toxicitizen

I guess something about the way you insisted on it made it sound like a bigger dealbreaker than it actually is? I dunno, that was just one part of my replies, really. I'm more interested in discussing Dark Souls specifically, tbh. And, it's not like I don't entirely get what you're saying about the repetition. I guess it's just a bit hard to really recall exactly how it felt when I was just starting. But, like Mr. GOH said, a lot of people don't get hooked until quite a few hours in. And when that happens, repeating those sections stops being an issue. At this point, all I can really suggest is try to stick with it? If something really annoys you or you get desperately stuck, don't hesitate to look stuff up on the wikis. The way the game wants you to figure things out for yourself is great, but it can also be a double-edged sword at times, making it more frustrating than it needs to be. For the bonfire right before the fog gate thing, I'd argue that goes against the spirit of the game. Some people actually complain that the bonfires are too close together in Dark Souls II. And not all fog gates lead to a boss fight so sometimes it's a bit of a gamble crossing them. As for repeating things that are easy, well, that's not always going to be the case. There will be places where fighting the enemies on your way back to the boss will be much more dangerous. On the other hand, there's also going to be some where there will be so few enemies that it won't even be worth engaging them so you'll just run right past them. Don't assume that this section is necessarily representative of the entire game, the areas are quite varied.

Maybe not a hard limit but it definitely sounds like there is one and it's pretty low. Which is fine, I suppose. I mean, it's not like I'm trying to tell you how to play games. Just seems weird to me to have as a general rule to apply to all games across the board. If any game caused me to not want to retry a section beyond a handful of time, it's usually because I just don't like it all that much. Happens most often with games that are in a genre that's outside my comfort zone or one that I'm not normally a huge fan of, like a racing game or an RTS. I don't know, I find the combat fun enough that I don't mind plowing through them again. It's certainly more satisfying here than shooting waves of enemies in any given shooter would be. This early, I'd probably even make it to the boss and not even enter the fog gate, maybe do a few more runs at it and spend more souls. Having more HP never hurt anyone. I'm not sure how spending less than 5 mins killing a few enemies is busy work, though. The boss is seriously very close to that bonfire. If they're not much of a challenge like you say then you should be able to clear them very quickly. Or shit, you can just run right past them. That's what I tend to do when I just want to retry a boss without clearing the area again. Often because I have a large number of souls in the boss room that I don't want to lose. Most enemies won't chase you very far.

Dark Souls II. Well, shit. Didn't expect to beat this one so quickly, certainly not in less than a week. Clock was at a little under 50 hours when I beat the final boss last night, which is 10 less than the original took me. That's not to say it's shorter, though. In fact, I think it actually has more content. It probably took me less because, for the first time in the Souls series, I actually embraced co-op. There were just so many summon signs in the first few days that I couldn't help myself and summoned help for the first boss I truly got stuck on. From that point on, I prioritized enjoying my first playthrough as much as possible over obstinately trying to solo all the bosses. Not as much of a challenge but there's always New Game Plus for that. As a result, I never really got stuck for too long. I also put my own summon sign down quite often. Was a lot more fun than I expected to just wail on those fuckers in groups of 2 or 3 and see their health bars go down that much faster! Overall, it's a Souls game so it's better than most of what's out there. That being said, I think it's just not as good as the first one. At first, I really disliked some of the changes. The nerf to the Estus Flask and the health penalties associated with death, in particular. They made the first 10 or so hours very brutal and, at times, kinda frustrating. But ultimately, about a third of the way through I got into the groove of things and they stopped bothering me as much. Still not a fan but they're not as big of a deal as I initially thought. The one major aspect where I feel the game is inferior is the overall level design. The fact that you can now warp between bonfires from the very start means they didn't need to get creative with interconnected levels and clever shortcuts. That was a really cool aspect of the original and I'm sad to see it gone. The first time you kick down that ladder to the Undead Burg bonfire or find the elevator from the Undead Church to Firelink Shrine are just so very satisfying. Now all the areas are just kinda lined up and lead into one another. The world feels a lot bigger as a result but is not quite as memorable.

