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Demon's Souls; Rating: 10/10
Topic Started: Dec 26 2010, 06:55 PM (769 Views)
Fate
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p r i n c e

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Title: Demon's Souls
Developer(s): From Software
Publisher(s): Sony Computer Entertainment (JP), Atlus (NA), Namco Bandai Games (EU)

Release Date(s):
Japan - February 5, 2009
North America - October 6, 2010
Europe - June 25, 2010

Genre(s): Role-Playing Game
Platform(s): Playstation 3
Mode(s): Single-Player, Multi-Player (Online)
Rating: M - Mature

Official Websites: | Japanese | English |

Trailer:



Demon's Souls Story
 
Long ago...

The people who united the world by the power of souls awakened the Old One with their insatiable desires. The Old One brought with it a thick, colorless fog and hordes of demons: half the world an countless souls were lost.

The ancients sealed the dozing beast inside the Nexus and entrusted six elders with six precious Archstones. One to the king of a small yet diligent land. One to the king of the burrowers underground. One to the wise queen of the great ivory tower. One to the chieftain of lost and ill-fortuned souls. One to the shaman of the tempest-worshiping shadowmen, and the last to the great giants of the Northern Lands.

In the present day, the northern kingdom of Boletaria, ruled by King Allant the twelfth, was abruptly swallowed by a strange, colorless fog. None who dared penetrate the deep fog ever returned, until Vallarfax of the Twin Fangs broke free and told the world of Boletaria's plight.

The Old King Allant aroused the Old One, the great beast below the Nexus, from its eternal slumber, which brought the colorless fog, unleashing terrible demons that hunted man and claimed their souls. Those who lost their souls also lost their minds. The mad attacked the sane, and chaos reigned.

The legend spread quickly. Mighty warriors were drawn to the accursed land, but none have returned. The colorless fog now slowly creeps beyond Boletaria's borders, and humankind faces a slow and steady extinction as the deep fog will eventually swallow all lands near and far.

But Boletaria has one final hope. A lone warrior has braved the baneful fog... has the land found its savior, or have the demons found a new slave?


Centered around a medieval era in the kingdom of Boletaria, this dark-fantasy role-playing game made its unexpected arrival. However, it was not met with disappointed faces but rather a peculiar and accepting embrace. Demon's Souls came much to everyone's surprise--practically out of nowhere--yet its sheer brilliance captivated three regions in an epic and spellbinding journey.

The game starts with the narration of the story, which may sound all too confusing. That's all right, though. The story sets the game and its mood: a dark and decaying land. And you, as the hero, emerge in it to save it. There are no main characters in this game that is pre-named. Not only are the names up to you, but the appearances are, as well. Complete with a hugely detailed customization, Demon's Souls allows players to create their own character and fix every minor detail to their liking--anything from eyes and hair to the position and size of the nose. The game also supplies a list of classes you can choose from, all of which have their merits and disadvantages. With that completed, the story begins.

The first thing every player will hear and acknowledge about Demon's Souls is its difficulty. It doesn't matter how skillful a person is, when they first play Demon's Souls, it will be hard. Monsters attack ruthlessly from every direction, soldiers await to ambush behind walls, bombs fall from above, and it seems like the entire game's purpose is simply to kill you. You will find yourself dying a lot. By that, I mean a lot, before you finally are able to pick up from there, learn from past mistakes, and carry on, praying what lies ahead can be dealt with.

Demon's Souls is a game of surprises, but also of learning. You cannot hope to just dash madly into every corner and slice the enemies to get through. Sooner or later the game will make you slip up and destroy you. However, only by being destroyed can you understand how the game works. In its harsh reality, Demon's Souls teaches the player to survive only by killing them, and repeats as punishment for not learning. The game is so entirely unpredictable that flawlessness almost doesn't exist. When you think you have something mastered dead-on, you often end up facing it alongside other problems. It takes patience, time, dedication, and a persistent will to continue if you are to play it.

