Multiple Platforms Dark Souls

Mr. Gorilla

Mr. Gorilla

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It's good to know the best game to be called an RPG this generation (Demon's Souls) is getting a sequel (Or at least a "spiritual successor").


If it's any bit as good as Demon's Souls it will be an insta-purchase for me. Who else is looking forward to this?
 
I am, but I still don't understand why it can't be called Demon Souls 2??? The first one was fantastic, but damn, did I die a lot. Most of the bosses actually required some form of strategy to beat, and the music was top notch
 
Ahluk said:
I am, but I still don't understand why it can't be called Demon Souls 2???
Click to expand...

It has something to do with licensing, I believe. If they wanted to call it "Demon's Souls 2," it would have to be PS3 exclusive (Which would actually be the ethical thing to do (Aside from putting it on the PS3 and PC), considering that the Xbox 360 is really a mediocre PC that has stolen high-quality PC titles from the start of its lifetime and is likely the thing primarily responsible for the PC gaming market's decline).
 
It's because it is NOT Demon's Souls. It is not a spiritual successor or anything of the like. It's being overseen by the same person who made DS, and a good portion of the team is making it as well. Because of this, alot of the graphic style is alot like Demon's Souls.

I've been keeping my eye on this, let's hope the competition in this is better than in Demon's Souls, though. I really loved DS, but...it was a bit over-stated about difficulty. Hardest game on the PS3 my ass. :P
 
Here is a new Dark Souls trailer released today. Hope you guys like it!


Update#1

The Harsher, Deadlier Dark Souls is also a More Beautiful Horror Adventure

Michael McWhertor — There's no mistaking it. Dark Souls is as much a Demon's Souls sequel as we're ever going to get, at least any time soon. It's the more beautiful Demon's Souls. It's the game more willing to run wild with its unique brand of twisted dark medieval fantasy.

It may have been touted as a more difficult Demon's Souls, with more relentless enemies, crueler environments and more trademark brutally. But Dark Souls feels like a more refined, better produced, more mature Demon's Souls—not just a sequel with the difficulty knob cranked to 11—a game I just had my first real-time gameplay demo of earlier this week.

To say that I was excited for Dark Souls may be an understatement. I lobbied (unsuccessfully) in 2009 for Demon's Souls to be Kotaku's Game of the Year. I have since sunk hundreds of hours into that PlayStation 3 game, seeing its every bit of content, nabbing the game's platinum trophy. I came to love it harshness, its brooding atmosphere, its punishments for carelessness and its rewards for thoughtful play. So, yes, I'm very interested in Dark Souls.

Based on my initial hands-off impressions of Dark Souls, this is a game designed with players like me in mind, players who are comfortable with its many deaths . Having sufficiently conquered Demon's Souls, I need a new challenge. And it looks like I'm going to get one.

My demo, played on a PlayStation 3, focused on a single area, one trap-laden castle, the stony, gloomy medieval fare that Demon's Souls was known for.

As we approached what Namco Bandai reps referred to as "The Trapped Castle"—the game called it "Sen's Castle"—we looked behind our knight briefly. At his back was the bridge that lead to Sen's Castle, beyond that the forested open area that is said to lend Dark Souls a less structured world than its predecessor. Gone is the hub world of Demon's Souls' Nexus, partially replaced by campsites known as Beacon Fires. These fires are the safe zones where players can heal and share their experiences with other players.


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A player's visit to Sen's Castle may occur at different occasions for different players, Namco reps said. The same was partially true of Demon's Souls, but Dark Souls appears to be less restrictive in where its players can go and when they can go there.

Looking toward the humble castle entrance, I was immediately struck at how vibrant this game was. The screen was bordered with soft greens from the nearby trees. The walls of Sen's Castle glowed softly gold. The knight, outfitted with a rusty iron helmet, indigo robes underneath leather armor, dozens of medallions hanging from his neck, a dagger sheath at his left breast, he looked more colorful, more uniquely interesting than the medieval fantasy warriors of Demon's Souls.