*sigh* Once again, I break my physical-only rule for console. Damn you and your Steam-like deals, Sony! I was going to wait until after I get around to playing Tales of Xillia (grabbed that one a couple months ago) but it was 10 bucks after PS+ discount. Even if I'd waited, I'd never get a physical copy for that price. I guess Sony are really starting to get digital distribution. When your price is so good I can no longer argue against buying digitally, you're doing it right. This is like the third time they get me.

I guess I just don't get why you need to put an arbitrary limit on your number of retries. If a game is good, then I'm going to want to keep playing regardless. My enjoyment of a game isn't directly dependent on my success at it. Honestly, it kinda sounds like you like the idea of a challenge but dislike actually being challenged. Really? It's a fairly short section. You really need to change your outlook on the game if you're going to enjoy it at all. It's really not about clearing an area once and being done with it. How are you going to figure out what to do differently unless you actually go back and try again? This game is all about discovery and experimentation. If actually making your way to the Minotaur boss isn't trivial, then you shouldn't be too surprised to fail to beat it. I mean, it's called Prepare To Die Edition, ffs. I did say the difficulty is exaggerated but still, that should be your first clue that this still isn't your average game. If you think you're going to just waltz in there and get it all on your first try, then lol. It's the antithesis of the modern game that constantly holds your hand. None of that "Press X here to awesome" nonsense. The game wants you to fend for yourself. It's not going to give you all the information, it wants you to figure it out on your own. That being said, there is something I can suggest but I'm not sure how viable it would actually be in DS1 considering the smaller player activity. In DS2, a good approach is to make it to a boss gate and put your summon sign down. When other players summon you, there's no downside for you to failing against the boss, you just get sent back right where you were. Allows you to practice the boss with no penalty. See what I just said. This isn't your average game and you should adjust your expectations accordingly or you're going to have a bad time. Don't go into it with your usual mindset towards difficulty, it's a different beast. You only just started playing, of course the first real boss is going to kick your ass. You're still learning how to play the game.

NG+ is pretty great if you really want to challenge your ninja skills. It's not just start over with all your abilities, the difficulty increases quite a bit. A lot of things become line of sight based, so you won't see what's in adjacent rooms unless you peek. And if the guard is just outside your cone of vision then you're not going to know he's there. I loved it.

A quick note, though. I wouldn't recommend getting the master key as a starting gift. It's really useful for an experienced player who knows what he's doing but terrible for a beginner. Locked doors are pretty much the only thing guiding you early on and keeping you from entering dangerous areas too soon. Being able to go anywhere will most likely cause you to end up somewhere way too difficult and you'll just end up getting frustrated because you won't realize you shouldn't be there at all yet. That's what happened to me when the game first came out on PS3.

That's... exactly what the Souls series is like? I mean, like I said, if you keep retrying half a dozen times and still die, it's not the game, it's you. You're doing something wrong. Boss was almost dead but you died when he got a "lucky" hit on you while you were dodging? Nope, your timing was off. It's literally almost 100% execution challenge, which you said is what you enjoy. If your attacks are dealing little to no damage, upgrade your weapon. But otherwise it's all skills. Well you don't really have to learn any new skills beyond the first few hours. Once you know how to time your dodge, to keep an eye on your stamina bar and learn overall necessary playing habits (e.g. always save enough stamina to roll away unless you know for a fact you can get the kill, etc..), then you're set for the game. It's mostly about sizing up the boss, reading its pattern and finding that weak spot and the right window to exploit it. Well I don't know what you did but there's a bit of a trick to this one that you can exploit to gain an edge. Maybe you found it but here it is if you want to know.

So you like a challenge... so long as you can succeed right away? I think we're working on completely different definitions of "challenge" here... I'd argue what you're describing isn't much of a challenge. Oh, that much was clear. Maybe I came off more defensive than intended, sorry. I was just trying to point out where you were mistaken in your perception of the game and provide some perspective. Honestly, I do feel like everyone should at least give it a shot, even if I'm aware it's ultimately not going to be for everyone. Reason is if you do get into it, it's going to be one hell of an experience. Glad you're giving it a try. Don't hesitate to ask if you've got questions or want some advice or whatever.

