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Dark Souls II - First review

takoyaki

Member
DeS 82%
DaS 88%
DaS II 90%


Hmmm, I liked Demon's Soul's over Dark Souls. Maybe DaS II will be my worst Souls game to date.

I still remember reading that review, it was a review of the Asian import Version and the reviewer didn't really "get it", at least that's was my impression was. The Demon Souls review was a half page long. The Dark Souls review was 5 or 6 pages long, featured on the cover and I'm pretty sure it was done by another reviewer.
 

Orayn

Member
I wonder if I should get this having not played Demon Souls or Dark Souls before, i've read the plot is linked directly to Dark Souls 1 so...meh

You've got to realize that "direct" doesn't mean much coming from From Software. Their style of continuity is very loose and floaty and you really, really don't need to play the first game to understand or appreciate Dark Souls II.
 

Creamium

shut uuuuuuuuuuuuuuup
the magazine is set to be released tomorrow and Mgames, formerly Man!c, is a well respected German games magazine, can't wait for the full review!

If you decide to get it, please post some quotes from the review in here. Or any German gaffer for that matter!
 
I've been repeating this since Demon's Souls was released but I still don't understand why people qualify the Souls series as hard. It has the fairest, most straightforward and deep game mechanics I have ever seen in an roleplaying game.

I don't think any of the Souls games are hard, they are fair games. They require observation, they require that you improve as a player, rather than you to improve your character by grinding, and both you and your enemies are prone to the same rules, the same weaknesses and strengths that the game allows you to use.

Exactly.

The difficulty that exists in the game is fair, because it is only there if you aren't getting more skillful as a player as you get further into it. And by skillful I don't mean stats increasing, I mean understanding timing, tells, etc; just as you mentioned. There are very few instances of the game being totally unfair.
 

Dereck

Member
Yooooo, my boy Delsin lookin like a straight goon in this pic doe

jiiQMNcacmD4a.png


Dreamworks smirk haters back the fuck off
 

Moofers

Member
Guys I heard Maxim magazine gave this a 5/5. They said the graphics will blow your mind and reminded me I can pre-order at GameStop!
 

popyea

Member
Pretty damned impressive if this scored higher than Demon's and Dark. Hope this gets a next gen port though, the frame rate for Demon's/Dark can get really rough

I feel like this game will be better received than the first simply because it's more well known now. The small group of reviewers who would have normally just written it off will probably be less critical since the first was so acclaimed.
 

Hastati

Member
First, I think part of the problem is the way we classify difficulty. Dark Souls is "tough", but it's only really hard if you're impatient. Taking your time and being patient with your travels and understanding the superb game mechanics results in a game that is harder than the average title to be sure, but is easily conquerable.

Second, a real challenge is absolutely something worthy of praise. In today's hold-your-hand glowing arrow snorefests of modern game design, titles that respect its audience intelligence are exceedingly rare. Demon/Dark Souls respects its audience enough to not hold their hand, allows gamers to take the time to learn their skills as they feel comfortable, and to not have to guide them through each location. Similarly, beating a game that is legitimately challenging is one of the best feelings offered in the gaming world - and is simply peerless in terms of the reward one feels for beating its contents. Designing a game with an appropriate level of difficulty - one where when you die you almost always blame your own failure to apply what you've learned - is incredibly hard, and virtually no developers these days even attempt it.

I agree completely. I felt a sense of exquisite joy that I haven't experienced in any other game upon defeating Twin Gargoyles and Capra demon. I have felt more fear and a greater sense of glory playing this game than anything in almost any medium. This game demonstrates that fully immersive and unique experiences can be created with very simple controls and low-budget graphics (particularly Demon's Souls).

I cannot wait for DSII.
 

Whompa

Member
I feel like this game will be better received than the first simply because it's more well known now. The small group of reviewers who would have normally just written it off will probably be less critical since the first was so acclaimed.

It took 3 games for people to get it. Game is really well made and it's unfortunate that it took this long to get the recognition it really deserves.
 
I've been repeating this since Demon's Souls was released but I still don't understand why people qualify the Souls series as hard. It has the fairest, most straightforward and deep game mechanics I have ever seen in an roleplaying game.

