A while back I picked up Dark Souls for PC after hearing about how great Demon's Souls was. I didn't have a PS3 at that point, so Dark Souls was the first opportunity I had to try it. It didn't stick and I gave up.
But! I returned to it multiple times over the next two years and eventually developed a strong fondness for it.
Dark Souls was my introduction to what I think is now known as the "character action" subgenre. Dark Souls itself isn't really part of this subgenre, but fans of the latter seem to pretty typically be fans of the former.
The character action subgenre (CAS) seems to address issues I had with Dark Souls; specifically with regards to the RPG-esque stat levelling system. Thus, I started paying attention to some high profile CAS games.
The primary focus of CAS games appears to be "skill-based" gameplay, in direct contrast to a game like Dark Souls which focuses on patience and persistence. To be honest, I'm not sure why interest in one overlaps with interest in the other. My best guess is the high difficulty curve typically present in both.
I am aware of some high profile CAS games: Bayonetta, Devil May Cry, God of War. I've tried all of those and none have stuck. GoW seems like "baby's first character action game," but that's based on my experience with the first one, of which I've only just started playing.
I've tried DMC3 multiple times and will return to it, but it is as difficult to learn as Dark Souls and my time and patience are much more limited these days.
I've also known about Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance but mostly brushed it off as ridiculous. Platinum Games' currently tarnished image hasn't helped my impressions of the game either.
Being a PS3 and Vita gamer today means I'm scowering the weekly deals. MGR:R has gone on sale for quite cheap a few times. I still haven't bought it, but I downloaded the demo when it went on sale once to see if I would be interested.
Well, the sale ended before I tried the demo, but I finally played the demo a couple days ago.
I really liked it!
Like, I'm going to buy a physical copy within the week.
I beat the demo on very easy, but I will go back and try it on other difficulties and see which one I like best.
This reminds me of the PS2 and XBox days with the official XBox and PlayStation magazines and their demo discs.
Ah demo discs!
Game length is often used as a metric for discussing game value. I've always fallen on the side of preferring better, more engaging "content," even if it meant a significantly shorter game. I think demos are the ultimate incarnation of this. I was very budget conscious in my younger years (but more so now!) And used to buy the occasional magazine with demos when there was a good mix of games I was interested in.
I used to replay demos. I think I got more value out of game demos than full length retail games about 95% of the time. There were a few games I played the same way I played demos, but these were typically sports action games like Amped or Tony Hawk, or an outlier like Halo.
This demo for MGR:R harkens back to those times. I don't know if I've felt that since the actual PS2 and XBox days. So, oddly, MGR:R makes me nostalgic for something else entirely!
It wasn't within the week.
I just picked up used copies of MGR: Revengeance and Crysis 3 for $5 each today.
*pats self on back*
GrooveStomp