SPECIAL: The Legend of Zelda #2 (Article/Review)

This is a follow-up article to my Legend of Zelda special that I wrote earlier in the year, which specifically looked at Twilight Princess, Skyward Sword, Spirit Tracks and Ocarina of Time 3D. I suggest you read that before returning here, as I'm going to jump right into a couple of other games that I've played since writing that article, and once again tackle them in the order that I played them. I debated whether or not to hold off writing this, as there's a new Zelda game out just before the end of this year; A Link Between Worlds is out during the tail end of November and I've got it pre-ordered to play ASAP. However, while I still have them (relatively) fresh in my mind I thought I'd do another special.

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After the superb Ocarina of Time 3D, I gave the Zelda games a bit of a rest while I played through some other things (which I've reviewed a few of), but eventually returned to play Phantom Hourglass; another DS game like Spirit Tracks, which is actually a prequel to that game and also a direct sequel to Wind Waker. One of the reasons that I had put off playing this title was because of playing them out of order meant Spirit Tracks (allegedly) fixed loads of "problems" with Phantom Hourglass and I didn't want that affecting my judgement of the game - however, I really should have ignored internet hearsay because Phantom Hourglass is a fantastic game and I enjoyed it even more than it's successor is almost every way. This entry, being a direct sequel to Wind Waker, takes place on the great sea - a vast overworld of water with lots of tiny islands popping out all over the place - and is split into four large regions that you explore, and find the usual assortment of temples and dungeons.

To get about in the great sea you hook up with one of the best Zelda characters outside the main cast, Captain Linebeck and his tramp-steamer, which you steer chugging through the vast oceans, shooting baddies and jumping over obstacles. It really is a *LOT* of fun piloting that ship, and while I *loved* the train in Spirit Tracks (I had no problem with trains in a Zelda game unlike most people) the boat is a much better method of transportation in my opinion, mostly because you're not constrained by the rails and can pretty much explore where you want. Once you get the hook arm and cannons sorted it really feels open to exploration in a way that its successor simply wasn't. While we're on the subject of gameplay, it's worth mentioning that this is another overhead-view 3D Zelda, which is again controlled completely with the stylus. I thought that after playing Ocarina of Time with it's full 3D environment and complex controls that jumping back into a stylus-only DS game would feel awkward and basic - not so! The control scheme in Phantom Hourglass is a work of genius, and really shows that with expert game design you don't need a zillion buttons assigned to everything in order to make a great game. The only time this falls a little flat is during some of the tougher boss battles where you need to be switching items and using them rather quickly, but it just about holds up and the rest of the game outside these encounters is perfect.

The story of Phantom Hourglass concerns itself with the hunt for the legendary ghost ship, as Tetra (Zelda) and her loyal pirates, which Link seems to have joined, are hunting for it with the intention of finding and plundering its legendary booty. Of course, this all goes wrong and Tetra ends up trapped aboard the spectral vessel, leaving Link in charge of chasing her down and rescuing her. In order to find the ghost ship, Link calls on the help of the Ocean King, the lord of all waters, however his temple is occupied by an ancient and powerful evil that has sealed away his power - so it's down to the 'Hero of Winds' to once again go chasing through temples, finding different holy items in order to restore the Ocean King to his former glory. This also introduces one of the most divisive aspects of Phantom Hourglass - the temple of the Ocean King himself - a timed temple that you have to revisit in-between each of the other dungeons in the game. Personally, I thought it was great! I love the push-your-luck aspect of the temple, as you see if you can get just a little further and get to a "warp spot" in good time, so that you can skip huge parts of the dungeon on your next visit. Also, the unkillable phantoms that lurk the darkened halls are great for keeping you on your toes and add to the puzzle-based nature of the Ocean King's domain. In fact, Phantom Hourglass has a lot of well-designed temples and it seems like a lot of are and effort has gone into the structure of the game.

As you can hopefully see from the screenshots, this is also a really good looking game for the DS; it's the same graphics engine and assets that they used to create its successor and so a lot of it looks very similar (in fact I had a hard time finding screens for this article as lots that came up in Google's image search were from Spirit Tracks). The game also makes really good use of the functions and features of the Nintendo DS, such as using the touchscreen to make notes on maps/sea-charts, blowing or having to talk into the microphone, and sometimes having to "stamp" information from the top screen to the bottom by closing the lid. It's all very clever and really makes the experience feel right at home on the platform. I had a lot of fun with Phantom Hourglass and really enjoyed playing through it, even more than Spirit Tracks, which I also liked a *lot*.

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At this point I had played both it's sequels but never actually played the original Wind Waker game; although I had toyed with the idea of buying the GameCube version to play on my Wii several times, only put off by the astronomical cost on eBay and Amazon. When they announced Wind Waker HD on the Wii U I immediately pre-ordered it (along with the limited Zelda edition console) and was very much looking forward to playing what some people consider to be the best, or at least one of the best, Legend of Zelda games ever released. Extremely divisive at the time of it's release, Wind Waker completely changed the art style of Zelda games into a 'cell-shaded' format meant to imitate anime/cartoons, which was continued on it's DS sequels but dropped on the home consoles in favour of a more realistic (and fan-pleasing) look for Twilight Princess.

Remastered in glorious 1080p 60fps high definition for the Wii U, Wind Waker HD looks absolutely gorgeous, and really shows that the 'cell-shaded' art style was a timeless one, and a great decision from Nintendo at the time. Textures are sharp and the lighting engine has been improved over the original to create hot sunny days, atmospheric storms, and dank gloomy dungeons - the whole thing really does look like it was designed from the start for the Wii U and is one of the best HD remasters I've played. In a similar vein to Ocarina of Time 3D it really demonstrates that Nintendo knows that it's doing when it comes to rereleasing these Zelda games and still making them feel contemporary and fresh. The control scheme also feels like it has been designed from the ground up for the Wii U Gamepad, as switching effortlessly between different gadgets with the touch screen, and being able to flick between maps/sea-charts on the fly is great and also helps to modernise the game more.

Wind Waker not only provided a departure from the standard graphical style at the time of it's release but it also experimented with a brand new structure and setting compared to the Zelda games that had come before it. Set several hundred years after the events of Ocarina of Time the story concerns itself with a great flood, sent by the gods to seal away Ganon's resurrection, which has covered the land of Hyrule and created the Great Sea. The effect this has upon the gameplay is that there is no longer a 'Hyrule field' overworld to traverse by foot or horse, instead there is a vast ocean populated by lots of small (and occasionally large) islands, containing temples, dungeons, side-quests, etc. There is a *LOT* to do in Wind Waker HD and the game often has you sailing back and forth all over the place. Unlike some entries in the series that have you constantly revisiting temples/towns, Wind Waker's concentration on traversal of the Great Sea is a welcome change of pace. However, that didn't stop people from complaining at the time, and so Nintendo have put in more shortcuts this time through - not only can you 'teleport' to certain locations using the Ballad of Gales (played on the eponymous 'Wind Waker' instrument that is key to much of the game) but through a purchase in the auction house you can acquire the 'swift sail', which makes your boat sail twice as fast.

