I caved and bought the console version 2 days ago. I'm up to the lost bastille. So far, I'm really impressed with most of it. It does seem a bit easier so far. I've died a few times but it does seem more forgiving than Dark Souls did. One thing that does concern me though it that the horror atmosphere and disturbing areas don't seem to be there so far.

Written by [user id=142921] on 18.04.2014 at 18:10

The game has not been as well thought in relation to setting/environment etc as the previous two. Seems to me that more time and focus was distributed towards technical and numerical matters.

That's ultimately a subjective viewpoint though. I slightly prefer the overall setting on this one as it's not as reliant on dingy, dark areas and generally has a lot of variety going on. Certainly I would cherry pick areas from Dark Souls, and maybe Boletaria from Demon's Souls to make a game with perfect locales, but on the whole I think the new one has the best set, by a small degree. It could just be because there's more areas though.

Dark Souls II

Aldia's Keep - A+
Belfry Luna / Belfry Sol - B (nice throwback to the Gargoyle boss from I)
Black Gulch - C
Brightstone Cove Tseldora - C
Dark Chasm of Old - E (fuck this place)
Doors of Pharros - B+
Dragon Aerie - B
Dragon Shrine - B+
Drangleic Castle - B
Earthen Peak - C (kind of a weak Sen's Fortress)
Forest of Fallen Giants - A
Grave of Saints - D- (yawn)
Harvest Valley - C
Heide's Tower of Flame - A
Huntsman's Copse - B-
Iron Keep - C+
Majula - A
No-Man's Wharf - D+
Shaded Ruins - B
Shaded Woods - B+
Shrine of Amana - A
Sinner's Rise - B
The Gutter - C
The Lost Bastille - B
Things Betwixt - B+
Undead Crypt - D (yawn again)

Dark Souls I

Anor Londo - A
Ash Lake - A+
Blighttown - C
Chasm of the Abyss - D
Crystal Cave - C+
Darkroot Basin - B+
Darkroot Garden - B
Demon Ruins - C-
Depths - C
Firelink Shrine - B+
Kiln of the First Flame - B
Lost Izalith - C-
New Londo Ruins - B
Northern Undead Asylum - C+
Oolacile / Royal Wood - B+
Painted World of Ariamis - B
Sen's Fortress - B
The Catacombs - D (yawn)
The Duke's Archives - C+
The Great Hollow - C-
Tomb of the Giants - E (fuck this place in particular)
Undead Burg - B+
Undead Parish - A
Valley of Drakes - C+

Demon's Souls

The Nexus - B+
Boletarian Palace - A
Stonefang Tunnel - D+ (pretty yawn inducing)
Tower of Latria - C
Shrine of Storms - B+
Valley of Defilement - D (yawn)

I suppose on the whole Dark Souls I and II are about even. Not sure why I prefer II. I guess it's the improved playability and bigger world or something.

Written by [user id=4365] on 18.04.2014 at 19:18

"Huge fuck off list"

I suppose on the whole Dark Souls I and II are about even. Not sure why I prefer II. I guess it's the improved playability and bigger world or something.

I agree with most except for tower of Latria scoring so low. For me, 3-1 has been the best area in the souls' series so far. It's creepy, disturbing, and it has that horror feel through it's entirety.

Written by whatsacow on 19.04.2014 at 11:13

I agree with most except for tower of Latria scoring so low. For me, 3-1 has been the best area in the souls' series so far. It's creepy, disturbing, and it has that horror feel through it's entirety.

It could just be that I have bad memories of it as I got stuck for hours trying to find that staircase in the first prison-area bit that's narrowly wedged in a wall between two corridors.

Written by [user id=4365] on 19.04.2014 at 12:25

Written by whatsacow on 19.04.2014 at 11:13

I agree with most except for tower of Latria scoring so low. For me, 3-1 has been the best area in the souls' series so far. It's creepy, disturbing, and it has that horror feel through it's entirety.

