Demon's Souls

I cannot praise this game highly enough. Its an action RPG by the FROM SOFTWARE people, that really captures twitch combat, and strategy, along with quite a harsh progression, that ups the stakes and makes it even more tense.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demon%27s_Souls

Its not available to America or Europe at the moment, but can be imported (as the Asian copy has full English text and audio)

You can import it at Renchi
http://www.renchi.com/renchi/PS3_Games_Asia_Demon_s_Souls_AS.htm

Anyway, the key features to the game that make it stand out

* A detailed fantasy "twitch" combat mechanism that just feels right (without remembering strings of combo's), melee, magic and ranged combat all covered.
* Huge multi-pathed levels, that open up shortcuts and exploratory mechanisms of getting around.. some of the parts to a level require actual thought and strategy to get through without dying.. this isn't a chug a health potion diablo game, you need to use the right weapon, time shield blocks, backstabs etc..
* Impressive bosses, with an array of tactics required to take them down
* Online co-op and PvP capability
* Looks absolutely gorgeous, and captures mood and lighting very well, with some stunning set pieces as you fight your way through

Anyway, the unique features are that you play in one of two modes, either as alive, or as a soul, destined to slay demons to revive yourself. As a soul, you'll only have a smaller percentage of your original health. As you play through your single player levels, you'll see ghosts of other players souls online flash by you, for a brief moment, other players can etch ectoplasmic messages so you get tiny twitter style hints and tips (or misinformation from evil players), you'll also see pools of blood where other players have died, and by activating them you can watch their death moments as a ghost figure, so these can give you a warning of trouble ahead. Once you're into the game and have earned your soulstones, as an alive player, you can pick up bluestones and summon the phantoms of other players into your game, and they can help you get through the levels and beat the boss. You collect the souls throughout the level and share it with them.. If they beat the boss, they are then revived back to alive status. If you are a soul, you can lay your bluestone down and other players can summon you to their game.. its quite a unique mechanism for online play. After a level you can rate a player, and their ratings are shown with their bluestone, before you summon them. One thing though, as an alive player, with other phantoms in your game, you can have black phantoms (PvP players) break into your world, and hunt you and your players down!

The game has quite a harsh death mechanism, in that you respawn at the beginning of the level, and remember these levels are huge, and you have to battle everything again. You also lose your current stash of souls collected, but you can return to your blood pool and retrieve these - if you make it that far. You also have some wera and tear on your armour. However, because of this, you will tread very carefully, because getting to the boss is the ultimate aim of the level, but even then you're not secured a win, and so the penalty is just enough to make it very tense, but although frustrating at times, you can make progress, over time, if you shift your tactics, if something is not working and is getting you killed.

Overall, the game is outstanding. And if you're serious about your RPG's and you have a PS3 this is a must grab title. Its a shame its not out over here at the moment, and it comes in a little expensive on import - about 60quid in total for me (but that was with delivery that had it to me in 5 days from Hong Kong).

It mechanism reminds me very much of Phantasy Star Online on the Dreamcast, with its central Nexus and multilayered levels and impressive end bosses.. its just so much more intense, and so much more strategic.. and the combat plays out brilliantly. Top Marks. I was worried about the harsh death penalty, but this is so good, it doesn't feel like a penalty at times it just feels like a tactical lesson.