Still, this is grim, dark fantasy stuff, evident as we entered Sen's.
If one considers the environmental nature of some of Demon's Souls worlds, with Stonefang Tunnel a world of fire and magma, the Vally of Defilement home to plague and poison, Sen's Castle should be thought of as a long sequence of death traps. Darts fly from its walls from all directions. Elevator shafts are capped with spikes, making damn sure you better get off on the right floor or suffer the consequences.


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The castle is guarded by snake warriors. They're humanoid from the neck down, with long serpentine necks that stretch their height to eight or nine feel tall. Those snake-men attack with sword and shield, moving quickly and relentlessly.

Dark Souls sometimes throws in a cobra guard variant, a four-armed soldier with a wide hooded neck, a curved sword in each hand and the power to spray poisonous venom clouds. Lovely.

While fighting those snake guards, it was clear the combat in Dark Souls is near identical to that of its inspiration. As in Demon's Souls, players can strike one-handed, with light or heavy attacks. They can switch to a two-handed mode, putting away one's shield, for braver battles. Parry, riposte, critical strikes, blocks and rolling dodges—they're all here, all seemingly unchanged in their effectiveness. Demon's Souls players should feel at home in this game's hand-to-hand fights.

Venturing further into Sen's more traps revealed themselves. On a narrow bridge, a series of giant pendulum scythes swung back and forth, threatening to knock the player into a dark pit below (I got to see the contents of that pit a bit later). Further complicating the approach was a snake guard one floor above, spitting at the player as he slowly creeped through—then sprinted through!—the scythes. At the end of that bridge, another vicious obstacle awaited, a never-ending series of rolling boulders, the kind that would make Indiana Jones run in fear for his life, but which Dark Souls players must routinely face while running up and down winding staircases in Sen's Castle.

The sound of those traps, a constant din of rolling boulders and mechanized torture devices clattering in the distance, will be a fearsome reminder to players of the dangers of Sen's.


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The traps don't stop there. At the entrance to the castle, the knight opened up a treasure chest, revealing a bounty of souls within. But his next attempt to open a chest resulted in a horrifying discovery. The chest opened, revealing a pair of spindly arms, rows of bloody fangs and a flopping, bloody tongue, pulling the player inside for a chew. It was a grislier version of a Mimic from Dragon Quest, a beast disguised as booty. The player antagonized it, swinging at it with his hefty large sword. That really pissed off the treasure chest mimic, which then stood upright, now twice the height of the player. It kicked and scratched and roared, stronger than its thin frame implied. Eventually, it went down, reduced to a pile of souls.

In Sen's, we saw one more thing that inhabited the trapped castle. At the bottom of the aforementioned black pit, where stagnant water has collected, was a huge bronze guardian—this monstrosity. Its head was sheared off, as was one of its legs. It lumbered toward the knight, massive bronze staff in hand, a slow moving juggernaut that was just creepy (and mad) as hell.

Now, there was no real climax in my hands-off demo. It didn't end in one of FromSoftware's boss fights against some huge demon or towering knight. Instead, we paused a moment to take a look at the game's interface, inventory and equipment. The knight I was shown, a "special kind of knight," is just one of the game's starting classes. The only other mentioned was a witch. The equipment our knight wore included the previously mentioned armor, a large class sword, otherwise nondescript, and a pointed shield. That large sword had at least one secret ability—it could cast spells.


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We saw a few more traditional spells equipped in the knight's inventory, like a lightning bolt attack and the defensive "iron body" magic. But it appears that some weapons will have the ability to behave magically, with this one casting a fireball spell and an area of effect attack that emitted a crimson burst.

As back up, the knight had at least two more weapons—a large, gnarled hammer that reminded me of Garl Vinland's Bramd and a thorny bluish sword that looked as heavy as a Meat Cleaver or Dragon Bone Smasher from Demon's Souls. Flipping through the redesigned and far more attractive inventory screen, it looked like the standard equipment was here. Gauntlets, helmets, rings, leggings, inventory to hold grasses and other consumables were all seen. Yes, you'll be chomping on grasses and downing spice in Dark Souls, just like its forebear.

One new aspect of Dark Souls will be the option to upgrade one's armor with materials, an option previously limited to weapons and shields in Demon's Souls.

Delving into the game's inventory screen also offered a quick glimpse at stats. It appears that the confusing runes that indicated a player's strength, dexterity, faith, luck and more have been replaced by more easily understood icons.

