Dark Souls 2

Ive had a 360 controller for my PC for a couple of years now, so it wasnt a big deal for me. I installed it, typed in my xbox live info and played. Never had any issues with GFWL. Looked great and played great from day one so I left it alone /shrug.

Saying "It's not a bad port if you had the equipment" is a bollocks statement. You can circumvent some of the shitty-ness by using a wired controller, but it doesn't detract from it. Had they ported a game from the PC to the xbox, kept all of the tips and tutorials geared towards a KB + Mouse setup, and had resolution set for something that didn't jive with your console of choice, we'd probably hear more bitching.

A shitty port is a shitty port; I warned people away from the Bayonetta on PS3 because it was a terrible god damn port - and that was sad, because there are certain games I bought that were not exclusives on the PS3 because they came with additional things. (Arkman Asylum being a prominent one; it had extra challenge maps and the ability to play as a the joker).

Granted, PS3 ports are sort of in a league of their own, but I get riled when shit like this is so easily dismissed. Yea, I play with a controller. But not always, and it's really annoying when you have to go that route because of the way the port plays, and not because of your own preference. I mean, graphics etc are one of the main reasons to buy a game on the PC instead of a console - Skyrim with high res textures on a PC is fucking unbelievable, and Dark Souls with the mod fix is pretty nice as well, yet we weren't treated to it in the port itself. I already had it on xbox (The collector's even) but tend to re-buy things on steam, and in this case there was an added incentive with the extra content with the Prepare to Die addition, but fuck man. Make it worth my money.

I could see it not being a big deal for you if you always use a controller, but it doesn't really change the quality of the port.

Off-topic but jimmies confirmed rustled on my end!

I can't wait for this. If they expand on the multiplayer aspect of the game, we need to start up a rerolled group or something. Can't wait for more details on this game.

Tuco_sl said:

Still the PC release was the best version!

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Which is why its pretty hard to get worked up with how shitty the port was.

Yeah it was lazy. Yeah you had to download mods and use a controller. Yet if you did so you got a BETTER experience than the console version of Dark Souls, which was already one of the best games of the decade.

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/12/10/da...says-director/

The upcoming Dark Souls 2 won't be quite as obtuse as its predecessor, Tomohiro Shibuya told Edge. Shibuya will direct the game alongside Yui Tanimura, taking the reins from Dark Souls director Hidetaka Miyazaki. Shibuya promises a less ambiguous experience, something that will be friendlier to new players. Noting that he personally prefers to be direct, he added that the game "will be more straightforward and more understandable."

For experienced Demon's Souls and Dark Souls players, that statement might be more terrifying than the games themselves. After all, part of the appeal of the games is their mystery and the reward of overcoming their crushing difficulty. That said, all we have to go on right now is a single trailer for Dark Souls 2, and it's as grim as we'd expect from the series, so we're not panicking just yet. Here's hoping the game's new directors can lower the bar of entry without snuffing out what made the series special in the first place.

Miyazaki himself made comments regarding Dark Souls' difficulty earlier this year in an interview with Metro. In the original interview, Miyazaki seemed to ponder the possibility of creating an easier difficulty mode for Dark Souls in order to make it more accessible. Namco later claimed that his comments were mistranslated.

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I think they could definitely make the game a lot lessobtuseand more accessible. The best parts of the Dark S series are the weighty gameplay itself and exploring levels. The rest of it is pretty god awful. The UI, the story, your objectives, knowing how the mechanics work, etc. could all used a whole fuck ton more polish than they had. You can easily keep the good parts of the games as good as they are while getting rid of the obnoxious level of obtuseness that DS has.

it has a minimalist style so that's the point. you're in a post-cataclysmic world and most of the background information is gleaned from the items you pick up.

LadyVex_sl said:

Mad rant.

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Dont be so mad. I never said "It's not a bad port if you had the equipment". It has issues but they're overblown.

