Meet one of the big bosses

I'll admit, when we went into the Demon's Souls demo, I was expecting a hardcore game that I would most likely pass on. I'm not really into games that are insanely difficult and punishing, as I just don't have the patience for them. So as I sat and watched Atlus USA's Meriel Regodon and then our own Adriaan den Ouden play the game, I learned something about the game. Demon's Souls is a hardcore game, but one that is completely accessible for gamers of any level.

You start the process by creating a unique character. You can select gender, a starting class from ten different options, and then you are able to customize your warrior's look. There are options for how old your character looks and even a gender slider option, so you can make you girl look butch or your dude look girly. As far as class options go, they are basically just a starting point, as you can slowly modify your characters stats in whatever way you want.

That will kill you.

The game tosses you into the Nexus, a hub in which you can spend experience, buy items, and select which area you want to explore next. You will step you into an Archstone and then jump into the heart of the action. As you battle through you stages, you'll need to learn when to dodge, parry, roll, and run. As has been stated many times over, you will die, but the good thing is, you won't care. Of course, you're going to try not to die, but as death is natural part of life, it's also a natural part of Demon's Souls.

When you die, you will be in a penalty state in which you will have a harder time to progress, but you'll still be able to try. If you learn from your mistakes, and from the bloodstains which show other's mistakes, you should be able to learn how to succeed the next time. But if you still have trouble and die again, no big deal. The game encourages teaming up with, and in some cases, even killing other players. So while the experience is not completely multiplayer, the integration should be simple enough to jump into, with the two different modes operating seamlessly.

So as I watched Meriel defeat an enormous boss known as the Adjudicator, I noticed that Demon's Souls is not a game to fear, but a game for everyone. It has enough to satisfy the most hardcore gamers while still being friendly enough to where those with less masochistic tendencies can still enjoy it. I can say that it was a game that I didn't expect to me fun, but actually turned out to be something I would enjoy.