I'd waited a long time to play Wind Waker HD and it did not disappoint. The story is very compelling and I *loved* how it tied together some of the events in Ocarina of Time - specifically, giving Ganon a bit more of a motivation/backstory for this nefarious deeds - there was a moment about midway through the game that really gobsmacked me (which I won't spoil here). The overworld with it's sailing and discovering new islands/secrets was fantastic fun, and despite being largely empty ocean, it really feels like the world in Wind Waker HD is a living breathing place. This also concludes my time spent with 'toon Link and the cell-shaded Zelda games that I've enjoyed both on the Wii U and Nintendo DS, and I'll be sad to see them go. While I understand the desire for an epic looking fully realised Legend of Zelda game, I find the escapism of this art style charming and utterly timeless. Next up in the series is another return to an earlier design - a sequel to A Link to the Past - and it will be interesting to see if a pseudo-2D game can live up to modern gaming standards and rival the magic I felt while playing through Wind Waker HD.

REVIEW: Eclipse (Board Game)

Along with Cosmic Encounter and Twilight Imperium, Eclipse is yet another game with a space theme, and you'd be forgiven for thinking I was obsessed with the theme or it was one of my favourites; I'm not, in fact these are (besides Space Hulk) the only space themed games that I own. The simple truth is that these are just some of the best games out there, and despite it being a relatively new game for me (and you could argue I'm suffering "the cult of the new" here) Eclipse has just shot straight into my top ten. To glance at the pictures on this review you've also be forgiven for thinking "that just looks the same as Twilight Imperium" as both games share the same hex-board layout, plastic space ship miniatures, and a zillion tons of cardboard components. But they really are different beasts, as Eclipse is much more of an economic eurogame, but disguised behind a solid and different (for a euro) theme. I know some people will be immediately repulsed by the idea of banking in space, and I've jokingly called it "intergalactic recession" since I always seem to be making a loss for most of the game, but it really is fantastic fun. Also, whereas Twilight Imperium is a deeply complex and long game to play, Eclipse is actually (after a difficult explanation of the rules) pretty easy to play and lasts about 3 hours.

As in Twilight Imperium, the aim of Eclipse is to build your intergalactic empire up from humble beginnings into a vast interstellar civilization... and of course accumulate victory points in order to actually win. You gain VPs by exploring and colonising new worlds, by researching new technology for your civilization, by building large monoliths (think '2001: A Space Odyssey') as legacies to your advanced culture, and by assembling an armada and smashing your enemies to smithereens. All of this is done with careful scrutiny of your resources, especially money as it is very easy to bankrupt your empire by expanding too fast and throwing too much money into things that you can't really afford. This is really where Eclipse shines as a good eurogame as the majority of the gameplay comes from balancing how much money you spend to aquire other resources, which in turn aquire technology or are used to build space ships. Before I more on to space ships, and combat, it is worth just mentioning how much fun it is to simply explore the galaxy in Eclipse. You see, in games like Twilight Imperium you already know what the galaxy looks like at the start of the game - you have to really as it's what shapes your strategy, movement of your armadas, etc. In Eclipse though, you have true exploration, which involves turning over tiles as you go and not knowing the layout and structure of surrounding systems until you have explored there.

During this blind exploration you will, at some point, likely run into some hostile ancient aliens - which after the first expansion now come in all sorts of shapes and sizes - from the odd straggler to ancient homeworlds and hives. This is likely where you'll get your first taste of combat, which is great fun in Eclipse and rewarded with VPs, even just for taking part. Shooting aliens, and each other, is a dice chucking affair with a load of different coloured D6s representing different strength weapons, and your rolls are modified by all sorts of technology like targeting computers, shields, armoured hulls, ect. All these juicy components for your space ships can be upgraded on your individual player boards, which also keep track of technology you have researched as well as your available resources. Building your custom space ships is a neat little game in and of itself, as you perform a delicate balancing act of power consumption vs firepower/defense/maneuverability. All-in-all, Eclipse is just a fantastic game, it takes the space empire building concept of larger games and turns it into a streamlined eurogame, playable in a few hours; it won't scratch the exact same itch, but it has its own charms and has quickly become one of my favourite games.

REVIEW: King of Tokyo (Board Game)

One of the best games released over the last few years is a "simple dice game" called King of Tokyo. Now, I've already mentioned in the War of the Ring review how I'm a sucker for theme, and 'kaiju-eiga' (Japanese monster movies) is one that immediately appeals to me, although in the past there haven't been that many decent games that used it. This has all changed now, and King of Tokyo has proven so popular that giant monster games seem to be popping up all over the place, which can only be a good thing.In this game you play as a huge mutated lizard ( ala Godzilla), gorilla (ala King Kong), octopus (ala Cthulhu), robot-lizard (ala Mechagodzilla), alien robot (often in cheezy 60s/70s kaiju-eiga) and a rabbit piloting a huge robo-bunny (!?!?) with the intention to smash Tokyo to tiny bits or become the last monster standing. Basically you win either by accumulating enough victory points through taking and holding Tokyo and rolling VPs on your dice, more on that later, or you concentrate on dealing out damage to other monsters with the express wish to kill them off. Either way, it's a lot of fun!

The core gameplay of King of Tokyo is a yahtzee-esque  dice game, where you roll a number of unique specially designed (and chunky!) dice. After a couple of allowed re-rolls, you should hopefully have a few different actions available to you depending on what you got. The most basic dice result is simply to accumulate victory points, either in groups of 1, 2, or 3 and you need to reach 20 to win, so often it makes sense to simply try and take as many as you can in a turn. Another basic result is the attack symbol, and for each of these you damage either the monster currently occupying Tokyo, or if you're the monster in Tokyo then you damage every other player in the game!! After being smacked about a bit, the monster inside Tokyo can choose to retreat and let you occupy it, for which you get victory points, and this is how the flow the game goes - with monsters battering each other out of Tokyo turn after turn. Other things that you can do with your dice are heal damage (as long as you're outside Tokyo) and accumulate power cubes.

Power cubes let you purchase special cards each turn and these are what really spice up the game, as each one is either a one-off thematic event, such as eating a building full of people for victory points, or a permanent mutation to your giant monster. There is also an expansion for King of Tokyo called Power Up, which has another unique deck of cards for each monster (an well as another monster to play as - a giant kung-fu panda!?) which is accessed through rolling multiple heal results on the dice. While the expansion is not essential, the base game is great fun on it's own, the increased theme and differentiation between each kaiju really adds to the theme of the game. King of Tokyo is very quick to pick-up, teach to other players, and quick to play - usually leading to multiple games each session as people have so much fun they want to play again. and again. and again. The production value of the game is also fantastic, with bright vibrant artwork, high quality cardboard components and fantastic chunky custom dice. While the complete opposite in terms of game length and complexity to other games thus far reviewed, this game is near flawless and one of the best around.