It could just be that I have bad memories of it as I got stuck for hours trying to find that staircase in the first prison-area bit that's narrowly wedged in a wall between two corridors.

Oh yeah. Same here! But the atmosphere makes me forget stuff like that.

Written by whatsacow on 19.04.2014 at 12:33

Oh yeah. Same here! But the atmosphere makes me forget stuff like that.

Actually I could bump that area up a bit, as the boss was quite a cool concept. Took me a while to figure out what I had to do to finally be able to kill her. (the Maneater bosses were kinda memorable too, if only for their cheap kill tactics).

Okay, now I have a number of problems with the game:

- Enemy tracking is cheap bullshit.
- Recycled enemies and areas.
- Nonsensical geography. When you look at Earthen Peak from Harvest Valley, where the hell is the Iron Keep? Why is it that Harvest Valley is a swamp with an overcast sky, yet when I get to Iron Keep the sky is now red and I'm surrounded by lava? How the hell is No Man's Wharf sea level yet I'm in a cave above the sea?
- Enemies being placed so they can kill you at bonfires is seriously fucking retarded.
- It takes so long to get the Maiden in Green to shut up and let you level.
- Most levels aren't as intricate as Dark Souls or Demon's Souls.
- NPC's just go to majula now? They don't leave or have character arcs like they used to?

Dark Souls 2 is still good, but nowhere near as good as the other entries in the series.

Written by whatsacow on 26.04.2014 at 04:02

- Recycled enemies and areas.

I'm racking my brain and I can't think of any recycled enemies or areas. They even have new enemies in new game+ so I'd be surprised if this was true.

Quote:
- Enemy tracking is cheap bullshit.
- Enemies being placed so they can kill you at bonfires is seriously fucking retarded.

I don't think I had any significant issues with this. I felt the enemies tracks more realistically in this one.

Quote:
- NPC's just go to majula now? They don't leave or have character arcs like they used to?

Actually there's quite a few that progress through the game. I can't remember names for shit but I recall 3 off hand. You have to summon them and have them survive certain key battles for them to progress to other areas.

Written by [user id=4365] on 26.04.2014 at 19:38

Written by whatsacow on 26.04.2014 at 04:02

- Recycled enemies and areas.

I'm racking my brain and I can't think of any recycled enemies or areas. They even have new enemies in new game+ so I'd be surprised if this was true.

Quote:
- Enemy tracking is cheap bullshit.
- Enemies being placed so they can kill you at bonfires is seriously fucking retarded.

I don't think I had any significant issues with this. I felt the enemies tracks more realistically in this one.

Quote:
- NPC's just go to majula now? They don't leave or have character arcs like they used to?

Actually there's quite a few that progress through the game. I can't remember names for shit but I recall 3 off hand. You have to summon them and have them survive certain key battles for them to progress to other areas.

Ok, so some of these are subjective taste issues, but you seriously had no problems with enemies being spawned near bonfires? Sinners Rise didn't piss you right the fuck off?

Written by whatsacow on 26.04.2014 at 20:51

Ok, so some of these are subjective taste issues, but you seriously had no problems with enemies being spawned near bonfires? Sinners Rise didn't piss you right the fuck off?

Hmm, are you sure they attack you off that bat there? I thought you had to move a little before they spotted you. Admittedly some bonfires are very close to enemies but I'm fairly sure none attack you as soon as you leave the bonfire options screen.

I do think the geography issue is a legitimate complaint. I was immersed in it enough not to really notice it but it's definitely something they need to sort out in the future.

Written by [user id=4365] on 26.04.2014 at 20:55

Written by whatsacow on 26.04.2014 at 20:51

Ok, so some of these are subjective taste issues, but you seriously had no problems with enemies being spawned near bonfires? Sinners Rise didn't piss you right the fuck off?

Hmm, are you sure they attack you off that bat there? I thought you had to move a little before they spotted you. Admittedly some bonfires are very close to enemies but I'm fairly sure none attack you as soon as you leave the bonfire options screen.

