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Dark Souls II - First review

Z

zma1013

Member
Dark Souls II |OT| Dark Harder

Dark Souls II |OT| Respec My Artorias

Dark Souls II |OT| You're Nothing But a Pauser

Dark Souls II |OT| *New And Improved* Sun Praising Formula
 
V

Vazra

irresponsible vagina leak
Adrelariel said:
http://www.mmorpg.com/gamelist.cfm/...I-A-Peek-Inside-a-Wonderful-Wicked-World.html

More preview reading to go for some different viewpoints
Click to expand...

Could be more casual!
iCaG24sNcApBv.gif
 
R

Rickenslacker

Banned
Deified Data said:
No one's going to give a shit, but my biggest reason for opposing respec has nothing to do with gameplay implications and everything to do with roleplaying.

"Roleplaying in Dark Souls? I thought it was a min/maxer e-sport?"

It's not really something I can explain to people who don't RP. I roll a character to fit an archetype, and I abide by that archetype throughout the game and solve problems in a manner befitting that archetype...if that makes sense. If I start the game as a priest for example I'm not going to use magic, socialize with unsavory characters, invade the worlds of the innocent, etc. Some might view that as being a slave to convention but I've found that it makes subsequent playthroughs more rewarding. I actually feel like From designed the game to be played this way, and encourage roleplaying in a way that most RPGs don't via the covenant system.

I don't know. Let's look at a game that took the idea of respec and just ran wild with it - Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. A game I enjoyed quite a bit despite being easy as piss. You could respec for the first time a couple hours into the game, and afterwards you could do it with impunity. You can change from fighter to mage to thief to a combination of all three whenever your heart desires. Did it promote experimentation? Yes. But I felt it made my character transient - less of a character and more of an in-game avatar. A character who can just change their entire being at the drop of a hat isn't much of a character in my eyes.

I realize this criticism means jackshit to most of you, and that's fine. Also: "don't use it if you don't want to", which is true. I'm basically just outlining why I won't be using the feature, personally.
Click to expand...
I can respect that and tend to go in with a similar mentality to creating my characters. I wouldn't personally use a respec to wildly diverge a character, but to refine choices that I had to make blindly. If anything, I'd ditch stat allocation and bring in a permanent choice in the form of a discrete class decision at the start that affects your character growth. Though I could understand why that would be unsavoury for a lot of fans.
 
Garcia

Garcia

Member
Seance said:
How many video games give you that high when you finally overcome a tough boss after several attempts, eventually learning it's moves and adjusting your own strategy to succeed? How many games give you that "a-ha" moment like unlocking shortcut after shortcut to Firelink Shrine and make you so grateful for being able to traverse the seamless open world that little bit easier?

It was the consequences of every action, the dread of probable failure that made me so much more attentive to the world the more I played the original Dark Souls. Mulling over every line of PC dialog and each item description for clues on what to do and what was happening. It was rewarding too because it almost always was meaningful, even if not strictly important.
Click to expand...

Man, you definitely have to play more games. I've seen this phenomena happening to many passionate Dark Souls' fans, thinking that those things are exclusive and nowhere else to be found in other titles.

You have a locked mindset and we won't be able to discuss the game objectively. It wouldn't matter if I posted a list of examples of many other games that taught the developers of Dark Souls how to do things right.

It is unfortunate.
 
P

Plissken

Member
I'm ambivalent on the whole respec thing. If you don't like it, don't use it. Someone else using it should have no affect on your experience with DS2. If it brings more fans to the series, and thereby more sales, that means more Dark Souls games in the future. I'm kind of surprised that THIS is what bothers people the most, and not the much more casual-friendly stuff like all the vendors in one place, fast travel unlocked from the beginning, and free repairs at bonfires. (none of which bother me at all, either)

On a different note, has there been any official word on the PC release? With the console date drawing ever nearer, I'm getting nervous. If it's going to be a couple months after the console release, I'll just get it on PS3/360 so I can play through it before it gets spoiled all over the internet (and then probably double-dip on PC anyway). If it's like, a week or two, I think I can hold out.
 
gioGAF

gioGAF

Member
I'm all for the respec option. If the game is as good as DS1, then I will enjoy playing it multiple times because it is good, the respec option just adds a convenient feature.

I'm more interested in the amount of work and polish that has gone into this game. SCAMCO better not have rushed this out the door. If this game is as good as DS1 and has the sh#t areas (Lost Izalith) replaced with more solid areas I will be happy.
 
U

Uthred

Member
Bedlam said:
Okay, I'm going to spell it out with as few words as possible: There needs to be permance in DS' character creation for different builds to exist (in a meaningful way).
Click to expand...

How does being able to switch between various builds (and if the item is "very rare" its hardly at will) somehow magically make them not exist? All it means is that if you want to try a different build for NG+ or whatever you dont have to start a new character. Theres nothing "meaningful" about artifical time wasting.
 
V

Vlade

Member
H3avyM3tal said:
How the hell is that different than now?

Oh wait, its not. Because assumptions.

Dont blame the game for your own shortcomings.
Click to expand...

Kyuur said:
People hate change.
Click to expand...

Garcia said:
Because options man, - how am I supposed to deal with them? -
Click to expand...


There are quite a few posts now that state that if I don't like the idea of respec being in the game it's because I'm a bad person.


Edit:

Dark Souls II |OT| Respec't

Edit2:

Fhtagn said:
What I really don't understand: when 9 out of 10 advance previews from people who have actually played the game read like this, why is there such negativity and fear among the hardcore?
Click to expand...

Who doesn't love the elenctic method?
 
