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Dark Souls II

Started by Sakura, May 03, 2014, 11:00:16 PM

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Sakura

So for those not in the know, Dark Souls is an Action RPG (ARPG) series played in the third-person where the player takes on the role of an unnamed character who doesn't speak (in the Gordon Freeman sense).  The player starts out in a Shakespearian nether dimension called "Things Betwixt" surrounded by ghouls, ogres, and zombies.  Seeking out a coven of women known as the "fire keepers" (merciful women blessed/cursed with the fates to watch the bonfires to save the last vestiges of humanity), they restore the player's humanity and show the player who they actually are once more (cue the player creation screen).

Picking between something like 7 beginning professions, the player is then given free range to progress their abilities in any way they see fit.  Travelling from the Things Betwixt, the player will start their journey in Majula - an odd place where time seems to stand still, eternally held in sunset.  Here you will meet some allies who will equip and aid you on your journey.  After you leave here, the only help you will receive will be from phantoms -- select NPCs and other players who choose to aid you in your battles.  And you'll need the help, because this is a Dark Souls game.

At this point, it's up to you the player to decide where to go, and when to go there, and how soon you will.  In the end you will need to either light the 4 primal bonfires, or nab yourself 1,000,000 souls total collected (called a "soul memory,") so that you can proceed to the second half of the game.  Do you have what it takes to defeat the wonders and horrors of Valicia, or will you be another nameless dreck buried up on Boot Hill?

So description aside, I have to say that I absolutely love this game more than the first Dark Souls, more than Demon's Souls, and more than the King's Field series.  One thing they did to improve the game is make characters not look so damned hideous.  They all start being fully masculine and stuff, but if you play with the advanced options you can make any feminine characters you want (probably not a factor for most of you).

The game is very open ended, and has some pretty amazing online this time around.  No GFWL, so it runs almost perfectly for multiplayer.  There is one catch when it comes to invasions and summoning: sometimes a person gets grabbed by someone else before you can summon, and then you can't find summons.  But it's not like before where if you found summons you had a 5% chance of successfully summoning them.

Anyway, this is a picture of my Cleric character, which I kind of stopped playing in favour of my current character (who is a Bell Keeper; so if you walk into Belfry Sol or Belfry Luna, I'll be there to impale and exsanguinate you).

rollntider

A buddy at work is raving about it, he liked the first one better but said this was a great game..