DARK SOULS - the game you've been waiting for - a hidden gem

[jph35]

Here's a letter I just wrote to a fellow co-worker. I've been a fan of this site since OSI, and I just thought you all should be aware of this:

"Hey Frank I just wanted to finish what I was saying about Japan. Dark Souls released a week early in Japan and topped the charts, I think it sold 300k copies the first week on ps3 before the U.S. release. Its now at about 2-2.5 million+ sold on the ps3.

Now, when I bought it, I had no idea there was a multiplayer aspect to it, and just bought it on a whim for XBOX for the 9.5 review gamespot gave it and the difficulty/oldschool game feel it supposedly had. When I figured out there was online and how the online worked, the first time I got invaded, the rush it gave me and the possibilities I could see this type multiplayer bringing to the table, I realized how much of a hidden gem this really game was. There has been no game before it to incorporate multiplayer like this game does. Like I said it’s best described as an MMO hybrid.

At that point, after the rush of getting invaded and killed by another player, I realized this was THE game I’ve been waiting for and went out and compared sales numbers between the xbox and ps3 to make sure, if I was going to go head strong and invest, you know, my evenings into this game, that I had it for the platform with the highest population numbers. As the prequel to it was a PS3 exclusive, PS3 had about double the sales numbers (largely because of japan, and the fact that it didn’t even release on xbox there) and went out and bought the ps3 copy.

That’s why I have an xbox and a ps3 copy. Xbox sales have been going up since the US release and it, by no means, has a low population. Anyone playing this game that knows gaming at all realizes how special it really is. Both systems have high populations right now, and I’m sure it’s going to stay like that for a long time.

I GUARANTEE you, after the success of this game and it’s unique multiplayer, you are going to start seeing games copying it. Maybe not visually/aestheticallty. But this type of multiplayer has never been seen and I can’t even begin to describe how awesome and exciting it is. It can be punishing, but not since Ultima Online in 97/98 has a game had the power to get my heart rate going, over and over again, like this one does.

Anyway, rant over. I just can’t stress how good this game is to fellow gamers, especially since you almost bit the bullet and went for it.

And by the way, the single player alone is worth the 9.5 it got. The game is just .. I don’t know.. what a game should be.

There’s my essay on dark souls.. A little coffee and that short talk got me going

Like I said if you ever want to borrow it, I doubt you will regret it, and if you liked it id sell it to you for cheap as I have no reason to own 2 copies."


I know it's console but put your bias aside for a minute. I am no fanboy to any company, platform, system. This game is like I said in the letter, what a game should be.

[Genocide]

I played it for a couple hours after renting it on XBox ... I wasn't impressed however I didnt get to any MMO parts. Seems like a fairly decent game. Took me an hour or so just to get out of the asylum.

[jph35]

Originally Posted by Genocide

I played it for a couple hours after renting it on XBox ... I wasn't impressed however I didnt get to any MMO parts. Seems like a fairly decent game. Took me an hour or so just to get out of the asylum.

Well if you didnt experience the multiplayer and only got out of the asylum you've basically done nothing but the tutorial. Its very hard, even the tutorial. But to really form an opinion on the game you would have to invest some more time into it.

And trust me the second multiplayer kicks in (when you get out of the asylum/tutorial area) you will know what i'm talking about.

dont miss out on this one everyone!!

[Genocide]

I was playing on a shitty TV as well, I think I'll consider picking it up again soon. Was going to get into the elder scrolls games

[jph35]

just think of skyrim (with good combat) or any RPG with good combat, put everyone playing in the mix on a p2p network (in the background).

Sometimes you can see people's opaque "phantoms" running around fighting monsters.

Now, you can stay in "hollow" form and NEVER interact with anybody, aside from seeing their phantoms and reading their soapstone messages you see all over the ground.

On the other hand you can turn from hollow to human and suddenly you are in a high risk vs reward setting. When in human form you can "invade" other people's worlds as a bad guy (pk) and kill them, taking valuable souls and humanity. Not "all their stuff", but enough to sting and enough to give you a rush of good old fashioned video game driven adrenaline.

You can also "summon" people into YOUR world while you are in human form and co-op with them. very helpful for some of the harder bosses.

Needless to say, the invade-style play is what grabs me. At any time, I can use an item that scans the network for people in my area, and if they are within level range, invade their world. I am free to attack and kill them at will, and as said above, get rewarded for it.

There's plenty written up on the innovative multiplayer this game beholds. Again, I know what you guys want. I was there on UO in 99 and chased the dragon, so to speak, trying player run servers like IPY.

Nothing has hit me like '99-01 UO like Dark Souls. It's that good.

I recommend the PS3 version for the higher population, but you cant go wrong with either (i have both versions, xbox and ps3). This PVP is insanely well balanced and skill driven. The game will be populated for a long time.