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GameSpot announces a rather surprising GOTY winner
- Thread starter graywolf323
- Start date
WretchedTruman
Member
SonOfABeep said:
Wait, wait, I got it. Your conclusion coming at me from a mile away:
Wii Sports for GOTF.
Night_Trekker
Member
Hurray for From Software.
rainking187
Member
Wow at this thread. "This game didn't sell a million copies, there's no way they could have actually enjoyed it!"
indigo-cyclops
Member
Surprising yes, because it's a game far from the mainstream eye. It's brutal, but rewarding, and many "gamers" wouldn't even bother to beat 1-1 if it had the reception/sales like the higher ups. Point is, it's an amazing niche title that WON a GOTY award; a game finally legitimately recognized for its pros (and cons) and not just because it's another sequel, or a big budget title, or a shooter. Whatever it may be. Not sure why so many people are shooting it down? And yes, the people that are "fanatically" defending the game are doing so because it's a very "special" game (yes that sounds cheesy) to us. It's not always that a game comes along and pleases so many. I would really love to see someone call me out when I dare them to look through the 245+ pages of official thread(100 post per page setting) and find someone who trolled the game hard. I'd be interested in seeing this. I'm glad Gamespot did something right especially when it was almost certain Uncharted 2 or something would win.
I think we can expect to not only see another game in the series, but SCEA will step the fuck up and publish it in NA. SCEE will step the fuck up and publish in PAL. This is my opinion, though.
I think we can expect to not only see another game in the series, but SCEA will step the fuck up and publish it in NA. SCEE will step the fuck up and publish in PAL. This is my opinion, though.
voodoopanda
Member
I think picking Demon's Souls is a great thing for the gaming industry in general. Many of the expected GotY winners (Modern Warfare, Uncharted, Assassin's Creed, NSMBW) all have something in common. They're improved sequels. They're all better versions of things that have come in the past. Yes, they are great games, but we've seen them all before in somewhat inferior versions. Demon's Souls is clearly a unique and original game, while also being incredible. Definitely deserved the GotY nod.
If that was true, the game wouldn't recieve the same amount of praise.SonOfABeep said:
Even my 'casual gamer' friends who gave up when they faced flamelurker, think it's a great game.
The game doesn't punish the gamer for the sake of punishing. It only punishes those who do stupid things. It never feels unfair. Of all the games I've ever played for the last two decades, Demon's souls is the first game I consider 'truly flawless'. The concept is so brilliant that even calling it a GOTY doesn't do it enough justice.
THE Caffeinated
Member
You can never win with your GOTY Awards, you're either going to offend the niche or the mainstream but either way you're going to drum up traffic.
I think Demon's Souls difficulty has been overhyped. Harder than all this handholding developer breastfeeding this gen? Yes. But nowhere near as hard as some NES games (or any gens before this one for that matter). Ninja Gaiden 1 >>> Demon's Souls in difficulty. Any hurdle in Demon's Souls can be overcome by lvling up (like 99% of RPGs). It bothers me when I read opinions here of people that haven't picked this up b/c they're turned off by all the difficulty talk. Every PS3 owner that has a remote interest in RPGs or action games should play this.Zeliard said:
And I forgot which review I read but some reviewer mentions "game gets more difficult every time you die" which is a gross exaggeration as they've left out the body form/soul form part of the equation. I could see that misunderstanding turning folks off as well as the pre-existing difficulty talk surrounding the game.
It definitely is.YoungHav said:
Finishing demon's souls is perfectly achievable for an averagely skilled gamer. It's nowhere as hard as DMC3 or Ninja gaiden. This is mainly because combat is rather slow paced and allows the gamer to observe his enemies before making a move. Demon's souls is all about learning and applying the rules of the game. How difficult this game is largely depends on how good your strategy is.
WanderingWind
Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
M°°nblade said:
I don't see how anybody could think differently. It's a game that rewards patience and destroys those without it.
I can see how this would be a problem with a certain segme - sorry. Something shiny caught my attention.
Windom Earle
Banned
Damn, release it in PAL regions already!!!
D
Deleted member 30609
Unconfirmed Member
why not just import?schennmu said:
Windom Earle
Banned
Rez said:
Haven't found a great offer yet.
SonOfABeep said:
SonOfABeep
Plays on Easy Mode
D
Deleted member 30609
Unconfirmed Member
I was sort of going for the
[POPULAR GAME]
[NICHE GAME]
thing, but fair point. I wouldn't put those game in my top ten either.
[POPULAR GAME]
[NICHE GAME]
thing, but fair point. I wouldn't put those game in my top ten either.
Zedsdeadbaby
Banned
It's just a shock to those who were expecting either Modern Warfare 2 or Uncharted 2. Those games just don't try anything new or different, and are perfect examples of generic Hollywood titles that we've all seen and done before a thousand times. It's such a safe and boring formula - but it works. It brings in the money. Real gamers will push the envelope and encourage those who dare to deviate against the norm and try something original and dangerous. Demon's Souls isn't even out in Europe because From Software deems it too obscure and niche a title, which indicates a hell of a lot. You might not like it, but with all these accololades going to From Software for Demon's Souls, the industry will be just that little bit better. Many will try to stray off the beaten path more often.
The game fully deserves it. And PS3 owners need to stop beating the absolute shit out of each other over it. Just buy the game.
The game fully deserves it. And PS3 owners need to stop beating the absolute shit out of each other over it. Just buy the game.
SonOfABeep said:
WAT? You lost all credibility in your argument right there. It's like saying halo's shield system or gears of wars emphasis on hiding behind cover was no more of a game changing design that the graphics of game X. The more you post, the more it shows that you really know absolutely nothing about the game.