I don't think any of the Souls games are hard, they are fair games. They require observation, they require that you improve as a player, rather than you to improve your character by grinding, and both you and your enemies are prone to the same rules, the same weaknesses and strengths that the game allows you to use.

That is what makes the game hard for newcomers. Almost all RPGs are level based, so a game where levels do not matter as much in determining your ability to beat the game is hard at first. Once you get used to it however, the game is easier and makes other games feel like they lack in gameplay.
 

bistromathics

facing a bright new dawn
Same

As long as there's less bullshit like Bed of Chaos.

Bed of Chaos was such a cool boss (conceptually). Him being a tiny, frail thing that is taken out in a single hit - once you get to him - is awesome. I will admit the fight itself was more frustrating than anything else (unless you go the cheese route and hit the points with arrows), but the overall concept is top-tier boss design, at least thematically.
 
There is nothing more pointless in the world than reviews for these games. Other than pointing out major flaws (like Blighttown technical hiccups), there is no solid info a review can give due to the short timeframe are forced to experience the game in.
 
I've been repeating this since Demon's Souls was released but I still don't understand why people qualify the Souls series as hard. It has the fairest, most straightforward and deep game mechanics I have ever seen in an roleplaying game.

I don't think any of the Souls games are hard, they are fair games. They require observation, they require that you improve as a player, rather than you to improve your character by grinding, and both you and your enemies are prone to the same rules, the same weaknesses and strengths that the game allows you to use.

I think it is because if you make a mistake, you will pay for that mistake in combat. I remember my first few playthroughs of Demons getting killed by the beginner Slave dudes just because I rolled into an attack too early and got hit with their wild swinging attack lol. Bam Bam Bam Bam dead ... Fuck. Or the blue knights, if you messed up and attacked too soon they would counter and stab you in the gut, taking out half your energy or more, killing you if you were lower on health.

Various things like that. In Demon's case though, it really stacked the deck against you. It actually punished you for dying too much lol. Not only are you only half health when dead, if you drop into the black world tendency the games enemies get even harder. They had more health, hit harder, etc.

The Souls games are hard, lets not boast too much here lol. I'm sure even you, with all your careful consideration of every battle, ended up dead more then a few times.

It is fair though, def. You learn from your deaths because each one has a direct cause, likely akin back to something you did wrong.

I'm going to be getting this on pc this time around. I just hope the mouse and keyboard controls are good, haha.

God no. Get a 360 controller lol. Yeah no ... no keyboard mouse ... ever.
 

Clockwork5

Member
I wonder if I should get this having not played Demon Souls or Dark Souls before, i've read the plot is linked directly to Dark Souls 1 so...meh

There are plenty of lore vids out there. If you want to be up to date... Or you could just play dark souls for the first time right now. Oh to be you...
 

Chuckman

Member
I've been repeating this since Demon's Souls was released but I still don't understand why people qualify the Souls series as hard. It has the fairest, most straightforward and deep game mechanics I have ever seen in an roleplaying game.

I don't think any of the Souls games are hard, they are fair games. They require observation, they require that you improve as a player, rather than you to improve your character by grinding, and both you and your enemies are prone to the same rules, the same weaknesses and strengths that the game allows you to use.
Yeah, In other words... hard lol
 
I think it is because if you make a mistake, you will pay for that mistake in combat. I remember my first few playthroughs of Demons getting killed by the beginner Slave dudes just because I rolled into an attack too early and got hit with their wild swinging attack lol. Bam Bam Bam Bam dead ... Fuck. Or the blue knights, if you messed up and attacked too soon they would counter and stab you in the gut, taking out half your energy or more, killing you if you were lower on health.

Various things like that. In Demon's case though, it really stacked the deck against you. It actually punished you for dying too much lol. Not only are you only half health when dead, if you drop into the black world tendency the games enemies get even harder. They had more health, hit harder, etc.

The Souls games are hard, lets not boast too much here lol. I'm sure even you, with all your careful consideration of every battle, ended up dead more then a few times.

