Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starshands down the best game I've ever played
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2013
Story:
The story in dark souls is a grim dark world where the character is undead. The character is branded with a dark sign, which causes the player to respawn after he dies. The whole world is undead, but there are few humans that remain. Their souls are soon fading and soon the whole world is to become hollow. The goal of the player is to stop the curse of the undead. the intro cinematic is fanastic and shows how the world came to be in this dark age however, very little is told to the player when a new game starts.. it is up to the player to interact with NPCs to figure out the quest at hand. it is an adventure and a mystery to figure out what do to next.
Levels:
The game is open world, meaning no loading screens when traveling to a different area. this keeps the action and suspense alive. the levels are all intertwined and actually very close together. meaning running from the far side of themap to another wont take very long due to cleverly placed shortcuts. about the map, there isnt any. the player is left in darkness where he is going, but its clear what path to take. getting lost in a dark tomb is one of the elements of the game that makes it fun. one level, the tomb of giants is pitch black, and is only navigable by means of an external light source, a spell or an item.
Ambiance:
the ambiance in this game is astonishing, you start out in an undead aslyum where the hallowed are locked away for enternity to meet the end of the world. Once leaving, you start out at an entrance of the castle walls of Lordran, the fictional world of the game. as the game progresses, the game either reaches higher or lower elevation. the lower elevation, the slums of the city is ransacked and occupied with thieves. lower is the sewers, filled with rats and slime. lower is blighttown, a poisonous slum at the end of the sewers occupied with bugs and spiders. lower is the demon ruins, a place reminiscent of Hell. and the lowest point, lost Izalith, where the birthplace of pyromancy and the home of the Witch of Izalith is filled with demons and Lava. Conversely, travelling upwards in elevation you reach the city of Anor Londo, home of Gwyndolin and the children of the Lord Gwyn. It is a heavenly place guarded by giant sentries and silver knights. The views are breath taking, and the draw distance of the game makes you able to see a large boss or enemy as far as your eyes can see.
Graphics:
The graphics are great when applied the DSfix by durante. This makes the internal resolution match your computer's resolution, and the game is seen the way its supposed to be played.
Combat:
The combat style in dark souls is spectacular. The game seems very difficult to new players that simply just mash the "R1" (light attack) button. enemies can parry or back stab you or stun you if you do not block, or parry attacks of your own. The whole game can be easy if you get comfortable with the fighting style and learn how to dodge and block. The game is much more complex than a simple RPG where you hold down 1 button and everything on the screen dies. This is probably the only game where it can be beaten many times over when your character is only level 1 due to combat skill. you can beat the game using minimal equipment and weak weapons if you know how to fight correctly.
Difficulty:
Dark Souls is a game that punishes new players repeatedly. The prepare to die title of this game is accurate, where new players figure the game out by trial and error, and eventually learn the play style after being punished repeatedly by death. This game is truly for Mature audiences that want a challenge and for adults that do not get frustrated easily. the game can be simply beaten by skill, so artificial difficulty does not exist here. the bosses are beaten by strategies and techniques, not simply brute force. the bosses are designed to be very challenging and simply running up to them and slapping them with a sword does not work. it gives a sense of accomplishment when you beat a boss, and its a rewarding experience to finally have a giant dragon be actually challenging.
character creation:
The character creation is limitless. You have starting classes that come with different equipment and pre-distributed stats. A knight has high HP and strong armor, suitable for good combat. A sorcerer, has lighter armor, and more points into intellgience rather than strength. however, this does not mean your knight cannot use spells, or your sorceror cannot use large weapons. anything is possible, it is up to the player to distribute the stat points required to use spells or use weapons.
Game mechanics:
the game is immensely complex. There are many different attributes of the player rather than simple vitality strength dex and mana. There is endurance which dictates how many swings the character can do, how far you can run without stopping, how much equipment they can hold, and the speed of which they dodge and run. Endurance is a very important stat that punishes players that use very heavy armor and high strength without endurance. this makes it so a slow moving tank is easy to backstab, or punish when they miss an attack. there are pros and cons of every build, and finding the right amount of every stat is very important.
online/PVP:
The normal story line and PvE is enough to be a 10/10 game. the online portion of the game makes it even more fun. Players can invade the world of others if they are in "Human" form. You are open to random invasions for people looking to take your life and claim your humanity. being in human form adds another aspect of suspense because you never know when someone will come into your wold and kill you. similar to diablo 2 hostile mode, a player can come in and kill you. however, you can use the terrain of the map and monsters to your advantage. leading a player into a trap, or into a large monster is common in invasions, and kicking a player off a cliff is another strategy to use. players can join covenants in the game to enhance their online play. The forest hunter covenant allows the player to be summoned into a players world who is trespassing into the darkroot forest. killing the invader rewards the player with items and allows the player to strengthen their bond with the covenant, thus unlocking more items or spells. the PVP aspect of the game is available at any point and at any level, as long as you have the right items, or covenants available.
Cons:
The only con in this game is the unfinished portion of lost izalith. this section of the map seemed to be rushed, and the PvE here is not as rewarding as other levels. other than this, the game is still solid, and the other levels make up for the disappointment of lost izalith.
Conclusion:
overall dark souls is my favorite game of all time, and i felt it necessary to post a lengthy review. The storyline, gameplay, and level design makes it a 9.5/10 game, and the addition of PvP bumps it up to 10/10. I think it will be near impossible to find a game that i like better.
![Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition [Online Game Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51+Tgz+ag8L._AC_US60_SCLZZZZZZZ__.jpg)