And the game really isn't that hard Ninja gaiden is way harder, DMC3 is harder, in some aspects GoW is harder(definitely if playing in hard mode). It's in fact probably on the level of bayonetta in terms of difficulty. The game just punishes you for making stupid mistakes, nothing else. It seems you just want the game to hold your hand, and have 0 challenge whatsoever. Tell me aside from the difficulty(Which really isn't a flaw in the game, this much is fact) what reason can you give that this game doesn't deserve GOTY, other than it simply didn't click with you?
voodoopanda
Member
Calling the challenge in Demon's Souls "difficulty" almost feels wrong, since it has such a negative connotation in video games. Cheap deaths, bad controls, frustrating gameplay, losing. The challenge in Demon's Souls is really the whole point of the game, the atmosphere, the narrative, the gameplay, the online elements are all designed around the idea that you will die a lot. In many games, you aren't supposed to die, so it has this really heavy, negative connotation in people's heads.
But every time you die in Demons Souls, you learn more about how to play the game, you progress in skill. In a lot of ways it reminds me of the challenge one finds in a game like Street Fighter IV. If playing against good players, a new player will lose. A lot. But every loss can be a learning experience. It makes you want to try again, over and over. Because why you lost wasn't because of cheapness, but skill and strategy. Same with Demon's Souls. And it's just as satisfying when you finally beat that encounter as it is to beat that guy who kept rocking you in SF4.
And I'd say it's probably a lot easier to beat Demon's Souls than it is to beat Daigo.
But every time you die in Demons Souls, you learn more about how to play the game, you progress in skill. In a lot of ways it reminds me of the challenge one finds in a game like Street Fighter IV. If playing against good players, a new player will lose. A lot. But every loss can be a learning experience. It makes you want to try again, over and over. Because why you lost wasn't because of cheapness, but skill and strategy. Same with Demon's Souls. And it's just as satisfying when you finally beat that encounter as it is to beat that guy who kept rocking you in SF4.
And I'd say it's probably a lot easier to beat Demon's Souls than it is to beat Daigo.
The attempts at downplaying the game are getting more and more inane. First we hear that it doesn't have atmosphere, then about bland art or bad sound, and now that the single most innovative way to integrate online features into a single player game ever is nothing special. Everyone who played the game of course knows differently.
Seriously, the only valid complaint one can make is that the gameplay doesn't suit the ADHD generation, and that's not a reason to somehow disqualify it from GotY consideration.
Seriously, the only valid complaint one can make is that the gameplay doesn't suit the ADHD generation, and that's not a reason to somehow disqualify it from GotY consideration.
chaostrophy
Member
YoungHav said:
It is. And it seems like the idea that challenging games are "niche" has been overhyped as well. The conventional wisdom for a long time has been that developers didn't make their games too hard because having to repeat the same section of a game while building skills at the game would be a turnoff, that to keep gamers' attention you had to constantly be feeding them fresh content. When in hindsight this is silly because of the huge popularity of playing FPSs online. Huge numbers of people spent their gaming time playing Call of Duty 4 online for years, the same levels over and over, instead of buying every new FPS that comes out and playing through its campaign mode, after all.
Haunted
Member
Good man.Rez said:I was sort of going for the
[POPULAR GAME]
[NICHE GAME]
thing, but fair point. I wouldn't put those game in my top ten either.
I like the message and bloodstain ideas, but they're - like a lot of things in Demon's Souls - marred by bad design decisions. Not being able to choose between co-op and PvP was a bad decision, imo. And bloodstains are often ruined by the world tendency thing (soo many bloodstains just show people committing suicideDurante said:
Plenty of good ideas marred by bad design decisions. That's Demon's Souls for me. A lot of potential, if they take the criticisms to heart and improve in those areas, they've got a real winner with their King's Field follow-up here.
Those games take completely different approaches to difficulty and demand very different things from the player. Being good in one game doesn't mean you'll succeed in the other.BeeDog said:
I just thought about it and to my own surprise I can't think of a single design decision in DS that could be changed without lessening the overall experience. That's pretty much the definition of great game design. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. Still, I find your complaint about the blood stains particularly strange, since usually those that are "on purpose" are at very specific points, and those elsewhere (in actually relevant areas) are all still helpful.
iconoclast
Member
Durante said:
The only thing I would change about DS is to have enemies regain their health once they de-aggro (like in WoW). It would automatically eliminate 98% of the ways you can cheese enemy kills. The soul payout per enemy is really unbalanced too, to the point where losing souls due to death is nothing but a minor annoyance. Then again both of those sound more like oversights than design decisions.
And yeah, the suicide blood stains are, for the most part, just in specific spots within the Nexus and the start of each stage (to shift toward black world tendency). I don't check blood stains in the nexus, but I'll usually click on one if it looks like it could be humorous (like one next to a cliff and a message that says "take a step forward").
Haunted said:
At their cores, both games test the player's patience level to the extreme. On one hand, you have MW forcing the player to endure to the next checkpoint and learning cannon fodder spawn locations, then perfecting a specific line to be able to end the stage. On the other hand, Demon's Souls tests your patience by raping you hard if you do something stupid, forcing you to replay the whole level, and with the added risk of actually making it harder too.
So my viewpoint is, if you actually manage to push yourself through the complete and utter retardation that is MW on a high difficulty level, you'll also have the patience of beating Demon's Souls easily.
Chuck Norris
Banned
You can chose between co-op and PVP?Haunted said:
And no game is ever going to have a perfect online community. Saying it's bad design because people are killing themselves is silly. Besides, blood stains are mainly for the first play through of a level, and are very helpful in that