Gamespot's game of the year is...

[Mr. Hunt]

Originally Posted by CaptnStubing

Rent it. I'm gonna rent it just from the small review in this thread. I saw this game on the shelves but never payed attention to it. I love stumbling upon good games like this.

Rent it, but only while you are waiting for your bought copy to ship. The game is very good and if you are a completionist it will take you a good long while.

[Ninjaman09]

I picked up Demon's Souls the other day, played about 6 hours so far. Great gameplay though the controls have killed me a couple times mostly due to target lock issues. I had fought my way to the tower guard boss but died when he had like 1 pixel of life left, and totally out of healing items I had to stop playing. It's definitely a good game and very polished, just very frustrating and difficult.

The difficulty is not innovative - actually it's practically prehistoric. Remember playing Mega Man (or I guess Battletoads would be a better comparison in this case)? The mechanics of combat aren't really that hard to get used to - this game challenges you by forcing you to memorize level layouts, enemy ambushes, and boss patterns like an old-school NES platformer or something. This isn't really a bad thing but the difficulty is not due to some great depth in the combat system or anything like that. Kind of a pleasant surprise (personally I like that kind of difficulty).

As usual for me in action RPGs, I can't stand playing casters which is too bad because it seems that the bosses are particularly brutal to melee characters.

[Crow_Nest]

lmao MW2 isnt even on the list of candidates.

[ViN86]

Originally Posted by Ninjaman09

I picked up Demon's Souls the other day, played about 6 hours so far. Great gameplay though the controls have killed me a couple times mostly due to target lock issues. I had fought my way to the tower guard boss but died when he had like 1 pixel of life left, and totally out of healing items I had to stop playing. It's definitely a good game and very polished, just very frustrating and difficult.

The difficulty is not innovative - actually it's practically prehistoric. Remember playing Mega Man (or I guess Battletoads would be a better comparison in this case)? The mechanics of combat aren't really that hard to get used to - this game challenges you by forcing you to memorize level layouts, enemy ambushes, and boss patterns like an old-school NES platformer or something. This isn't really a bad thing but the difficulty is not due to some great depth in the combat system or anything like that. Kind of a pleasant surprise (personally I like that kind of difficulty).

As usual for me in action RPGs, I can't stand playing casters which is too bad because it seems that the bosses are particularly brutal to melee characters.

Couple things for you Ninjaman:

1. Use the Demon's Souls Wiki, it will be your best friend in the world: http://demonssouls.wikidot.com/

2. Tower Knight is easiest to beat with a bow. Run past him and go up top, take out all the guys up there. Then ease up to the edge and take shots at him. Then back away when he fires at you. It takes a while, but you will kill him.

3. I went through the levels in the following order: 1-1, 2-1, 4-1, 1-2. Then it's up to you. Probably try finishing 3, then 2, 5, 4, then the rest of 1.

4. 5 is great to finish because you get the Dark Silver armor. Something else that really helped me is the White Bow which you can find in 4-2.

And use the wiki for everything. It's the best

[Ninjaman09]

Originally Posted by ViN86

Couple things for you Ninjaman:

1. Use the Demon's Souls Wiki, it will be your best friend in the world: http://demonssouls.wikidot.com/

2. Tower Knight is easiest to beat with a bow. Run past him and go up top, take out all the guys up there. Then ease up to the edge and take shots at him. Then back away when he fires at you. It takes a while, but you will kill him.

3. I went through the levels in the following order: 1-1, 2-1, 4-1, 1-2. Then it's up to you. Probably try finishing 3, then 2, 5, 4, then the rest of 1.

4. 5 is great to finish because you get the Dark Silver armor. Something else that really helped me is the White Bow which you can find in 4-2.

And use the wiki for everything. It's the best

Haha thanks! Yeah the wiki is great, it's just a bit overwhelming at the moment, trying to take it in slowly. Deciding where to go next and trying to figure out where to get new equipment and stuff has been my biggest challenge, but I think I'm gonna start over anyway because I hate my character. I went into the 3-1 area and got impaled by the mind flayers quite a few times after finishing 1-1 and 2-1.

I love that the more time you put into it, the more you get out of this game.

Do you think it's required to have a ranged weapon? I have not been setting up my stats to support one very much but I guess I could adjust and put more points in dex. Right now I plan to focus on str and vit until 30-ish.

[Mr. Hunt]

Originally Posted by Ninjaman09

Haha thanks! Yeah the wiki is great, it's just a bit overwhelming at the moment, trying to take it in slowly. Deciding where to go next and trying to figure out where to get new equipment and stuff has been my biggest challenge, but I think I'm gonna start over anyway because I hate my character. I went into the 3-1 area and got impaled by the mind flayers quite a few times after finishing 1-1 and 2-1.

I love that the more time you put into it, the more you get out of this game.

Do you think it's required to have a ranged weapon? I have not been setting up my stats to support one very much but I guess I could adjust and put more points in dex. Right now I plan to focus on str and vit until 30-ish.

Not required to have a ranged weapon, but it makes a lot of places much easier. Just have the option open to you .

Also Vin... you make me so proud.

[ViN86]

Originally Posted by Ninjaman09

Haha thanks! Yeah the wiki is great, it's just a bit overwhelming at the moment, trying to take it in slowly. Deciding where to go next and trying to figure out where to get new equipment and stuff has been my biggest challenge, but I think I'm gonna start over anyway because I hate my character. I went into the 3-1 area and got impaled by the mind flayers quite a few times after finishing 1-1 and 2-1.

I love that the more time you put into it, the more you get out of this game.

Do you think it's required to have a ranged weapon? I have not been setting up my stats to support one very much but I guess I could adjust and put more points in dex. Right now I plan to focus on str and vit until 30-ish.

