What are you playing?

[Xeogred]

I can't bring myself to touch DmC. At the very least, it doesn't look as sacrilege as Yaiba Ninja Gaiden Z though. But that's not saying anything.

Mechanically though, from what I've seen you can keep the Tricky meter going in DmC even while getting hit... which goes completely against the logic of having to be stylish and untouchable in the previous games.

And Ninja Theory is just sucky in my book. They brought in external writers for Enslaved if I remember right and that's probably why that one had charm.

Man, I hated the ending of MGS: Revengeance. I know it was meant to be over the top, but I'm pretty sure my eyes were rolling so hard I could see my brain or something.

Dude, Armstrong is one of the best final bosses ever man.

And for something similar if you guys want a recommendation, hit up Binary Domain

I just bought this on your rec. If it's anywhere near as good as Vanquish I will be one happy dork.

You will love it.

I got a huge kick out of the obscene stereotypes with the characters and their nationalities. Typical Japan and their crazy views of the rest of the world.

[PartridgeSenpai]

Spent like damn near 10 hours playing Yakuza 2 today. Almost completely side quests as well, as I left Oosaka and went back to Tokyo, so I had a whole new-ish land to explore for locker keys and quests!

I've spent FAR more times on some of the Cabaret Club ones than they probably deserve. There's just something about them being in a game I like so much that makes otherwise soul-crushingly boring activities interesting. Should really probably just get on with the game, but I've come SO far I can't just drop them now

[Sarge]

I'm starting to get better with the controls and strategy in Vanquish. No one will recognize me as an expert, but I'm doing a lot better with my dodge rolls and cover strategy. I'm at Act 4, which means I've got that and one more left. Might be able to finish it up tomorrow. It's a game that I have to take in bursts, though, because it's really, really intense.

[Xeogred]

I'm starting to get better with the controls and strategy in Vanquish. No one will recognize me as an expert, but I'm doing a lot better with my dodge rolls and cover strategy. I'm at Act 4, which means I've got that and one more left. Might be able to finish it up tomorrow. It's a game that I have to take in bursts, though, because it's really, really intense.

Yes, it's almost like a shmup...

Once you beat the game, check out some expert / God Hand Mode videos or something and you will see people do maneuvers you never thought were even possible. This game is so crazy you'll get through it without even discovering some of its mechanics. lol

[Exhuminator]

you will see people do maneuvers you never thought were even possible

--

So I put about 3 hours into Demon's Souls tonight. Perhaps starting this game at eleven PM wasn't the best idea, but I did OK. I made it through Boletarian Palace 1-1, and defeated this boss:



I'm not using a strategy guide, and playing offline, so I have no idea what I'm doing. I just went with a male soldier as my class. Been using a scimitar and shield, no magic yet. A few thoughts so far...

First off, outside the somber atmosphere, Demon's Souls is nothing at all like King's Field. Over the years various people told me the two games were similar. That's a pile of lies. The base methodology of these games is entirely different. Demon's Souls is about constant combat via highly technical skill. King's Field is about deep exploration and solving cryptic puzzles of all sorts. Very, very different games. Sure King's Field has plenty of combat in it, but the fighting was never the focus of the experience. Now I'm not saying I don't like Demon's Souls, I like it so far. But a "spiritual successor" to King's Field this is NOT.*

Secondly, now I understand why so many people think this game's difficult. Compared to the very low difficulty of typical 7th gen games, yeah there's a disparity here. However, I don't feel like Demon's Souls is ridiculous or particularly sadistic at this point. I find that as long as you're paying attention, playing cautiously, and don't do anything brash, you'll do just fine. So far this is the case anyway.

The best thing I can say about Demon's Souls at this point, is that it requires you to actually pay attention, and doesn't hold your hand. The worst thing I can say is that constantly fighting enemies non-stop gets a bit repetitive. I'm looking forward to playing more Demon's Souls soon and seeing how things progress.

*And you don't have to take my word for it, straight from Miyazaki's mouth:

"King's Field was the beginning of the Demon's Souls project; I wouldn't go as far as to say that we had King's Field in mind while we were making Demon's Souls, but of course I think its world probably formed one of the bases [for the newer game]. However, if you're asking if it's a 'successor', the answer is no. Of course there are parts of the game that are inspired by King's Field but we were very much aware that we wanted to make a new title with Demon's Souls." ( http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/souls-survivor?page=2 )

[PartridgeSenpai]

The part up to and including Phalanx is by far the most friendly and fair part of the game. I remember playing through it several times just because it made me feel not useless and awful It's also a good spot to grind for healing items, if you ever need to. I'll be very interested to see what you opinion of the game is from this point on, because it gets far harder after this point.

Speaking of KF, I just remembered you can get that special moon-sword thingy in Demon Souls. Although from your description, KF sounds like a lot of terrifying being lost and then getting gimped, where Demon's is just getting gimped where you absolutely know where you are and what will gimp you

[Xeogred]

I hope the multitude of these comparisons and expectations you have doesn't sour the experience. Play Demon's Souls for being Demon's Souls!

I don't think anyone can totally argue against the way I'd describe these games, they're dungeon crawlers. Just with a far more intricate real time combat system.

Did you use fire on the Phalanx? Goes down real fast.

1-2 rules.

[isiolia]

The best thing I can say about Demon's Souls at this point, is that it requires you to actually pay attention, and doesn't hold your hand. The worst thing I can say is that constantly fighting enemies non-stop gets a bit repetitive. I'm looking forward to playing more Demon's Souls soon and seeing how things progress.

You don't actually have to fight all that many enemies outside of bosses, though sometimes it's tactically smart to do so, depending on how far they'll chase you and how easily you can be cornered. Since the fundamental model of the Soulsborne games never resets your progress per se, suicidal sprints to open doors or grab items are viable. The downside, of course, is that consumables are gone for good once you use them, there's no reloading to before your gear broke, etc.

Given that 1-1 is required before you can do much else, it's more like the second part of the tutorial than anything. Even I'd managed to get through that back around when the game came out.

Speaking of KF, I just remembered you can get that special moon-sword thingy in Demon Souls.

The Moonlight Greatsword is in every Soulsborne game, though it tends to be a melee mage type weapon due to the stats it scales on.
There are other ties back to the King's Field games as well, such as Seath.

[Exhuminator]

Aside from being in KF and the Souls games, the Moonlight Sword also appears in Armored Core games and even Otogi. The Moonlight Sword is basically From Software's mascot.

[Xeogred]

The obvious tip is to take on enemies one at a time.

What about Berserk in earlier games? Demon's especially is chalk full of references and even weapons. Medieval fantasy settings don't always jive with me, but of course From does dark fantasy the best and it's perfect. Boletarian Palace is one of my favorite areas in all the games. Tower Of Latria is God tier though.
(too bad Berserk went full on high fantasy in the second half and I hate it now, so does the creator anyways. It will never be finished).

Was there a character called Patches in any other From games? He's all over these.

Going to try to refrain from any tips or even the tiniest hints about the mechanics and such for now so Exhuminator can discover that all for himself unless he has specific questions.