Added to the list of character attributes is a new Humanity stat, which has some effect on a player's human nature. In Dark Souls, you're already dead, with your appearance fluctuating from human to more corpse-like, with that Humanity characteristic having some unexplained impact. Namco Bandai reps said that players can "give some of their humanity" at Beacon Fires, a mechanic we don't yet understand, but hope to when the game is shown in online form at E3 2011.


Dark Souls Gallery

View the gallery

Speaking of the game's online modes, it will feature similar online mechanics introduced in Demon's Souls, with players able to visit and invade each other's worlds, leave them messages, either helpful or malicious. For the Xbox 360 version, which is not guaranteed online connectivity unless players are Xbox Live Gold subscribers, offline players will not see that side of Dark Souls.

Based on comments from Namco Bandai reps, the online cooperative and competitive modes in Dark Souls don't appear to be changing drastically. Players will still be able to meet up with other players, mostly strangers, online to work together. But they'll still be working independently in a sense, relying on their own skills, spells and equipment.
Dark Souls comes to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this October in North America and Europe. While we wait, new screens of Dark Souls, including some from Sen's Castle, await you in the gallery.

http://kotaku.com/5800064/our-first-look-at-dark-souls

Update#2

ce-darksouls.jpg

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Namco has announced a Collector’s Edition for Dark Souls, which is slated for release in October on PS3 and Xbox 360.

The Collector’s Edition, which you can see below, can be pre-ordered for $59.99 and includes a limited edition art book with illustrations of characters and environments from the game, as well as a mini-strategy guidebook, behind-the-scenes videos, and the game’s soundtrack for digital download. It’s included in a “custom-designed metal case.”

Dark Souls will be available throughout North America and Europe in October 2011.

Source - VG247

Update#3

Here is a interview video from Gametrailers.



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Pockets said:
It's because it is NOT Demon's Souls. It is not a spiritual successor or anything of the like.
Click to expand...

It is. Much of the gameplay and features are incredibly similar to Demon's Souls, and the developers have referred to it as a spiritual successor (As Demon's Souls was to the King's Field games).

They might as well call it Demon's Souls 2 (But they wouldn't be able to because of the IP rights and all that mess).

Anyway. I'm going to get around to pre-ordering this. It's going to be incredible.
 
Namco Bandai Games to Release Dark Souls in October


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Leading video game publisher and developer NAMCO BANDAI Games America Inc., recently announced the exclusive pre-order incentives and Collector’s Edition of Dark Souls™, releasing in North America and Europe in October 2011 for the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. A new action-role playing game (RPG) developed by FromSoftware, Dark Souls is the spiritual successor to 2009’s critically acclaimed Demon’s Souls.

The Dark Souls Collector’s Edition can be pre-ordered for $59.99, the same price as the standard edition, and will include a limited edition art book containing premium illustrations of characters and environments from the game, a mini-strategy guidebook, behind-the-scenes videos from the development studio detailing various stages of game concept, design and building, and the game’s soundtrack for digital download. All of this will come packaged with the standard edition game in a custom-designed metal case.

Dark Souls is the spiritual successor to PlayStation 3’s exclusive Demon’s Souls, and has a similarly dark story. Stricken by the curse of undeath, characters are banished to the northern realms and must battle hideous demons and unimaginable monsters to collect souls and find the Eternal Flame of Life, which is losing its light, to survive and cure the curse of undead.

With tense dungeon crawling and fearsome enemy encounters, the seamlessly intertwined world of Dark Souls is full of extreme battles, rewarding challenges, nuanced weaponry and magic, and the flexibility to customize each character to suit any desired play style. The innovative online component allows gamers to draw from the collective experience of the Dark Souls community as they either help or sabotage each other on the journey through the Northern Realms to save the land from darkness. With a massive, seamless open world design, Dark Souls encourages deep exploration and an adaptable gameplay experience.

No word is out yet on the various classes and abilities, but Word of God states that this game will be as balls-to-the-wall hard as Demon’s Souls, if not harder. I’m definitely looking forward to this one!

