Basic info I wish to know about PS3 and Demon's Souls

[StrangerQ]

So I just graduated from great and mighty Finnish school system and now between waiting army calling in july and doing final "get in" exams (the english word escapes me right now) for universities I have quite a lot of time of doing nothing.

So I decided to spend some money I got from relatives and family (roughly 1500?/2100$/1300£)
and get me a PS3 to finish my current gen console gallery and Demon's souls for it.

Now I wish to ask few things.

First about console.
1. The version I'm getting is 320GB so how much updates and etc. need space from it?
2. Do I need to do some activation/registration at net ?
3. Am I forced to have connection to play?
4. Will PSN shits affect my desire to play solo (games I get for consoles have always single playabilty in prime seat)

Then few things about DSouls.
1. Can I play as mage?
2. Am I crazy planning to play as mage at first time?
3. As the difficulty is not a problem for me is there rewards of doing multiple areas with out dying?
4.As far as I know dying causes healt loss that can be recovered after beating a boss so how hard healt loss hurts and hinders the playing (i know that there is almost forced death at the beginning to teach this mechanic)

 

[Kajt]

1. I have a 60 GB PS3 and it has yet to run out of space.
2. Registering for PSN is required for online play, but not for offline.
3. No.
4. No.

 

[BlueberryMUNCH]

1) Dude, don't get a 320. You won't need it, I promise.
2) Err...no, other than signing up for the Playstation network, obviously.
3) I think for some(some being one or two, literally) games you are, but yeah, it shouldn't be a problem so don't worry.
4)Nope:].

Err, I've watched a Let's Play for it, so I'll answer a bit:
1) I think so.
2) If my thinking is right, absolutely yes.
3) From what I gathered, the reward is completing it and keeping all the XP you get.
4) You will die, and you will die often. Very often. You'll be playing the majority of the game in 'soul form'.

The game is difficult, so let me reiterate:
the game is difficult. You will die. You will die often.

HAVE FUN

 

[Drakos.Amatras]

The game is amazing. It's one of the few games that doesn't play like a typical survival horror, but still manages to include a lot of horror elements and relies heavily on surviving in the world. It's really scary for me that I kinda stopped playing at some point. I'm not good with horror, but still liked the game.

I'm sure you'll get tons of answers from other users, so I'm just gonna remind you of this one thing if you happen to enjoy Demons' Souls:

There's a "sequel" of sorts coming out in October, called "Dark Souls". From what I've read, DkS is not that different in concept from DeS, except from some new updates like, I quote, "a new co-op system".

Have fun wit DeS.

 

[Labyrinth]

With my great powers of NINJA I have moved this thread to the gaming discussion.

*PROD*

Just so you know.

 

[notyouraveragejoe]

With my great powers of NINJA I have moved this thread to the gaming discussion.

*PROD*

Just so you know.

Can't have been that ninja if you're advertising it....maybe this is just a front for a shadowy organisation.

On Topic:

1) I am not sure. All I know is having a very large amount of space can be a bit of a waste since you can just "uninstall" games and they reinstall each time you play them. Whats annoying is when you haven't played a game for a long time and there is a massive update for it. This will happen a few times.

2) Only signing up to the PSN

3) Nope. Except for Online Only games such as Warhawk and M.A.G.

4)Nah, you'll be fine. I too tend to be a Single-Player Gamer so I had the same fears. It'll be fine.

Demon's Souls:

1) Yes you can play as a mage.

2) Don't play as a mage.

3)You'll beat the level and keep your experience so bravo for that. Also

3. As the difficulty is not a problem for me is there rewards of doing multiple areas with out dying?

Yeah. No that won't happen. Seriously....won't happen. I have the game and you will die. Difficulty will be a problem.

4) You lose half your health unless you have the soul ring on in which you have 75% of your health. However its not that bad. Eventually you just consider that as your "Normal" health bar and the full one like a boosted one.

5) DON'T PLAY AS A MAGE!

6) Get a decent shield.

 

[alfawx]

So I just graduated from great and mighty Finnish school system and now between waiting army calling in july and doing final "get in" exams (the english word escapes me right now) for universities I have quite a lot of time of doing nothing.

So I decided to spend some money I got from relatives and family (roughly 1500?/2100$/1300£)
and get me a PS3 to finish my current gen console gallery and Demon's souls for it.

Now I wish to ask few things.

