Dark Souls II was just recently announced at VGAs 2012.
Are you ready for even more frustration, anger, and headaches?
Dark Souls II
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ponfewponvewaoniovenoijpomomlrbboinoinjohirtoj'nmv vmjo9mojopm boij!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!Okay… there goes my pants. And my life.
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I fixed the video, everyone.
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Dark Souls II is just going to start you off in the midst of twenty-seven mallet-wielding skeleton warriors led by a warlock dragon and crank up the difficulty from there.
Hang in there, Kierkegaard.
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I'm already cringing thinking about the possible boss fights…
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Dark Souls II is just going to start you off in the midst of twenty-seven mallet-wielding skeleton warriors led by a warlock dragon and crank up the difficulty from there.
Or seven bone-wheel skeletons with poise as the first boss.
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Yeah… They are removing the videos right now, but, once that's done (once the VGAs are over), a PERMA video will be in here.
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That sucks, but I'm REALLY looking forward to EMB's analysis in the morning. I have a few theories myself based on the context clues in the trailer but I'm not sure yet. If anything, I'd really like to know a bit more of the gods. Specifically the ones that left Anor Londo and Velka.
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I am a happy person. Platinuming Dark Souls is easily one of my most rewarding gaming experiences.
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I. CAN'T. HANDLE IT. Get in my life NOW.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
augh, so ready -
Can't wait! Need now! Punishment!!!
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I can't wait to spend countless hours, develop so many strategies and builds, and drop so many new swears to get to the end of this challenge and then mindlessly slug it out with the final boss.
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Somewhere in Japan, Greg is celebrating.
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I am excite.
Not to be melodramatic, but platinuming Dark Souls was an incredibly bittersweet experience, because I felt as though no other game henceforth could possibly measure up. Except maybe this one :D :D :D -
omgomgomgomgomg!!!!
I'm joining in with all the people saying that, that was a platinum I had insanely fun with. And I only care for throphies for very few games.
Any lore cracks here that got some stuff out of the trailer?
I currently wondering if it's a direct continuation. If yes it somewhat looked like the dark lord ending to me.
Who is that woman? She doesn look like oolacile.
What do the dragon bones mean are they from the same dragon that's shown in the trailer? If yes are we time travling again or maybe it's a prequel.
So many question, lookin so forward to the dark souls story experience again!Also http://kotaku.com/5966786/here-is-dark-souls-iis-debut-trailer
only working trailer I've funnily it also contains the last of us trailer.Edit: ok this clears some stuff up
I only hope they'll get the framerate hiccups under control.
Blighttown was really the only thing I had a problem with and I really want to get in on the ps3 for trophy reasons. -
I remember being interested in the first one, but ended up passing on it in favor of other games I guess. Judging by all the excited feedback to this announcement, I feel like I should pick the first game up so I can be excited too.
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I keep hearing Dark Souls II will be more story-driven than Demon Souls or Dark Souls.
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That worries me a little bit. Just a little bit. Cryptic onimousity is what makes the Soul games for me. Aside from the multiplayer, that is.
Also, anoyone recognize any locations from the trailer? The one that was most obvious to me was Valley of the Drakes.
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@The:
I keep hearing Dark Souls II will be more story-driven than Demon Souls or Dark Souls.
I hope that just means more clues spread out throughout the game instead of "in your face narration". I would be totally fine with it if they have some story tidbits that can be confirmed within the game but they shouldn't forget to put also stuff in that leaves room for speculation.
One other thing that I could think of as a positive direction is maybe to give characters in the dark souls world more presence. I could imagine how dark souls would be bit cooler if some of the characters would have talked a bit more, not necessarily to reveal meaningful information but just so you get a better picture of them.
That worries me a little bit. Just a little bit. Cryptic onimousity is what makes the Soul games for me. Aside from the multiplayer, that is.
Also, anoyone recognize any locations from the trailer? The one that was most obvious to me was Valley of the Drakes.That burned area in the trailer reminded me of the small area right before the last boss. alas it seems it's going to be a entirely new world anyway so at the moment it doesn't seem like we'll get to say familiar places, which I'm fine with.
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I still haven't been throughly punished enough by the first game.
And now there's a second round waiting for me? ;_____;
Please, daddy, no more.
