Dark Souls - Xbox 360

    Dark Souls is an Action Role-playing game developed by From Software. The game was released in the USA in 2012 on both the Xbox 360, PC, and Playstation 3. Dark Souls is the spiritual successor of 2009's Demon's Souls which was only available on the Playstation 3. The Souls games have gained an almost cult following with fans in the past few years. Those who do not enjoy the games are nearly as vocal as those who do, however. What about the game could be so polarizing?

     Dark Souls takes place in a nightmarish kingdom known as Lordran. In this kingdom, certain humans are cursed with the darksign, a birthmark which signifies the curse of everlasting life. Unfortunately, this life is as a zombie type creature. The living fear the undead due to the possibility for the undead to lose their minds after years of undeath and attack others viciously. As such, the living lock the dead in cells, forcing them to wait out eternity in confinement. The player takes control of one of these imprisoned undead, and embarks on an adventure which will determine the very fate of the world.

The undead are so cute in their armor.

    The game's story is one point of contention between fans and those who dislike the game. Very little of the story is told outright to the player. Instead, the story and history of the world is dished out piece by piece through discussions with other characters in the world, and through the descriptions on weapons, armor, and items found throughout the world. While many people might say that the game has very little lore about it, they would be wrong. The world is actually incredibly rich in history and lore, much of which explains some of the stranger mechanics in the game when looked at from a realism perspective.

    One major difference between Demon's Souls and Dark Souls is that the world is no longer a series of portals which each lead to a different environment. Instead, Lordran is an open world in which every area is connected by multiple paths and short-cuts. Nearly every area in the game is available for exploration at the beginning of the game, the only thing stopping you being the high level monsters which may reside in the areas. This accessibility hints at one of the biggest themes of Dark Souls, high risk, high reward. It's very possible to run through difficult areas and get much better armor and weapons early in the game, if you can survive.

Umm, I'll come back later. Sorry to bother you sir.

    The world of Lordran is completely brutal, but amazingly beautiful at the same time. Environments are unique and extremely well designed. Each area feels like a living world, with its own unique creatures inhabiting the locales. Enemy design blew me away throughout Dark Souls. This game has some of the strangest, scariest, most interesting creatures that I have ever seen. And then there are the bosses.

    In Dark Souls, each enemy you face is a struggle in itself. Traversing the game's world and defeating the challenges posed by it can be grueling. All of this is meaningless compared to facing the game's bosses, however. These monsters will test your abilities to the extreme. I can't think of another game with bigger, more brutal bosses than Dark Souls. It was completely common for me to walk into a boss fight for the first time, stare in terror as the beast charged me, attempt to fight it, and die within 3 seconds.

Someone likes their demon donuts..

    If you haven't caught on, Dark Souls is extremely difficult. The difficulty is another reason that some gamers dislike the game. I, myself, wanted to quit playing in the first hour of the game. Luckily, I stuck with it and learned the game's mechanics a bit better and loved the rest of my time playing. While the game is definitely hard, it's not at all unfair. You're going to die a LOT playing the game, but every single death is going to be your own fault. Every enemy, from the biggest ogre, to the smallest spider has the potential to kill you in just a few hits. Once you learn to block, and take your time with each enemy, you can triumph over even the toughest of baddies.

    With such grueling battles to be fought, it's a good thing Lordran is full of powerful weapons and armor. It's also helpful that your character grows stronger with each enemy defeated. Killing monsters grants souls, which are the currency of the game. Souls can be spent to upgrade character stats, weapons, and purchase items. Upon player death, all souls currently carried are dropped at the point of death. Players must return to the place of their demise, without dying in the meantime and losing them permanently, to regain their lost currency.

You're going to see this screen a few times...

    When a game is extremely difficult, you rely on the its mechanics to work correctly each and every time. Unfortunately, I had some problems with my playthrough of Dark Souls. Numerous times I would attempt to dodge behind a wall or stone column, only to have the enemy's weapon go right through the solid object and kill me. It's not like the enemy broke the stone, it was more like the enemy had a ghost weapon that could just phase through solid objects. I also had some trouble with the game's lock-on mechanic. It seemed like it was inconsistent in how far away from enemies I could be before locking on.

    Dark Souls also has some performance issues on the Xbox 360. Framerate slowdowns are commonplace throughout the game, with one locale being extremely annoying due to the amount going on in the area.

As if this place weren't bad enough...

    Dark Souls also has a unique multiplayer component. While playing the game, you will witness the "ghosts" of other players currently in the area. You will also come across blood stains on the ground where other players have died. These stains allow you to watch the recent death of the player. Other gamers who have completed the game previously gain the ability to leave short messages on the ground for others to read. These can be hints, warning, or just trolling. Using special items, players can invade other player's worlds to either attack them in hopes of gaining souls, or assist them with difficult areas.

    Dark Souls went from me not wanting to play anymore, to wanting to start a second playthrough right after I completed the game. There is a good 50 hours of gameplay waiting for those who dare to brave the challenges and frustration brought on by the game's enemies. I have to say though, that it's a great feeling when you finally defeat a boss that has been trouncing you repeatedly. Even with its problems, Dark Souls is an amazing game that is worth your time and patience.

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