Dark Souls

I mean it. If you are going to give this game a try, play the game. Don't put the disk in and play some other action RPG in your head while going through the motions in Dark Souls. You will inevitably be disappointed. So many of the Amazon reviews, even the 5 star reviews, betray this fallacious approach to gaming. No, this is not Skyrim/DA2/KOA:R/Fallout. If you want to play those games, great -- go do that, but don't put in the Dark Souls disk and then be disappointed that it's not like some other game. I've even seen people complain that when they die, they lose their level-up progress (souls). That's deliberate! You understand? The game designers made the game that way on purpose! If you read a reviewer who gives the game four or five stars but you didn't like losing your souls when they die - that's a bad review, as that's a major part of the game. Dark Souls is really a PUZZLE action RPG. Not a puzzle where you push buttons and put pieces together, but I add the puzzle aspect because while there are (almost) always multiple (action-based) ways of solving any problem / beating any enemy, much of the gameplay involves a logical trial-and-error aspect of trying different things and seeing if they work. That's the puzzle. Can you block this attack? No? OK, can you parry? No? Okay, well then you can dodge. Hm, very strong enemy with a leaping attack on a narrow bridge...could fight him normally but wonder if you can get him to jump off? Hey, this enemy doesn't take damage from fire! Okay, well what about lightning - ahah! And so on. Some key points: 1) This game is fun if your response to dying is, "Ha ha ha that's awesome, let's try that again and see if I can get it right this time." 2) You are, I think, a Souls fan when you find yourself deliberately making the game more difficult just to add to the challenge and suspense. "Okay, I'm going to fight this next guy, who can kill me in one hit, by bare-hand-parrying his attack without a shield...[splat] Ha ha ha that's awesome, let's try that again and see if I can get it right this time." 3) Pay attention - very, very, very close attention -- to everything. There is a rich story in this game, but it is not spoon-fed to you; it is contained in item descriptions and dialog trees and most especially in the placement of enemies and items and statues and paintings and paths in the game. The story lies behind why that particular ring with that particular item description is found in that particular spot which was mentioned by that particular NPC who sells another item that says...etc. 4) Forget about standard RPG min-maxing/ level-seeking. Fans of the series often keep our level low ON PURPOSE just to make the game harder, only adding ability points when we have to (e.g., I want to use what looks like a cool weapon, but I need a certain strength stat to pick it up.) You can beat the game using any weapon/armor combo and you can beat the game without ever gaining a level, it is just more difficult. A weapon that does more damage is not necessarily better, armor that blocks more damage is not necessarily better, the only thing that makes one weapon or armor or spell or playstyle better than another is - do you find it more fun? 5) Most video RPGs are based around the concept of making your character an immensely powerful unstoppable fighting machine by the end of the game, giving you the satisfaction of vicariously beating enemies with your character's awesome abilities. Dark Souls is based around the concept of you, the player, getting better at playing the game, such that it is you and your choices and timing and reactions and quick-thinking that save the day, not the abilities of the character you play. In this it is much closer in spirit to the original table-top RPGs, where you might randomly roll a weak, stupid, unhealthy oaf and you played it anyways, because the point wasn't "winning" but having fun, and sometimes roleplaying the crazy idiot who charges blindly into the final battle while your player-character companions are only half-way into their armor and look on in shock and mutter "You idiot Leeroy, now we're all going to die" -- is fun. In the following, I am just going to address some of the things I have seen in other reviews that are simply wrong. In no particular order. -- "There's no/not much story in Dark Souls." Dark Souls has an extremely in depth and interesting storyline, it just doesn't spoon-feed it to you. If all you do is kill enemies, skip through dialogue, and ignore item descriptions then you will think there is no story. If you pay attention to the game world -- where enemies and items are placed, what statues and paintings depict; if you pay attention to NPC dialog, I mean really close attention, including not believing everything everyone says; if you read the item descriptions and relate these to what NPCs say and what you observe in the game world -- then there is a very intricate and involved story. -- The difficulty/dying thing. 1) The ONLY reason you ever die in Dark Souls is because YOU made a mistake.* Admittedly, it is very easy to make a mistake when enemies or traps only telegraph their moves a half-second in advance, which is where the trial-and-error gameplay comes in, but there is nothing "unfair" - no randomness, except in item drops (when defeated enemies drop items you can use), and you really don't need any dropped items to have fun playing the game, and there is a findable item that increases the chance of drops anyways, you decide that you really want a particular item (which is a personal choice, again, you don't need any random items to win the game). 2) When Souls fans die in Dark Souls, our response is, "Ha ha ha that's awesome!" * Except Bed of Chaos, which everyone legitimately hates, including the chief game designer. -- Invasions/Co-op/(Humanity) A. If you play online, you have the option of inviting strangers into your game to help you on a difficult level (or just for fun). This is hit-or-miss, and complaints about connectivity are legitimate, but that's a server issue not a game issue: having dedicated servers is an up-front cost the distributor chose not to pay. You also run the risk, however, of getting invaded by a stranger who hunts you down and tries to kill you. This is an intended part of the game and adds to the difficulty, which is fun -- do you understand, difficulty is fun! If you don't want to get invaded, or you were trying to summon help but got invaded instead, there is this little cable attached to your console, your computer, or alternatively there is a switch on your computer/wifi router. Unplug that cable or flip that switch and I GUARANTEE you will be able to quit the game and not have to fight the invader. Really. B. People have complained that in order to do co-op you need a consumable item, Humanity, of which you can find or buy a few but you mostly get as random item drops, and that "farming" for Humanity in the game is boring (to them). Well, there is this part of the game called PvP combat, wherein if you win you get humanity, and there is an item you are given in game (not a random drop) that lets you do PvP without using consumable Humanity. So you can use this item, enter PvP combat, have a fun battle, and if you win, get the Humanity you needed to summon help. -- Various things that make the game hard: Tight walkways/cliffs you can fall off, enemies that attack through walls, homing spells. Well, yes. Yes, indeed, there are deliberate game design choices that make the game harder! However, all of these difficulties can be overcome. You can dodge ANYTHING in the game if you time it (exactly) right, and if you don't walk of the cliff, you won't fall; yes, some enemies can hit you through walls/cover, just as in a realistic shooter 7.62 NATO goes through cinder blocks and sheet metal: adapt and overcome. -- Tricky dialog trees / accidentally making a mistake that prevents you from completing some quest line or getting some item. There is, in fact, no way to complete every aspect of this game in one playthrough, and yes it is possible to say or do the wrong thing and close off a side-quest for the rest of the playthrough, although there is absolutely no mistake that you can make that will prevent you from completing the main quest and finishing the game. Look, a major part of this game is playing through the exact same section over and over and over again until you get it perfectly, and then doing it again without a shield (bare-hand parry) just to prove you can. And then doing it again for the satisfaction of proving to yourself that you can still do it perfectly, knowing that it's always possible to get just a little too careless and die to an enemy you have beaten 100 times before. If you don't like this aspect of the game, you will not like the game; if you do like this aspect of the game, the fact that you can't complete every quest line in one playthrough doesn't matter, after all, the way the game ends is SPOILERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . It starts over, only harder.