Unless it's Kenny dishing out the punishment. Then I'd sign up for six more games and an OVA.~
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@The:
I keep hearing Dark Souls II will be more story-driven than Demon Souls or Dark Souls.
This is…discomfiting: http://www.polygon.com/2012/12/8/3743242/dark-souls-2-will-be-more-straightforward-game-directors-say
Hang in there, Kierkegaard. -
This is…discomfiting: http://www.polygon.com/2012/12/8/3743242/dark-souls-2-will-be-more-straightforward-game-directors-say
Man that sucks… worse is you won't be able to get a good review on this point from the press. I mean nobody, really nobody from the press did pick up on the awesome story telling that dark souls had. No most even just said dark soul's story was pretty meager...
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I honestly ignored most of the pieces of the puzzle that could be cobbled together into a larger story, and I haven't read too deeply into the lore.
But a.) it was fantastic that they gave big fans a chance to do that, and b.) the uncertainty/mystery of the storyline added another layer to the disquieting feel of the entire game.
Still, will give them time. There were quite a few concerns from diehard Demon's Souls players once the first rumors of Dark Souls came out as well.
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The directors are new to the franchise, so we'll see how they do. I don't like the idea of changing reigns and the whole "more straightforward and more understandable" thing is the worst possible statement anybody can make about this so shit let's see where it goes
I'm understandably weary until it comes out, or 'better' information is stated.
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To be honest, I have heard quite a few people (some of which are my friends, who I got into Dark Souls) say they wished Dark Souls had more story and explanation (aside from the intro cinematic and reading items) about why things are the way they are in the Dark Souls universe, and why they–the player-character--is doing what they are doing. Why is there a Taurus Demon on the walls surrounding the Undead Burg? Why exactly do you have to fight Ornstein and Smough? Why and how are people branded with this supposeded 'Darksign'? etc. etc.
I'm actually okay with them adding more story elements (and a better explained story) in Dark Souls II, as long as the difficulty of the game remains pretty much the same as past installments to the Souls series.
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But it's all there. There is a shitload of story in Dark Souls. There are details between the lines, subtext willing to be explored. If your friends want direct answers, they're looking in the wrong direction and they're wanting something that the game does not 100% need and would work against it. Everything it has is enough and great. The item descriptions are filled with lore and unreliable narration, ambiguity that fuels the narrative and the few pieces you collect of the larger puzzle add to the experience and vibe. Given it's basically the epilogue of a world long gone and a story that's well into it by the time the player is there, that's rad.
Direct answers work against what they're building. Even stuff like "why do we fight ornstein and smough" have pretty easy answers or suggestions that are supproted by in-game evidence. A big stupid speech about their motivations would be lame because they're guys with a mission and it's entirely organic the way it unfolds. And really, the better question is not "why me fight them", it's "why are THEY ATTACKING ME and guarding that door" because the player character is basically after a few items the entire game, interacting with very established places and areas.
Just about how it's all framed really? Organic is really the big deal about Dark Souls.
Like "why do you fight Havel at the bottom of that tower?" is a good question and the in-game evidence that eventually tells you why (with HEAVY unreliableness) is just so intriguing it'd be no good to have some fucker waltz up and go HEY LET ME TELL YOU THE STORY OF HAVEL. It breaks everything. It breaks into the gameplay, there is no possible way to have somebody give you this information without it being kind of intrusive. And also does anyone care in Lordran? You just find some guy in a tower and the information is in the gameplay of what you see and what you pick up from his body. Item lore fills in further blanks. It leaves a rather direct answer of why this man is there and who put him there, but with ambiguity between the lines and motivation probably a lie.
That effect is severely impactful of how a player comes away from the experience.
It looks like you totally get that but like I just don't care about people who want the story to be just like everything else. Implicit narrative is balls awesome and there are so few things that use it as well as Dark Souls, if at all. Just don't want that changed. Nope no sirree. It doesn't even fit with the "no handholding" mechanic of the gameplay if it had a more direct story with straight up explanations and stuff. IDK. I'd rather anybody who wants some direct story told to go away and do whatever they're accustomed to for the emotional responses they want illicited, or just google the answers.
"Better explained story" implies it's doing anything wrong with how it went about it. What I'd prefer is more item lore because more expansion is awesome, but changing the style is no good.
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We fight Ormund and Smough because we want to make tater cry.
