good choice on Demon's Souls.
I think the game's great. My gf has been playing through the story mode and it seems like it just gets better and better. I've been playing the challenges and I have to say I really love it.
The combat is amazing to me mostly for the animations, but also it does in fact take skill, timing, and a little bit of luck to string together the really big combos. I've been trying to string together 40 in the Joker Challenges for the next trophy, but it's tough.
Being a big fan of Metal Gear, i really love the "silent predator" aspect and challenge room, basically this game just has tons of replay value for me, not just due to trophies, unlockables, and how much I like the single player, but unlocking and trying to do my best in the challenge rooms really make this game a winner for me.
And for the record, there have been plenty of great Batman games. A bunch of bad ones, no doubt, but there's been good ones!