REVIEW: Twilight Imperium: Third Edition (Board Game)

Twilight Imperium: Third Edition, or TI3 for short, defines the term "epic" when referencing a board game. It is a game that is infamous for being expensive, large to store (it comes in a gigantic 'coffin' box - by far the largest on my shelves), complex to learn, and takes an age to play. The rough estimate for a game is around the 8-hour mark, and this is actually pretty accurate for larger (6-8 people) games and for new players learning the system. So, the question that people always want to know is "is it all worth it?" YES. Yes it is. TI3 is an experience like no other, while it should seem like an absolute slog, you will be fully engaged and enthralled by this game from start to finish and the feel of actually playing it makes the time go very quickly indeed. This is not some sort of abstract board game, or a mechanical streamlined eurogame, this is a deep thick "ameritrash" experience, dripping in theme and richly rewarding - in short, it accurately recreates taking a space faring alien race and expanding your civilization out into the galaxy with the goal of reclaiming the lost throne at the centre of a vast intergalactic empire.

The aim of the game is to be the first to reach 10 victory points, which you do through fulfilling objectives both public and secret, and this represents your alien race becoming powerful enough to claim the right to Metacol Rex (the seat of power). Some of these objectives revolve around military conquest, often of Metacol Rex itself,  some concentrate on establishing trading routes, some on gaining more influence in the galactic council, etc. The objectives are varied enough to keep other players guessing and open the game up tactically so that you're not funneled down one path to victory. You achieve all this by carefully managing your civilization's resources, allocating strategic counters to different systems, or expanding your fleet size, or jumping in on different group actions as they become available. This is the genius part of TI3 for me, the fact that you almost have zero downtime between your own turns; you are constantly keeping an eye on what other players are doing and spending resources in their turns to take actions, trade, vote on laws, etc. It really is extremely engaging all the time and ensures that you're never bored or feel like you're waiting for other people.

Like Cosmic Encounter, this is another Fantasy Flight Games production, meaning that the components are gorgeous! This third edition is also heavily overproduced, by which I mean there are oversized hexes that make up the galaxy (taking up a massive amount of table space), an absolute ton of plastic space ship miniatures for each player, and lots and lots of cards and tokens. It may be quite expensive but you get a lot for your money. There's far too much to talk about regarding this game, and I'm not aiming to give a thorough in depth account of all the mechanics of these games, just hyperbole and gushing about how much I love them. One thing worth mentioning though is that the base game of TI3 is allegedly flawed in one key area and needs the Shattered Empires expansion to fix. Now, I've never played just the base game because I purchased the expansion at the same time as TI3 and mixed it all up straight away - so this review is really for the base game plus expansion - inflating the price even more. However, the expansion completes the game in my opinion, for instance I don't think I would ever play without pre-set maps and you need the expansion for that. If the idea of  a huge space empire building game appeals to you, then ignore the naysayers and their complaints of size and length, this game is the most epic board game you will ever play and an experience really unmatched by anything else.

REVIEW: War of the Ring (Board Game)

One thing that I always look for in a good board game is a solid theme. For instance, my "gateway game" (the board game that really got me into the hobby in a serious way) was Arkham Horror, which is really not very easy to pick up and play; but the theme is what sucked me in. War of the Ring is the most sophisticated marriage of theme and gameplay mechanics that I have ever seen in a board game, and a major part of why it is one of my highest rated games of all time. Basically, War of the Ring is 'The Lord of the Rings' in a box, and plays out in about 3-5 hours. It is a two-player game (the rules say 2-4 but *pfft*!) with one person taking on the role of 'the shadow' as they try and crush Middle-Earth, enslave everyone, and hopefully recover the One Ring. The other player is the 'free people' and they must try to politically activate nations to war, fend off the tide of Orcs, Uruk-hai and Haradrim, while also sneaking the fellowship into Mordor and cast the ring into Mount Doom.

All this is done over an absolutely gorgeous and mahoosive game board, on which you position and move the different armies, leaders and characters throughout the game. It looks very much like a "risk-type-game" and in some ways it is a long, complex, wargame, but it' also got a lot more going on. For starters you can't just start building units and stomping over each other, chucking dice willy-nilly; you have to first push your chosen nations to war along a political track. For the 'free people' player this usually involves breaking characters off from the fellowship and actively trying to coax sleepy nations to muster troops, or to at least defend themselves. Aside from the political maneuvering there is also the hunt for the ring, as each turn the fellowship is going to be moving in secret across the board towards Mordor and the 'shadow' player is going to be rolling dice, allocating resources and playing cards in order to corrupt and destroy the merry band. Once all the pieces start moving, it becomes a race against time for both sides to achieve victory one way or another (either through military conquest or by destroying/reclaiming the One Ring) and is a very exciting strategic brain burner.

You see, all these actions are governed by special unique dice, which are rolled (sometimes re-rolled) and these dictate the kind of actions that you can take on that turn. Each face on the dice have several different applications, so you never feel like the game is random or out of your control, but it does work as an excellent mechanism to ensure you can never do everything you want in one turn - requiring you to plan ahead and carefully manage your resources. There are also the different leaders and characters from the 'Lord of the Rings' that can be brought into play, each with their own unique effect upon the game and your strategies. Not to mention that there are also several decks of cards and various other bits and bobs that all contribute to the thematic flavour of the game as well a the tactics available to both sides. War of the Ring is an utterly fantastic game, one that takes a long time to play and really tests your strategic brain, but one that everyone should experience at least once if they enjoy JRR Tolkien's fantasy masterpiece.

REVIEW: Cosmic Encounter (Board Game)

Cosmic Encounter is a bluffing/negotiation game for 3-8 players depending on whether you're just playing the basic game or with expansions mixed in - to be honest, I think the more the merrier as long as you're prepared for a bit of chaos with 6+ people. It's a Fantasy Flight game, which means it is extremely well produced, with excellent component quality including lots of awesome plastic flying saucers and large planet tokens. You see, in Cosmic Encounter you are an alien race trying to spread yourself across the galaxy and colonise as many worlds as possible in order to win the game, and you can do this either through conquest or through peaceful negotiation (or through ball-faced lying as is usually the case).

Now, this game is one of my absolute favourites, and is often voted as the "best game of all time" in many polls and top ten lists. The reason for this is that Cosmic Encounter, more than any other board game in existence, has near-unlimited replay value. In just the basic game itself you get loads and loads of aliens to play as (randomly determined at the start of the game), each with their own special powers which break the rules of the game in some way and sometimes with alternate victory conditions. Once you mix in the expansions, not only do you get more player pieces, but also more and more aliens to choose from - now numbering the hundreds! This effectively means that every time you play Cosmic Encounter, you will be playing a different game, with a different mix of player powers and sometimes lots of different victory conditions to keep track of.

