Just for Gamer

Review by S. coleman "booker"

Most of the reviews do a good job at describing the game, so I'm taking a different route and hopefully give you some reasons to own this game, because honestly, it's not for everyone.

I am amazed that they actually topped Demons Souls with Dark Souls.

Dark Souls is not a passive game, some games you can somewhat split your attention from the screen, but Dark Souls is kind of like playing Multiplayer Team Deathmatch in Modern Warfare, you need to focus, have a plan, manage your equipment, there are no breaks, no pause, so you need to think of it like walking out of your house into the wilderness.

Reasons to Buy Dark Souls.

DIFFICULTY: It's the hardest game around, but I think CHALLENGING is more fitting, because it CAN get done but you're figuring everything out as you go, and learning how to survive in the world. ***I was fighting an enemy and he had killed me three times, so instead of getting frustrated, I decided to go trade some souls for a skull that attracts enemies, and I tossed it away from me, and the enemy I was having trouble with started attacking the skull, which allowed me the distraction I needed to take him out, and thats the difficulty, the challenge,learning and making those kinds of decisions***

COMBAT: THE CORE OF THE GAME, Incredibly fun, absolutely the best combat mechanics in any game I've played. Instead of easily performed combos, you really have to manage your strikes, movements and defenses. They've added an awesome jumping strike move that's a blast to pull off. The enemies are smart, fierce and can get the upper hand in an instant if you're not careful, and they don't always move in pattern, so you have to be smart about your combat, using a stronger weapon is not always the best choice, some times the reach of a weaker weapon is better suited to a certain situation, and Dark Souls makes you have to think about these things

MARATHON: This game is not a game you whip through, it's a long journey, you need to invest some time in it. You don't hop on to Dark Souls for a few minutes. you want to invest your time, there is so much to explore, so much to do and interact with, it really *feels* like you are on this long epic journey.

MANAGEMENT: Everything needs to be managed in Dark Souls, Items, equipment, equipment weight, the order of items in your current usage, stats, combat, time, everything, but it's never dull, it feels more like you are going out to walk through the wilderness and then climb a mountain, I've spent a good amount of time at the bonfire, just setting my guy up to go out into battle, the game forces you to think about managing these things.

FUN: You will feel so many emotions with Dark Souls, you'll be upset for making a dumb decision one second, down on your luck cause you let one measly enemy with a sword best you, then be roaring with triumph after laying waste to a swarm of enemies with efficient combat badassery. Once you get a handle on combat you really start to feel the fun of being this man on a mission, ready to take on the challenge of survival.

MYSTERY: Nothing is explained, everything in the game needs to be discovered, you *will* spend time away from teh game trying to find things out before your next play.

OVERALL: Dark Souls is a game you hold on to, you take your time with it, you don't rush, you stay patient and preserver. It's easily the game of the year, If you get frustrated, take a break and come back to it, think about each move, direction and be smart, this game is chess not checkers.

HELPFUL NOTES:

1) When quitting the game, you don't have to go back to a Bonfire, just go into the menu and "quit the game" and the next time you start your character will be exactly where you left him.

2 If you have played Demons Souls, you'll have a much easier time getting started, for those who haven't, really practice your combat techniques before going out in the world.
3 If you've never played Demons Souls, here's a decent suggestive tip. Find a decent SPEAR and SHEILD early, it'll help keep early enemies at a distance as you're starting out.