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Like most, triple AAA titles don't really impress me anymore and as with Beecee, it's been a few generations (PS or N64 era springs to mind) since I have been truly impressed or had my jaw literally drop by a new game.
However, a couple of titles do spring to mind:
Demons Souls
Didn't immediately blow me away because I bought the Korean import version and because I had no clue what to do allied to the steep difficulty, it meant I struggled badly and gave up. Considering the early plaudits coming from the Far East about how great this was, I just couldn't see why. I decided to try it again with US version and all became clear.
What.A.Game!
Up to Demons Souls, it had been a long, long time since I had played anything that was so damned difficult yet so perfectly balanced. Every step you took was a risk against reward with mistakes punished. When you died, it was your own fault not the games, and every death you suffered turned the world darker and made the game even harder! It was insane and the fact that your game could be invaded at any point by another player to kill you, simply added yet another layer of difficulty to an already extremely difficult game.
It was just an incredible system to employ and foist on modern gamers as most had never seen or played anything like it (probably why there was so much whining about its difficulty). For older gamers like myself, it was a throwback to the days of Super Ghouls & Ghosts, Contra and Metal Slug etc. Games that were unbelievably hard, showed no mercy yet actually had pitch perfect gameplay and were doable, as long as you learned and persevered.
Demons Souls was a daring breath of fresh air in a stagnant game market. Its punishing difficulty (especially in the early stages) meant it required real skill to get anywhere, so forced players to learn and think about what they were doing - you couldn't button mash. The fact it also looked and sounded amazing made it even more impressive.
In my opinion, Demons Souls is one of the best games ever and is what Castlevania 3D should have been.
Brothers: A tale of two sons
A gem of an indie title on Steam that I found to be utterly exceptional. Quite short (very short in fact) but, the sheer quality of the story, the mechanics, the presentation and enjoyment it gives you as player is remarkable. Along with DS, it's the only game that's left a lasting impression on me. |
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