*****No Spoilers. I don't like them. Nobody likes them****** ****** I will update this thread whenever possible******
The original Dark Souls was my favorite have I've played over the years in my life. the feel to it was great and it was a unique game. now that Dark Souls II was about to come out. I couldn't let my self to let the chance of playing the sequel of my favorite game go away. I preordred it on Sept. 2013. I was so excited for the game itself And I couldn't wait. I got the game today morning. And I played it for few hours and here is what do I have to say
- The game itself has a very different start from its prequel. although similar in the general goal of the game. I don't have a review for the story. because it would be considered a spoiler.
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******Black Armor Edition and Collector edition content . PS3******Will download through a code included*********
-Early access to some weapons and shields. nothing that useful. they're only good for the first 4 Bosses. you will find better weapons after.
-My favorite. Dark Souls II dynamic theme. this is on the PS3. I don't know anything about the X360.
-Soundtrack CD. nothing groundbreaking. listen to all of them. only 2 or 3 were good
-And the METAL case. nice cover art.( Just careful when you take the game disc out of the case. its very hard to pull it out of its position. so pull it out from one side. if you pull out too hard it might break because the holder is very tight.)
Gameplay.
- Gameplay is very smooth. very much enhanced from the original. if you think this would be easier than Dark Souls. I will disappoint you. It is not. as far as I've gotten now. this is harder than the Original. but they don't basically throw you into the fire just like they did in the original. there is a long prologue that will make you sure you get the game and its controls. but after that. playtime is over. the real Dark Souls starts. it will be very challenging. and Yes. you will die. A lot of times. am used to that personally. I've died probably around 1000 times in the first. (Considering that I've played the first DS and I still think that DSII is harder than DS is huge. so if your a new comer. expect this to be really hard.brutally hard)
- Graphics and frame rate
we all know that the original Dark Souls had some really good graphics. but also. its known for frame rate drops. really steep drops. especially in Blighttown and such places. but so far in the game. I haven't had any major frame rate drops. nothing that I noticed. The graphics are surprisingly better. way better. I liked how they had really nice contrast to them. texture quality is awesome. world details are great and I couldn't ask for more.
- Controls and in-game items
Controls are same as the original for the most part. the only difference I noticed is that you use L3 to perform a running-jump instead of using the Circle Button. I really didn't have trouble with that. but the L3 button is hard to click while the Circle button is the button your already holding to spring. so its a better option. In game items are for the most part same as the originals. Alluring Skull. Cracked red eye orb. and of course Estus flask. and many others are present in this one as well. so. playing Dark Souls before this is a huge advantage
- Character and game GUI
the way you build your character is same as the original DS for the most part. so I don't need to talk to you about it. however. There are 8 character classes in the game. Warrior, Knight, Swordsman, Bandit, Cleric, Sorcerer, Explorer, Deprived. you obviously notice that the Pyromancer class is missing. which is the only thing I am pissed about. Pyromancer class was the best for a start-up. and It was pretty unique and it fits the game very well. I hope they add that to the game later. but since that is too hard to do as the game is already finished. I doubt we're gonna see that happening. but there are still Pyromancies. which anybody can use them if you have the required item. which is the pyromancy hand. game GUI is significantly better than the original. very clean layout and easy to read text font. nice menu and generally the GUI itself is a nice upgrade .
What I liked about it.
- I liked how DSII is very similar to DS. many games screw up games but going off the topic and the layout of the original. but From Software has done it right. they stick to what people like. made the necessary upgrades and enhancements. but they didn't force any major changes as we usually see in video game sequels. for me. that's always a good thing.
Enjoy the game. And I would get it right now. not in few years while multiplayer is pretty much dead. (even tho Dark Souls multiplayer is still very active). this one needs to be played early. and of course. Praise the Sun!
***UPDATE***
-You can change the running-jump control back to the Circle button from the game options. that's a good thing. And once again. I assure you that this game is harder than the original Dark Souls!. I have a weapon pack and it is still harder.
****TIPS****
- as a DS player. I would like to give you few tips on this game
*First and most importantly. Scan your environment. there are alot of hidden items and walkways that you might miss for hours, days if you don't look. (I just missed the walkway to a place in DSII. went somewhere else that I shouldn't be at at my level. took me hours and I couldn't beat the hard enemies over there. Wondered why. apparently. I should be somewhere else).