At this stage it's worth mentioning that the aliens powers are not balanced, not equal, and this is also part of the Cosmic Encounter game design. If you are someone who likes dry eurogames with little or no player interaction, and where all participants have an equal chance to win on their own, you won't like Cosmic Encounter. In this game you have to ally with other players in order to keep more powerful aliens in check, and you have to lie and cheat your way to the top if you are weaker, or aren't dealt the stronger cards. It is an experience as much about the metagame as it is about the rules around the table and I *love love love* this sort of thing. Cosmic Encounter is right up my street and really exemplifies why I enjoy playing board games (often more than video games) - lots of player interaction, lots of fun, great theme and really taxing to play and win, especially trying for that solo-win and not just relying on your allies.

NEW: Board Game Reviews

It's been a while since I've written on my blog, and mostly that's been due to my laptop dying on me; I had unfinished reviews of Virtue's Last Reward (*amazing* game!!) and other games, which are now in limbo. Well, now I'm back, and have a new laptop and lots of new video games to blog about. I'm currently playing Legend of Zelda: Windwaker HD on my shiny new limited edition Wii U, and will no doubt write up another Zelda special at some point with a review of that along with Phantom Hourglass and maybe even the new 3DS Zelda out next month. *drool*

In the meantime I've decided to extend the focus of my blog to other games that I enjoy, specifically tabletop games, such as board games, card games and miniatures games. Lately I've been on somewhat of a binge, buying and playing lots of new board games, and thought I would join other bloggers of the internet by writing up a top ten list of my favourites. So following this post should be a sequence, in no particular order, of (in my opinion) the absolute best board games. In the future I'll try to occasionally include board game reviews spread amongst the usual video game reviews and specials.

EDIT: To clarify a bit, the following games will all be board games that I have awarded 9.5/10 to on Board Game Geek, which at the moment is Cosmic Encounter, War of the Ring, Twilight Imperium, King of Tokyo, Eclipse, and Chaos in the Old World. If I have time I will also try and follow this with brief reviews of games that I have voted 9/10, because to be honest the difference between 9.5 and 9 is so slight that I'm going to missing out on a ton of great games that I consider to be some of my favourites, such as Cuba, Lords of Vegas, A Game of Thrones, Power Grid, etc. Also I just want to stress that I'm not going to be writing in-depth reviews of the mechanics of these board games, or even discuss what the rules are most of the time; for that may I suggest you check out 'The Dice Tower' on YouTube. I'm just going to (briefly) explain why I like these games so much and why you should check them out.

REVIEW: Fire Emblem Awakening (3DS)

One genre of video games that I have a real hit-or-miss relationship with is the SRPG (strategic role playing game); especially the JSPRG (Japanese... etc. etc.). I remember reading all the blurb about the Disgaea series, and getting really hyped for the third entry on PS3,  thinking "this really sounds right up my street" - only to be crushingly disappointed. Still, I gave it a chance, and put over twelve hours of game time into Disgaea 3 before deciding that it just wasn't my thing. This was a main-entry in a series that supposedly encapsulates and defines the genre, but it was in another that I first got my taste of the ludicrous addictive and deep rewarding gameplay that SRPGs are renowned for: Valkyria Chronicles. I'm planning to write more about that game in a future blog post, but sufficed to say that Valkyria Chronicles is an amazing game, one of the very best for PS3, and a shining example of how SRPGs can have a finely-woven engaging story, fantastic characters, and beautiful graphics while still retaining the core tactical depth of gameplay. That game also had another element that clearly defined it, and it wouldn't be until Fire Emblem Awakening that I'd find another game which was it's equal in all things, especially this thing... permadeath.

Fire Emblem is a series that has built a reputation for being challenging and fairly unforgiving, and this is mainly because of its infamous use of 'permadeath' - which basically means that main characters can die during the course of the game, through your own actions, and once dead they are permanently gone. Of course this has been done in other games, but has a massive impact here because of the way Fire Emblem Awakening works. You see, each unit you order about the battlefield and fight with is not a generic soldier or copy of another character; each member of your elite fighting force is a unique person, with their own distinct appearance, abilities, strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly personality, relationships and plot. As they fight side-by-side against bitter odds, they form bonds with one-another, which manifests itself in branching dialogue, plot lines and even the ability to fall in love. Not only this but your're also constantly tweaking characters abilities, class and equipment load out until you can list off a load of names for any given situation; including who those characters work well with, what they're good at, their hobbies and even their birthdays! Then, during a particularly grizzly battle, you'll overlook an enemy strategy and an arrow will strike of of your favourite characters in the face... and kill them. FOR EVER.

Having those characters, which you've invested so many hours and emotions into, suddenly die is just gut-wrenching, and the common reactions is to hit the reset button and try again. This is really where I think the challenge comes from, as the game isn't too difficult if you're prepared to lose some characters along the way (there's a "casual" mode to facilitate this if you're so inclined), but you really won't want that - it was a very serious decision for me to let a few characters die through the course of my playthrough, and afterwards I'd feel guilty and anxious if it was the right thing to do. Keeping your characters alive, and building those relationships between them, is also the key to unlocking all the side missions in the game, which again makes their deaths even more poignant. Even now, despite the fact that the only characters who died were ones I hardly ever used and found difficult to master, I think about all the content and storyline that I might have missed out on.

The core gameplay of Fire Emblem Awakening, like most SRPGs, is found on the many battlefields and through the combat system, which makes fantastic use of the 3DS hardware. You have all the information you need on the bottom touch-screen, available at a moments glance, leaving the top 3D screen to control unit placement and display the awesome battle animations. The controls are extremely intuitive, and the game does a fantastic job introducing key concepts through a few tutorial levels at a fairly brisk pace; it isn't long before you start to feel comfortable commanding your troops with conviction. Unit placement and interaction is key to unlocking their true potential, and keeping them alive, which is facilitated through various options of pairing them up and seeing their movement/attack ranges ahead of time. This extends to the enemies that you face, with the game letting you keep track of danger zones, and enemy equipment/level/etc. easily - meaning that any mistakes made, which subsequently get characters killed, are usually your own fault. Couple this with easy (and fast) saving and loading of games, including the ability to bookmark and leave a battle on top of the 3DS's suspend feature, and you never feel like you have anything but complete control over events.