Moving on to the gameplay, the very first thing you will notice is the fact that you absolutely cannot pause the game--not by pressing the Start button and not by pressing the PS button. The game is an action role-playing game, and it is set in full real-time. It doesn't matter what you do, as long as the game remains on, time will flow, monsters will act, and unpredictability will occur. Something else to note is that you cannot sell items in the game, and your only "currency" is Souls. Souls are obtained by killing an enemy and they will gather as a number on the bottom of the screen. Souls are used for everything in the game. You level up with Souls, you purchase with Souls, and you die with Souls. By this, I mean that when you die, your Souls follow you to death, but unlike you, they don't return to the beginning of the level.

When the player dies, they leave behind a bloodstain at the location of their death. This bloodstain is also the haven of the Souls the player had before their time of death. Only by reaching the bloodstain can those Souls be obtained again. Should the player die before reaching the initial bloodstain, a new one will be placed, and all the previous Souls will be lost forever. Another thing to note is that upon death, the player will be returned to the very beginning of the level. Any actions made will be kept, such as levers being pulled and doors being unlocked. However, enemies will respawn. Every single enemy killed will return at their original location.

The game offers five different areas. Each is packed with different characters, monsters, settings, stages, and bosses. You can choose to play through any, whether you're trying to follow the story or make your own path. These areas all are located within the Nexus, where you return as a sort of base. There, you can level up, purchase items, upgrade equipment, and learn spells. It should also be noted that the Nexus binds the soul, and you have two forms: Body Form and Soul Form. Basically, Body Form means you are alive, and dying while alive results in Soul Form. During Soul Form, your max HP is halved. You can become alive again via many options, with the most common being to defeat a boss.

The real fun starts in online mode, however. You can choose offline or online mode, but the majority of people pick the latter. When playing online, the experience is breathtaking. You feel as if you are connected to every other person playing, though you all have a different world. This is because as you go through levels, you can perceive many things that are happening in other people's games as a sort of shadow. You can find white, ghostly figures depicting characters that are online. You can also view how another player died by examining the bloodstain they left behind. Furthermore, messages can be dropped by any player anywhere to give hints, such as "Beware of the enemy ahead" or "It's safe here". All these help the player as they are managing their way alone, giving them hints as to what lies ahead as well as how to manage puzzles. The most distinguishable aspect of multi-player mode--and of Demon's Souls--however, is the ability of invade another person's world.

Any time you are in Body Form, you may get invaded by another person. A certain item is required for invading, and only in Soul Form can you invade. While invading, the invader appears in the host's game as a Black Phantom, being red in colour. The goal then is to eliminate the host. However, the host can also have back-up, in the form of Blue Phantoms. Like with invading, you must be in Soul Form to be a Blue Phantom. Using a certain item, a Soul Sign is then left on the ground. Any person playing the game that is in Body Form can see those Soul Signs if they are within a certain level range (that is able to play co-op with the person who dropped the Soul Sign). Upon examining the Soul Sign, the player can be summoned to the host's world as a Blue Phantom. Blue Phantoms are warriors whose task is to help the host defeat the boss of the level, to be able to return to Body Form in their world. Upon defeating the boss, they will be returned to their own world. Do note, however, that players in Body Form may summon Blue Phantoms for assistance in clearing the level and fending off Black Phantoms, but Black Phantoms are on their own. Up to two Blue Phantoms may accompany the host, but should the host die, the Blue Phantoms return to their worlds immediately.

Depending on what you do, your World Tendency may also change, going to Black or White. This is not explained very much in-game, but it affects every stage. Nearly every action you take can affect this, so you have to be careful. Even dying can shift World Tendency. At the mention of this, please also note that the servers are different. There is the Asian, North American, and European server. Players are limited to playing online with only those on the same server, and the game disc for the other regions is required to change servers.

In the dark and unforgiving world of Demon's Souls, it can be very comforting to have friends to help you through places.