Garcia

Garcia

Member
gioGAF said:
SCAMCO better not have rushed this out the door. If this game is as good as DS1 and has the sh#t areas (Lost Izalith) replaced with more solid areas I will be happy.
Click to expand...

I doubt they will. They must be pretty conscious of their biggest mistakes in the original (Lost Izalith being one) and they can't afford to make the same mistakes twice in a row. From the very few bits of info I've gathered so far it seems like the focused on fixing Dark Souls for the better, so no enemy copy pasting at all. . . (I hope I'm correct).

Fhtagn said:
What I really don't understand: when 9 out of 10 advance previews from people who have actually played the game read like this, why is there such negativity and fear among the hardcore?
Click to expand...

Because options man, - how am I supposed to deal with them? -
 
A

Adrelariel

Neo Member
Fhtagn said:
What I really don't understand: when 9 out of 10 advance previews from people who have actually played the game read like this, why is there such negativity and fear among the hardcore?
Click to expand...

Because all the journalists are clearly just scrublords that have never played DarkSouls

But in all honesty, there was a guy on Reddit who was part of the preview event and did a short Q&A and mentioned that he only died ~13 times and managed to beat the first 2 bosses in the 3 hour time period, which to me sounds about the same difficulty as DaS1.

Most of the things people are arguing about are the changes, such as respeccing, always pvp, lifegems (not so much on these anymore) and the "warp-from-the-start" bonfires.
Just too many opinions and not enough information about the game will keep the discussion going untill the game releases and people can play for themselves instead of relying on preview stuff and little snippets of info From decides to give the community
 
B

Bedlam

Member
Garcia said:
Man, you definitely have to play more games. I've seen this phenomena happening to many passionate Dark Souls' fans, thinking that those things are exclusive and nowhere else to be found in other titles.

You have a locked mindset and we won't be able to discuss the game objectively. It wouldn't matter if I posted a list of examples of many other games taught the developers of Dark Souls how to do things right.

It is unfortunate.
Click to expand...
I've been an active gamer since this and I've seen a fair share of games in my "career."

So no, not every Souls fans adoration for the game(s) stems from a narrow mindset. It's simply that there virtually are no other contemporary games that offer what the Souls offer with the same intensity (roughly in the same genre of course, I won't speak for some hardcore strategy game's fanbase). I agree with Seance in that respect. Rather, I've seen games change over time, especially during the last decade or so, and for me, the Souls games are a return to form.

I do notice your subtle attempts to make it seem like people who don't agree with you don't know what they're talking about though. It's unfortunate.

Uthred said:
How does being able to switch between various builds (and if the item is "very rare" its hardly at will) somehow magically make them not exist? All it means is that if you want to try a different build for NG+ or whatever you dont have to start a new character. Theres nothing "meaningful" about artifical time wasting.
Click to expand...
It's not a black and white issue obviously but depending on how the respeccing feature is implemented, builds basically can become temporary loadouts (Diablo 3), removing any sense of consequence for your actions.

I'd be okay with it if it is indeed a very, very rare (~once per playthrough) item in DS2. I'd call it semi-permanent thing if that's the case.
 
Garcia

Garcia

Member
Vlade said:
There are quite a few posts now that state that if I don't like the idea of respec being in the game it's because I'm a bad person.
Click to expand...

I won't speak for others here. There are valid reasons for not liking certain mechanics, but saying that those will completely ruin the experience for some is just taking things to the extreme.

We haven't even played the game yet. If anything I'm pretty sure even the detractors are going to be pleasantly surprised.
 
T

Toxi

Banned
I don't feel comfortable talking about Respec until I actually use it in-game. I have a brother who will definitely love it, but I probably won't use it.
Garcia said:
Man, you definitely have to play more games. I've seen this phenomena happening to many passionate Dark Souls' fans, thinking that those things are exclusive and nowhere else to be found in other titles.

You have a locked mindset and we won't be able to discuss the game objectively. It wouldn't matter if I posted a list of examples of many other games that taught the developers of Dark Souls how to do things right.

It is unfortunate.
Click to expand...
How about you list those games instead of acting like a snob?

I can think of plenty of games that feel like Souls (Severance: Blade of Darness, Metroid Prime, System Shock 2); the problem is that most of those games are around a decade old. Monster Hunter scratches the boss itch somewhat, but I haven't seen any recent games providing 3D level design of the same calibur as the best of Souls. If you have any suggestions for games released in the last five years with level design as good as Oolacile Township or Boletarian Palace, please give them. I'd really love to play them.
 
D

D Bo Chops

Member
Gravelord_Nito said:
Nope

Dark Souls II |OT| Let Hope be reborn under the name Despair
considering the events I'm also considering
Dark Souls II |OT| Prepare to Casual
Click to expand...

I actually voted for the first option a while back when it was first mention. I wanna change my vote haha! BUT you have to spell casual as CASUL
 
T

Toxi

Banned
Dark Souls II |OT| Like a Moth Flittering Towards a Game

No wait that's dumb

Dark Souls II |OT| Try Jumping With Both Hands

Garcia said:
:lol

Hope I can get some time to play Demon's Souls for the first time next week.
Click to expand...
I predict you're gonna love the game and hate the inventory system.
 
T

Tex117

Banned
Dark Souls II /OT/ Fuck you. No Seriously. Fuck You

Dark Souls II /OT/ How do I hold all these controllers?

Dark Souls II /OT/ You trade Sparkley for that?

Dark Souls II /OT/ _____You Died

Dark Souls II /OT/ You can't pause your life

Dark Souls II /OT/ Chat to yourself
 
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