First about console.
1. The version I'm getting is 320GB so how much updates and etc. need space from it?
2. Do I need to do some activation/registration at net ?
3. Am I forced to have connection to play?
4. Will PSN shits affect my desire to play solo (games I get for consoles have always single playabilty in prime seat)

Then few things about DSouls.
1. Can I play as mage?
2. Am I crazy planning to play as mage at first time?
3. As the difficulty is not a problem for me is there rewards of doing multiple areas with out dying?
4.As far as I know dying causes healt loss that can be recovered after beating a boss so how hard healt loss hurts and hinders the playing (i know that there is almost forced death at the beginning to teach this mechanic)

1. You should have no problems WHATSOEVER with a 320 GB, my friend.
2. Only for online play.
3. No, but I think you might for Daemon's Souls.
4. I would say not.

1. Yup.
2. Not at all. My second character was a mage and it was MUCH easier than the paladin/priest that I started with. Just be warned, though; you have VERY limited amounts of magic, so you will mostly be using a sword.
3. You'll have your full health instead of half your max capacity, and you keep all the money that you gathered instead of dropping it where you died.
4. It's a bit annoying, but in the first actual level if you explore or use a guide you can find an item called the Cling Ring that lets you keep 75% of your health instead of 50% after you die. GET IT!

 

[SillyNilly]

Kajt and BlueberryMUNCH pretty much took care of segment 1, so I'll try my best to answer questions specifically geared towards the gameplay.

1. Yes, you can play as the mage, but you are not restricted as a mage build.

2. Not at all. The beginning stats are negligible and have little impact on how the first levels play out, which makes little to no difference between any of the classes you may have chosen. Later on, you may need to specialize in stats to be able to wield certain weapons. The cool thing about Demon's Souls is the stat system is flexible and you can level multiple stats as you build your character to make hybrids.

For instance, a mage build would need Intelligence Stat to increase MP + Magic Slots available for spells, and Magic Stat to increase overall magic damage. An example of flexibility would be your mage with a Strength Stat of 12 and a Magic Stat of 18, allowing you to wield the Rune Shield which increases magic defense, or a Strength of 4, Magic of 18 and Faith of 18 to wield a Talisman of Beasts which allows you to cast both Spells and Miracles. You will find the game less focused on stat optimization and more on experimenting with weapon/armor/item combinations.

3. After beating a boss for an area, your health bar is extended fully and your soul reunites with your body. Size of health bar depends on difficulty. Your reward is keeping your souls, and the difficulty shifts to White Tendency. (Difficulty is always annoying to explain, I recommend you don't worry about this until you play the second time around.)

4. Death will come. It is inevitable. Even if you think the game is not difficult now, the game scales in difficulty as you replay the game. The game will eventually become hard enough to have enemies do one-hit kills, even for high leveled characters. If it ever gets too tough, either play it smart and change your character or your play-style up, read a guide or watch a walkthrough, or even buddy up with a co-op partner. This game is unforgiving. Use every advantage you can get.

Be sure to check out the Demon's Souls Wiki for more info:

http://demonssouls.wikidot.com/

 

[GundamSentinel]

First about console.
1. I've got a 40Gb and no problems there.
2. Activation just for online play.
3. Nope.
4. Nope.

Then few things about DSouls.
1. You can play as whatever you want, starting classes don't have that much influence in the end.
2. No. In fact, being a mage can be ridiculously effective, especially against the bosses. With the right upgrades even your weapons can do damage based on your Magic stat. So yeah, be a mage.
3. Leveling up, getting items, upgrading weapons. Plus, when you're not dead, your health bar is double the size.
4. You can get the Cling Ring in the very first level, you'll have 75% of full health instead of 50%. Also, being dead has some advantages. You deal more damage and enemies have a bit more trouble spotting you. Be careful though, if you die a lot of times the enemies themselves will become stronger. You don't necessarily have to kill a boss to get your living body back. You can also help another player online (or kill another player online) to get your body back. There's also a usable item that restores your body.

 

[KingofallCosmos]

Not properly mentioned here, you have to have connection for Demon's Souls. It's one of the two, yes..