Imho, ranged weapons are a must. I used the White Bow at first, but later I upgraded to the Lava Bow (you need the soul from the 2-2 boss before you can get it I believe). Be sure to release Graverobber Blige in 4-1, that way you can get him in 4-2 where he sells arrows for 10 souls a piece. It's a great deal.

Also make sure you get the Crescent Falcion +1 in 4-1. It's by a black phantom but try to run past him to pick it up. (it's to the left after you go up the stairs. go up the left tower and halfway up there's an opening. you need to go out there and run past the black phantom to get it). That sword makes the first time through a lot easier.

As far as stats, both my characters are soliders. I only upgrade 4 of the stats and I just do them in sequence. I upgrade vitality, endurance, strength, and dexterity and I just upgrade them one after the other. You may want to upgrade your Will and Faith some as hell because some spells and miracles require two slots.

Originally Posted by Mr. Hunt

Not required to have a ranged weapon, but it makes a lot of places much easier. Just have the option open to you .

Also Vin... you make me so proud.

LOL hey I learned from the best

[CaptnStubing]

The game is stupid. Friking waste of money. I knew I should have rented it first. It would not suck if you didn't have to fight through everything you just killed to get back to where you were. That problem there is the type of thing the Angry Video Game Nerd would go off on.

It looked and sounded so cool.

[Bah!]

Originally Posted by CaptnStubing

The game is stupid. Friking waste of money. I knew I should have rented it first. It would not suck if you didn't have to fight through everything you just killed to get back to where you were. That problem there is the type of thing the Angry Video Game Nerd would go off on.

It looked and sounded so cool.

Having it so you could run back to where you died with no effort would suck and make it like every other lame game these days. Also the further you get into each level, the more paths you unlock and the easier it is to navigate, which makes getting back to your body easier in most cases.

The game punishes you for dying, which means you either get better or you don't advance. It's pretty refreshing icompared to most games that you can run through blindfolded and complete, and even if you die you start back right where you left off. It's also one of the aspects of the game that makes clearing a zone or killing a boss that much more exciting.

Angry Video Game Nerds need not apply.

[CaptnStubing]

I just cleared that area why clear it again? I don't mind some kind of punishment for dying but why reset a map? That has never made sense to me. Reclearing the stuff you just killed doesn't make you better. All you are doing is just memorizing the map.

My biggest problem is why am I in this map? Can I sell the equipment I pick up or do I just store it or drop it? I know vendors use sould as currency If that is the case why pick up so many garbage items? I guess you just pick up what is usefull and drop the rest. Maybe I'm just used to items being sold for currency.

Any way the game is a bit better than I thought at first. One thing I will say is this game has to be from the people who made a game I absolutely loved, Kindsfield. It has the exact same feel and style of play.

I am not completely counting this game out yet. I'm giving it a shot but I am far from sold on it as of right now. I just don't get the purpose of going into the archstone areas. I am frustrated because I really want to like this game.

[Ninjaman09]

Originally Posted by ViN86

Imho, ranged weapons are a must. I used the White Bow at first, but later I upgraded to the Lava Bow (you need the soul from the 2-2 boss before you can get it I believe). Be sure to release Graverobber Blige in 4-1, that way you can get him in 4-2 where he sells arrows for 10 souls a piece. It's a great deal.

Also make sure you get the Crescent Falcion +1 in 4-1. It's by a black phantom but try to run past him to pick it up. (it's to the left after you go up the stairs. go up the left tower and halfway up there's an opening. you need to go out there and run past the black phantom to get it). That sword makes the first time through a lot easier.

As far as stats, both my characters are soliders. I only upgrade 4 of the stats and I just do them in sequence. I upgrade vitality, endurance, strength, and dexterity and I just upgrade them one after the other. You may want to upgrade your Will and Faith some as hell because some spells and miracles require two slots.

OK cool I'll try that. I ended up making a knight and got the Brushwood Armor and Purple Flame Shield, which is nice to have in 2-1, but his dex is pretty low and my equip burden is very high (I did get the strength ring near the dragon roost in 1-1 though which helps a lot). He can't really move very well with this armor on though so I was thinking of switching to something a bit less restrictive, but for now it seems to be working as I have yet to die. Anyway I'll throw some points in dex for sure, thanks for all the tips.

[ViN86]

Originally Posted by CaptnStubing

I just cleared that area why clear it again? I don't mind some kind of punishment for dying but why reset a map? That has never made sense to me. Reclearing the stuff you just killed doesn't make you better. All you are doing is just memorizing the map.

We told you it was a hard game lol. It's not completely brutal though. In some worlds there are shortcuts back to where you were that you can activate by hitting a switch or something. It's kind of good they make you kill all the enemies again though, cause it really helps with leveling up.

My biggest problem is why am I in this map? Can I sell the equipment I pick up or do I just store it or drop it? I know vendors use sould as currency If that is the case why pick up so many garbage items? I guess you just pick up what is usefull and drop the rest. Maybe I'm just used to items being sold for currency.

All you can do with it is return to Nexus and store your items with Stockpile Thomas (next to the blacksmith). Or upgrade it with Blacksmiths Boldwin (not much upgrading) or Ed (he can upgrade a lot of things). You will find that you end up with a lot of extras. You can trade them or give them away in multiplayer if you want.

Any way the game is a bit better than I thought at first. One thing I will say is this game has to be from the people who made a game I absolutely loved, Kindsfield. It has the exact same feel and style of play.

I am not completely counting this game out yet. I'm giving it a shot but I am far from sold on it as of right now. I just don't get the purpose of going into the archstone areas.

Didn't the Monumental explain that when you talked to him? You have to destroy the Demons in each world and collect their souls. There's another boss after you defeat all the Demons (I will leave it at that lol).