Source: Namo Bandai Games Press Release
 
This looks like a very promising game. Demon Souls was this generations Vagrant Story and I thought it was a great game (if a bit more hard than VS). I'll wanna try it but I hope it'll be a little less 'paaaaaaaaaaaaain and sufferiiiing!' than it's predecessor without sacrificing the challenge.
 
I just beat Demon's Souls yesterday, well, if you count it as beating the game.

Anyways, I can't wait for this Game to come out. Been keeping track of it also.
 
From Software today revealed that the Japanese release date for their upcoming title Dark Souls, which is a Playstation 3 exclusive game in Japan. The game will be released in that region on September 15th. The action role-playing game will also come with a detailed strategic map and soundtrack for a limited time. From Software also revealed a handful of new screens for the game.

Dark Souls will be released for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 in North America on October 11th. Check out the bonuses and the new screenshots in the link below.

http://www.examiner.com/video-game-...d-new-screens-revealed-for-dark-souls-picture

Update#1

DarkSoulsLogo.jpg

Namco’s just confirmed that Dark Souls is releasing in Europe on October 7th and in North America on October 4th 2011 for Xbox 360 video game and PS3.

The stunning looking RPG, which is being developed by FromSoftware, is the spiritual successor to 2009’s critically acclaimed Demon’s Souls, which in itself was an excellent, challenging title. Dark Souls features tense dungeon crawling, fearsome enemies and new online features.

The Dark Souls Limited Edition can be pre-ordered at Shopto.net for the same price as the standard edition. It includes a limited edition art book containing premium illustrations of characters and environments from the game, a mini-strategy guidebook, behind-the-scenes videos from the development studio detailing various stages of game concept, design and building, and the game’s soundtrack for digital download.

Well worth pre-ordering we say.

You can pre-order from ShopTo now on Xbox 360 and PS3 for £36.85.
We are planning to bring you our impressions of this game from E3, so keep an eye on the site.

http://www.shoptonews.net/2011/06/03/namco-confirms-dark-souls-release-date/

Update#2

Quick Shots – Dark Souls screens both dark and soulful

There’s a picture of a king holding a bolt of lightning in his actual hand, and some sort of suspiciously glistening dragon. What more could you want from Dark Souls?

20110608darksouls.jpg

Accoridng to the attached factsheet, the game will support up to four players in a unique, low-impact online multiplayer, and prides itself on upholding the difficulty of its precursor, requiring strategy and flexibility, as well as caution and patience.

From Software is very proud of the game’s seamless world, which sports more verticality than Demon’s Souls.

Apparently, we’re looking at 60 hours of gameplay and 100 unique monsters.

Organic character development – based on your choice of weapons, magic, armour and whether you need the option to switch between them – sounds pretty similar to the first game.

The messaging system makes a return, as does glimpses of other players, with whom you can “cross paths” to share the game.

From Software’s follow up to the slow-burn smash Demon’s Souls is due on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in October. Can. Not. Wait.

For good measure, I’ve dropped the E3 2011 trailer below the gallery – although we nabbed it from GameTrailers last week.



http://www.vg247.com/2011/06/08/quick-shots-dark-souls-screens-both-dark-and-soulful/#more-178006

Update#3

Dark Souls floor demo released

Gamespot has posted a stage demo for Dark Souls, and it’s posted below the break.

20110520darksouls_h.jpg

In it, the site talks about how there are similarities between it and Demons’ Souls, but a lot of enhancements as well suck as check points and more.

Check it out below.

Dark Souls is out on PS3 and Xbox 360 in October.

 
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Here are some gameplay videos of Dark Souls from E3 2011. Click the link below to view the videos. Enjoy!

http://www.gamemanx.com/dark-souls-gameplay-video-e3-2011/ps3/6959/

Update#1

New Japanese screens released for Dark Souls

Here are some new screenshots of Dark Souls. Click the link below to see them.

http://www.examiner.com/video-game-...ese-screens-released-for-dark-souls-picture-1

Update#2

More Dark Souls sreenshots from Neocrisis.

http://www.neocrisis.com/news/135-game-news/7471-new-dark-souls-screens

Update#3

Namco Bandai’s revealed the official boxart for their upcoming RPG Dark Souls and they look pretty good. Watch both the standard and special edition packshots below.