I suppose that largely depends on your idea of fun. It's certainly a niche title, it's not for everyone. Going from what you just said, I suspect it probably won't be for you. The thing is, it's not about dying until you get it, it's about being careful and cautious every step of the way. I wouldn't necessarily describe it as "fun" in the general sense. It's not Mario Party "fun" but calling it fun isn't as completely out of place as with something like The Last of Us, either. Rewarding is a better word for it. If you're dying over and over again on the same section, you're simply not learning from your mistakes. In that situation, it can definitely feel like going up against a brick wall. Also, coming out of a gen where we've been getting COD-like shooters out the ass and most games are often regarded as being way too easy, when something like Dark Souls comes along that prioritizes good design and brings back a true old-school kind of challenge but without the bullshit, of course a lot of people will embrace it. That being said, the Souls fanbase does have an unfortunate tendency to be up its own ass, I can't argue with you on that one.

It definitely can feel that way if you're going about it wrong. But really, there's rarely any need for grinding in the traditional sense. Soul levels aren't all that significant (look up onebros if you don't believe me). Upgrading your gear is more important than leveling up. It's not immediately obvious but discovering that is part of the experience. I wouldn't even say "decent chunk". The levels really aren't very large. On a first pass they seem big because you're going carefully and progressing slowly, but after a while you can clear the path between any two given bonfires rather quickly. Losing souls, while frustrating at the time, is ultimately meaningless. If you have a large amount and don't wanna risk losing it: spend it. Oh and Dark Souls II actually changes the gear durability system. In short, as long as it's not broken yet, resting at a bonfire will fully repair it. That's one of the few changes I actually really like. Well, it certainly isn't all in your face with the story, but it is there. The main arc of the Chosen Undead's quest is rather thin but there is more to the backstory and lore, you just need to look for it in NPC dialogue, item descriptions, etc... It's not really fanfic since there's evidence to support most of the accepted speculation and theories. Lol. I like this one better:

Really? Serious question: do you play all your games on easy then? I honestly can't understand the thinking behind what you said. Failing is just a part of playing for me. Do you not like challenge in games? I'm not sure why you even bother commenting on the subject, then. By your own admission, you have no idea what you're talking about. What you're describing has almost no basis in reality. Well, to be fair, Demon's Souls was kinda like that. But in Dark, other than a few specific exceptions (i.e. one or two areas with no or very few bonfires), you never have to replay anything remotely close to a "significant portion of a level" upon death. Seriously, they're great games. The difficulty and how "hardcore" they are is blown WAY out of proportion. Get the first one on Steam next time it's 5 bucks and give it a shot. I'm sure you won't regret it.

That's pretty far off the mark considering they're some of the most rewarding games I've ever played. It's incredibly satisfying to hone your skills and wipe the floor with a boss. Or simply upgrading your weapon to get the edge you need. If you're getting pissed at the game, you just need to step away from it for an hour or so. It's not the game, it's you. To be perfectly honest, they're not actually that difficult. They're challenging for sure. But mostly they just punish carelessness.

Hahaha, yeah this series does that to you. Just ended a five hours Dark Souls II session myself. I actually forgot to eat dinner.

Welp, 6 hours and many deaths into it, the game is pretty damn great. That being said, so far I am NOT a fan of the changes to health and healing. Reducing your max health with every death is way too punishing, imho. It sucked in Demon's Souls and it sucks again here. It just makes death more frustrating and I end up feeling like I'm wasting my human effigies. Also, I miss the old Estus Flask. I run out of life gems way too fast and upgrading the flask a single charge at a time takes forever. The old one was kind of overpowered after a while, though. So it's not like I don't see why it was changed. But still, I miss my +7 Estus Flask with 20 charges. I miss it so much.

Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate Deluxe Edition It's alright, I guess. But a few major issues kept it from being great. Nowhere near as good as the main series but I never expected it to be. Glad I was able to get it for 10 bucks, though, because at 20 I wouldn't be happy with my purchase. My main complaints would be the terrible boss fights and environments that can be very frustrating to navigate because of a map that's about as unintuitive to read as you can get (apparently it's even worse on Vita, if that's even possible). Oh and at the very end you get sent on what I can only describe as "the stupidest bullshit back-tracking fetch quest since Wind Waker". At that point I was already fed up with the map and back-tracking so it actually made me groan when it started. Come to think of it, that's a pretty serious offense for a metroidvania game...