:(
Seriously, that fight…
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@The:
But it's all there. There is a shitload of story in Dark Souls. There are details between the lines, subtext willing to be explored. If your friends want direct answers, they're looking in the wrong direction and they're wanting something that the game does not 100% need and would work against it. Everything it has is enough and great. The item descriptions are filled with lore and unreliable narration, ambiguity that fuels the narrative and the few pieces you collect of the larger puzzle add to the experience and vibe. Given it's basically the epilogue of a world long gone and a story that's well into it by the time the player is there, that's rad.
Direct answers work against what they're building. Even stuff like "why do we fight ornstein and smough" have pretty easy answers or suggestions that are supproted by in-game evidence. A big stupid speech about their motivations would be lame because they're guys with a mission and it's entirely organic the way it unfolds. And really, the better question is not "why me fight them", it's "why are THEY ATTACKING ME and guarding that door" because the player character is basically after a few items the entire game, interacting with very established places and areas.
Just about how it's all framed really? Organic is really the big deal about Dark Souls.
Like "why do you fight Havel at the bottom of that tower?" is a good question and the in-game evidence that eventually tells you why (with HEAVY unreliableness) is just so intriguing it'd be no good to have some fucker waltz up and go HEY LET ME TELL YOU THE STORY OF HAVEL. It breaks everything. It breaks into the gameplay, there is no possible way to have somebody give you this information without it being kind of intrusive. And also does anyone care in Lordran? You just find some guy in a tower and the information is in the gameplay of what you see and what you pick up from his body. Item lore fills in further blanks. It leaves a rather direct answer of why this man is there and who put him there, but with ambiguity between the lines and motivation probably a lie.
It looks like you totally get that but like I just don't care about people who want the story to be just like everything else. Implicit narrative is balls awesome and there are so few things that use it as well as Dark Souls, if at all. Just don't want that changed. Nope no sirree. It doesn't even fit with the "no handholding" mechanic of the gameplay if it had a more direct story with straight up explanations and stuff.
"Better explained story" implies it's doing anything wrong with how it went about it. What I'd prefer is more item lore because more expansion is awesome, but changing the style is no good.
This. This, 100%.
I LOVE the fact that so much of the story is told through, say, item descriptions and by things that are implied rather than out and out told to you.
Demon Souls and Dark Souls are RIFE with history and subtext and things that you can only gather by making your own assumptions based on what you're witnessing with your own eyes.
I'm not the kind of guy that speculates too heavily on a game before it comes out, but I have to say, I'd prefer coming to the narrative, in my own time, through exploration and observation, than having it come to me.To the guys that want that other stuff there're 100 other games that do that kind of thing. Look to them.
Dark Souls is Dark Souls. -
Late to the party…. buuuuut...
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!
Oh man!! I CANT FUCKING WAIT!!!!
Oh and I agree with silence and holy about everything they said.
Figuring out the rich wealth of the story in Souls is part of the greatness of the game. It makes me want to talk to people who've NEVER played souls.. and tell them about Lord Gwin and his four knights... or the fall of Izalith.
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This is…discomfiting: http://www.polygon.com/2012/12/8/3743242/dark-souls-2-will-be-more-straightforward-game-directors-say
"I am personally the sort of person who likes to be more direct than subtle,"
Then go direct another game.
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Yeah pretty much in agreement with beast and silence.
I'm wondering what other people think the souls series could improve on aside from the technical hiccups?
Having not really thought about it yet the only thing that comes to mind for me is somewhat more transparency for skilling your character.That was the one thing that worried me a lot when playing dark souls the first time, am I speccing right or am I making my character useless (which is somewhat relative for dark souls)?
Now I really would love if there is a way to retain the diversity of builds while giving some pointers to prevent people from speccing into something they don't want to play as. -
I agree on the notion that the mechanics beind stats are convoluted as hell for first time players, but personally I don't think that's bad… because well. Even though it's clearly bad design on paper, it resulted in having a community that actively discovered how eveything worked and why they worked.
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I had–and still have--a hard time with understanding/using the covenants, but as I've mentioned, I'm not as committed to the game as some.
Did think the intro for Dark Souls was especially perplexing for newcomers (first area and stats included), and I think they can tweak that a little without losing the ambiguity/depth that veteran players appreciate.
