[PS3] Demon Souls

[jonabbey]

Wow, this game.. it has absolutely consumed our PS3.

Other games that I bought over the last 2 months that have been completely neglected:

Brutal Legend (never even got in the machine)
Uncharted 2 (played through Chapter 7)
Borderlands (never even got in the machine)
Ratchet & Clank (played about an hour, my wife a few times that before she got into DS)
Katamari Forever (never even got in the machine)
Batman: AA (I was about 1/3rd through, no more playing since)

It's the all Demon's Souls machine, all the time, now.

Neither my wife nor I are yet very far into it, though.. we've each killed just two bosses.

 

[patsu]

Wow, your wife plays too. Lucky you !

Demon's Souls should be a fun game to talk about.

 

[2real4tv]

After dieing an n-tuples of times I finally slayed my first demon...very satisfying. I still don't understand the online component though how do I play with someone else?

 

[Carl B]

Go visit the Monumental in the Nexus, followed by the Maiden again, and you'll have the components for the standard co-op play given to you. Essentially, use the blue eye stone while a phantom to offer assistance to other living players, or summon other phantom players from their soul signs if your character is living.

@Jonabbey: Definitely this game is going to be the one that defined my console experience for the year - it really is incredibly awesome.

 

[2real4tv]

I was somewhere in Nexus where they display the best players did not realize how much variety their is for characters. Some looked really awesome, my son and I are alternate turns he started as a Temple Knight me a Barbarian.

 

[patsu]

The Pantheon ? Yeah, was up there once. I pitied the monsters. The top 5 players' stats and equipments were crazy.

In DS2, I hope they give us the ability to spectate in addition to the existing Blue and Black Phantom mechanisms.

Some of the players may be weirder than the Boletarian demons:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=18416625&postcount=21487

i had the strangest PvP moment so far. absolutely bizarre lol.

i invaded in 4-2, and couldnt find the host anywhere, until i went down to where Saint Urbain is... well, the guy/girl (character was female) was there standing beside a dead NPC body laying in a puddle, with items dropped around the body like gifts or something... and the guy was continually bowing in front of the body and items. like a ritual or something lol.

he/she didnt pay any attention to me, just kept bowing to the body, even as i walked right next to him/her. so of course... i dropped a few items as gifts for the deceased NPC fella too, and started bowing. then i got punched by the host for some reason (made me laugh). i removed my weapons and punched the host back. then we continued bowing until i got really, really sick of it and equipped all my weapons back, and started taunting him, acting like i want to fight.

then i just got my ass beat and the other player went back to his/her ritual

 

[ShadowWolf64]

Damn..this is another game I have to get for christmas as I've been reading alot of positive impressions...Glad you guys are thoroughly enjoying the game....

 

[patsu]

I'm left with 1-3 and 1-4 now. Finishing up some of the sidequests, and preparing for the final fight. I know 1-3 is a popular place for PvP.

Here's another funny PvP one:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=18418912&postcount=21532

Here's my amusing PVP story from yesterday:

So I invade some guy as usual in 1-3. Very quickly I get a message from him saying "Please leave". I asked why, and he said because he's just trying to get through the game, and doesnt want to lose souls.
I'm not trying to grief anyone, just trying to have some fun PVP sessions, so I ask him if he wants help to clear the level. He says yeah. So I'm killing everything in his path, all the while thinking how much this would ruin the game for me if someone did this for me. Anyway I get to the final 3 enemies of the level, and then I'm like "man, I gotta let him do *something* for himself". So I stand back to let him fight these guys. He lures one out with a bow, and then is immediately killed..

Anyway, a little while later, I invade some other guy in 1-3. I can't seem to find him at first, so then I figure he's in the area where you

Spoiler

rescue Yuria

. I find him there with his character tucked right up against two walls in a passage, facing the corner. He doesn't move at all as I approach, so I figure the poor guy is taking a leak or something. So for the lulz, I put my own character directly behind his, also facing the corner, and don't move. I'm imagining the guy's reaction when he comes back from his leak and sees a black phantom right behind him. So eventually the guy comes back, his character turns around, and he actually bows. Then I whack him once with my Hammer so he knows that playtime is over, and then I run to the main area of the level. To my surprise the guy comes with me, and then beckons me to follow him. I'm like.. huh? so I start following him to where there are some enemies, and he's not paying attention to me at all. I'm like, wtf, do you absolutely want to die? After a bit of this I get impatient and backstab him with a Dragon Bone Smasher for a 1 hit kill.

A little while later I get a message from the first guy, who I had helped, saying "you ass". I'm like, wtf, I helped you, and then you died to an enemy, that's not my fault. And then he's like, no you just backstabbed me with a Dragon Bone Smasher! They were the same guy, and I had no idea! So that's why he thought I was still friendly in the second game..

 

[Carl B]

LOL!

 

[upnorthsox]

The Pantheon ? Yeah, was up there once. I pitied the monsters. The top 5 players' stats and equipments were crazy.

In DS2, I hope they give us the ability to spectate in addition to the existing Blue and Black Phantom mechanisms.

Some of the players may be weirder than the Boletarian demons:
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=18416625&postcount=21487

It would be cool if you could give a Caesarean thumbs up or down when it comes to the finale as you're watching. Or maybe even give a karma/health boost if you felt the guy had fought to deserve it.

 

[vazel]

LOL he thinks there's gonna be a sequel. A hardcore RPG without any animu aspects to attract the usual Atlus niche. I'm just happy we got a game like this in today's easier game development ways. Just beat the first boss and am loving it. I can already tell it's going to be second only to Vagrant Story in my favorite RPGs ever.

