I read that From Software’s Demon’s Souls was “tough, but fair”. I’d have to disagree. I’d say that it’s “tough and mostly fair”. I had the misconception of believing that Demon’s Souls was more like another “tough, but fair” game, Ninja Gaiden Sigma, but it doesn’t have nearly the consistency. I’d like to understand the rules of a game and see those rules upheld as I progress though the game. Unfortunately Demon’s Souls didn’t do that.
My deaths in Demon’s Souls can be categorized as follows:
- Due to recklessness
- Due to unforeseen circumstances
- Due to inconsistencies
Reckless deaths were my fault and mine alone. I either didn’t heed the warnings left by other travelers or I underestimated the relentlessness of the enemies. Sometimes I died without the warning from enemies or other players, so I attributed those uncommon deaths as “unforeseen circumstances”. That may seem frustrating, but it wasn’t for me — I considered it part of the learning process.
There’s a bit of slowdown, but I’m not sure if that’s the video or the game itself. Chains of Olympus ran fine, so I’m not worried. I am intrigued by this PSP title though.
My PSP handhelds (I have two) sit on my desk untouched. I didn’t buy Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for it and I doubt I’ll be picking up Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep either.
However, I may pick up God of War: Ghost of Sparta. The prequel to God of War looks stunning for a PSP game and it may be one of the last PlayStation Portable titles if the rumors of a PSP2 turn out to be true.
Computers continue to astound me with how unfriendly they are ever since I decided to hook up my PC to my home theater. It’s surprising to find that many of the things I’ve come to expect as a standard, isn’t the case at all.
Take 5.1 surround sound support over S/PDIF digital optical for example.
Did you know that if your audio chip doesn’t support Dolby Digital Live encoding, most computer games won’t output 5.1 surround sound to your receiver via optical? You can hook up a 5.1 PC analog speaker set, but not to your receiver. Why? Because most of your computer games do not output in Dolby Digital format and the receiver just doesn’t understand it.
Fortunately there is Dolby Digital Live which converts all the PC audio into a Dolby Digital signal for the receiver. It makes sense, but it’s still a bit of an eye opener for me since I just assumed it would work in this day and age. Fortunately, for me Dolby Digital Live was included with my Gigabyte GA-H55M-USB3 motherboard.
So remember: if you plan to hook up your computer to your home theater system via S/PDIF digital optical, get a motherboard (or audio solution) that supports Dolby Digital Live. Even though I didn’t plan on using S/PDIF, I had to fall back on it due to the issues I was having with HDMI.
I lucked out, but not everyone can be so fortunately, so I hope this helps.
Capcom and Namco Bandai announced three fighting games yesterday, but before I express my concern over this, let’s take a look at what each of them are.
Street Fighter X Tekken
Developed by Capcom
Release Date: TBA
Platform: PS3, 360
This 2-D fighter will feature both Tekken and Street Fighter characters and will be powered by the Street Fighter IV engine. They’ve already put together some in-engine footage of this and it was shown at ComicCon 2010. It will feature the tag system from “Tekken Tag”
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Edit: Now officially confirmed with gameplay videos and screenshots
Amaterasu Gameplay
Thor Gameplay
Okami’s Amaterasu and Marvel’s very own God of Thunder, Thor, were accidentally revealed today.
I love Okami, so I’m glad to see it being represented here. And I have nothing against Thor, so it’s all good for the Marvel rep. However, what pleases me most is that a lot of these early reveals are new and different characters. It’s not just a bunch of Street Fighter and X-Men characters.
Love it or hate it, fighting game character rosters will continue to be drip fed out like this.
Today’s unveiling of Marvel’s Super Skrull and Doctor Doom along with Capcom’s Trish and Chun Li comes courtesy of Comic-con. Of course, there were trailers and other media accompanying this, so have at it.
Marvel vs Capcom 3 arrives Spring 2011 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
Comic-Con 2010 Trailer
It’s officially too expensive for my liking.
$149.99 could net you the Kinect camera and the Kinect Adventures game.
On top of confirming Kinect pricing, Microsoft have also stamped their official seal on the new Xbox 360 Arcade unit which will feature 4 GB of internal storage and a black matte finish. Wi-Fi? Included. Which means the only thing this doesn’t feature is beefy storage which I’m not sure you can rectify with official (or unofficial) hard drives yet.
Microsoft also confirmed the existence of a new Holiday bundle which will have both the Kinect and new Arcade unit for $299.99. That’s not a bad price, to be honest. Hell, I may even partake in a bundle like that if Microsoft allowed me to use my own 2.5 inch hard drive.
We all know that won’t happen though.