Overall 9.1 Graphics 8.3 Sound 6 Addictive 8.3 Story 7 Depth 8 Difficulty 8.7
9.3
Dark Souls dekker101
Dark Souls
Yeah we are going to talk about Dark Souls, If you played Daemon Souls you should know that there is a lot in common with these 2 games in fact there both made by from softwere. Dark Souls is about its Difficulty, they intended this game to be really hard so if your not hard core don't buy this game but if you love a good Difficulty then get this game. The Depth this game is pretty good, it has good role playing it really lets you build your player and there some really cool loot but exploring is a little small, yes it is open world( at least at the Lordran) its cool but it could have been bigger. The game has a good base lore but the story is kinda just there, you are the chosen undead and you must re link the flame(bond fires) by going to the kiln of the first flame, you must also succeed Gywn Lord of Cinder because he I think became a undead but you can choose to kill him and not lite the bond fire and become the new Dark Lord of Lordran aka Evil ending. The game will have keep coming back for more, Why because 1 there are so many builds you can make and new game + which will let you play the game over again but with all the stuff you had at end game, the bad thing is your going to need it because it just got a whole lot harder. The game Hardly has music so I cant rate it very high for sound but there is music in boss fights and some place like the firelink shrine the boss music not that great but the music when you fight Gywn is magical( it made me cry) for a only console game it looks really good for and Xbox360/PS3 game and not too long ago they started making the PC port. Over all you should really buy this game because it is really awesome.
PS : Lost in blight-town better praise the Sun!
Graphics 9 Sound 4 Addictive 8 Story 5 Depth 7 Difficulty 10
Review Rating: 5/5
Submitted: 07-18-12
Review Replies: 0
9.5
Dark Souls Flaming_Tori
Dark souls is a great game.
The graphics are dark which builds a great atmosphere . The world mostly seems dark and bleak, especially when walking through the New Londo Ruins. Almost everywhere the player looks will display death or destruction. One of the first areas of the game is a town that has been abandoned by everyone sane due to the attack of demons, knights and dragons which attacked the people, exploring through this area can be very humbling.
The music is nice but is repetitive.
Once you get into the game it is very addictive, Definitely will play again. Like many RPGs, Dark Souls has a character customization and has many different play styles, most of which are very different. Each weapon has its own unique move set allowing players to play how they want to. There are also three different types of magic called pyromancies, soul sorceries and miracles, These can also change a play style dramatically.
The game has a great story, most of it isn't in your face allowing the player to make their own story for certain parts.
For someone playing for the first time it will take a very long time, For someone who has played at least once the game will seem very quick.
Dark souls isn't an easy game to start, mostly because of the vague control descriptions and the first hostile enemy is too strong for the first encounter. Once the player learns the move set of the enemy's they will find the game significantly easier.
The player (known as the Chosen Undead) is released from a jail cell by a knight on the ceiling( his name is Oscar.) Eventually the player finds Oscar who has been smashed through the roof and on the edge of death. Oscar requests the player to travel to the land of Lordran to finish his quest. This is were the players story begins. Most of the games lore can be found by talking to NPCs and reading item descriptions, it is then up to the player to fill in the blanks and make the story part of their own.
Graphics 7 Sound 4 Addictive 10 Story 8 Depth 7 Difficulty 6
Review Rating: 4/5
Submitted: 12-15-15
Updated: 12-16-15
Review Replies: 2
9
Dark Souls - Difficulty lives up to reputation rcarter2
One thing I get tired of when it comes to modern games is how easy they really are. Checkpoints every 2 minutes, virtually no repercussions for dying other than loading again right before the part where you died, pretty universal way of winning from beginning to end, etc. I often read around trying to find the games known to be the most difficult. Dark Souls was near the top of any list or article I read, so I purchased it to give it a shot. If you have not played Dark Souls, and love difficult games, this does not disappoint. But this game has MUCH more to offer than high difficulty. This is one of the most effectively customizable game plays I have ever seen in a game like this.?