As you can see from the screenshots so far in this review, the presentation of Fire Emblem Awakening is superb; especially for the 3DS, where it is one of the best looking games on the system. The game actually uses a variety of different visual styles and graphic engines to drive the different elements, but it is also a great example of how fantastic art direction can really make a cohesive whole and pull everything together. There are fully animated cut-scenes that enhance the storytelling of the game, which are presented in a very high quality 3D cell-shaded anime style. For the dialogue and support conversations between the characters there are finely drawn vignettes and subtle animations of facial expressions. The main bulk of the cutscenes share the same graphical engine as the fight animations - detailed character models move about in full 3D environments replete with flashy special effects and animations. Lastly, for the strategic gameplay itself, there is a top-down perspective, which uses finely detailed 2D sprites on a 3D background. Truth-be-told, the screenshots in the blog (or anywhere on the internet) don't do the game justice. Rendered on the 3DS screen in native resolution and with the 3D slider all the way up these graphics look amazing and the depth gained by the 3D is well worth straining your eyes a little for.

I mentioned Valkyria Chronicles in the intro, and one of the defining features of that game was the engrossing story. For an SRPG to have that deep a yarn, and inspire those sorts of emotions while playing is very rare indeed. Well, Fire Emblem Awakening can hold its head high and is once again a diamond in the rough. The story involves plots to resurrect a giant gribbly soul-eating Dragon, time travelling children bent on changing the future, characters with amnesia trying to discover who they are and what their connection is to the unfolding events, and vast warring nation-states struggling for dominance in a rich fantasy world. While some of the story bears might seem a little out-there initially, they're all brought together in the end and the game is extremely engrossing from start to finish. Presentation of this is all top-notch too, with a fantastic orchestral soundtrack as well as excellent (if limited) voice acting; it even gives you the option of using the original Japanese voice actors - which normally I'd snap up, but the localisation is superb and I played the entire game with English voice actors.

Before I wrap up this review I think I need to briefly mention some other features, which only add to the crack-like addictiveness of this game. Fire Emblem Awakening makes good use of the 3DS's "Spot Pass" feature, allowing you to access and download all manner of goodies completely separate (and available free-of-charge) from DLC, which is also purchasable from the 'outworld gate' in-game. Spot Pass lets you download new maps and missions to play on, to bring challengers into your world and either recruit, fight or parley with them, as well as letting you access a bonus box of extra weapons and rare items. Even if you never touch any online features, the game randomly spawns merchants with rare artifacts and equipment on sale, as well as random challenges across the world map for you to grind your characters on and level them up outside of the main storyline. Fire Emblem Awakening is an utterly fantastic game, perfectly designed for the hardware it runs on, and containing hours of engrossing content and challenge. It's a game that everyone with a 3DS should play; just leave 'permadeath' turned on if you do!

REVIEW: El Shaddai - Ascension of the Metatron (PS3)

This will be quite a short review, because it has actually been quite a long time since I played through this game. Recently I've been thinking about this and numerous other games that I've played and which are criminally under appreciated; perhaps not in terms of review scores from critics but certainly from the game-playing public. There are a number of excellent video games that have not only been overlooked at the time of their release  but haven't been given a new lease of life on budget labels and "best of" collections. The first of these games that I'd like to write a very brief review for is El Shaddai - a unique hybrid of 2D and 3D platforming and Devil May Cry style hack and slash brawling.

Firstly, the premise of El Shaddai is very unique within video games. Based on the 'Book of Enoch' from the apocryphal 'Dead Seas Scrolls' - you play as the eponymous Enoch, who is tasked by God to hunt down and dispatch several fallen angels (not
demons!) who have fallen in love with mankind and have subverted creation into their own design. You also have to stop the Nephilim (angel-human hybrids) from destroying the world, and you are helped along the way by Lucifel (not Lucifer!), an angel who wears jeans and uses a cell phone to talk to God - as if time has no meaning in the realm of Heaven. Now *deep breath after all that*... as someone who is a complete Atheist  I find the majority of Christian mythology to be pretty damn dull. However, this apocryphal tale is absolutely bonkers, and the most awesome basis for such an eccentric video game as El Shaddai.

The gameplay of El Shaddai is split between 3D platforming sections, which also involve a fair amount of hack and slash, and old-school 2D platforming sections. In both 3D and 2D the controls and collision detection are very tight and requires some precise platforming to get through the game; this is backed up with fantastic level design. Combat in the game uses a very unusual single button system, whereby the designers felt that "less-is-more". Rather than coming up with complicated multi-button combos (ala' Bayonetta), instead El Shaddai uses a context sensitive rhythm-based system. You create combos and different types of attacks by pressing the button in different tempos and sequences - it really is fantastic and very intuitive. The only downside is that combat doesn't really change very much throughout the game, only the bad guys that you face and your access to their weapons.

The other outstanding feature of El Shaddai are it's unconventional graphics. There really is no way to accurately describe them (you have to see them in motion) - as while the engine itself is not technically impressive - the art style and design are just extraordinary. Characters are rendered in a sort of faux-cell-shaded effect, whilst the backgrounds of levels are composed of geometric shapes, lines, and amorphous textures, which all shift in colour and tone as you move through them. The effect is unlike anything you will ever have played before and ranges from the bizzare to the downright breathtaking.

El Shaddai is criminally overlooked for many reasons.The characters, setting and story are totally unique - as is the graphical presentation - and diametrically opposed to the grey and brown first/third-person shooters that dominate the market. But really, the most infuriating thing is that El Shaddai is just a damn good game, exquisitely made, and the experience is utterly unforgettable.

REVIEW: Asura's Wrath (PS3)

When Asura's Wrath was unleashed upon the world in 2012, the gaming press were split down the middle, and torn asunder as if they'd been hit by a mantra-charged palm strike (more on that later)! Some reviewers absolutely loved it, and touted it as some sort of brave new experiment in video game design; especially in the current climate of first-person-shooter focused hegemony. Other's were confused with what it was trying to do, called it a "QTE"-fest (more on that later too), and some even wondered whether it was actually a game at all. Often billed as a sort of interactive-anime, or a game/movie hybrid, regardless of it's format Asura's Wrath is an exhilarating experience and an tour-de-force of Japanese animation and storytelling. It is with no hyperbole that I say this is probably some of the best anime series I've watched in the past decade and also one of the best video games released in 2012 - something that I will be amending into my GOTY list - the fact that I can make both those claims about the same piece of interactive entertainment is truly astounding. Obviously, I really liked Asura's Wrath, now... press O to find out why.

The core plot of Asura's Wrath is pretty traditional for a video game and for "beefcake" anime like Fist of the North Star - basically, someone has taken your daughter, imprisoned her, framed you for murder, and so it's you-vs-them and you need to kick some ass. What makes this particular version of this story so memorable and different are the setting, characters and the finer details of the story. You see, Asura's Wrath takes place on Gaea (which I'm assuming is Earth - just a long forgotten past like Hyboria, or Middle Earth) and concerns itself with an eternal struggle between primordial demonic creatures called Gohma and a pantheon of all-powerful demigods, which seem to be bio-mechanical. The mise-en-scene is a bizarre fusion of Buddhist/Hindu iconography and science fiction, framed with a faux-anime art style where you can see brush marks in the texture of characters faces and it often turns on filters that flatten the image into start black-and-white. Obviously this makes the game very unique to look at, but it's also absolutely stunning - the art direction is spectacular, the use of the unreal engine is mind blowing - to say that this game has good graphics is a gross understatement. This game not only looks beautiful but is also exquisitely shot with some extremely kinetic and stylish virtual cinematography. Production quality also extends into the sound department, with top quality Japanese voice acting (I haven't checked the English dub) and a soundtrack so evocative that I had to put it onto my iPod immediately.

