Dark Souls 2

What do you think of things like having to return to the first fire to level. It serves zero gameplay purpose, it is just an extra chore that they had already removed from DS. The lizards now don't stop from disappearing when you hit them, why change that? The lizards now have zero pathfinding what so ever, they will just run straight, even if there is an open path 10 degrees to their left they run straight off cliffs., why change that? Stun locking is now a very common thing considering poise is basically useless. Passing through mist gates now leaves you vulnerable (one of the few things that made large parts of DS1 bearable was running past guards once you tried a boss for the 10th time).

Just loads of little things like that which make the game more of a chore. I bet their argument is it stops "exploits", part of what made DS1 bearable was exploits and regardless of that, people have already found ways to complete the entire game in less than 1h:50, which will only speed up.

Also yeah I would agree the world is significantly weaker in terms of world design, nothing really links nicely like in DS1. Not much need to when you can just teleport anywhere, definately takes away from the magic.

i agree with everything you said except for lizards and mist walls

i don't remember both of those behaving any differently?

Lizards used to stop fading out as long as you kept hitting them, meaning you didn't have to two shot them or your screwed. The also had mild path finding, so they would still run off a cliff if they had no choice, but if there was a path about 30 degrees in front of them they would go in that direction, gave you a chance to get the ones in more difficult situations.

The mist wall made you invulnerable once you stepped mid way into it. So you could get hit just as you entered, but after that you were fine.

I am fucking loving this game. I'd say it's better than DS1. The atmosphere is fantastic, they stepped up big time, the graphics are a lot more consistent and well thought out.

They've improved so much over DS1, and don't get me wrong I love DS1 even if I started playing it super late and totally suck at it. There's just some so magical about DS2 that I can't help but love it. The one thing I'd be tempted to agree with is the teleporting, it takes away a little of the true feeling of exploration and battling that came with having to physically battle through areas, but I can see why they've done it.

Overall though.. 10 out of 10. This is just the most sublime game i've played in a loooong time. I actually caved in and bought it for the 360, now just waiting for the PC version to unlock.

Awesome Rick, that's so good to hear. Dark Souls is probably my favourite games of 'last gen', I'm glad to hear something good about it

Fuck all you haterz, Rick's the man. Getting it on PC next month

Don't get me wrong, its still great. I have put 22 hours into it so far, but I just don't think its as complete/polished an experience as DS1. That's having played 100h+ of Demon souls, getting NG+++ in DS on PS3 and then completing it again on PC.

I'm afraid of this game, but not because of the atmosphere, but because of how much it would consume my life

PC yais

i champed the fuck out of two more bosses this evening, but god damn is xbox live a piece of shit. pro tip if you want to have the same xbox in different countries then forget that fucking idea right quick. fuck microsoft, i should have bought it on PS3, but the controller is shit and the graphics are worse. sucks to be such a whore and i suffer for my decisions.

i'm feeling a little underwhelmed with weapon choices on the first playthrough, the heide knight sword is still my standard weapon, and using the drangleic shield and most of the armour (using heide knight helmet). i want to use an ultra greatsword so damn much but it's slow and the damage output is minimal compared to the heide knight sword after i +5'd it and dumped a lot of levels into STR. i guess using elemental buffs or poison would improve a greatsword but it just doesn't feel worth it. i guess they come into their own in NG+.

i'm still sort of fumbling around like a dickhead just sword and board but god damn is it fun as fuck. and wrecking some 20 foot tall dickhead with 4 swords and two heads when all you've got is a shitty little knife with no reach feels pretty damn inspiring. i am still shouting "fuck yeah!" every time i beat a boss so it's at least got that going for it.

as for the levelling up at the 'home base' i think that's more of an atmosphere thing, you get to speak to.. whatever her name is.. and that place starts to feel like a safe home, especially as it gets more populated with the various NPCs and merchants.

i just pray to the old gods that the pc version will push the graffixxx a little more, i want the E3 lighting back, some higher res textures and more shiny effects. there's nothing wrong with how it is now, and if we'd never seen the E3 build then nobody would be complaining but it's too late for that now, and i just want fancy shiny shit to look at while i get my shit pushed in.

/side note

i'm super disappointed mapcore dumps 40 pages into fucking battlefield 4 and we're sitting on page 2 of what is arguably and demonstrably the best game released in the last 2 years.

Quote from Rick_D

/side note

i'm super disappointed mapcore dumps 40 pages into fucking battlefield 4 and we're sitting on page 2 of what is arguably and demonstrably the best game released in the last 2 years.

Mapcore in a nutshell...

Quote from Rick_D

/side note

i'm super disappointed mapcore dumps 40 pages into fucking battlefield 4 and we're sitting on page 2 of what is arguably and demonstrably the best game released in the last 2 years.

really, dark souls (1 at least, haven't tried 2) is an inaccessable mess where most of the popularity comes from the gamer-cred you get from finishing it. It's absolutely full of poor design choices justified by nostalgia for old games that were incredibly difficult in order to artificially create more value/playtime. And unlike good hard games (think Super Meat Boy), the game provides little to no sense of progression, and checkpoints are spread out so much that in the end you just end up trying to make a mad dash to just see what's next. Also unlike other great hard games, the game controls really badly, animations are so slow and clunky that you feel like you have no control of your character. It's as if someone made Skate 2 into an RPG and took out the skateboards. The game is about as niche as it gets.

