The Book, NSF:S Video Review, Critter Crunch, Half-Minute Hero and Demon Tendencies
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Writing: Although my process was disrupted for a while as we moved into our new place, I'm happy to report that I've got a fairly workable office set up and work on the new book has resumed. My co-author turned in a few chapters that were pretty kick-ass, and the final third (or so) of the book has fallen nicely into place. The original goal (in my own mind, at least) was to have the whole project wrapped up by December. I think that's definitely do-able for a first draft if we squash our collective noses to the grindstone, but considering that there's going to have to be clean-up, revisions, and all the other lovely things associated with calling something ‘done’, probably a couple months after that will be necessary. Still, not too shabby and it's coming along a hell of a lot faster than my first book. Still need a title, though.
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Games: The UPS man arrived at my place today bearing my now-repaired 360. Of course, no one was home as he was knocking on the door, so all that was here was one of those brown and yellow notices taunting me. With any luck, someone will be here to receive it tomorrow.
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I have to admit that the Microsoft service Center has definitely sped up their turnaround time and I'm grateful for that, but I’d still rather that the console hadn’t broken in the first place.
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My friend Chris Vandergaag over at Sidemission has posted a video review of NFS: Shift, and although I generally don't give a rip about racing games, I found it to be well-produced and entertaining. It's sort of NSFW but give it a look-see if you're in the mood for a chuckle or two at the expense of racing game fans.
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Play-wise, I spent a good hour or two with Critter Crunch on the PS3. An animal-themed puzzler, it's got beautiful graphics and really solid design. Having a great time with it so far, and I'm also working on a review for GameCritics as we speak.
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My piece won't go live for a while, but I feel very confident in saying that it's one of the better games available on PSN. You really can't go wrong with this one, unless you're some kind of insane puzzle hater.
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Had plans to get an hour or two in with Half-Minute Hero today, but was totally defeated by some expected circumstances. Ended up carrying the PSP around with me all day, and didn't turn it on for even a minute.
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That said, I did play it for a brief snatch last night in bed and I was absolutely loving what I saw. (Beat it twice!) I'll definitely have more impressions and a formal review of this title later on, but I was quite pleased with the few minutes I got in.
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One last note: I'm almost done with my start-over-from-scratch replay of Demon’s Souls, and after taking a very close look at the Tendency system, I’m basically convinced that it's pretty much the only false step that From made.
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The first time I played the game, I went through it without consulting any FAQs and just immersed myself in the overall experience. It was extremely rewarding and I'm glad I did it that way, but I was a little put off after credits rolled to find that I had missed several things because my gameplay style kept me “in the middle”.
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Without getting into too much detail, certain characters and events only become available after a world goes either “Pure White” or “Pure Black”. The only problem is that the system as it stands basically keeps all of these extra elements hidden unless a player knows exactly what they're doing and kind of ‘works’ the system to gain access.
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In my opinion, this mechanic totally destroys the level of immersion that is so attractive about the game and reduces the atmospheric adventure to a series of jump-through-hoops exercises for players who want to see the extra content. Of course, it has to be said that this content is just that-- extra, but it still feels like a missed opportunity to me.
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Writing my review, I was really debating whether or not to give the game a perfect score, and I ended up holding back a half-point based on what I knew of Tendency at the time as well as a few other niggling little things. Now that all secrets have been revealed, I'm glad that I did. Don't get me wrong, Demon’s Souls is still my front-runner for Game of Year… it's just a little disappointing that some pretty cool things that would have enhanced the adventure were hidden away behind what I see as a fairly unintuitive and unnatural system.
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I bought this game yesterday based on your recommendation, and I am very glad I did. It is wonderful for reasons I can't fully explain. I really don't give a shit about dungeon-crawling, being a knight, or saving the world but this game makes all these things seem somehow more real, more imbued with blood, sweat, fear, and elation than most games do.
Given that you are on your second play-through, I'm wondering if you have any advice for me who's just starting out. I started as a thief, and I personally like the idea of not using magic. I love swordplay and being quick and deadly rather than a brute warrior.
I am still really early. I haven't even gotten my body back yet, but I love the game so far. If there are any tips that will help me better make the most out of my experience I'd love to hear them.
Hey Matt.