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Covenants was.. really simple. Almost too simple, and I have no idea why people like it so much. At most, it was mianly spending hours farming items order to to build count towards a reward. If they implement the system agian, I'd rather it be objective based. Sort of like guilds in Elder Scrolls.
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My experience with covenants was that Shadowy Figure would ask me if I'd like to be in a Covenant, I'd say yes, they'd give me a ring and some generic task, and then I'd go find another Shadowy Figure and repeat the process.
I never felt particularly compelled to invest any time in them, and there was so little that the game gave you to do beyond that first step that I never put any time into the system. Sounds like, other than trophies and a few items, wasn't missing much.
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Yeah. Forest Hunter, Darkwraith, Darkmoons, and Gravelords(lol) were mianly built for PVP. You can do it PVE too, but you it requires farming drops from enemies that the Covenants never really mention to you.
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Freaking…attach Pyromancy (if there is Pyromancy) to intelligence, or some stat, to avoid any sort of confusion and waste of point investments. That's one change I would REALLY like. And like other people said, increase in Covenant importance and 'storylines', so to speak.
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After playing dark souls for 2 hours again one other glaring point I think could be improved on is inventory management.
There is a bit to much menu jumping that I think could be made better.
Also some sort of advanced sorting function or better categorizing would be very welcome.
For example being able to select armor by sets instead of piece by piece or being able to jump to different weapon categories (daggers, swords, 2h axes, etc etc).I didn't notice it on my first playthrough but the amount of time you spend in the menus is significant enough to demand a substantial improvement for navigation speed and ease.
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The idea of smarter AI for bosses sounds good to me. The first game is a joke with multiplayer. But the idea of a separate multiplayer mode sounds like they are catering to mainstream gamers, which leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I get the impression that Bamco might be sticking their finger in this one a bit too much.
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Seriously what I've been reading from people(all over the place neogaf, giantbomb and what not) about what they want from this sequel… total frustration.
Normally I try to empathize but I kind of just get a little bit angry every time I read a post like "story needs to be more accessable, impossible to figure out without epic name bro or wikies, hurr hurr"... Have people stopped thinking for them selfes...?I definitely feel like I would be fine to just get more dark souls with refinement of existings systems (similar how persona 4 iterated on persona 3 existing systems). Dark souls 1 has enough flaws that if they really get behind every one this would be enough for an iteration. Save any major reinvention for part 3.
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Some talk about the edge magazine info and pictures from the articles from it have surfaced on gamefaqs http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/693331-dark-souls-ii/64922078
summary on neogaf http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=504253
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Tomohiro Shibuya and Yui Tanimura are both From Software directors who have never worked on any Capcom title or Monster Hunter game. There is another Tomohiro Shibuya on Mobygames who is a graphic artist at D.A.G., a studio Capcom contracts for graphical work on some of their games. He is not the same person
That must have been embarrassing. Heck, I'm embarassed.
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That must have been embarrassing. Heck, I'm embarassed.
Would be funny if their names are written with different kanji, massive oversight…
ENB about the edgemagazine
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To be honest, my only concern is them DECREASING the difficulty (a lot), to draw in the casual gamer; the current dominate gamers of the industry.
Because… To be honest... I didn't have much trouble with either Demon Souls or Dark Souls, even on NG+. (NG++ could be a different story, though). (I mean... I beat Ornstein and Smough my first time, and the Four Kings and Lord Gwyn my second time).
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^ The difficulty of the series is hyped to ridiculousness anyway, dark souls beauty in the difficulty is that it gives you everything you need to succeed you just have to learn what stuff it is you need. So in my opinion the game isn't very hard if you're willing to learn. I've had far more problems with some of the stuff at the end of uncharted 3 or god forbid the horrible design of the diablo 3 inferno mode, those were "difficult"(as in ridiculously cheap)…
I feel there are many more elements that go beyond changing the unforgiven nature of the game that could change its feel drastically.
Like if you were to give every enemy you meet a backstory straight-up told to you it would change the attitude with which you go into the fights.
I definitely wouldn't have any of the anxiety mixed with curousity before the fight anymore and god forbid they make me feel justified to kill the bosses.