Yep, the title of this review makes absolutely no sense right? Well that's where the beauty of Dark Souls comes in. My first introduction to this "series" was picking up Demon Souls for PS3 when it first came out. There was very little hype behind that game, and I was a bit scared reading reviews of how hard the game was, and it was just that. But wow, the feeling you get from beating those hard levels is indescribable, and this game is no different. To start the review, let me list off a couple facts about Dark Souls: - Souls are a form of currency, and are used to purchase things and level up - Estus Flasks recover HP, and you start off with 5 - Bonfires are where you save your game, heal, and restore estus flasks - Humanity is an indication of your human form, when you die, you lose humanity and turn Hollow - Hollowing prevents you from Kindling a bonfire - Weapons, Armor, and Accesories all contribute towards your equipment load, and can hinder your movement speed - Bonfires can be "Kindled" meaning they now can give you more Estus Flasks (10 during a standard Kindling). This can only happen with an extra humanity point, and only when you are not hollow - Bosses drop special souls, that can be either "used" to gain many soul points, or, saved and used to create special weapons - When in human form, you can summon other players into your game, or, be summoned into other games to help out - You cannot 'pause' the game, if you need to walk away, make sure there are no enemies around, or, sit at a bonfire Dark Souls is really like no other RPG. First, you are in complete control of character development, all of which is done through the gathering of Souls. Souls, which also act as the currency in the game, are obtained through battles with enemies, but also can be found in random locations, or on dead bodies of fallen soldiers (where you get 'Soul[s] of a Brave Warrior', 'Soul[s] of a Hero', etc). Once you obtain enough souls, it isn't as simple as pausing the game and clicking level up (a la Skyrim), instead, you must make your way to your save spot, known as a bonfire, to rest and level up. There is one caveat to that though, and is one of the most frustrating parts of the game, and that is if you die you lose all of your souls that you have in your possession (souls that had not been used to level up or purchase something). You are then sent back to your last bonfire and must make your way back through the area you are currently in. Now, the good thing is that you can get your lost souls back by making your way through and reaching the spot where you died last, but, die again before you get to your souls and they are gone forever! Already you are starting to see where the game has some "gotchas" and ways that it can really get you frustrated! But this is the beauty of Dark Souls, and that is that no matter how many times you die, and how many times you need to retry an area, the sense of accomplishment is like no other. You will soon find yourself putting 50-60-70 hours into the game and not realizing that much time has flied by as you are absolutely consumed. Now one thing that you will notice about the game is that there really is no in depth story, actually some will even argue that there is no story at all, but the beauty of the game is that as you play, you seem to forget about that, and almost not even care. The game is rather addictive, which is something you do not really hear when discussing difficult games. Tips: - Honestly don't give up. There are some areas where are just damn near impossible to beat, and that is done on purpose. This isn't a game that you can just sit down and beat in a week, so please understand this before making the purchase. There are some areas that will require you to go out and grind and grind and grind until your character is developed enough to withstand the obstacles ahead. - Use summons to your advantage! Dont be afraid to put a summon sign down and go into someone elses game and/or summon someone into your game. It can be a big help as you now have a partner to help you gain some souls and defeat an area you are stuck in. - Don't go using Boss souls right away! You can use these souls to create powerful weapons and armor, and before you use them to gain souls, you should check to see what you can make and if you are interested in the item - Take your time! Dont just rush into the darkness, take your time, examine the area and always plan a way out just in case you encounter something that you are too weak to defeat. - On the verge of giving up? Check out youtube for some great tutorials on how to clear certain areas. Watching these videos will give you some pointers on how to advance through the area, or show you that your character isn't fully developed yet. Note: I really hope that my review helped open your eyes to this game, and hopefully you will give it a chance. If you found this review useful, please mark it as such! If you find some discrepancies in my review, leave a comment and I will fix it right away. Thanks, and enjoy the game! Edit ( 2/13 ) : I realized i didn't really make note of any CONs, so let me just list a few that I came across: 1. The game tends to lag at times. This is usually due to all of the stuff going on in the screen at once. For example, if you have a big group of enemies that you are hack and slashing, and some start dying off, the game lags as it tries to create the animation of the death of the enemies. Although it hasn't caused a huge problem or affected my gameplay much, it is something to note. 2. If you are playing the game, and something happens to your Live connection, the game will exit to the main menu. No big deal because when you load you game it will put you right were you left off, except if you are fighting a boss! I was fighting Seth the Scaleless and was halfway through the battle. Started off with 15 flasks, and was kicking some serious butt. He was at half health, and I had 8 flasks left. Suddenly I see the "Disconnected From Xbox Live" pop up in the corner of the screen. The game goes black, and a message comes up saying that the game is returning to main menu. I crossed my fingers hoping that it would put me back right in the middle of battle to where I left off...... nope .... put me right at the "white light" before the battle, with only 8 flasks. I entered the battle, and he had full health! ... not fun :( 3. Falling death glitches. This one has bugged me out so much! There are times in the game when you will be fighting and the enemy has a strong attack that launches you back, notably the skeletons at the Firelink Shrine. I got hit hard once and my character got launched back into some gravestones that you wouldn't normally be able to walk through. I tried jumping out but couldn't clear some of the stones. Next thing I know I fall through the ground and die. This also happened to me in the Lost Izalith where i got stuck behind some branches of the trees that are in the lava. After struggling to get loose, i eventually was able to jump out of being stuck. For some reason though, when i jumped out and landed in the lava (no big deal because i had a certain ring equipped), it instantly killed me (i had full health).

