes souls only worthwhile for leveling up and that is more of a necessity for life rather than a reward of staying alive. The punishment system is far superior. When the player dies they lose all of their souls and are turned into a soul. This means that the player is reduced to half of their maximum health and can no longer be aided by other players. This is a tad harsh and is somewhat off putting since in order to regain their body the player must defeat a boss monster, which is more difficult due to the lack of health. Basically, the only thing that keeps the player going is that the game is fun when you’re winning and is very satisfying when you win during a challenging portion. Otherwise it can be frustrating, especially if you continue to die at the same spot by the same enemy.
The way I would describe the atmosphere surrounding the levels and the NPC’s would be defeated and sorrowful. Most characters have given up hope about the land recovering and the tragic disarray that all of the levels are in show exactly why everyone feels that way. All of the levels are in the dark of night and display the once proud castles that have been decimated by the many demons that have come to inhabit them. It seems that this was designed to happen because the King let it happen and is no longer anywhere to be found. That is simply speculation on my part, but it shows that madness has stricken the world. I just noticed that there are no bright colors in the palette of the game aside from a few of the spells and glows.
Honestly, this game has somewhat inspired me for my own game. I think that I’m going to have to focus on making the game harder and more challenging without making it impossible or frustrating. Therefore, I will try to improve upon the difficulty of Demon’s Souls to make it fun without holding the player’s hand and making it too easy.
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| [October 19, 2009 10:11:07 PM]
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SUMMARY
Demon’s Souls is an action RPG that tries to challenge the player with a high difficulty level as they explore a defeated world looking for a savior. Set in Medieval times, Demon’s Souls has the player defeat many different demons and takes their souls to use as a currency for obtaining equipment and powering up.
GAMEPLAY
Demon’s Souls opens up with an interesting cinematic that explains the background story and how the world is covered with fog and monsters and that many adventurers have tried conquering the mist only to die. The story was not exactly original. It sufficiently sets up the game to promote the gameplay, but it could have been done a little better. The only thing that could redeem the story would be a plot twist later on, which I assume is upcoming. Some of the characters are not very convincing with their tales and appear to be lying about the true nature of things. Another suspicious detail about them is that players can leave messages for other players to view throughout the gameworld and many of the main characters have messages near them calling them liars. I shall await the plot twist; hopefully it will not take long.
The highlight of the game is definitely the battle system. Many of the enemies are difficult to defeat and there are tactics to be employed such as maintaining stamina while striking and defending and rolling. Overall, what I mainly enjoy about the battles is that I feel very much in control and when I die I do not feel as if the game cheated me. Every death feels like a failure on my part and I try to learn from my mistakes so that I do not die again. The main attraction to this game is that everything about it is difficult and that shows up in many of the enemies. Artificial Intelligence works very well for the most part in this game and many of the enemies and boss demons require effort to defeat. I have to admit that I have died many times and even though I am getting better I can see that I am going to continue dying many times.
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ddduran's Demon's Souls (PS3)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Wednesday 14 October, 2009
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