*runs* *dives out window*

Quote from Marcem

really, dark souls (1 at least, haven't tried 2) is an inaccessable mess where most of the popularity comes from the gamer-cred you get from finishing it. It's absolutely full of poor design choices justified by nostalgia for old games that were incredibly difficult in order to artificially create more value/playtime. And unlike good hard games (think Super Meat Boy), the game provides little to no sense of progression, and checkpoints are spread out so much that in the end you just end up trying to make a mad dash to just see what's next. Also unlike other great hard games, the game controls really badly, animations are so slow and clunky that you feel like you have no control of your character. It's as if someone made Skate 2 into an RPG and took out the skateboards. The game is about as niche as it gets.

*runs* *dives out window*

I'm not posting because I'm too busy playing and loving the game!

I agree with you about being inaccessible, but disagree with most of your other points. You should play DS2 before you try to critique it. It's not fair to extrapolate your experience of DS1 onto DS2 because a lot of things are different.

• Poor design choices? Their combat is pretty incredible, basing it off timing and reading your opponents is some of the most well done in the genre. Placing limits on the player via equipment load or stamina makes some pretty hard choices that are also pretty simple. The way the game communicates this balance is done really well also.
• Little to no sense of progression? I can't remember a game where I have a stronger feeling of "I can't believe I used to struggle with this area, or with these enemies". The sense of progression in this game is amazing. The nonlinear world allows you to push into one area until you hit a difficulty wall, then try another area.
• Checkpoints too far apart? I honestly think they are too close together in DS2. In some cases you just go around a few corners and there is a new one.
• Bad controls? Again, the game gives you enough options and controls to counter almost anything thrown at you, so long as the player is being cautious and responding correctly. There are the occasional bugs with lock on or my greatsword tends to attack the complete wrong direction but its almost in the nature of the game.

Quote from Marcem

really, dark souls (1 at least, haven't tried 2) is an inaccessable mess where most of the popularity comes from the gamer-cred you get from finishing it. It's absolutely full of poor design choices justified by nostalgia for old games that were incredibly difficult in order to artificially create more value/playtime. And unlike good hard games (think Super Meat Boy), the game provides little to no sense of progression, and checkpoints are spread out so much that in the end you just end up trying to make a mad dash to just see what's next. Also unlike other great hard games, the game controls really badly, animations are so slow and clunky that you feel like you have no control of your character. It's as if someone made Skate 2 into an RPG and took out the skateboards. The game is about as niche as it gets.

*runs* *dives out window*

Dude. Dark Souls is pretty accessible. There is a huge sense of progression. Checkpoints are fine and actually provide a challenge. Controls are fine, feels very responsive.

Put the crack pipe down!

I"m around level 84 now. Series is still in a class of its own level design wise. It practically doesn't get any better. The world structure and pacing set the bar some time ago and I don't know that it's been matched.

Destroying people for the rat king is some devious shit. Poor people that wander into that place, I'm honestly not sure how I've got this many so far since there's about fuck all to find in the graves but they keep coming. Pretending to be a stone rat statue to back stab someone may be the highlight of my life.

Trying hard not to reply to that abomination of a post above, whoo boy.

Sure there are plenty of games that hit the world structure. Pretty much any Metroid style game does it like this. If anything DS2 has none of the elements that made DS1 world so amazing.

Has Crytek sucked away your ability to have fun?

Jokes aside. I totally get where you are coming from. DS1 had some mind blowing moments of revelation, like when you create the shortcut from the drake bridge to the bonfire below it, or when you realise that the parish is literally right above firelink shrine.

all the numerous hidden paths and shortcuts, it demands so much from the player and rewards curiosity and hard work. i wouldn't say that is missing completely from DS2, but it's definitely dialed back. i wonder if that's because they wanted to make it accessible or if it's just how they wanted to make the game.. after seeing some of the crazy way they've hidden shit i get a feeling it's just how they wanted to make the game.

Exactly. I think its because they wanted to make the world larger with more area and realised that looping that all around itself would just be too hard, so they went back to a more Demon Souls approach.

Quote from Marcem

really, dark souls (1 at least, haven't tried 2) is an inaccessable mess where most of the popularity comes from the gamer-cred you get from finishing it. It's absolutely full of poor design choices justified by nostalgia for old games that were incredibly difficult in order to artificially create more value/playtime. And unlike good hard games (think Super Meat Boy), the game provides little to no sense of progression, and checkpoints are spread out so much that in the end you just end up trying to make a mad dash to just see what's next. Also unlike other great hard games, the game controls really badly, animations are so slow and clunky that you feel like you have no control of your character. It's as if someone made Skate 2 into an RPG and took out the skateboards. The game is about as niche as it gets.

*runs* *dives out window*

git gud

sure dark souls is pretty inaccesable BUT all the other points you made ... lead me to think that you are high on crack sir !

-the world structure is awesome

-the feeling of progression is super strong

-the controls are "satisfieng" although totally unintuitiv

-atmosphere and visual design UNMATCHED

also battlefield vs dark souls thread page count:

playing dark souls beats talking about it

Quote from Rick_D

/side note

i'm super disappointed mapcore dumps 40 pages into fucking battlefield 4 and we're sitting on page 2 of what is arguably and demonstrably the best game released in the last 2 years.

Yeah, it's not like we didn't promote. I posted what, 5 videos or something. Shit just didn't take off.

I didn't want to talk about this game because I tried to not watch ANY news or video from this game ! Want to keep the surprise until the end !!