I played the remaster recently, and fell in love with this game. I replayed it so many times, that I've kind of lost that "first playthrough feeling" I used to get, so I decided to buy this. I heard that the framerates are awful and that its lacking many 'quality of life' changes that Dark Souls Remastered brings. And its true! But luckily since I had the experience, it was manageable. It was a very interesting experience playing the original. Funny to think that people had to deal with Dark Souls in a state like this. However It was fun, and I did get that nice feeling again. Though it was used, it came in excellent quality.

先日購入しました。 ストーリー終盤まで行きましたがとても面白いです。私的には続編のダークソウル2よりこちらの方がいろんな意味で深く、ゲームにのめり込めます。 しかしやはり発売から何年も経っているのでオンラインで人は全然いません侵入もしてこないし、白サインも見たことがありません。 これは海外版なので、日本語は無く、英語だけとなりますが、ネットで調べたりすることで理解は出来ます。 とてもいいゲームなので購入を迷ってる人は買って損はないと思います。

Excelente titulo aunq es un poco dolor de cabeza para quienes nunca han jugado algo d From Software... fue un regalo para mi esposo q es fanatico de ellos.

Il prodotto non è conforme a quanto rappresentano, il gioco in realtà - a prescindere dall'immagine - è una Platinum Hit; avevo acquistato questa versione da questo venditore proprio perché non platinum.

Il prodotto non e' adatto alla comunita' europea ma non era specificato in modo esplicito. Arrivato dall' america logicamente troppo costoso da rispedire. non consiglio.