Press X to learn about the gameplay!!

So, the game is original, looks stunning and sounds great... what were critics confused about!? Well, the gameplay in  Asura's Wrath is where it's going to be like 'marmite' for most people, you see at least half the time you are going to be watching what would normally be described as an "interactive cutscene". I've always been an advocate that not all games like Heavy Rain use what are often referred to as Quick-Time- Events (QTEs for short), instead that particular game uses context sensitive controls that differ depending on the situation - in one moment you're moving the analogue stick in a motion to simulate opening a door, the next you are tapping face buttons to fend off an assailant. Asura's Wrath does use QTEs, in the same sense as Resident Evil 4/5/6, where you are merely asked to hit a face button at a certain time indicated by an icon onscreen. The difference between other games that use QTEs and this game, is that here failure to hit the button properly doesn't get you killed - instead it merely effects your score, which is further used to unlock parts of the game. Also, more like Heavy Rain, the button presses are linked to the animation on screen; so when you're furiously hammering the 'O' button to deflect projectiles, it actually feels like you're doing it in a 'gameplay' sense. Its all very fun and involves you in the story more than simply watching it ever could - I wish there were more anime's like this!! However, as I said, this is only half the gameplay...

To continue press O.

When you're asked to do a bit more than watch and tap along the gameplay takes one of two forms; a Devil May Cry style brawler and a Space Harrier style on-rails shooter. Now, this game is no slouch in the challenge department either (it's Japanese afterall) so expect to get your arse handed to you a few times as you pick up the nuances of staying alive. In both cases your aim is to avoid as much damage as you can whilst chaining combos/shots together to build your "burst" meter, which when full will begin a QTE that ends that section of the game. The brawler sections of the game outweigh the shooter parts, and are actually really well done - they're like an extremely frenzied and kinetic God of War - with a fantastic graphics engine that never drops a beat. Shooter sections aren't quite as good, as it's usually harder to see exactly what is going on, and sometimes the controls are a little unwieldy. However, they're never anything short of exhilarating, and serve the same purpose as the rest of the gameplay - to make you feel like a badass!! The scale of this game is insane, and often makes other games look puny by comparison; there are several boss fights against beings larger than the planet, and you'll be zipping about punching asteroids and smashing through supernovas before the story is through. Press X for the conclusion.

When all is said and done, as grandiose as the spectacle on-screen is, and as exhilarating as the gameplay gets, it's the story that you'll most remember from this game. Asura's Wrath is structured like an anime TV series, with opening and closing credits for each "episode" and even bumpers for a commercial break! Composed of 18 core episodes, an alternative ending, and a 4 episode DLC pack to finish it off - Asura's Wrath is the best 22/23 episode anime series you'll watch in a long time, and considering that you also get a video game thrown in there for good measure, it's an incredible piece of audio-visual entertainment

SPECIAL: The Legend of Zelda (Article/Review)

Recently there have been many special (20th or 25th) anniversaries of treasured videogame franchises. Some, such as Metroid, went completely unnoticed while others such as Metal Gear and Kirby had a bit more fanfare. None more so though than The Legend of Zelda, which despite celebrating it's 25th birthday in 2011 is still going stronger than ever thanks to the designers ability to embrace new technology and changes in design. Zelda games have been some of the most influential and mimicked throughout the history of videogames, and Nintendo's franchise commands a massive worldwide cult following, largely due to it's appeal across different ages and genders. In this article I want to discuss and review four Zelda games from the modern "3D" era: Ocarina of Time, Twilight Princess, Spirit Tracks and Skyward Sword.

My own history with The Legend of Zelda began when I was just 10 years old. I remember picking up an original Game Boy in 1993 specifically for Link's Awakening, as I had played A Link to the Past on a friend's SNES and really wanted to experience it myself - I was a Sega fan personally and owned a Mega Drive, something that I absolutely do not regret. Link's debut on the Game Boy was an astounding game at the time, and one of my childhood experiences that I still cherish and remember fondly; especially long holidays away camping and playing Zelda on the long car journeys down to Devon. Because I was young and used to playing platformers, racing games and beat-em-ups I remember the difficulty of Link's Awakening being far too much for me - I don't think I have ever actually finished the game, despite playing it numerous times! As the years rolled on, and I stuck with Sega consoles before switching over to PlayStation, I missed many entries in the series and Zelda really dropped off the list of franchises that I considered myself a fan of (replaced with things like Final Fantasy and Silent Hill).

Over a decade after Link's Awakening (which I still own along with my original Game Boy), I got my hands on a Wii, the first Nintendo home console I had ever owned. With this came access to all those games that I'd only ever played around other people's houses and at school/college/uni on their portables, such as Mario Kart, Metroid and of course... The Legend of Zelda.

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After an extended absence, my first foray back to the land of Hyrule was with the dark and epic Twilight Princess, which was also my first hands on experience playing a "3D" Legend of Zelda. First impressions were of an incredibly slow start and a slightly muddy graphical presentation - Twilight Princess was designed to "give fans what they wanted" and update Zelda with a more modern and realistic art style, which didn't quite suit the aging GameCube hardware and the Wii only marginally better. However, after getting hooked by the story and progressing past the first couple of hours, the game starts to come into more of it's own and the art style starts to become more in keeping with the aesthetic of a Zelda title; albeit with Twilight Princess's own bloom-lighting-smothered atmosphere and mature design choices. What we essentially have here, although I didn't know it at the time, is the "grown up" version of Ocarina of Time - a game widely considered to not only be the best Zelda, but also one of the more influential and well designed games of all time. In many ways Twilight Princess improved upon it's predecessor, swapping out the annoying fairy Navi with the titular Midna (who is still my favourite of the "sidekick" characters aside from  Princess Zelda herself... more on that later), and making the world of Hyrule actually seem huge and epic in its proportions - the prior entry Wind Waker had probably been slightly bigger, but was a vast empty ocean populated by islands, not an actual open world.