Graphics - 9/10
Being a game made for High Definition, of course the graphics are going to be top notch and pretty realistic. Dark Souls put a very heavy focus on the environment. This game takes place in the Kingdom of Lordran, which is a state of the Earth that is best described as a world of the Undead (I will get to that later). In this Kingdom of Lordran, you will find MANY different environments. Some old and decrepit, some glorious and illuminating, some in between. Then your sections that are more elemental such as underground in a volcanic cave, to a castle within an icy crystal cavern, or green forests. The list is too long to keep going, but you get the point. One thing these places all have in common is that they are all given a very creepy and lonely vibe (appropriate for a realm of the undead). The details in all of these environments are nothing short of breathtaking. Very often, you can lose yourself standing on a cliff just to look at an endless valley with a colorful sky as the bright sun is setting, or watch lava seep from the cavern ceiling and flow to the hundreds of feet below you. Every piece of ruin, down to the last brick, seemed to be given un-rushed care and attention.
The characters and enemies are also pretty highly detailed. Unfortunately, your character's facial features are not so much. But this is forgivable as you will not likely really see your face much after you get more equipment. But the enemy sprites are done very well. The giant creatures are a work of art as they are creatively unique. Some are rugged and broad, some have the true appearance of grace and swiftness. But the developers did a very good job at making all of them look highly dangerous, even if they are friendly to you. This just adds on to the feeling of having to watch your back at all times and not make the wrong decisions.
Even though your character itself wasn't done quite as well, it is likely because of how customizable your look really is in this game. One thing I love about this game is the countless different clothing and armors your can equip on your character. The amount of looks you can have nearly rivals Skyrim, and that is saying something. But what I like is how detailed and differentiated the type of outfits really are. You can make yourself clearly fast and nimble, or you can literally look like a monstrous tank. Overall, the graphics are astounding and well done, but slightly docked for some sprite details.
Sound - 10/10
First I will discuss the music. With modern games, music is a very important element as it gives us the feeling of being a part of a cinematic movie. It very much heightens the experience if done properly. One unique thing about Dark Souls is that they seemed to have mastered the art of doing a lot by doing very little with music. In almost all of your environments, there is either no music not even noticeable music. But the times they do it are true mood changers. The one you hear the most is in your most revisited area (kind of like your central location between everywhere else) called the Firelink Shrine. It starts off very quiet, but gets louder. It is slow, relaxing, but tragically sad at the same time. I always actually looked forward to coming back here to hear the music of the area. It just had a personal effect of me. For the most part, the only other areas you hear real music would be the boss battles, and they do not disappoint. One thing about the bosses here are that almost all of them are impossibly huge compared. But it is still the music that makes your heart pound. Your fight with the Gravelord Nito is bone chilling. The music makes you know that you are in an epic lock horned battle. That is except for the very last boss fight. They took an artistic turn with this fight where instead of something adrenaline inducing, it is soft symphonic piano. Weird, huh? But it surprisingly works.
Sound effects is another example of doing a lot with very little. One thing most games do is take realistic sounds to the extreme. In this game, it is done in a very literal sense. The sounds are realistic enough, but they are only done when you would hear them in real life. No over the top whooshing noises as you swing your blade or epic sword clash noise. Sounds boring, but this game has a very realistic sense to it, so anything but this would feel inappropriate. But the best use of sound is it's
replacement for background music. Before, I mentioned there were areas of no music. Those are typically
replaced by eerie sound, whether it be water dripping in a murky asylum, wind blowing, or the sound of high heat emitting from molten lava. Without these subtle details, the whole sound department would have felt severely lacking. Overall, if anyone knows how to do more with less, Namco Bandai and Software do.