*Don't rush it. if you rush through Dark Souls II. you will not last few minutes in your run. eventually. you will either, Fall over a ledge. Get backstabbed from behind. or quite simply run into a herd of just too many enemies and get surrounded by them. do the game slowly.
*Don't use flasks or any health healers during a close fight it DSII. in DS. if you get hit while drinking an estus flask. you get reduced damage. but in DSII. you get full damage anyways. so it makes it a waste of estus. get to a safe sport and stock on health.
*Upgrade the crucial skills first. . I would personally upgrade my Dexterity and Vitality.Don't upgrade the intel or faith. do that later. (In DS. vitality increases Health, In DSII. it increases stamina.)
I will add other tips when I get more experience in DSII. for now. this should be helpful if you don't already think about doing this. mostly logic.
****Have something to say****
when I say that this game is harder than Dark Souls. I mean its way way harder. imagine that Dark Souls is an easy mode of the game. and DSII is the hardest mode of the game. that might be even less of how hard the game is. its just unbelievable difficult. side stepping is useless. enemies will still lock on you and hit you. even if you side step while running. the AI is really high. it takes about 2 hits to die in the game. Just run past through enemies to find a bonfire. I did that few times. you only have 1 estus flask when you start. 2 when you upgrade for the first time(which you will be able to early). if you had trouble with DS and you hated it and you don't want to get stuck a lot. this is not for you. this game is extremely difficult. even harder than Demon's Souls. Personally. on DS. I've played 3 playthroughs. killed Smough and Ornstein by myself on all of these playthroughs. on the last one I did it on the first try. am not the best or even close to but I consider myself good. this is beyond you can imagine hard until you actually play it. don't invoke an enemy that you see if you don't have to fight him. just run through them. find a bonfire. and then go back and kill them. its nearly impossible to get to different places with killing all the enemies. your fancy footwork won't work here. the AI is high. very small chance it does. I have a weapon pack. which has a good shield and a good weapon. about 3 times better than the startup one. and am getting my but whopped basically. they basically through you into the lava. not the fire. this time.
Few people said that this game will get easier when you advance. that's partially true. the game won't get easier. you will get better. even tho DSII keeps throwing challenges at you that you will die many times over and over before winning.
So far. about 6 million deaths have totaled in DSII. only 7 days in the game and 6 million deaths have totaled. shows you how hard the game is.
UPDATE.
THE CURRENT DEATH COUNTER IS AT over 70 MILLION DEATHS? O.o. I was surprised myself.
*****UPDATE***
So far. am kind of disappointed at few things'
- so far. been through 7 areas. nothing large like Darkroot garden,Basin. ash lake. in DS2. its very compact and it feels like playing a generic RPG in terms of the world. that disappointed me a lot.
- the game kind of lost its Dark Souls-ness feel. the game is harder than DS. but it is so different in terms of enemies. mechanics and how the game goes about the story. very different. you will notice that
*****UPDATE. MULTIPLAYER and some other issues*******
- I was able to reach areas where I can be invaded. and so far its a huge disappointment. Lag is unbearable. I slash the enemy with my sword. he was around for 10 seconds before he actually get staggered and lose damage. surprised because it should reduce lag due to the dedicated servers. horrible so far. needs a quick fix.
- My second issue with MP is that. Invasions are so random. you can get invaded while hollow or human. and unlike dark souls. you see the "You Got invaded" message AFTER the enemy is in the map. few times i got surprised to see the enemy right next to me without a message. also. I've never seen a summon sign so far. Even in the 2011 Dark Souls. I still see people putting summon signs.
- People have weapons that I don't even have. I killed 9 Bosses. And I only have about 10 unique weapons. and others have the weirdest weapons that don't exist so far in the game.
- Hacking: yes. here we go again. game has some hackers. some naked guy running around and yet he receives less damage than me with a heavy armor with 700+ protection.
- Another issue is that so far. I don't have any really good weapons or anything. In Dark Souls. you could obtain some really cool weapons early in the game. but so far. it doesn't seems like it in DS2.
- Titanite anything. is freaking rare. as I said. am 9 bosses down. and Yet. I've never found anything but a titanite shard, large titanite shard. and both of these are very rare and limited.
- Not as many merchants at all. only 3 merchants that have limited supply. and sell you the worst weapons and armors, items. in the game.
- One positive thing I've noticed is that its harder to get a backstab. yes. believe it or not ladies and gentlemen. it is harder to get a backstab.