Ratings:

Story: The story is confusing to understand unless you pay attention to what the characters say in the game. Nearly every NPC has an important part if they aren't vendors. The game does not have cutscenes after every level or an ongoing story but rather an open plot. It's up to you to decide how you want the story to go. There are two endings--a good and a bad--but the choice is yours. To fully comprehend the story of the game, however, you must tie together the words of NPCs in all five areas, and then see how they relate. It's confusing for sure, but it does make sense, and if you are able to grasp it, it is a very deep and dark plot.. Rating: 9/10

Gameplay: The gameplay is by the far the greatest I have seen in multiplayer role-playing games. Even when by yourself, the game is amazing. However, when playing with others, or just on online mode, it's like the world is playing with you. Every step you take is unforgettable, and it's just simply exhilarating. The weapons are numerous, the customizations are endless, the horrifyingly enticing atmosphere is addicting, and once you fall into Demon's Souls gameplay, you cannot get out--and you don't want to. Rating: 11/10

Graphics: The graphics fit. Very well. Not only are they detailed and very well made, every pixel of the game contributes to the theme and mood of Demon's Souls. From decaying bodies to bloody cells, the graphics bring out the horror of the game's desire to see you dead. It is dark. It is twisted. But it is amazingly captivating and ingenious. Rating: 10/10

Music and Soundtrack: For this, I will say the same thing as I did for the graphics portion. It just fits perfectly. The dark rings, the silent tolls, the horrific screeches--everything adds up to one melodic symphony of death. With the graphics, it's just brilliant. Some areas have better music, but every area has music that goes perfectly. It's remarkable. Rating: 10/10

Replay Value: Trust me, you will play this game again. Upon beating it the first time, you can continue the game and keep everything you had; the enemies will be more difficult, however. Playing through multiple times is also required to get the Platinum Trophy in the game. Just when you think you've mastered everything the game has to offer, guess again. Challenge yourself to see how many times you can go through it without driving yourself insane. Also, to add, there are 712 levels. Rating: 10/10

Overall Rating: 10/10

I did give the game a perfect score. And yes, I did give the gameplay higher than a ten. Demon's Souls is not for everybody--especially those who give up easily at the face of death. However, with that said, Demon's Souls is not just a game. It is a journey--a dark, epic, insane, and wondrous journey fraught with danger, surprises, and a complete display of respect for From Software for making a game so brilliant. In my mind, it is one of the greatest role-playing games and the single greatest multi-player role-playing game. Anyone who is up to the challenge, I strongly advise you to get it.

Also, North American servers, I've heard (correct me if I'm wrong) are shutting down come October of 2011, so that means no more online mode or multi-player. If you want to get it and are part of this region, get it now!

Note: These ratings are all based on my person experience with the game. You may disagree.

Comments on the review or the actual game are welcome below. Thank you for reading, guys!
Edited by Fate, Dec 26 2010, 07:00 PM.
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Cute Snugglepuffs

There's a good chance they will extend the sever time again, but you're right, you wanna be getting this game now just in case. Having said that though; don't go thinking it's any less of a great game solo, you'll feel far more proud if you beat the game on your own and of course on your own it's easier to get absorbed into the game world. I dunno if I agree about "the real fun" starting when you go online, but the online is very impressive and highly enjoyable in this game.
I do love the whole "lone warrior" feel the game gives you so much though that it could just be me. :lol:

Nice review, Honey Bear, I'm glad you like this game as much as you do. :up:
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Fate
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p r i n c e

I guess it was just me, then, but when I first started, I was always playing in Offline Mode. I never knew what Online mode was until I switched to it. xD Once I did, though, I never came back, because it just looked like the world changed so much. All those messages and white ghostly figures and all that made it more interesting, and the invasions. Only good thing about Offline is that the stupid World Tendency thing will be consistent. =p

And by the way, once the server shuts down, will Online Mode follow? I mean, does it affect all those messages and bloodstains you see in your world?

And thankies~
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Once the sever goes down all aspects of online play will go. Funny how the Atlus version has the largest player base yet they are the only ones talking of shutting down their severs. v_v
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