You need dragon skin and a heart of gold to play threw this mother. But it's one of the most rewarding games ever made.
If your a fan of button bashing you won't last long in this game; everything requires precise calculations, one slip up and you'll be the demon's dinner. Each enemy has its own way of moving, figure out a pattern to evade its attacks and use it to your advantage; you can spend hours just doing that. You can't just jump into a room thinking your John Rambo -this is, effectively, real-life. This is one of the most appealing and refeshing ideas implimented into a game, that I've seen in a long time.
The game also follows the 80's traditions, where the story is to the absolute minimum; demon's unleash hell on the world, and there are warriors who can claim souls and gain power. that's the story -really! But you not playing this game for a story; this game is all about gameplay.
The game is basically an RPG, you level up your character by slaying demon bosses and ther minions. The tricky bit of this is, though, die, and all the souls you've collected with perish. Don't fear too much though, because you can go back to the same place you died and pick up your souls... you only get one chance at this, mind; die again and you'll lose the souls forever and it goes on like that. This is why you need to think about what your going to do next, or else you won't get very far.
Multiplayer is just as unique as the game itself; you'll come across white ghost like figures, these are other players roaming the world also. When they die they leave a bloodstain, interact with that stain and you'll see how they met their last dimise. And you can take note on how they died, so you don't do the same thing. It's a refeshing take on the online experience. Then you can have other players jack-in to your game to give you help, and vice versa. And you can also get people going into your game to try and kill you. It's all very exciting stuff.
Graphics: They are nice, not the best you'll ever see, by a landslide. But they do have this ominous, twisted, medieval vibe to them. And not alot of games can let off such an atmosphere. 8
Sound: great soundtrack, and some pretty good voice acting, even if not alot is said the whole game! 8.5
Gameplay: Wow, what a greatly different experience. Great pace of game, and one that the industry so badly needed. Combat is a treat to pull off, and you'll be there a life-time leveling up. Not to mention the amazingly unprecidented multiplayer experience. 9.5
Sh*te box: Not for everyone. The occasional bit of scenery that can cock you up and kill you.
Overall: Honestly, i know it's not for everyone, but at the very least, everyone needs to try it to find out. Just the joy you get from beating a boss that gave you so much stick is an amazing feeling. Once you've completed the game, you can carry on with the same character, but don't think it'll be easier, if anything, it's harder! Well worth your time and money.