I do think the geography issue is a legitimate complaint. I was immersed in it enough not to really notice it but it's definitely something they need to sort out in the future.

Yep. They attack you immediately if you aren't rested at the bonfire. The most infuriating thing that happened to me in that game was dying to the lost sinner, then going to make a cup of tea to prepare myself for the next attempt. When I'd come back I'd been killed numerous times and I lost all of my souls.

Written by whatsacow on 26.04.2014 at 22:57

Yep. They attack you immediately if you aren't rested at the bonfire. The most infuriating thing that happened to me in that game was dying to the lost sinner, then going to make a cup of tea to prepare myself for the next attempt. When I'd come back I'd been killed numerous times and I lost all of my souls.

Well that's pretty annoying. It does kind of enhance the difficulty edge though, making even safe spots not that safe any more. Weirdly it managed to kill Lost Sinner first time round, but it was those hulking bastards you first encounter in the sewer before the boss that got me a couple of times. Damned water slowing me down.

Written by [user id=4365] on 26.04.2014 at 23:04

Written by whatsacow on 26.04.2014 at 22:57

Yep. They attack you immediately if you aren't rested at the bonfire. The most infuriating thing that happened to me in that game was dying to the lost sinner, then going to make a cup of tea to prepare myself for the next attempt. When I'd come back I'd been killed numerous times and I lost all of my souls.

Well that's pretty annoying. It does kind of enhance the difficulty edge though, making even safe spots not that safe any more. Weirdly it managed to kill Lost Sinner first time round, but it was those hulking bastards you first encounter in the sewer before the boss that got me a couple of times. Damned water slowing me down.

I had so much trouble with The Lost Sinner. More than any other boss. Although that could be due to lack of sleep. I kind of just lead those assholes into the water under the ledge over and over again to farm them out of existence, because they were fucking dicks.

Damn, the PC version is being butchered in the Metacritic user scores and Steam forums. I've started the game up and experienced no issues. Game looks really nice albeit I can't really any graphical improvements over the PS3 version aside from framerate and resolution. Seems like the keyboard + mouse issues are still there and some people can't even start the game up.

Written by [user id=4365] on 27.04.2014 at 13:48

Damn, the PC version is being butchered in the Metacritic user scores and Steam forums. I've started the game up and experienced no issues. Game looks really nice albeit I can't really any graphical improvements over the PS3 version aside from framerate and resolution. Seems like the keyboard + mouse issues are still there and some people can't even start the game up.

Yeah, From have noted that and they're apparently patching it soon. I haven't had a bad experience with it. Apart from mouse acceleration, it's a good port. It does look MUCH better than the console version, and on a mid range pc I haven't had it dip below 60. I am playing with a gamepad, and anyone not doing that is retarded anyway.

Written by whatsacow on 27.04.2014 at 15:53

Yeah, From have noted that and they're apparently patching it soon. I haven't had a bad experience with it. Apart from mouse acceleration, it's a good port. It does look MUCH better than the console version, and on a mid range pc I haven't had it dip below 60. I am playing with a gamepad, and anyone not doing that is retarded anyway anyway.

Things just look sharper to me, maybe the textures a little better. Has been a month now since I fired up Dark Souls II on PS3 though. Overall I do think the game is nicer looking than people give credit for. People get way too hung up on super-high fidelity textures, as if you're going to stand around looking at a wall at point blank range.

It's great that it's a solid 60fps but I could tell from the 10 minutes I played of it it's going to give me motion sickness. Hopefully I can turn down the camera movement speed for the 360 pad.

Written by [user id=4365] on 27.04.2014 at 15:56

Written by whatsacow on 27.04.2014 at 15:53

Things just look sharper to me, maybe the textures a little better. Has been a month now since I fired up Dark Souls II on PS3 though. Overall I do think the game is nicer looking than people give credit for. People get way too hung up on super-high fidelity textures, as if you're going to stand around looking at a wall at point blank range.

