Demon's Souls Headed to North America
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King Allant the XII, the last king of Boletaria, searched tirelessly to expand his might. The Nexus, a great ice shrine nestled in the mountains, bestowed the power of the souls onto him, bringing prosperity to his kingdom. Still unsated, he returned again to the Nexus, where he foolishly awakened the Old One from its eternal slumber. This long forgotten evil, now wrought upon Boletaria, plunged the realm into darkness and fog. A mighty demon horde poured into the kingdom, devouring the souls of men.That new trailer looks a little more action-oriented than I'd like, but it's tough to say how the gameplay actually carries out. For the sake of reference, here's a little something from GameSpot's Tokyo Game Show-based preview:
Champions from other realms learned of Boletaria's fate and sought to deliver the kingdom from evil; none would return from the cursed land. Called upon by a mysterious maiden in black, you go forth, the last hope for humanity in a place lost to demons and darkness...
Key Features
'¢ Ultimate hardcore RPG challenge -- In this brutal land, death is inevitable, but not final. Combining the best features of an action game and RPG, you'll slice, smash, shoot, and ensorcel some of the most horrible, vicious enemies ever encountered. Are you strong enough to face the impossible and win?
'¢ Groundbreaking online capabilities -- Network features go far beyond any previous RPG, allowing players to leave hints for each other, replay death scenes, cooperatively revive dead players, or invade another player's game to wreak havoc. Not merely an add-on feature, multiplayer options are vast, and uniquely focused on changing and intensifying the single player experience.
'¢ Freeform and flexible -- The open-ended structure of the game means that there is no single path, but rather a wealth of options. Set your own pace and progress as you like. Build exactly the character you want by creating a detailed avatar, nurturing the right stats, and customizing your skills and equipment.
'¢ You act, the world reacts -- The World Tendency system changes the aggressiveness of monsters and the rewards for killing them based on players' actions. Different events and NPCs may be triggered, as well.
The intro cinematic lists the names of those who have failed, implying that you will have the option of playing as one of several classes in Demon's Souls, but we were thrown straight in with a warrior-type chap launching himself at what seemed to be the gates of this vast kingdom. We caught a brief glimpse of the character-customisation options, which seem to be fairly broad, but we didn't get a chance to play with them on this occasion.
Armed with a large mace and shield, and bedecked in chain mail, we were thrust into the action with a number of paths to take. On our first run-through, we charged through the middle, smiting various man-sized skeletal demons along the way. Moving the right stick changes the camera angle manually, and clicking targets the nearest enemy. Once you're locked on, you then choose between quick light attacks with your mace, a quick shield bash, or a thunderous overhead smash. These can be chained together into powerful combos, resulting in speedy demolition of anything hostile in your path. As the demons fall to the floor, you absorb their life force. Although we didn't see any tangible benefits of this in our short time with the game, it looks set to play a major part as you progress on your quest.
