Demon's Souls

Amidst my actually busy/productive day I work, I found some really good news at Kotaku and wanted to share quickly.
Demon's Souls is coming to North America.

This is a game that has been talked about a lot by the import crowd over at Kotaku, and a lot of people have raved about its amazingness. So much so that it seems many people have taken to importing the Asian region version of the game, which includes an English language option. Hell, I even tried snooping around to see if I could find a copy, but that version has been hard to find for a while. Well, that won't be necessary anymore. North American PS3 owners will be able to walk/run/hop down to their local Gamestop this fall to grab this game.

So, why all the hype? Well, Demon's Souls, on paper, seems to be the action-RPG of everyone's dreams. The best way I can think of to describe it is the character customization and go-anywhere feel of Oblivion, mixed with the online-multiplayer (cooperative and PvP) aspects of Diablo, with the atmosphere of King's Field (i.e. medieval fantasy). (This game is, after all, the spiritual successor to King's Field). The atmosphere and the graphical style of the game have me the most excited. This game just looks dark and grim, and if they can pull off a mature story without it being too corny or bland, people could be playing this game for years to come.

So, needless to say, I am excited to see what this game brings to the table. If it is a polished/smooth experience, I'm on board. If it is as buggy/clunky as Oblivion, I think it will be a disaster when bugginess is combined with network lag. Reviews overseas have been great, but we'll see if the American version remains as polished.
I'm trying to remain cautious because games like this are usually a let down, or are just not engaging to me. I hope this game really delivers, as I have been waiting for a big PS3 exclusive game to really blow me away again ever since Heavenly Sword.

And now, moving pictures for your enjoyment:

Deadpoolicious

Deadpool is making a return in Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2. I'm giddy. I still think I need to play the first game, especially since I'm currently catching up on 4 years of Marvel comics storylines, so I'm feeling Marvel-tastic right now.

Kotaku has posted an all Deadpool trailer for MUA2, and it is pretty delicious. It really looks like they have spent a lot of time making it so Deadpool can play like Deadpool instead of just another mindless beat 'em up character that most of the characters probably will be. Guess we will see in September...


Facebook fans can click here to see the video!

Are long games dead?

Good read on the fate of long games over at Sexy Videogameland.

My thoughts:

I find it sad that I live in a world where the term "JRPG" is now a dirty word. I let out a slow sigh when reviewers use the fact that an RPG is "old school" as a knock against it. I think it is a trait to be praised nowadays when everything has to have fancy "next-gen" battle systems that are just a giant mess.

I think RPG companies (especially Squeenix...) need to get back to basics and strip out all the fancy graphics and cut scenes and just focus on making the gameplay solid again. Persona 3 didn't have fancy graphics or overly long/abundant cutscenes. Just solid gameplay that keeps me coming back for more (hour 82 and counting...). Then once they have relearned how to make a solid "game", then they can add all the bells and whistles back in slowly, without sacrificing the game.