It's great that it's a solid 60fps but I could tell from the 10 minutes I played of it it's going to give me motion sickness. Hopefully I can turn down the camera movement speed for the 360 pad.

Yeah, you can turn it down. It's not only that the textures are better, it's also that the lighting is a little better with the ambient occlusion they added. The colours also seem sharper and brighter, especially at a distance.

I'll just say that, while Dark Souls 2 was brilliant, and quite fun, the level design wasn't anywhere near as fantastic as the first. I can't say anything for Demon's Souls, because I don't own a PS3 and I've never had the chance to play it. But the level design of Dark Souls 1 was absolute genius. Even Blighttown, while a pain in the ass, was a moody, atmospheric environment full of twists, turns, and tons of layers.

And I think that's part of what I liked about Dark Souls 1: there was tons of layers to each area. The awesome verticality meant the separate areas were basically 3D mazes stacked on top of each other, and it worked perfectly. And there were so many little corners to explore.

Dark Souls 2 didn't have quite as much atmosphere (though that may be due to the graphical quality), neither did the level design feel as interesting. Don't get me wrong, I still thought it was awesome. The Dragon Aerie was a special favorite of mine, since it looked spectacular and had a ton of interconnected pathways.

Maybe I'm just biased. I didn't even know what to expect with the first game, so it blew my mind the first time I played it. DS2 obviously couldn't quite do the same thing, though I still enjoyed it very much.

Written by [user id=142921] on 29.03.2014 at 12:51

quote

While I agree with you on quite a few points, and that Dark Souls 1 was overall better, I have to say two things

1. There was a boss at the end of Sen's Fortress: The Iron Golem

2. (slight spoilers) At the end of Dark Souls 2, you don't have to fight 3 bosses. If you get the King's Ring and go down to the Throne of Want before you have the item necessary to face the final enemy, you'll fight just two at the same time, and then the third will be alone when you come back after receiving said item.

But yeah, on the whole, Dark Souls 1 just made more sense and had better synergy. It also had great pacing/transitions from area to area. I don't know what it is about Dark Souls 2, but it doesn't seem to have captured the same magic.

Written by [user id=142921] on 03.05.2014 at 09:24


I meant within the fortress itself. I like to treat the 'roof' as it's own separate (mini) area.

First one had charm, second one didn't as much imo.

I think that just shows how interesting the level design was... you fight your way through the maze-like, trap-filled inside of Sen's Fortress just to come out on top and find what was practically a whole new area, but was still part of the same building.

So which one of the Souls series would you geniuses say is the best to begin with?

Playing Dark Souls for the first time now. At the Gaping Dragon. Everyone says it's supposed to be easy, but it's the hardest boss so far for me. Or the most frustrating, anyway. It would not be so bad if the bonfire wasn't so far away. The moveset is pretty slow, but I just don't know how to dodge all those skills, and one mistake can cost it. When it tail-swipes, I am sometimes dead in one hit. If I am lucky, I am left with 1/4 health and can chug a few flasks to heal back up. Pumping Endurance and Dexterity and rolling around in light armor.

Written by IronAngel on 04.05.2014 at 01:05

Playing Dark Souls for the first time now. At the Gaping Dragon. Everyone says it's supposed to be easy, but it's the hardest boss so far for me. Or the most frustrating, anyway. It would not be so bad if the bonfire wasn't so far away. The moveset is pretty slow, but I just don't know how to dodge all those skills, and one mistake can cost it. When it tail-swipes, I am sometimes dead in one hit. If I am lucky, I am left with 1/4 health and can chug a few flasks to heal back up. Pumping Endurance and Dexterity and rolling around in light armor.

The bonfire isn't far away, you're just missing the shortcut

Also, my review of Dark Souls 2 is out if anyone feels like reading it:

http://plus10damage.com/blog/2014/4/30/kindling-the-flame-dark-souls-2-review

Yeah, fuck. I just realized the shorter way there! Anyway, awesome game. Not the greatest game ever - it lacks in narrative and feels a bit too much like a game for that, but in its own style without peer.