It is fair though, def. You learn from your deaths because each one has a direct cause, likely akin back to something you did wrong.

I died plenty of times, very rarely due to the game's fault. I think one of the few times I died due to the game's fault was when trying to navigate, for example, the wood planks in Demon's Souls 1-1 when you were trying to get the items on the way down to the highest-defense armor in the game.

When I died in Demon's Souls it was because I was inexperienced, reckless, impatient, nervous but I never felt once in any Souls game, when I died that it was hard. I always felt that it was challenging, I always felt that the challenge that defeated me was trying to tell me something, and I wasn't responding to it correctly.

I tried passing Demon's Souls by grinding levels in Shrine of Storms and quickly discovered that levels weren't impeding me, as they had only made the challenge slightly easier and I did struggle with understanding what was stopping me from progressing. But once I did, once I discovered how parrying worked, how my guard worked and how it could sometimes be broken, how to avoid certain attacks, how certain weapons were more effective than others in certain situations, it all suddenly clicked, and what seemed to be, at first glance, challenging scenarios became simple tests of the mechanics I had learned and I managed to pass the game by accomplishing and passing some of it's toughest challenges.

Rather than simply feeling satisfied for the experience I had just had when I finished, I felt like I had become a better player. Like I had honed myself into a better person through skill, observation and execution, a feeling which I hadn't held in many years.

So again, I disagree with you. Souls games are not hard. Perhaps I should phrase it like this: Souls games are as hard as the least observant you want to be.
 
Yeah, In other words... hard lol

Winning the lottery is hard. There is a very low chance of succeeding.

Winning a Souls games is challenging.

To me, there is a big difference between hard and challenging.

A Souls game in the hands of an experienced player is a trivial exercise but to an experienced lottery player, winning the lottery is still immensely hard.
 

VICI0US

Member
I've been repeating this since Demon's Souls was released but I still don't understand why people qualify the Souls series as hard. It has the fairest, most straightforward and deep game mechanics I have ever seen in an roleplaying game.

I don't think any of the Souls games are hard, they are fair games. They require observation, they require that you improve as a player, rather than you to improve your character by grinding, and both you and your enemies are prone to the same rules, the same weaknesses and strengths that the game allows you to use.

maybe it's all the hours i've spent playing MH, but seriously, the souls games difficulty is enormously overstated. bosses are simple pattern recognition, same as MH. play defensively when you first encounter a boss, observe and learn their attack patterns/traits, then get more aggressive. no guides/summons and no boss took me more than 2 attempts my first playthrough of dark souls.
 

BigDug13

Member
I hope they get the PC version right this time around. I would love to use a keyboard and mouse instead of a controller.

Why do you want to use a different control method for this particular series when it was designed from the ground up for the dual analog controller? Is it inconvenient to play with the 360 controller on PC?
 

Scrooged

Totally wronger about Nintendo's business decisions.
maybe it's all the hours i've spent playing MH, but seriously, the souls games difficulty is enormously overstated. bosses are simple pattern recognition, same as MH. play defensively when you first encounter a boss, observe and learn their attack patterns/traits, then get more aggressive. no guides/summons and no boss took me more than 2 attempts my first playthrough of dark souls.

You are in the extreme minority. From your point of view the difficulty may be overstated, but it's definitely not overstated based on the vast majority of people who've played it.
 

BigDug13

Member
Can't wait!!



but fuck...wish I had the will power to hold out 'til the inevitable PS4 release :(

Inevitable PS4 release for a series where the first game didn't even come to PC without a signed petition begging for it? I'm not so sure.
 

WX3

Member
Preordered that sexy collectors edition with the statue today! This might be my final 360 purchase I realized as I put my money down.
 

sublimit

Banned
This would be the last game on earth that i would give even one shit about what gaming "journalists" that have been giving perfect scores to cinematic hold-my-hand games and hyping them as "the Citizen kains of gaming" may say about a game like Dark souls (good or bad).

The words of the (trusted) community is all i care about.
 

Currygan

at last, for christ's sake
gorgeous as gorgeous looking?

that's highly surprising, considering those truly horrendous pictures
 
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