- Again. one thing I didn't like so far is the lack of Mini-bosses. remember how many times you died against Havel the Rock in DS?. there aren't many Mini-bosses or really strong enemies so far. I will update more if that changes.
I might need to reconsider my 5 star review. but I will do that when Am done with my first playthough.
********UPDATE******
- Even though a couple of areas in the beginning of the game weren't the best. there are really nice areas that are awesome. reminds me of DS. challenging areas with really strong enemies. falling of the ledge and all that is here. great. I was pissed off about some things. but this game keeps getting better and better. ****they released a second patch to fix PvP and summoning because it wasn't working****
******UPDATE******
- The world in this game has such great elements. there are some enemies and bosses that will make you wonder how great the designer was. few enemies are the best fighting and gamelooking ever. really great game design. level design. especially at about halfway to the end of the game. really great what DSII is bringing to the table.
When I say that this game is brutally hard. I don't mean it in a bad way. no. the reason why mos of dark-a-holics play this game because it challenges you. that what this game does. no easy mode. no easy way out. this game will be painful in terms of how hard it is to beat. just like any souls game.
******UPDATE.MP*********
- as OP as magic was in the original DS. it is even more OP here. MP is basically ruled by hexes(which are Dark Magic. they're called a different name here). and regular magic. many of them just kill you in 1 hit. fast attacks. and too much speed and hard to avoid. I am personally terrible at MultiPlayer against magic or any of its categories. i usually win in physical fights. but other than that. magic is unbeatable for me. if you want to be good at MP. your only option is a magic/hex build. just too strong and am dissappointed. Pyro is as weak as it was in the original dark souls. miracles aren't really intended for PVP. so they're weak anyways. and thats it. Rolling is being made an essential part of this game. shielding with a good shield isn't enough. they made it even worse for me. i like dark souls because it has heavy equipment. but they're (once again). giving advantage to magic users and light armor runners.
******Finished first Playthrough*********
Played the whole game. and This game is really really good. I liked it tons. but this makes me think. is this better than the Original Dark Souls?. thats a good question. I will play more playthroughs. and we will see. so far. am really disappointed at how unfair and unbalanced multiplayer is. as i said. magic rules in MP (if you played Demon's Souls, Dark Souls. you probably already know that. its becoming a "Souls" game trend. OP magic). trust me. it is. the only way you think that magic is not OP. many say that its not because they're themselves magic users. and they basically don't want to say that they're good players because of the magic. for PvE. I'd have to say that Dark Souls is better. but not by much. Dark Souls II is still awesome. worth playing right now. but I liked the original DS. my personal opinion. I liked some elements in DS II over DS. weapons are way better in Dark Souls II. there are less weapons (I Believe). but the variety of move sets are way more. some of them are awful. halberds and spears have some really weird move sets that make no sense. Best thing about DS II. the Bosses. there are ** of them. few of them you don't need to kill at all. but they give you something. let me put it in this way. unique.
******UPDATE 6/1/14*******
- I personally gave up on multiplayer. many things are very unbalanced. when I mean unbalanced I mean the most unbalance you can imagine. broken mechanics. your literally in god mode when you roll. even if the sword physically went through you you don't get damaged. its heavily abused. magic and Hexes kill in 1 hit no matter how much magic/dark defense you have. its pretty much the way it is. hitboxes are giant. way bigger than your character model. some weapons will do damage even if they slice five ft away from you. Poise is practically non-existent. its a completely broken mechanic. causes me. with 150 Poise. probably the highest poise you can reach in this game. TO BE STUNNED WITH A DAGGER. AND A CAESTUS. anything can stagger me which shouldn't happen. renders it useless. parry weapons are broken. for some reason they do damage and the hit is few ft infront of you. and they're fixing things that do not need fixing and ignoring these issues. I doubt them getting fixed, game is riddled. AND I MEAN RIDDLED with hackers. I had few people running faster than light. they were like the Flash superhero. am not kidding they dash around and i cant do anything.
Lag is unbearable. its just bad. I get killed with projectiles that are 10-20 ft away from me. i get lag stabbed from 10 ft away. attacking enemies does nothing often. lag has gotten worse.
however I recommend staying away from PVP. its all broken. but Co-Op is awesome. putting summon signs to help others beat bosses is my favorite Multiplayer part. I'd spend hours doing it. and you get rewarded with souls. its great. I just spent about 3 hours doing it. its fun. whats better than unlimited boss fights with CPU and Human allies. its awesome. so you might get on that to help you get souls.
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