 

[Scizophrenic Llama]

First about console.
1. The version I'm getting is 320GB so how much updates and etc. need space from it?
2. Do I need to do some activation/registration at net ?
3. Am I forced to have connection to play?
4. Will PSN shits affect my desire to play solo (games I get for consoles have always single playabilty in prime seat)

Then few things about DSouls.
1. Can I play as mage?
2. Am I crazy planning to play as mage at first time?
3. As the difficulty is not a problem for me is there rewards of doing multiple areas with out dying?
4.As far as I know dying causes healt loss that can be recovered after beating a boss so how hard healt loss hurts and hinders the playing (i know that there is almost forced death at the beginning to teach this mechanic)

1. You won't need that much space for any of the games, only if you plan on dumping a ton of downloaded games and movies and such. I bought a 160 and have plenty of space.
2. Demon's Souls has a interesting online mode which can be semi-helpful and only requires the PSN, but given that you want to solo it, it'd be best to avoid it unless you want to be tempted by hints other players can give at the level as you are going through it.
3. You don't need to have a connection.
4. Not at all.

1. There are mage type classes that have spells, but you will have to have some form of melee combat as well, as mana is a fairly slow recharge.
2. It's probably one of the easier classes to start off, the starting spell does decent damage and has range, but the perks stop there. It's not an easier class.
3. There might be, but I haven't played the game enough to really know. My first answer would be a significant amount of time saved going through the level. Plus once you beat a boss you can't go back on it again with the same character.
4. Health loss cuts your health in half(although you do find an item fairly early on if you explore the beginning levels enough that makes it around 75%). It does hinder you and makes boss battles far more strategic, it isn't too bad because that other 25 - 50% personally makes me die easier because I am slightly more careless. The biggest thing about dying is you start over and all of the enemies are respawned, any puzzles or doors you've opened remain that way and hidden items are still gone, but you have to run through again. It's still faster than the first time since you know where to go, but my god is it going to piss you off to get 90% of the way and die. It will happen at least once a level, accidental falling, surprise trap, seemingly crazy ass boss, stuff like that.

Just be ready for a game that is unforgiving as fuck, but that is what I like about it. It doesn't make things easy for you so that you like it. It beats you so that you resent it and want to kick it's ass.

 

[Lucane]

regardless of what system you buy 5GBs are reserved for the for operational data and future updates so the 320 would really be 315 Your not forced to always be online and Demon's Souls has an off line mode.

I'd say play as a Knight/fighter class first for about 2-5 hours to get a feel for the game before Starting a Mage class(That way you can learn close quarters combat,evasion and maybe archery prior to casting spells with varying mana costs and casting times since only a few items regenerate MP or HP for that matter.)

Oh on the plus side during the tutorial mission before arriving at the "Nexus" you can never die no matter how badly you get hit till you face the Demon at the end so no need to waste healing grass till you see a grey giant behind a foggy gateway If you manage to defeat him you'll be rewarded with a new area with a ton of items littered around and a 100% chance of death infront of a dragon to get you really started on Demon's Souls (Yes everybody's gotta die sometime...Unless you skip the tutorial.) Lastly Red Glowing enemies are wild cards once they die (If humanoid) they won't come back till New game+ though World Invaders look just the same and are Real people out to get you.

Edit: Regardless of what class you make always keep a decent bow(One you can handle)at least a normal Longbow if nothing higher grabs your interest and a few dozen arrows some things you just never want to give a chance to get near you and Magic can't be carefully aimed as well as arrows when the target is to far for a lock-on.

 

[Project_Xii]

First about console.
1. Nah
2. Nah, but it's pretty cool if you are online, cause you can play with others and see their messages.
3. Nope
4. Nope you can deny/accept their invations

Then few things about DSouls.
1. You can play as practically anything.
2. ... That's actually a hard one. Basically any class will get you raped in Demon's Souls :/ I actualyl don't think it'd make much difference.
3. Oooohhh the difficulty will be a problem for you. Trust me. I was like you once. Even the most hardcore of players have moments in this game where they want to smash their TV's. It's brutal beyond imagination. If you can survive you'll obviously be rewarded with lots and lots of souls. But you will die. A lot. Over and over and over....
4. Dying sends you back to the HUB as a ghost. You can get your life back again, but dying as a live human in the world will shift the "tendancy" of it ie: make it darker or lighter. If you want to get all the items and access all areas there's strict guidelines you need to follow in regards to world tendancy. It's very involved. But the bottom line comes down to: if you die as a live human in the world, it'll actually get HARDER. So don't do it if possible.