Story - 8/10
It was very hard for me to explain how this story is. I am ashamed to say I will use wikipedia's description as it nails it. "Dark Souls has a minimalistic plot. Events and their significance are often implicit and left to player interpretation rather than fully shown or explained. Much of the story and lore of the world is given to the player through dialogue from characters within the world, item descriptions, or the scarce cutscenes. It is mostly left up to the player to put the pieces together." (Wikipedia). To reword this, it is a story that is not simply given to you in detailed cutscenes and dialogue. There is actually very little dialogue cutscenes, and you might have very little idea of why you are doing what you are doing until after you play it the second time. It is actually a very open to interpretation plot, which make it unique to each person. Again, it is more realistic. Your character never talks. So you simply have to take what is said to you, decide for yourself what is truth and lies, and decide accordingly. Though choices aren't abundant, there are some that do alter aspects of the game. Some of them are not important to the plot. For example, there are many different guilds you can join. Progressing in one could mean harming another, which effects your multiplayer experience.
In a nutshell, this is the concept of the story. During the formation of Earth within the Universe, dragons dominated the world. Humans and the Lords of fire emerged later. 4 beings came from the Darkness. These beings used the Souls of Lords to overthrow the dragons with the help of Seath the Scaleless, a dragon who's betrayal was due to his anger at not being immortal as the other dragons. Upon the overthrowing the dragons, the Age of Fire began for these newly appointed gods and the human race. But as this glorious time dwindled, humans became affected by what is known as the Darksign, making them somewhat immortal shells called the Undead. As they become undead, they slowly lose their humanity, becoming 'Hallows", which are near mindless and violent shells of their former selves. Your character is a prophesied "chosen undead". You have not yet become a true hallow, and you are supposed to either re-kindle the flame to return things back to the ways of the Age of Flame (but can one day dwindle again) or kill the flame, plunging the world into an age of darkness to rid it of the curse of the Darksign, also appointing you as Lord of Dark.
Depth - 10/10
As I said before, the story is minimalistic, which is not a bad thing when done right. But because of this, the story itself has only as much depth as you can interpret from it. It is a very weird concept, but this will not be appealing to all who play it. Many like descriptive stories, and they won't get that here. But one thing that this ?game is revered for is its custimization capabilities. Everyone has played games where you choose your classes, choose from a wide arrangement of weapons, shields, armors, magic, etc. But one thing I see about those games is that the different classes don't COMPLETELY change the experience. This game is by far the best at this. I have never seen a game where the choice of weapons and how you upgrade them mattered more than Dark Souls. with hundreds of weapons, every single one truly has it's own strategy. There isn't just a strategy for dexterity weapons, a strategy for strength weapons, etc. You need to find a specific weapon that truly fits best for you, and base your stat level ups around your weapon. Usually, it is the other way around. I love a twist where you level up based on your weapon, not choose your weapon based on how you level up. And your armor has to compliment your weapon. All armor has its perks and drops. If choice of armor can very easily make your wielded weapon extremely ineffective. The first time playing, it is almost overwhelming. But once you finally get a good knowledge bank of what works with what, you can make so many different characters that give you true unique experiences.
Difficulty - 10/10
This is what drew me to this game in the first place. It was rated as one of the most difficult games for this console generation, and I am inclined to agree. At first, I blamed it on blocky movements and ineffective battle interface. But that was just me not knowing how to correctly choose weapon and armors that complimented each other or found a setup that worked best for me. This game is simply just very challenging. It is very easy to get comfortable and confident in this game. You spend a while farming for souls (currency for buying equipment as well as leveling up), get strong, and feel invincible. Then you realize that no matter how strong you are, even the weaker enemies can tear you apart if you slip up. There are some enemies that will die in one hit if you max a few stats, but will still kill you in 2 seconds without giving you a chance to respond if you let them hit you. And it is like this all the time. You have to be on your guard. The bosses can really give you a headache. One thing I have noticed most boss fights nowadays are all about finding a general pattern and memorizing. Looking for telltale movements and prepare. In this game, boss fights are all about reflexes and real skill. You can't just memorize patters because there are none. You can see certain movements that identify what they are about to do, but most of their movements are things they do with their attack, so you can't just prepare for it. You have to be fast as well as very strategic on how to continue. And another cool thing is that every time you beat this game, you start over (with all of your equipment and upgrades), but the game is exponentially harder each time you beat it (until you beat it for the 7th time, in which the difficulty is maxed). This game will give you a real challenge.
