Demon's Souls Previews
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From GameSpot:
Patience is definitely a virtue and a trait that you must have if you're even thinking of trying Demon's Souls. It's a fascinating single-player role-playing experience, but it can be unmercifully difficult and incredibly frustrating if you're used to the pacing of RPGs now. You have to understand that you will die countless times--unless you progress slowly and cautiously--and that death is a huge part of the game. When you're not leaving bloodstains along the stone pathways of Boletaria, you are fighting demons of all shapes and sizes, collecting their souls in order to level up, as well as upgrade your stats and weapons. You are just one of many adventurers who are trapped in this hub called the "Nexus" and must kill demons to save the kingdom from being plundered.
Early in our demo, we saw how other players online could be summoned into our game. We stumbled across a couple of soul signs that were left by people who were playing online. When you come across a soul sign, it means that a player in your level range would like to join your game. By clicking on it, you can bring that player into your game and proceed through the level together. Up to three people can play cooperatively, so we summoned a couple of players to help us get to the boss. There are no options to choose whom you want to play with, nor are there friends lists. We were told that the designers of the game wanted the multiplayer features to enhance the single-player experience. They wanted people to play with strangers, and because of the high level of difficulty, they wanted to build a community of players that would be willing to band together and support one another, regardless of whether or not players know each other. We didn't get to see any player versus player, but we were told that at a certain point in the game--once you've received a particular stone--you can force your way into another player's game and vice versa.
And an excerpt from OSV:
The first exchange between the panelists was surprisngly about the King's Field series and how Kaji was such a huge fan of the dark ambiance of the series that he wanted to do something similar, and Demon's Souls is what they came up with. After scooping my jaw from off the floor, Kaji went on about other influences for the title. He noted that the game looks like it was created for a Western audience, and was influenced by retro RPG titles like Wizardry, and that we should expect the game to be painfully difficult. This was a welcome announcement, as King's Field games have always been challenging, and had me looking forward to the game even more.
Some of the online features were explained, which are some of the most interesting and unique uses of online-play in a game to date. Players can leave notes as they progress through the game that appear randomly in other players' games to alert them of nearby loot or danger. These notes can also be used to mislead you, so watch out for liars out there as well. There are also blood stains that you may chance across at various points throughout the game which mark the spot where another player died, and upon stepping on the stain, a ghost-like figure re-enacts the final moments of that player's life, alerting you to nearby danger. More blood stains obviously mean there's a serious challenging ahead.
