So i got Demon’s Souls the other day. Before i go into the details of my enjoyment of that game, i’d like to mention that taking advantage of the PS3′s region-free aspect came to bite me in the ass. The funny thing here is that while my current-gen system has no problem digesting NTSC content, my old-ass TV has other plans. Basically, my game is in Black & White, a problem i haven’t suffered from since like 2004. Good stuff.

Demon’s Souls is a pretty enjoyable game. It’s a “sword-and-sorcery” style 3rd person RPG which basically plays like a slicker-moving Monster Hunter, which i’m all for. One thing i always found kinda frustrating about MH was the fact that almost every single animation in that game was so drawn out, and the key reason for many of the times i ended up dying in that game.

Demon’s Souls, while being a bit more ruthless with some aspects, feels much more fair on that aspect, which ends up with me coming to the conclusion that “if i die in Demon’s Souls, it really is just my own fault isn’t it?”. Thinking back to 9/10 of the deaths i’ve had, the problem came from me being careless and underestimating what exactly the enemy can do to me if i let him get to me.

In these situations, the problem isn’t “I’M NOT FUCKING NOSTRADAMUS, I CAN’T PREDICT WHAT WILL HAPPEN 4 SECONDS FROM NOW WHEN MY FUCKING ATTACK HITS”, more just a case of “shoulda pressed the O button, or…y’know, not tried to fisticuff a fucking 8-foot suit of armor with a lance”.

So the base gameplay is very skill-based combat, which feels pretty great when you’re dodging the shit out of enemy attacks and whacking them with that pickaxe you picked up a while back, or just bashing them with that tower shield of yours. You pick up enemies “Souls” which is essentialy the stuff you use to raise stat points and buy items and equipment.

The major risk element is that there is no “Soul Bank”, so picture that you want a new car, but you’re missing like a 1000$ and there’s no other way of getting that money other than getting next week’s paycheck. In this universe, banks don’t exist and you’re not smart enough to just leave it somewhere safe, so you carry everything you monetarily own in your back pocket.

The first thug to get a lucky shot at you and drop you will essentialy have just robbed you of everything you own. You now see why this game has a track record of inducing fury within individuals who get caught in it’s path.

Visually, other than my “colorblind” status, the game looks pretty good and runs alright for the most part. Watching a dragon make a sweeping run at you and torch an entire bridge full of dudes and random scenery looks pretty damn hot (i can’t resist making cheap puns ;>).

The online interaction aspect of the game is “interesting”, to say the least. Essentialy imagine “Ghost Mode” from racing games, but in an MMORPG world. You see pre-scripted messages that players can drop for you, and if someone’s died nearby where you currently are, you get to walk up to their bloodstains and witness their last few seconds alive. There is also a co-op system, but i think it’s limited to both being only 2 players, also both players need to have not yet finished the boss of that level (i suppose it promotes not power-leveling people).

The game feels like if you’re into it’s mechanics (which i’m really digging), there’s tons of replay value to some degree, playing around with the different classes, trying out strategies on enemies…or do what i’ve been trying to do…fists only run.

What else have i gotten down to?:

-Made it to disc 2 of Chrono Cross, ending seems in sight.

-Very close to the end of Deus Ex, from the sounds of it.

-Played a bunch of League of Legends, having fun winning, not enjoying losing .

-Started watching Detective Conan with a friend of mine, really enjoying it, and we’re both gonna watch all the way from episode 1 up to the latest…which is like 2 weeks worth of episodes in “me” terms.

Take it easy, i’m owt.