Addictiveness - 7/10
This game is very subjective. You either really like it or you hate it. This game just won't draw you in if you are in the middle. I personally loved it, so I found it extremely addicting. Others, I can see just getting too frustrated. I loved the feature where there was real consequences for dying. Buying upgrades and leveling up is all about collecting the currency, which is souls. you get souls for killing enemies. Now, here is the kicker. If you die, you lose all the souls you have acquired. So hopefully, you don't have much souls because you leveled up or upgraded your weapons. If you were on your way to a level up bonfire or a blacksmith, you are in for a world of hurt if you die on the way. Luckily, you have an opportunity to get them back. You must go back to the exact spot that you died. If you find your bloodstain, you will get your souls back. However, if you die again before you get to the spot, those souls are lost to you forever and you must start from scratch on souls. The item, humanity, also plays a vital role in strengthening your character. You lose all humanity you collected if you die. I love the feature, but many really hate it. It is the cause of a lot of frustration with this game. I get it. Losing 50,000 souls you either spent a couple hours collecting or beating a tough boss (that you can't fight again) is infuriating. So this decreases the addictiveness a little.
Multiplayer
This has a very cool multiplayer system. In this case, you don't play against a bunch of people. You don't play co-op. I said before that you have a choice of many guilds. I'll go into this soon. The way multiplayer works is getting a specific item that, when used, allows you to literally invade another player's single player game. You invade as an enemy. You spawn fairly close to the player, and you hunt him/her down. If they kill you, they get a soul payout dependent on your level. If you kill them, you get a nice hefty soul payout and some humanity. thing is, some of the less noble players will wait until you are already fighting multiply NPC's and strike you from behind. If you have a noble invader, they will get in your view, and bow. They wait for you to bow, and the battle begins. It is proper etiquette, but not everyone follows it. Anyway, different guilds let you invade certain ways. There are a number of light, chaos, or dark guilds. Certain guilds have a tendency to invade a specific other guild member's game. There is a hunter's guild that summons you when another player enters this specific forest. When summoned, you are taken to that player's game to fight them in that forest. Another is like a bounty hunter guild. When killed by someone, you can report them with a specific item that puts them on a list. This bounty hunter guild sends its members to invade those who were reported of murdering another person in their game as a form of justice. I can't go through all the guilds, but it is very fun to play around with them.
Another thing you can do is use an item to mark the floor so everyone can see that mark in their game. It can give advice or warnings, or it can allow members of your guild to summon you to help them fight the boss of that stage. Of course, you get a hefty soul payout if you succeed in helping them kill the boss.
I think it is a very cool multiplayer system that keeps you on your toes.
Overall - 9/10
This is definitely a game unlike any I have ever played. It has a minimalistic plot that I love because it is more realistic and leaves the plot for you to interpret your own way. It has the most effective customization system I have ever seen in which weapons truly do make all the difference in your experience in the game and your armor choice can make or break your weapon choice. I love that it is a system that you level yourself up to fit your equipment, not the other way around. The multiplayer system is not like most games and keeps things interesting. The developers mastered making effective sound effects and music with more realistic sense than over emphasized. And of course, the difficulty of this game lives up to the reputation. So if you want a unique and challenging experience, go buy Dark Souls and put your skills to the test.
Graphics 9 Sound 10 Addictive 7 Story 8 Depth 10 Difficulty 10
Review Rating: 3/5
Submitted: 07-30-13
Review Replies: 1
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