 

[Arwin]

I don't know, I think this game has probably been better received than expected. I could definitely see a sequel happening.

 

[vazel]

They did have to do reprints in Japan and US but the game got low print runs in both regions so that doesn't mean much.

I think the game sold to their expectations(which considering the low print runs were low) but I don't think they're going to do a sequel. This is a one time thing with small profit margins to cater to the King's Field niche. I'm glad Sony did this it's not the first time they've green lighted a game they knew wasn't going to sell well. Sony.

 

[obonicus]

Sony had very little faith in this game, though -- it managed to claw its way up to 130k in Japan despite being vastly undershipped. Which was essentially sending it to die, considering Japan's used market. And then they had so little faith they decided to skip over it completely and bring WKC over.

Personally, I think this will do better than WKC would in NA. And even if it sells only a few hundred thousand total it'd still put this as one of the best-selling RPGs of the generation, especially impressive for new IP. And it hasn't even reached Europe (wonder if SCEE will change its mind).

 

[vazel]

I didn't know it had sold that much in Japan. Source? It's initial shipping in Japan was around 40k. It would be amazing if it managed to sell 130k over there. If it does 200-250k worldwide I could see a sequel happening. Although those kind of sales wasn't enough to keep Valkyria Chronicles on consoles so who knows.

WKC is going to sell better than DS everywhere. You're losing sight of the big picture with today's gaming market. WKC has bigger production values and is easier. And DS isn't entirely out of nowhere it's a spiritual successor to King's Field. Like what Perfect Dark was to Goldeneye.

 

[obonicus]

Source is garaph, which compiles data from Famitsu:
http://garaph.info/softwareindividual.php//gid/3425

The 2009-6-22 I believe is the data obtained after the top-500 list was published.

On WKC, WKC also seems to be pretty bad -- it's probably going to get savaged by the press, there won't be the word-of-mouth build-up DS got. It did far better than Demon's Souls in Japan but over here both are new-IP RPGs. SCEA will really need to step up their marketing to reach that broader fanbase, while Atlus had a captive audience to begin with. DS is also an action-RPG, you're in full control of your character, so there's not the added level of abstraction that might turn a more mainstream audience away from a turn-based game. I'm not 100% certain of DS outselling WKC, not until I see DS sales numbers. If it's around 200k, though, I think it's pretty likely that it'd outsell WKC's release in the US. If it's around 100k it could go either way.

 

[patsu]

Sony need to note this:

HM: I’m just an employee of the development company, so I can’t directly answer whether there’ll be a sequel to Demon’s Souls. With that said, my personal opinion is that we learned a lot during the development of Demon’s Souls, and there were a lot of things that we couldn’t do the first time, so I’d welcome the chance to create an even better game in the same style if the opportunity arises.

They have been rather brave in green-lighting "cold" projects. Now that Sony hit a sweet spot. they should dig deeper to expand the base.

I am also thinking whether it's possible to co-op this game with a casual/non-gamer using the new controller. It would allow me to play with my family. Afterall, we could complete a difficult LBP level when it's interesting enough to hold our attention. That way I don't have to find excuses to come back to the office and play Demon's Souls

 

[corduroygt]

I have been playing it a little bit, up to soul level 25 or so. I kept playing my royalty character, got used to the lock on, however I still feel like I suck at melee, I feel like using the shield is "bad" and I should try to evade all attacks but sometimes you just can't, or run out of skill.
Also, the 1-2 boss was ridicilously easy and cheap, then I played 2-1 and died when some glowing critters ambushed me, that was a cheap death.
This is what this game is, cheap. You die cheaply and you kill cheaply.

 

[corduroygt]

From a technical standpoint, this game is not impressive at all. The graphics are bland, there is no AA, and the framerate absolutely chugs in some areas. I guess this is expected given the low budget.

 

[patsu]

I have been playing it a little bit, up to soul level 25 or so. I kept playing my royalty character, got used to the lock on, however I still feel like I suck at melee, I feel like using the shield is "bad" and I should try to evade all attacks but sometimes you just can't, or run out of skill.

You mean run out of stamina... ?

The problem is some enemies are always powerful or quick enough to break your guard, or bypass your shield. That's why some players build their characters around the concept of a paper tank. They have stupendous attack power, but couldn't take a single hit.

I don't have the patience and timing skills to do that. So I invest in a good shield and circle or move backwards (with lock-on) to keep my distance. If the enemy is too quick, I will roll frequently. The best way is to roll "forward" to pre-empt the AI, or to catch it at the end of an attack (i.e., roll behind the monster to backstab). You are invincible when rolling. But if you're blocked by a wall or the enemy, the rolling is partial/ineffective.

There is a good shield in 4-1. It regens your health. If you have the courage to face a skeleton warrior, I highly recommend you try to level up there. You may want to take on the skeletons one at a time though.

Also, the 1-2 boss was ridicilously easy and cheap, then I played 2-1 and died when some glowing critters ambushed me, that was a cheap death.
This is what this game is, cheap. You die cheaply and you kill cheaply.

Glowing critters... you mean the fire lizard or the floating fireball ?

I certainly killed many bosses cheaply
I always move with my shield up. That way when I'm caught by surprise, I won't die.

EDIT:

From a technical standpoint, this game is not impressive at all. The graphics are bland, there is no AA, and the framerate absolutely chugs in some areas. I guess this is expected given the low budget.

The framerate does chug at times. I like the art direction though. Very atmospheric too, especially the Mindflayer level.

Also, did you get the Thief Ring in 1-1 ? Use it !