Basically this is a game that requires infinite patience, lots of research, lots and lots of trial and error, and a lot of skill. You'll need to devote yourself to it almost entirely, since it's the type of thing that's easily abandoned should you wander off and play something else. It's more "work" then fun, though the rewarding feeling you get from completing sections of the game is unmatched. Good luck with that.

 

[Etteparg]

2. If you choose the starter mage build you will be equiped with slightly worse armor than a knight or paladin. Though not a huge problem it can make the game more difficult for you which is more noticeable in later levels.

 

[Pyrosomniac]

First about console.
1. The version I'm getting is 320GB so how much updates and etc. need space from it?
2. Do I need to do some activation/registration at net ?
3. Am I forced to have connection to play?
4. Will PSN shits affect my desire to play solo (games I get for consoles have always single playabilty in prime seat)

Then few things about DSouls.
1. Can I play as mage?
2. Am I crazy planning to play as mage at first time?
3. As the difficulty is not a problem for me is there rewards of doing multiple areas with out dying?
4.As far as I know dying causes healt loss that can be recovered after beating a boss so how hard healt loss hurts and hinders the playing (i know that there is almost forced death at the beginning to teach this mechanic)

1. You won't run out. Get the 120GB(is that it, or is it 160?) version instead.
2. Only to sign into the Playstation Network which lets you play online (which you should do to play Demon's Souls, half the fun is watching people fall over cliffs).
3. Nope, not for Demon's Souls, but it does make it better.
4. Possibly. I quite like multiplayer games so I found the outage kinda crappy. If you can play solo then you'll be fine, as you can play single player no matter what connection.

1. Yep. You choose a starting class, and how you develop your character from there is your choice entirely.
2. No. Insanity is playing Barbarian or Thief on your first play (like I did with thief).
3. Yes, not losing your souls (the games currency).
4. It doesn't hurt it that much, you get a ring early on that lets you keep 70% of your health. But playing in Soul Form is considered easier as you don't have people invading your realm.

 

[Wolfram23]

Not properly mentioned here, you have to have connection for Demon's Souls. It's one of the two, yes..

No you don't. I've played both online and offline. Offline, because I had perfect world tendancies and needed to kill some black phantoms that are hard as hell. When you go online it realigns your world tendancies.


But anyway, to the OP:
Yeah you can play as a mage but it's super hard, don't expect to be a "pure" mage. You definitely will be needing some other skills for at least a light shield and/or sword (there's magic swords).

There's no rewards for being perfect through a level. I've done it (after many, many, many hours of playing)... the reward is that it feels great?

As for the health thing... basically you play the game in one of two states: Alive, or as a Phantom. As a Phantom you have 1/2 HP, and a ring can bring it up to 75%. You can also invade or be invited to other people's games through soul stones. Playing as Alive, you get full HP, but are vulnerable to being invaded and can summon people to help in your game. Generally you spend the time playing as a Phantom... To regain your body you need to either defeat a boss (in your world, or help someone as a blue phantom) or use a... um... item. Forgot the name, but it revives you. BTW the phantom helping/invading is only possible if you're online.

Also, read the wiki.

 

[StrangerQ]

Thank you for help and few extra comments about said.

About console memory size: Thing is that getting 320GB only costs about 20? (29,2$) more at webstore i am buying it so it is small extra cost for double the size (160gb 279? and 320gb 299,90?)

 

[omega 616]

1. The version I'm getting is 320GB so how much updates and etc. need space from it?

Might I suggest getting a smaller and so cheaper one, then buying a 2.5 inch sata hardrive, which works out cheaper

To play online you need to set up an account, like with everywhere. No need to pay to play though, unless you want the rather pointless PSN+.

I have no clue about deamon's souls, as I have never played it.

 

[Popadoo]

Then few things about DSouls.
1. Can I play as mage?
2. Am I crazy planning to play as mage at first time?
3. As the difficulty is not a problem for me is there rewards of doing multiple areas with out dying?
4.As far as I know dying causes healt loss that can be recovered after beating a boss so how hard healt loss hurts and hinders the playing (i know that there is almost forced death at the beginning to teach this mechanic)

1: Yes, there are 2 magic based classes to start as, a Magician or Royalty.
2: Not really.
3: Yes, many many souls, which give you new gear and abilities.
4: Not much, I usually try and stay dead because if you die too many times the enemies get harder. Yeah, it's a tough game.