When you go to buy the game on Steam even says USE OF CONTROLLER IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, go take a look. I wouldnt buy a flight simulator game if it said it was highly recommended to use a fucking flight joystick. The graphics without the fix still look great, and with it, they're some of the best around.

All I said was that the game was awesome and it played fine for me, so that the port didnt seem so bad. I bought it, installed it, plugged in my USB controller and got started right away. It didnt appear to be the "terrible fucking port" a lot of people say it is. The PC version is even the better game so quit your bitching.

The only obtuse things I wish they would clean up in Dark Souls is item stats/special effects. Some weapons or armor in Dark Souls did special things and I had no flipping clue. I could equip everything and test it, but I don't really consider that fun. Other then that, I really hope they don't handhold the story too much. Part of the fun and memories of that game was finally getting out of the Asylum and running the wrong way to get raped by giant skeletons.

Heh, Vithe - I actually do the Catacombs first up through Pinwheel in any new games I do - but can certainly related to day 1-2 play of "why the heck is the graveyard so damn tough".

Now it's just like "Ok, Master Key - run down to the backside of the Swamptown grab the sword and shield then go off to get Gravelord Covenant and Pinwheel killed"

Yeah I agree, I can do the same thing now, but when I was new to the game I didn't know what the fuck was going on. Which is awesome.

Demon Souls and Dark Souls have been well received based on their difficulty and unforgiving manner; But where does this difficulty come from?

In many games the player has a base power level. This power level allows them to tackle early enemies, but if they tried to rush right to the end it would be impossible for them to win. They need to gain power increases found along the way before attempting this. Stats and equipment and new abilities all increase the players power regardless of the player's input.

The Souls games certainly have this mechanic. You find new weapons and armor, can learn magic, increase your stats, gain more healing power ect. But this is not the largest increase in player power in a Souls game. The biggest factor to a players success in Souls is knowledge. And just like G.I. Joe said, knowing is half the battle. Well in Souls it's more like 75-80% of the battle.

This is proven beyond a doubt each time a player begins a new game from scratch after having become even moderately proficient. Starting off with exactly the same stats, and equipment a second time player will absolutely dominate the early areas that at first caused them so much frustration and grief.

This is the 'hidden' strength of Souls. It is not the difficulty itself that makes it a good game, it is WHY it is difficult. And that reason is the withholding of critical information from the player until the player has either cautiously explored and discovered the information, or suffered and paid dearly for it. But once this knowledge has been gained, it can be applied again and again to great success, and feels like a reward itself. An intangible power up contained entirely in the player's mind.

Example: The mimic chests in Dark Souls could be discovered by the way the chain attached to each chest was coiled. It was a small clue that was easy to overlook, but once you had it, you were never ambushed by a mimic again.

So, for every subsequent Souls title, and just about every damn game ever, the greatest thing would be to enhance this sense of discovery and 'earning' of valuable information as it applies to the threats and challenges the player faces. Puzzles, enemies, traps, ect. should all be unknown entities to the player that are discovered through gameplay and careful observation, not tool tips.

The only areas that should give the player straightforward, clear, concise information are player abilities, stats, equipment and other power enhancing modifications. These are a player's tools and obfuscating them serves no purpose but to frustrate the player. This only applies to properties that the player can not easily witness themselves. You don't have to tell to a player that a giant sword swings really slowly if they can see it. However, if there is a mechanic to increase swing speed (increasing strength or something)... then there needs to be some clue in the game that notifies the player of this. Even if that clue comes from an NPC who is a master at wielding large weapons that the player has to find.

I like these games more than a lot. They reward the cautious and observant player. I can see where they fall short in some categories (lore & backstory, equipment & stat information). But there is definitely more good than bad to be found in their spartan presentations. Soul's games do not lead you along the safe path. They sit and wait for you, quietly, until you march in blindly. And then they sneak up behind you, raise a giant sword above your head, and cleave you in two for your arrogance. I can respect that.

Great post Pancreas