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http://www.gamersmint.com/beautiful-looking-dark-souls-boxarts-revealed
 
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Looking very nice.

I am going to sink so many damn hours in to this game (As I did with Demon's Souls (Well over 100 hours), which I'm currently trying to obtain the remaining trophies in).
 
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We’ve received an email regarding the Dark Souls limited edition. The good news is that a full guide will now be included, but the bad news is the guide is download only due to size. This may only be the case with sites like Shopto.net whom don’t charge for postage. We’ll update you as soon as we know more.

It is definitely preferable to have a guide you can refer to quickly rather than having to go back and fourth between your television and computer screens. We hope that some sites will still provide a physical guide.

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Dear Customer,
We would like to inform you that there has been a slight change to the pack content for your pre-ordered copy of Dark Souls.

We are pleased to announce that the development team behind the game have decided to enhance the already superb content for Dark Souls by replacing the ‘mini game guide’ (hardcopy) with a ‘complete game guide’ due to the challenging level of game play that this title offers.

However, the implication of producing a ‘full game guide’ is that a hard copy could not physically fit in pack, as such this will now be available as a downloadable element via an in box code.

Therefore to confirm, the pack will now consist of:

· The Dark Souls game
· The Artbook
· The Making of DVD
· The Official Sound Track CD
· The ‘Complete’ game guide (via download).

There is no price point increase for this improved content and your pre-order has not been affected.

Regards,

The ShopTo Team

http://jrpgtribe.com/news/dark-souls-limited-edition-will-now-include-a-full-guide/
 
Y'know... after replaying Demon's Souls and suffering so very much, I may not try this after all. If they're making it more brutal than Demon Souls was, I'll pass. I want challenge, but at some point I'd like to actually win sometimes... ._.
 
Thu, Sep 01, 2011 | 19:01 BST

Dark Souls gets second prologue video

They tease us with that horribly short introduction last week, but this time we’re getting a bit more story and substance.

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This one isn’t exactly gargantuan either though, and it definitely leaves the impression that we’ll be getting about one of these a week until the game’s October release (or until they find something else to tease us with weekly.)
You can find the first vid here.





Source - http://www.vg247.com/2011/09/01/dark-souls-gets-second-prologue-video/#more-199963
 
ElvenAngel said:
Y'know... after replaying Demon's Souls and suffering so very much, I may not try this after all. If they're making it more brutal than Demon Souls was, I'll pass. I want challenge, but at some point I'd like to actually win sometimes... ._.
Click to expand...
The thrill of the game is exactly that difficulty. This game(s) is aimed at the 'hardcore' (and i hate using that term) audience, the kind who don't mind dying over and over and over and over and over, because it's the challenge they seek, not the victory. It is a double-edged sword in that most people will simply give up or not play it, but those who are seeking challenge will love it.
 
Hmm I expected to see a bigger crowd for this game Here, but nevertheless. I am excited to pick this game up tomorrow and I don't really know why since it's not my type of game at all. I love pretty straight forward game play with loads of cut scenes (ff) nothing to hard since I like to keep the chains moving. But this game has like no story or cutscenes yet the challenge of it just draws me in. Cant say ive ever been excited to die over and over and over and over while scrambling around a dungeon, but i am! I never played demons souls because I'm not big on ps3 and try to avoid it and play xbox.
 
Well, against my better judgement, I've pre-ordered this, although whether or not I'll pick it up on Friday remains to be seen. I sold my copy of Demon's Souls because I got sick of constant, blatantly unfair and frustrating death - there is a thin line between "challenging" and "fuck you, I'm throwing this piece of shit out the fucking window" and Demon's Souls was definetely in the latter catergory, but from what I've seen of Dark Souls it looks to be a slightly more bearable game...plus the soundtrack is absolutely incredible, and I have this nasty little habit of buying games with good OST just because they have good OST. So, I might pick this up, even if it'll cost me a large percentage of my hair to beat it.
 
8( Demon's Souls isn't that hard :hmph: And if I don't find a game extremely hard, everyone else must just be crazy :hmmm: Dark Souls I think is a bit more balanced out. I'll eventually pick it up after I beat Demon's Souls. It's a fun game, and not at all as hard as people make it out to be :hmmm:
 
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