Yahtzee, I loved this video! And I love Demon's Souls, too. Just made me laugh harder, as all the deaths are really accurate...except maybe the first one. Please tell me you got past the first skeleton?
I find that rolling to the side is the best evasive maneuver, but it all depends, really. If your up against someone with a long pointy stick, stepping back obviously won't help you as he thrusts forward. Facing a slashing weapon, though, stepping back becomes a usable option, as rolling to the side still gets you slashed.
If you were going purely for comedic effect, the video is a resounding success. But as a review, I can see why you did the 'Extra Punctuation'. Even in that column, though, I'm not sure that you mention how checkpoints do occur more often than just after you get to the boss. At least half of the stages have a checkpoint before the boss that can be unlocked...that, or once you open the boss door, the boss isn't that far from the entrance point. I find that most of the stages without checkpoints are some of the shorter stages in the game...I also think that this is intentional. Once a dragon roasts you in stage 2 (mind you, the same thing happens in the first level...maybe you should've seen it coming?) it's all too easy to run the length of the bridge without getting a scratch. Do this 3 times, and you're at the boss.
Personally, I wouldn't have wanted any more checkpoints in this game, as, odd as it sounds, it would make it too easy. More than that, it would lose a lot of the fun! Getting sent back to the beginning of the stage forces you to get better at the game - if there were checkpoints, I'd say it would be even harder to make progress, as you woudn't be getting as much experience/money (they're the same thing, another way the game is difficult - your choices are very important).
Games that make concessions to me as a player run the risk of losing my interest. Games should be challenging, and I think it's criminal that they're putting an easy mode in Megaman 10!
Back on topic, though, Demon's Souls saves every time you pick up an item, or change your equipment. So, if you have shit to do, you actually can leave the game as often as you like without needing to worry about losing progress, unlike a game with "save points" (I hate save points - being able to save whenever is a blessing).
Or, if you're a pansy (I admit, there's at least one boss that made me so mad that I did this and found out how to cheat), you can quit the game right after you die in order to re-spawn at the last point your game saved (so long as you quit before the game has a chance to save, putting you back at the start of the level). In addition, there are items and a spell (miracle, technically) that will take you back to the nexus so that you can spend your souls. Or there are NPC characters that you'll find who will take your experience and give you better armor or weapons - getting to that point with enough exp for a new weapon is progress, to me. When you die, you keep your items.
When you have to do a review within the span of a week, I doubt that you truly have time to appreciate hardly any of the games that you play, unfortunately. It also doesn't help that you admit to not reading instruction manuals, as they often explain the finer points of a game, without having to resort to tutorials (tutorials suck). Not reading the manual also gives me a reason for why you hate fighting games, as those pages show you how to do all the moves!
Last thing I'll say, here: maybe it's because I've played so many retro games that I can appreciate a game like Demon's Souls. When you play certain NES games, you have to beat them from start to finish in one sitting, else leave your system on for hours. Demon's Souls is pretty unforgiving, but it does give you checkpoints and saves...I'd say you get them often enough to stave off frustration. That first level is MEANT to be frustrating, though! When the game sends you to the nexus for the first time, that's not the end of the tutorial. After beating the Phalanx and gaining the ability to spend your souls on level ups - THAT is the end of the tutorial. From then on, at least for me, the game became FAR easier
I've gone on for too long, though. I watch and read your stuff for the comedy, not for serious recommendation. I just hope that your ramblings don't turn people off of a legitimately good game; one that, I would argue, can't be understood in a week.
