Not game to play in front of a group of people, I watched as 500-hour veteran of Dark Souls sank his teeth into Dark Souls II.
The player rolled, parried, rolled and then drank a potion when hit; basically, he was a bad-ass.
To the point where it almost looked easy. Almost.
He tore through level after level of an enemy-infested, booby-trapped castle before getting to a floor with about four giant creatures.
They destroyed him. Utterly decimated him. If I was playing, I’d have thrown my controller at my TV and started to spout excuses as to my failure.
That’s not what the Dark Souls vet did. Instead, he laughed it off and started back in the direction of the room that just handed him his ass.
Over the course of the next three hours, the player never did beat that floor, but he kept on going back. And back. Again and again. He never made claims that the game was cheap, unbalanced, or anything of that nature. He just shook his head when he was killed and then tried again.
That’s Dark Souls II.
For me, if a guy who’s played 500 hours of the original is having trouble with the sequel, the prospect of playing it myself is terrifying. That said, for those who loved the first, the news will probably have you in a state of euphoria.
Honestly, Dark Souls II is a bit of a tough sell. From Software doesn’t make it easy to play, nor easy to learn. When the group dissipated, I felt utterly useless as I picked up a controller and took out three zombie guards before dying. I didn’t make it anywhere near the castle. I barely made it ten steps away from my camp before running into the zombie guards again and again. I tried about ten times and then put the controller down in frustration and failure.
Though From Software mightn’t be too forthcoming with tips and tricks, Namco Bandai Australia (or is that Bandai Namco Australia?) has promised to come to the rescue. A representative for the publisher mentioned that they’ve partnered with Jeremy “Junglist” Ray to produce a series of primers for the franchise, hopefully out before the game itself. It may or may not be enough to give people the upper-hand on the game, but it’d certainly help, right?
Love it or hate it, Dark Souls II certainly has people talking. With the original going cheap as chips on Xbox 360, PS3 and Windows PC, it’s worth giving a try to see if its difficulty frustrates or excites you.
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