Twilight Princess grabbed me and dug it's claws in like no other game had for a long time, which was down not only to the fantastic story, characterisation and atmosphere, but also the air-tight gameplay and level design. In my opinion, the temples in Twlight Princess are some of the best to ever grace a Zelda game - they're large, complicated and require a fair bit of puzzle solving to get through. There are also a LOT of them, and this constant variety really helps keep the game moving. There is a lot of backtracking in the over-world of Hyrule, as you go about completing various side-quests and errands, but the temples/dungeons sequentially only ever move forward driving you towards the epic conclusion. The sheer epic scale and differentiation of the environments has never been seen or matched in a Zelda game since, and the addition of the twilight realm makes this entry stand out from it's peers. All this would already make it one of the best Zelda  titles, but the truth is what really makes this entry stand out for me is the conclusion - I've never been so moved by a Zelda game. Along with Final Fantasy X, I found the ending of Twilight Princess to be simultaneously uplifting and overwrought with sadness to the point where I felt moved to tears; for me this cathartic release is something very special and only captured by a select handful of videogames. This alone makes Twilight Princess very special indeed. I just wish that the graphical style had been left for a HD Zelda - obviously Nintendo felt the same way.


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Skyward Sword is the first Zelda title specially made for the Wii, and with the Wii U now out, this is likely to be the last. Whereas Twilight Princess was really designed around the hardware (limitations) of the GameCube, Skyward Sword was built from the ground up to not only take advantage of the increased processing power and graphical output of the Wii, but also it's unique motion controlled interface. In short, while in the previous game you flicked the Wii remote back and forth to perform attacks, they didn't match your actions in real life. Skyward Sword tracks your motions 1:1 and the entire game is built around this; obviously this polarised gamers worldwide as some people just weren't ready to ditch analogue sticks and buttons. They're idiots. The whole design of this game is incredible and changed my opinion regarding motion controls so much that I immediately went and bought a move controller for my PS3 too (so that I could play Resident Evil 5 like a Wii). Combat in a Zelda game has never been better than when you actually have to strike your sword in certain directions to get around an opponent's shield, or chop the limbs off of bosses, or throw things, roll things or move things in precise directions. This extended to the puzzles as well and the temples are designed to make good use out of the precise control that the Wii Motion Plus affords. Not only in the gameplay top notch, but the graphical presentation this time around is also designed for the hardware and accepts its limitations; instead of the realistic and modern look that Twilight Princess tried to capture, Skyward Sword utilises a faux-water colour semi-cell shaded art style that looks beautiful.

Probably my vote for the best looking game of 2011, Skyward Sword worked with the SD visuals of the Wii and made that technological limitation seem unimportant. With the previous game I always had the nagging feeling that it would look so much better in HD and with larger textures, where as this latest entry looked perfect as it was. This was a triumph for Nintendo, and proved that artistic direction beats raw technology every time. However, Skyward Sword was not without it's faults. If the previous game seemed like it took a while to get going (story-wise) then this one is an absolute crawl. This story is a prequel to every other Zelda that has come before it, and so it has a lot of set up and a slightly alien setting from a series viewpoint; there's no Hyrule overworld because it doesn't exist yet, instead we have a massive expanse of sky and islands in Skyloft. Once the story gets going, is is very engaging and has some fantastic cut scenes for a Zelda game, however it does seem to drag on a bit. The major problem with Skyward Sword is pacing and padding, as there are only really a few areas and a few temples that you are asked to revisit several times over. Towards the end of the game it is not uncommon to feel fatigued as you are asked to fight the same boss for the third time and save the forest region again! Luckily, the outstanding quality of actually playing the game (as well as the visual splendour) overrides these faults to a large extent and Skyward Sword is still an excellent video game - innovative, beautiful, and one of the best released that year.

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Link's Awakening marked the last time I played a handheld Zelda title and it wasn't until fairly recently that I got access to a Nintendo DS and had a go at a more recent one. Spirit Tracks is the second of the two sequels to the GameCube's Wind Waker; a controversial entry in the Zelda franchise that switched the graphics to an anime inspired cell-shaded art style and dropped Hyrule for a flooded diluvian overworld. I've not played Wind Waker and so gave the first (directly connected) sequel, Phantom Hourglass, a pass for now - I've got it lined up for later - and instead hopped in this stand-alone tale. Like Skyward Sword, Spirit Tracks has been tailored perfectly to utilise the hardware that it runs on, namely that the entire game is controlled almost exclusively through the touchscreen and stylus, which actually provides a very precise level of control. Because the game was designed this way from the ground up, it feels very intuitive and comfortable moving, fighting and puzzle solving without ever touching the d-pad or a face button. In fact, many of the standard gadgets used in Zelda games such as the boomerang are at their best here, as you can quickly use the stylus to trace a path across the screen and around objects.

Also like the previous game, Spirit Tracks has graphics that seem very much at home on its native console. The cell-shaded graphics, simple textures and overhead perspective suit the game well and in my opinion is looks great, especially for the Nintendo DS, a console not famed for its power. I think a special mention must also be made of the train riding sections, which replace the usual open world Hyrule (or Skyloft, or ocean, etc.), they are just so much fun and intuitive to control. I really think that people who dismissed the idea as being crazy and not-very-Zelda never really gave it a go, or opened their mind to new things - especially from a franchise constantly innovating and experimenting with it's own formula. The soundtrack in these sections also has one of the catchiest tunes ever in a video game. Overall, I really enjoyed Spirit Tracks, as I found the story incredibly engaging, the new concepts that it introduces are fun and help it stand out, and the temples were really challenging to solve. There is a little backtracking in the main quest, but never to temples/dungeons (always just in the overworld - like Twilight Princess), and the variety in the game is excellent. Also, for Zelda geeks, its worth mentioning that this is the only game were Zelda herself is your "sidekick" character, and the interaction between her and Link is what drives the charming and affecting story along. One of the most fun and charming Zelda games, Spirit Tracks is just a fantastic game - and it caused me to invest in my own 3DS console, which brings me on to the final game in this article, and one that was definitely overdue for me to play.

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I mentioned above that one of the most widely praised and influential Zelda games ever made was Ocarina of Time, well... since I never owned an N64, I'd completely missed out on playing it. I toyed with the idea of picking the original up on the Wii's Virtual Console, but then the 25th anniversary of the franchise hit and with it Nintendo revealed Ocarina of Time 3D on the 3DS - not only the original game with a 3D "gimmick", but instead a complete graphical and gameplay overhaul. It was worth the wait. Booting up this game for the first time you would never in a million years think that it was an old remastered game, as it not only controls like it was designed for the 3DS, but it looks like it too. The graphics have been completely redone, with improved textures, character models and animation - as well as a new interface to streamline it and make use of the added touchscreen. I used the word "gimmick" above, but the 3D is anything but, as it genuinely adds depth and clarity to the overall presentation; as well as having gameplay functions when volleying magical energy at bosses, or avoiding projectiles, etc. I played with a combination of it switched on (at different levels of 3D) and off if my eyes got tired, but loved every minute of it. I also mentioned that the gameplay has been given an overhaul, well this is still the same Ocarina of Time that graced the 64-bit system all those years ago, but the interface and control scheme have been tweaked to make use of the 3DS's hardware. Aiming, for instance, has built-in motion control like Skyward Sword using the 3DS's gyroscope, and this works wonderfully throughout but especially in some of the arrow-shooting mini-games. Accessing the menus and switching items is also effortless using the bottom touchscreen.

