Is Demon's Souls like Monster Hunter?

[DAPLR]

Hi, thanks for clicking,
Y'see, I've been hearing about how great Demon's Souls is and watched some trailers and it looks like fun. But I'm the kind of gamer who ALWAYS picks 'easy' when starting a new game. This is my playing style. I CAN play on Hard if I so choose, hell, I've beaten Halo with all skulls on, but I have the most fun with easy mode.
Anyway, my question is whether Demon's Souls is like the difficulty in the Monster Hunter franchise, where you get better by...well...let me give you an example;

A popular monster is a Rathalos, and it can kill you in a few hits if you're careless. But when you fight it a few times, you notice little things that tell you whats coming. Example is when its turning to attack. If it surns slowly, it'll fire a fireball, if it turns quickly, it'll charge.

My point is, is that the difficulty of Demon's Souls? Or is it more like GodHand, which is the opposite. GodHand is the mastery of you're personal characters moves and timing, while Monster Hunter is the Monsters subtle movements. Both games obviosly have you learning both, but those kinds of difficulties are the more essential to learn ones.

I played Monster Hunter Freedom Unite for well over 300 hours, and if Demon's Souls is like that, I'm sure I'll have great fun...if not, well, tell me what game it IS like then.
Thanks for reading through my rambling, and thanks for commenting

(I just realised...all the games I talked about are Japanese...yet I live in Ireland)

 

[DAPLR]

I was actually thinking about adding a poll, but it felt unnecessary

 

[DAPLR]

I wonder what Yahtzee will talk about in roughly 1/2 an hour?

 

[hippolyte]

Demon's Souls is only "difficult" if you're not patient. There is a lot of trial and error, and there's a method to advancing through levels. It's just about pacing and knowing what enemies are where. The bosses aren't too hard either, until the later stages of the game. It's all about being tactical and it's a very fun game. You'll die a lot but you'll get better every time you die.

 

[DAPLR]

hmm...I bet'll be something indie...

 

[StBishop]

Ummm, shameless self bumps are generally frowned upon.

Also, good guess on the indie thing, unless it wasn't a guess, I can't be bothered checking if it was up before you posted.

OT: I haven't played the two games you've mentioned, and I've played very little Demon's Souls, but it was fun. I found it was mostly a case of being cautious, being patient, and being alert. If you're always expecting to be attacked you'll be fine. Or at least that was the case as far as I played.

 

[machblast]

Yes, a lot of people compare it to Monster Hunter.

In the case of Demon's Souls, however, if you die you will start back at the beginning of the level, and although you can unlock shortcuts to help you get back to a boss, there's a real sense of danger there because you plowed through a bunch of mobs that could easily kill you themselves to get to the boss. Also, you can't sell items, so you'll fill up storage with a bunch of things.

Both games are awesome, but DS is a lot more about patience and cautiously making sure something isn't about to attack you from a pole above you or a spike trap doesn't stab you or anything like that.

 

[ShindoL Shill]

yes it is. also in that you kill a bunch of small things which are harmless unless you go in too fast and balls up which teaches you how to use your weapons and gives you things to upgrade them. plus you have to kill bigass monster things.
but unless you know how to kill a tough enemy on Demon's Souls, you will probably get damaged/killed easily.
another thing is the other player assistance. i used to get together with a couple of friends when i started playing MH and they gave me pointers (ie kill that thing by doing this, use this about now, if you hit a child at y mph they have x% chance to live) and in Demon's Souls other players leave messages on the ground (ie theres a guy with a bow around the corner, check your HP here etc) and bloodstains show you how they died, which you should always look at/read because they save your fucking life.

 

[syaoran728]

Demon's Souls does have some similarities to Monster Hunter, but it is less forgiving. Also, get used to dodging a lot cause it is usually better than blocking.

 

[Penitent]

In Demon's Souls, understanding and reading the situation you're in is a tactic that will prevent you from ever dying, even if you've not been in the area before. It throws a lot at you, and it's very unapologetic about it, but it's nothing you can't handle. It's very much possible to grasp.

You'll only see once you actually play it, but Demon's Souls just wouldn't be right with an easy mode. The difficulty is a core part of the game, and it's what makes the other elements as amazing as they are.

 

[mireko]

Eh, maybe slightly. There's less of an emphasis on loot and stats, though. You'll certainly want to level up and get the strongest equipment, but you can't sell items. That alone makes it pretty different from most RPGs of this type. Think of it as the real-time action-RPG equivalent of Wizardry, and it'll make more sense.

There is an easy mode, though: Play through the game focusing on magic.

 

[GrimHeaper]

Not really the same at all.
Maybe one or two things, but one is dark and depressed and unforgiving and the other is bright cheerful and hard.