3.5 hours? That's actually pretty good, longer than I expected. Harley Quinn's Revenge was less than half that, iirc. Really want to give it a shot as well but between studying for finals and Dark Souls II coming out friday, all my gaming time is going towards finishing Thief right now. I already took a (way too long) break from it because of Reaper of Souls. If I don't finish it before DaSII, it might stay unfinished for a while. And I still need to play Burial at Sea Ep 2...

Yeah, it was like 8 bucks for a pack with some DLC.

Both were grabbed over the course of the sale GMG just had. Typing was mostly out of humorous curiosity but it's actually kinda funny, enjoying it so far. Plus, turns out it includes the actual House of the Dead: Overkill game, so it's not just a joke game. Doom 3 BFG, well, even after all these years I've yet to actually play Doom 3 all the way through to the end and this seemed like the best version to do it with. I've been eyeing it for a while, the price just hadn't gone low enough for me to bite until now. I know a lot of people think it's inferior because it lacks mod support and such but I'll take proper widescreen resolution support over mods any day. Doom 3 suffers from a stretched HUD when you force widescreen and that shit drives me fucking nuts. This one was kind of a last second impulse purchase. I've been hearing it's decent for a while but I've ignored it until now, in part due to everything that happened surrounding 38 Studios and the uncertain future of the IP. Curiosity got the best of me, I guess. That and it looks like a pretty solid WRPG. I've built myself a bit of a JRPG backlog for the summer so I thought having a different kind thrown into the mix would help keep things interesting.

Fez. There was a few hours left for the related Playfire rewards so I figured I might as well fire it up and try to get some. Turns out I was pretty close to finishing it. I had stopped out of frustration while hunting down the last few cubes. Guess I just needed a break cause I was able to get the first ending in about an hour and then get into the NG+ stuff. I'm using a guide for the more cryptic stuff, though. I don't have the time to get into all that shit right now and honestly, half of it I probably couldn't figure it out on my own. I wasn't familiar with the "quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" phrase so right off the bat I'd never have figured out the game's alphabet. Anyway, say what you will about Phil Fish but Fez is a pretty damn good game. One of the most creative indie platformers I've had the pleasure of playing. The perspective shifting never felt like a gimmick and some of the puzzles are really clever and inventive. And while there isn't much of a story to speak of, what's there was pretty intriguing and was enough to keep me wanting to progress. Also, I have no idea what they did to the PC version but holy shit it got glitchy since the last time I played. I was getting crazy screen flickering, which at first I thought might just be part of the whole glitchy theme the game has got going, but when it started happening in menus and overlapping with the Steam overlay I kinda figured something wasn't right. Also, sometimes I'd bring up the menu and the text just wouldn't display. To fix these issues I had to force vsync through Catalyst Control Center and disable my GPU on-screen display, respectively.

PC Gamer gave Durante (DSfix guy) access to the PC version and got him to write a report on it. http://www.pcgamer.com/uk/2014/04/17/dark-souls-2-pc-port-mod-god-durantes-verdict/ Looks to be pretty damn solid, his verdict is quite positive. Also looks like he has a follow-up piece coming up on how to tweak the game to get the most out of it.

We still don't know if we'll even get the 64Gbs cards and you're already thinking we'll get 128GBs? What? I'm not sure if that's very optimistic or just kinda foolish. Let me guess, they'll bundle them with the Vita TV? Because that's totally coming here as well.

Ethan. Hot Heart. If this doesn't kick all kinds of ass there is going to be hell to pay! Also because I remembered being really interested in it when it first came out. I was tempted to also get Batman 2: DC Super Heroes but I didn't really want to spend more than 10 bucks on these and I figured I should probably play the original first, anyway.

I think it says a lot about how surprising this is that even I, someone who neither plays nor really cares about Halo, was aware of how great that series' music was. I mean, that main theme is just amazing. It has a similar effect on me as the MGS theme or the Uncharted theme. And I never even played a damn Halo game.