At the time of its release, Ocarina of Time really defined what a modern "3D" Zelda game would be like for years to come- as well as influencing countless other videogames such as God of War and Okami. So, you would think that after all these years of advancements and modern successors that it would show it's age, but it really doesn't! A true timeless classic, Ocarina of Time is as outstanding now as it ever was; the story that it tells, as it bounces back and forth through time and over many varied locations, is still absolutely riveting and the pace of the game is perfect. Even when you're going back and forth to the Temple of Time and revisiting certain locations, you never get that "backtracking" feeling that you do in later installments, and this is helped considerably by the game providing fast travel via the titular ocarina itself (which is easy to play on the 3DS either via the face buttons or touch screen interface). Obviously, Nintendo has made some improvements over time to things like temple design, and the ones in Ocarina of Time do feel quite brief in comparison to those in Twilight Princess. As modern three dimensional gaming was still finding its feet, some of the bosses are also a little on the quick-and-easy side, however both of these points don't detract from the game at all. Sure, temples could be bigger and bosses could be harder, but then that's what the included Master Quest version is for; which is unlocked after beating the game.

In summary, Ocarina of Time has a reputation for being one of the best games ever created, and Ocarina of Time 3D reinforces this fact. An absolutely stellar update of an already solid title, this is the definitive Legend of Zelda game and probably still the best entry point for anyone looking to get into the series. It may have been Link's 25th birthday, but Nintendo have given all of us the best present you could possibly ask for.

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I'm in a real Zelda mood at the moment and still have several games lined up to play, this includes: Majora's Mask (Wii Virtual Console) and Phantom Hourglass (DS). So, expect a follow up to this article at some point with my thoughts on those games. Thanks for reading!

BGE S1: Demon's Souls (Review)

Video games have to move on and evolve. This might seem like an obvious statement, but it's all too easy to look back at older games through the veil of nostalgia and rose-tinted glasses, something that I think many people just don't realise. Sure, there are games that endure for one reason or another (such as my previous review of Final Fantasy VII - still one of the best stories ever written and worth experiencing), but generally speaking, you will find older video games clunky and cumbersome to play. Gameplay is one one area that is always getting tweaked and improved, along with graphics, and it always amazes me to see how basic some of those games are that I once held dear. However, one thing that is worth being nostalgic about is challenge and difficulty - basically most modern games are way too easy.

The medium has changed over time to become more accessible, as the target audience moved from niche (teenagers in bedrooms with lots of time on their hands) to the mainstream (adults with higher disposable income but also with jobs and time commitments), and as a result the level of difficulty dropped to allow people to progress easily and feel rewarded for playing. Those of us who are often given the moniker of "hardcore gamer" craved a bit more challenge and something more akin to the worthy progress we earned in the good old days of our youth. Along came Demon's Souls, and with it the message "You Died",  again-and-again-and-again... this is a 'hardcore' game, a fusion of old-school game design with modern technology and concepts, and one of the best video games ever created.

When you first start your inaugural game of Demon's Souls you'll begin in a tutorial section of the game, which does a good job of quickly introducing you to the basics of combat before throwing you into a boss fight, which you will probably lose. In fact you must die. By dying this early into your adventurer career you're reanimated in a place called the Nexus and your soul bound there for all time, or at least until you kill various powerful demons across the land and eventually lure the Old One back to slumber. This focus on death is an important one because it is the cornerstone by which the game's notoriously high difficulty is based. There is only one currency in the game (souls) that you use for leveling you character, upgrading weapons and armour, or purchasing supplies - and if you die, you drop all of this in a blood stain. You then have one chance to go and get it back, as dying again causes all that progress to be lost forever. This might seem unnecessarily harsh but it's actually a stroke of genius, as it causes you to play the game with caution and patience instead of just running in sword flailing.

Patience especially is key, as combat in this game is very precise, with parries and ripostes, blocking and circling you foes for a backstab, and the prospect of being brutally cut down by even the game's most meager of enemies. Obviously the highlights though are the demons themselves, each of them unique and requiring one hundred percent concentration and perseverance to overcome; there are some names that still give me the fear when I think about them ('Flamelurker' and 'Man-Eater' to name a couple). With this great challenge comes great reward though and there really is an overwhelming sense of elation after finally beating a level or demon that you have been stuck on for so long and knowing that it was your own skill that made it possible. Even though souls can be spent to level up in this game, it is the "leveling up" of your own skills as a gamer which is the most satisfying - to beat this game, you will literally need to get better at playing, and you will as long as you learn how to play and persist.

The world of Demon's Souls is beautifully realised, when I first played it, I was reminded very much of Shadow of the Colossus for many reasons. Firstly, the idea of a central hub, from which you are sent out to slay a powerful (and usually colossal) adversary and then return for respite. Secondly, that sense of loneliness  for even though there are other characters to talk to and enemies to slay, through ingenious game design this journey still feels like a solitary and melancholy pursuit. Thirdly, the lore and backstory of the game are again told almost exclusively through art direction and world design rather than dialogue or narrative. This sense of (albiet foreboding) exploration creates a driving force in the game that makes you want to explore every inch of the various labyrinthine dungeons and fortresses; all created in a superb graphics engine with excellent use of lighting and geometry. The soundtrack is also absolutely brilliant, as usually the game is silent except for ambient noise of the environment, but when those musical scores do kick in they are extremely memorable and expertly composed.

Something I've failed to mention yet is the online aspect. You see, even though Demon's Souls is a single player adventure, it is constantly online and accessing the games of other players as they take place in real time. You can see the ghosts of these other adventurers as they move through their world, and see the bloodstains of where they have died, but the game also allows some more direct interaction to help or hinder your own endeavors. You can leave messages for other players, which appear in their world and warn them of traps or difficult situations coming up, but you can also briefly enter their game directly either as a blue phantom to assist them destroy a demon - or as a black phantom to try and kill them and steal their souls. This component of the game is still very unique (aside from it's spiritual successor Dark Souls of course) and is only just starting to be copied by other developers, such as the pawn system in Dragon's Dogma, the idea of an always-online single player game was very progressive.

That is really why this game is so important and also one of the best games ever made (I've barely scratched the surface with this review); the fusion of old and new. Demon's Souls is an old-school 'hardcore' game given a modern lick of paint, control system and innovative online capability. It was something that a certain niche of gamers were crying out for, and it delivered, so much so that Dark Souls quickly followed and improved on the forumla still further, opening this sort of experience to a much larger market that didn't even know it existed. Still, Demon's Souls remains unique because of it's hub-based structure and dedicated levels, and so provides a gaming experience wholly unlike anything else out there.