I just want to say that I started playing Dark Souls 2 for PC for the last few days, and the graphical quality is leagues above the stuff on the Xbox. The shadows are amazing (not pixelated at all, and cast quite realistically with reference to the origin of the light source--i.e., when you walk around a bonfire, your shadow is cast on the side opposite the bonfire, or if there's two light sources, you see two lighter shadows), the sky boxes are MUCH improved, the textures are better, the shine of metal objects is much more real, water surfaces look nicer, enemies look less like plastic and more like undead people, and overall the atmosphere is much, MUCH improved. Also, faster load times and a noticeable lack of framerate drop/audio loss is great, too. I think it even seems easier to get matched up with other players.

Basically, everything about the PC version is better, and I'm highly satisfied.

Written by whatsacow on 05.05.2014 at 16:52

Also, my review of Dark Souls 2 is out if anyone feels like reading it:

http://plus10damage.com/blog/2014/4/30/kindling-the-flame-dark-souls-2-review

Excellent review. You got everything right on the mark. It's a fantastic game, but all the flaws you pointed out are things I agree with 100%.

My biggest thing is that the first Dark Souls had level design that was nothing short of pure brilliance. Even Blighttown, which was annoying, was still intricately designed, and while I hate it, I still love it. Dark Souls 2 was missing that coherence, that beautifully ingenious interconnectivity which brought total immersion into the space you were playing in. It's quite sad that Dark Souls 2 didn't quite achieve that brilliance.

But again, it's still on my list as GOTY for 2014. Your review for it was a great read.

Written by IronAngel on 05.05.2014 at 20:45

Yeah, fuck. I just realized the shorter way there! Anyway, awesome game. Not the greatest game ever - it lacks in narrative and feels a bit too much like a game for that, but in its own style without peer.

It doesn't lack narrative, you just have to look for it. Talk to the NPCs, read the item descriptions, and hell, just look at the world. There is a really deep and obscure story in here just waiting for you. My advice? Check this out: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLWLedd0Zw3c5RCXboUsPwHsZJlXB2CzCz

It'll fill you in on the story of Dark Souls.

Written by Jaeryd on 05.05.2014 at 23:43

Written by whatsacow on 05.05.2014 at 16:52

Also, my review of Dark Souls 2 is out if anyone feels like reading it:

http://plus10damage.com/blog/2014/4/30/kindling-the-flame-dark-souls-2-review

Excellent review. You got everything right on the mark. It's a fantastic game, but all the flaws you pointed out are things I agree with 100%.

My biggest thing is that the first Dark Souls had level design that was nothing short of pure brilliance. Even Blighttown, which was annoying, was still intricately designed, and while I hate it, I still love it. Dark Souls 2 was missing that coherence, that beautifully ingenious interconnectivity which brought total immersion into the space you were playing in. It's quite sad that Dark Souls 2 didn't quite achieve that brilliance.

But again, it's still on my list as GOTY for 2014. Your review for it was a great read.

Thank you! I agree, this will probably be my game of the year, but it doesn't have anything on Dark Souls or Demon's Souls. Have you played the original? Also, rumour has it, Demon's Souls is getting a sequel, and Miyazaki may be directing

Written by whatsacow on 06.05.2014 at 03:18

Thank you! I agree, this will probably be my game of the year, but it doesn't have anything on Dark Souls or Demon's Souls. Have you played the original? Also, rumour has it, Demon's Souls is getting a sequel, and Miyazaki may be directing

Sadly, I've never played Demon's Souls, since I don't own a PS3. But, ever since completing the first Dark Souls for the first time, I've been considering purchasing a PS3 solely for that game. While it would be great if they made another Demon's Souls, I'd probably not be purchasing a PS4 and therefore wouldn't get the chance to play it (I'm trying to do most of my gaming on PC nowadays, as it's actually working out to be cheaper for me while still being more powerful than consoles).