What I liked about dark souls is that there is a certain unwillingness to every fight in a sense you're doing it out of self defense and hell did I feel guilty after finding out about ceaseless.As such I'm very worried about this. For me personally the main draw of dark souls isn't just the gameplay or just the story presentation it's really everything coming together creating this engaging tense atmosphere of despair and hopelessness. Throwing you in into this strange and scary world and your only motivation given by human nature is not to surrender to it immediately. You want to succeed against it marching onward no matter how often you're beaten down. Of course after that there is the cool fact that there is much to be explored, be it in story, or playstyles or whatever. But that first go through is what drew me into it.
Sure it can still become a different kind of game that's still super fun but at least for me there will be something lost.
We have so many insanely fun games today but still very few that pull you into the experience and leave you with something.
I mean just looking at this year I've played stuff like darksiders 2, ac3, max payne 3, amalur etc...
those were all super fun but there really wasn't anything beyond that. In a sense they all were very much like tetris for me, giving me something fun to do but at the and not really having any value for me as a person. -
The way they mentioned 'vehicles' and 'mounts' makes me think of Shadow of the Colossus boss battles somewhere in the game. lol…
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The only thing that is difficult about Dark Souls is the learning curve right at the beginning of the game. And I mean learning the world, and figuring out the convoluted leveling system for builds. Aside that, it's just as challenging as most hack slashers. The one thing I really wish the soul series could do is allow the player use any amount of builds on one playthrough. And I mean either through de-leveling, or a new system that only focuses using soul/materials to upgrade and level gear to your liking. But I'll be fine with the old system if that's what fans want.
And as tough as Dark Souls can be, the game becomes really easy after Oreos and Smores. And I mean boss wise. It just seems to me like the designs of those Lord Soul fights were a step down compared to the Gaygolyes, Qualaag, Sif, and O&S in terms of attack variety and unpredictability. Maybe the developers were burned out? But yeah, I agree that the difficulty is hyped.
And oh… Demon Souls had better layouts for regular enemies. Dark Souls at times felt barren. I hope DS2 takes note of that.
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I think also 4 kings can be somewhat tough if you got to comfy with shield and sword. I didn't have the damage output to deal with them fast enough to not be overwhelmed by them until I just two-handed and dodged everything at which point it wasn't anymore.
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I do agree that the difficulty went down after Oreos and Smores. But I also think that difficulty definitely scales according to your experience with the game and your builds. Knowing how to play the game makes a big difference - and many of my travels in Dark Souls were much simplified by being prepared for what was coming next. It's true the game gives you the tools you need to succeed, but I think the first time through? Playing completely blind? Yeah, that WAS hard and sometimes just being careful doesn't cut it.
Don't you forget, Akeem, that many of these zones we played through together on our first go through the game! Making things way easier. And you died PLENTY.
But yeah I would agree: I think in many locations the areas are tougher than the bosses themselves:
(Nito is a cakewalk compared to Grave of the Giants, Iron Golem isn't that tough compared to Sen's Fortress, Priscilla's way easier than getting through Painted World).I hope for the next Dark Souls that they make it even more punishing.
I like that compared to Demon's Souls they upped the damage of even basic enemies considerably. Let's push it further! Give us more enemies to fight through. And for multiplayer mode, make it way harder!
I also agree there could stand to be a function that allows people to respec. Would be nice, even if it's extremely tough to do.If we want more challenge though, there's always New Game +…
There's a great lighthearted vibe around here, because no matter how serious we might get, we're all together because of some magical pirate.
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Yeah. PVE in co-op needs a bit of work. Especially the whole line of sight of issue where enemies and bosses would just stand there and swap lock-ons towards their own vulnerability. But that was not a huge issue for me as I see it as something that could be improved on.
Another thing I'd like to see is the return of the tendency system in some form or another. Like… increased enemy smartness and difficulty due to an array of different conditions. And Black Phantom enemies. I played Demon Souls just recently I was scared out of my mind at certian BP ambushes that just weren't there on regular tendency. Especially in the last section of Shrine of Storms (probably my favorite section in any souls game due to the sense of danger if the area itself)
Don't you forget, Akeem, that many of these zones we played through together on our first go through the game! Making things way easier. And you died PLENTY.
But yeah I would agree: I think in many locations the areas are tougher than the bosses themselves:Yeah.
Upper Blight Town.
I keep forgetting that place exists. *nightmare
