Demon's Souls: How hard was it?

Demon's Souls, one of the most anticipated PS3 titles to come out, hit U.S. shores to a wide reception. Conversations from various forums I frequent quickly shifted from Madden, Modern Warfare, Street Fighter 4, etc. to Demon's Souls. The game's difficulty was one of the main selling points. For many it met there expectations with flying colors but for me, I found it to be only moderately difficult.

It wasn't any more difficult than the majority of RPG's I've played throughout the years. Grind for experience, gradually venture out in small increments and life is dandy. You don't follow the traditional baby steps needed to progress it's practically game over before you step out of "insert name" town. I found it to be just right. Not to hard, but hard enough to make me not throw caution to the wind. When I think of a hard RPG, I think of Final Fantasy Tactics.

Alright, enough with the difficulty. Let's get to the what DS did right and what it could have done better. The massive environments are foreboding and desolate, creating a sense of isolation. Everything you do happen to encounter is trying slay you. The combat is well paced and character customization shines in battle. The character and some of the monster designs are are pretty incredible; i.e., the Tower Knight.The soundtrack is one of the best I've heard but rarely does it play outside boss battles which are far and few.

The best aspect of Demon's Souls is a double edged sword. The rewards and punishments for exploring unknown territories quickly becomes addictive. Finding a rare weapon or running into a red eyed knight that will drain your health with one spear thrust is invigorating. On the other hand, exploring the 5 worlds gradually becomes monotonous. Enemies are in the same spots, reacting the same way, every time. How many times is this dredgling going to surprise attack me from behind this stockade? It grows old quick as you can imagine.

While the dialogue is well written and the voice acting is very well done, there is little interaction with other characters. This just seemed like a big waste too me. Minus having pure black or white tendency you will hardly encounter anything beyond a world's set pattern of enemies. It takes most players more than one game to bring about the conditions needed to meet NPC's such as Executioner Matilda.

If anything, you'll get a unique experience. I've never played an RPG that combines 3rd person hack and slash along with platforming elements as this game did. If you own a PS3, give Demon's Souls a shot. You may not love it, but you'll like it.