Retrogamer0001 wrote:Xeo, how would you rank Dark Souls II in the series? I personally rate them:
1. Dark Souls 2. Demon's Souls 3. Dark Souls II
I love the series though, even Dark Souls II...
Since I couldn't get into this series before now, for me it is:
1. Dark Souls II
I actually consider this to be a fantastic first entry into the series - the only problem, of course, is that it isn't. I don't know, maybe I'm being too harsh, but this game hurt my soul (pun intended) with how less-hardcore it was.
Retrogamer0001 wrote:Xeo, how would you rank Dark Souls II in the series? I personally rate them:
1. Dark Souls 2. Demon's Souls 3. Dark Souls II
I love the series though, even Dark Souls II...
Since I couldn't get into this series before now, for me it is:
1. Dark Souls II
I actually consider this to be a fantastic first entry into the series - the only problem, of course, is that it isn't. I don't know, maybe I'm being too harsh, but this game hurt my soul (pun intended) with how less-hardcore it was.
What would you play next if this was your first game?
Let strength be granted, so the world might be mended...so the world might be mended.
Stark wrote:What would you play next if this was your first game?
Very good question. I guess I would move backward in the series, playing through the first Dark Souls to ease the player into a more difficult, realized environment. The graphical regression might not be appreciated by some players (even though Dark Souls looks superior to Dark Souls II) but the increase in difficulty surely would be. This is the way I'll be recommending my group of friends to play the series.
Stark wrote:What would you play next if this was your first game?
Very good question. I guess I would move backward in the series, playing through the first Dark Souls to ease the player into a more difficult, realized environment. The graphical regression might not be appreciated by some players (even though Dark Souls looks superior to Dark Souls II) but the increase in difficulty surely would be. This is the way I'll be recommending my group of friends to play the series.
I have DS: Prepare to Die for PC so I'll probably do just that! Although I'm a ways from being done with DSII, I'm just finishing up No Man's Wharf.
Let strength be granted, so the world might be mended...so the world might be mended.
Why couldn't you get into them? I'm not really sure what sets DS2 apart. It streamlines some stuff, but most of the core mechanics are still there. The only tedious thing about Demon's is the world tendency shenanigans, but even then I usually played it offline and didn't mind the world changing thing. Ideally, I think you could be able to go back to the others and appreciate them now though.
@Retrogamer0001:
1. Demon's Souls 2. Dark Souls 3. Dark Souls 2
It's up in the air with the Dark games. I sunk in about 60 hours on DS2, and was only 30 some hours into DS1 apparently (I'm really wondering if I had more than I thought left). There's a lot I like about DS2 more, and vice versa.
Atmosphere and tone wise though... Demon's and DS1 win by a long shot for me. These games felt way weirder, storylines were more subtle, NPC's were like jacked up awkward and just weird in a cool way, and yeah. Both these games have weird parts with huge optional boss like enemies or dragons etc just hanging out, and other weird trial and error parts. Many could argue these segments suck or are cheap (some instant deaths if you don't know what you're doing, the bridge drake in DS1? haha). But... for whatever reason I like these elements and missed quirky stuff like this in DS2.
Demon's might be some nostalgia, since it was my first venture into this insane stuff, it'll just always be an unforgettable experience. I grinded out a lot of stuff and had tons of fun doing so. The whole game to me just felt like a huge throwback to 8/16bit game design. I pretty much went in blind and it was just an incredible experience.
I'm a huge Metroidvania fanboy, so naturally this direction in Dark was a welcome change. That said, both games wore me out a bit after awhile and get tiresome here and there, whereas Demon's on the other hand I felt just got more awesome the further you got. It was simpler with the level/hub based approach, yet perhaps even more menacing with far less checkpoints/shortcuts and things like that. The final trek to the last boss was brutal. Not sure about DS1, but DS2's was just like an empty hallway with nothing, very... anticlimactic (along with the ending itself I thought).
For me (I can maybe say this about all Metroidvani's), I think the Dark games are a lot cooler in the first half when the games are all about discovery and you being so utterly fragile, but then kind of turn into a wild goose chase/hunt when you start having to backtrack a lot and can get tedious. Demon's is crazy open from the start and was kind of overwhelming, but once you got the hang of it... I think it just got better and better up to the very end. I still think Demon's had the most memorable bosses too.
I think both Demon's and DS1 feel a lot more claustrophobic and I like that. Kind of makes you feel uneasy and on your toes. DS2 had bigger more open areas which just didn't give me that vibe I guess. I can't help but love that tense feeling that 2x4 walkways give me.
I decided to "dabble" into DS1 again after finishing up DS2 ... 5 hours later and I might just try to beat it this time haha. I can definitely see some interesting differences playing them back to back. In DS2, I think they improved the controls, they're tighter and you feel a bit heavier in a sense, everything just feels awesomely responsive. In the first two games you feel a bit more fluid and it takes a bit to get used to again. The perspective also seems a bit further back in DS1, but I'm not sure.
Now here's the funny part, but I think the textures in DS1 are WAY better. I'm three bosses in again already so have seen a good chunk of the game and yeah, this game looks richer, denser, etc. But, it does suffer with the framerate at times, so it was a fair trade off with DS2 running smoother. But seriously, anyone that has both... pop up DS1 sometime and check it out again, I definitely think the graphics are quite a bit better.
Anyways long story short, best trilogy in the PS3/360 gen by MILES. No comparison. I would love to see them return to the Megaman styled hub/level based style again at some point. And that makes me want to say, I'd give these games the Megaman Award. To me, that means I could play these games forever, if they make 100 more, I will never stop loving them. These are games I can see myself replaying forever.
I got the Black Armor Edition. I really like the tin. At first I thought it got damaged because the outer slip case was bulged out; but the tin is molded for the knight to stand out. Pretty nifty. And I like the cd. Namco had the decency to include more than five tracks on the disc (pay attention, Atlus).
I briefly considered buying the other more specially, special-edition; but the useless trinkets didn't really look like they were worth the extra sixty dollars.
Opa Opa wrote:I got the Black Armor Edition. I really like the tin. At first I thought it got damaged because the outer slip case was bulged out; but the tin is molded for the knight to stand out. Pretty nifty. And I like the cd. Namco had the decency to include more than five tracks on the disc (pay attention, Atlus).
I briefly considered buying the other more specially, special-edition; but the useless trinkets didn't really look like they were worth the extra sixty dollars.
Any idea when you'll get around to playing it? I love hearing opinions on this series
So steam is saying that it's releasing on the 24th now? Is that just a preload thing or what? I'm all ready to go either way I've got my code from green man I just need to know when I should start paying attention.
flex wood wrote:So steam is saying that it's releasing on the 24th now? Is that just a preload thing or what? I'm all ready to go either way I've got my code from green man I just need to know when I should start paying attention.
I don't know the deal with the release date but you can preload DS2 on steam already so I'll be doing that. maybe I should try to go outside now because after I can play it I probably won't be going out for awhile.
