The PS3 RPG I have been waiting for
Remember when you first played Ghosts n Goblins, and you thought to yourself, “why is this so damn hard?!?!”? You kept dying, but you kept playing because the game was just so awesome looking and you just had to overcome the challenge to prove yourself as a “true gamer”. Well, the same thing is going to occur when you play Demon’s Souls for the PS3. You are going to be amazed by the atmosphere of the game, but at the same time you are going to get your ass handed to you over and over, and over and over, until you memorize every little detail about every map. If you can make past even one map in the game you can call yourself a real gamer, and if you can finish the game you can probably think of yourself as a gaming god.
I have complained for a while now that there are no RPG’s for the PS3 (Fallout 3 is the closest thing, but more of a shooter to me). I finally got my great RPG that I have been waiting for in Demon’s Souls. This game is brought to you by Atlus, maker of some fine RPG’s over the last couple of years, including the very strange yet awesome Persona games. This time around they have outdone themselves with a wonderfully crafted, beautiful action/RPG. This game is old school because there is no dying and re-spawning in the exact spot where you died with no consequence, you have to start all over from the beginning of the level. This is not a bad thing because the maps are incredibly gorgeous, the gameplay is awesome, and the audio is perfect for blasting the surround sound. All of the elements needed for character growth are there, but the only thing that I did not like is that there is no way to pause the game as the menu screens are interactive with gameplay, which means if you are not paying attention you can be attacked while you are looking at your inventory, status, etc. Bosses are massive and difficult to say the least. There is nothing like a good old dragon battle.
Now I will get a little away from a review and switch more towards some tips. This game strongly enforces memorization, and defense. The best way to approach the game is as if you are a boxer, and your style is that of a counter puncher. The best tip I can give you in hopes that you survive five minutes in this game is think defense first, offense second, and the old “a good offense is a good defense” saying just will not work here. To start out you can choose from many classes, thief, barbarian, royalty, hunter, etc. You should start out with a few different classes and find which one works best for you, and then learn how to navigate the game with other character types, because some work better than others. Always lock on to your enemies as this will help you out big time when in battle with dodging and avoiding enemy attacks. Don’t get hung up on holding on to your items, use them often and keep your health level up. Lastly, have patience.
So the verdict is that Demon’s Souls is an awesome game, even if it will make you want to smash your dual shock 3 into the wall. RPG fans should definitely play this game, one more reason to own a PS3.
