Why did John, Paul, George and Ringo cross the road? Why, to avoid the buses and alligators near their studio!
Much like the rain outside my window currently, Demon’s Souls drops this week for the PS3. I am big believer in quirky, and From Software’s non-Armored Core releases rarely disappoint in that category. Their latest entry into weirdness definitely eschews tradition, and in some cases, accepted game design. I have a pretty solid feeling that it will also elude decent sales, but maybe some good word-of-mouth will ensure a sleeper success.
I say all of this with a feeling that I must describe as hope, mainly because I cannot base it on anything substantial, or indeed, real. I have never played the game, but I have absorbed its world in snatches of preview and visions of screenshot. I am intrigued when I hear that an online co-op game will not support friends lists, not because the game is incapable, but because friends banding together does not fit the game design. Demon’s Souls wants you to play with strangers, or at least the apparitions of strangers that fade in and out during quests like spectres ebbing through reality. Real people or not, the sense of isolation even as you work with an actual human being sends a powerful message.
And really, whomever thought that we would hear of King’s Field again?
- Irving
No, that’s not a typo. This title is supposed to have two i’s. Of course, all it makes me want to do is bust out some Riiiidge Racer when I read it, but maybe that’s the point. Regardless, the crew sat down with the game on Friday and gave it a whirl.
For those of you that are unaware of Driift Mania, likely most of you, it is a top-down racing game for the Nintendo WiiWare service in the vein of Super Sprint or Ivan Stewart’s Off-Road Racing. One to eight players race around twelve different tracks trying to get first place. Points accumulate between races and the highest point total wins.
Eight players in a Wii title you ask? Yup. Since the game only uses two buttons, eight players can be achieved by using the nunchuck or classic controller in addition to the standard four Wii remotes. An eight-player game would set four players on Wii remotes and four players on nunchucks. Oddly enough, Gamecube controllers are not options. I have no idea why, but I’m sure there is a perfectly unacceptable reason for this.
On Friday, Derek and I were the only ones willing to play the game since Dexter and Philbert just had to play Monster Hunter. We unlocked a new versus game which had meteorites falling all over the track. Get hit by one of those and you’re out of the race. Each lap notched a player a point and bonus points are awarded if you completed the race. By the time you get to the last two laps the meteorites will be coating the board, so good luck.
The control is tight, but very tricky. Your cars will be drifting all over the place, ergo the name Driift Mania. Once you get used to left always being left and right always being right, you’ll be fine. No motion controls; this is old-school racing fun.
The game will set you back 800 Wii points and takes up 231 blocks. I would recommend you give it a try as it’s a very well executed game coming from the typically lacking WiiWare service. This game is best played in a multiplayer setting, so don’t bother getting it if you don’t have any interested friends. And no, we’re not talking about online friends either. This is local play only, no online is supported. I’m going to try to rip the new shiny PSP Go’s from the rest of the crew and give the eight player a go. If I can pull off said miracle, then I’ll give you a quick review on larger group play.
Finally, a couple of thoughts/comments from the weekend. Zombieland was probably one of the best three movies I’ve seen this year. Funny as hell. Go see it with some friends, and you won’ be disappointed. Stick around after the credits for a bonus outtake or just wait for the DVD if you absolutely must get to your car and get into a traffic jam. Lastly, the NFC West leading San Fransisco 49ers are now 3-1 after crushing the Rams 35-0 yesterday. Dare I say playoffs for the first time in forever?
- Dover