Hmm.. advice. i'll try to avoid spoilage here...
Well, a good thing to do is complete the first section of each world (1-1, 2-1, 3-1, etc) and make sure you comb them thoroughly. You can pick up some vital items early on if you scour the nooks and crannies... makes the going a lot easier. 4-1 in particular has some great items.
not using magic is definitely do-able (like i did, both times) but if you're skipping spells, then a bow and arrows are a MUST. melee is great, but there are just some times that you need the distance.
pick your favorite weapon and a bow and focus on upgrading them as much as you can, as early as you can. not to spoil you, but there are two blacksmiths in the game. frequent the second one as much as possible.
you'll probably need to grind a little to get some levels. 4-1 is GREAT for this if you can deal with the enemies there.
this game does NOT reward evenly-built characters. pick a direction with your character and pump up the corresponding stats as high as you can. do NOT ignore Stamina if you're going melee.
master the combat and know how your weapon moves during blocking, parrying, one-handed, two-handed, and ranged. dodging and rolling must be mastered too... everything.
play VERY defensively. don't be afraid to retreat nearly constantly for a while. be aware of your footing, as well.. there are a lot of deadly falls.
those will get you started, i think... always glad to answer any more Q's though.
Okay. I have a few now...
1. I am saving the stones I get from Boss Demons for weapon forging later, but should I be doing the same for those of soldiers and heroes? I tend to use them when I'm low on souls.
2. Do the stats have caps? Or is it just a matter of the soul cost eventually getting absurdly high?
3. Is focusing on three primary stats too much or too little?
4. I want to be mostly non-magical, but should I avoid magic like the plague... or should I learn a few spells?
5. What is the best way to get my body back that doesn't involve having to beat a boss? I'm aware of the stones that do it, but I could have sworn there was another way that doesn't use up items.
Oh and, incidentally, I read somewhere online that some people recommending going through the game in soul form. I know the penalty isn't huge for doing so, but I'd like to shoot for having my body as much as possible because I find that puts me in a less reckless frame of mind. When in soul form I find it easier to get into a nasty spiral of obsession with trying to do something that's basically too hard but thinking I can *always* reclaim my soul as I keep trying.
One of the things I really like about the game is the subtle things that make you feel different when in the flesh, like all the sound your body makes, a sense of weight, etc. In a way the game really makes you feel like a lost soul, a ghost, who endless goes through motions trying in vain to right a wrong that ended your life. It really makes you appreciate being alive (in the game, I mean).
Hey matt.
>>>I am saving the stones I get from Boss Demons for weapon forging later, but should I be doing the same for those of soldiers and heroes? I tend to use them when I'm low on souls.
No, those are just cash for use, basically. Save a few in case you die and don't have any money, but there's nothing special about them.
>>>Do the stats have caps? Or is it just a matter of the soul cost eventually getting absurdly high?
the cost per level gets really high (at the end of my game, they cost around 45,000 each) and there is an ultimate end cap for levels, but i think it's something like level 714 or something absurd like that.
>>>Is focusing on three primary stats too much or too little?
being well-rounded in this game sucks, so specialization is good. 3 stats sounds about right, but it depends on what kind of character you are. for me (temple knight) i needed Faith, Endurance and Stamina with a little Str for the early part of the game.
>>>I want to be mostly non-magical, but should I avoid magic like the plague... or should I learn a few spells?
depends on your character, but learning spells takes some foucus. you need Int and Magic both, so if you're a physical character then it means that you'll need to level a lot more in order to have magic be useful. my general advice is either do strong melee w/ a bow, or go magic with very light melee.
>>>What is the best way to get my body back that doesn't involve having to beat a boss? I'm aware of the stones that do it, but I could have sworn there was another way that doesn't use up items.
There's only 4 says: beat a boss, use an Ephemeral stone, be a blue phantom and help another real player beat a boss, or have another cast a high-level resurrect spell on you when you're a blue phantom.
>>>Oh and, incidentally, I read somewhere online that some people recommending going through the game in soul form.
for my first playthrough, i tried to stay in physical form as much as possible. for my second playthrough, i was all-soul, all the time. the reasons are semi-spoily, so i'll just say play whichever way you like the best... both have their advantages and disadvantages.