Lots of new info and videos on this game just in the last few days. Both Gamespot and IGN are giving it a ton of coverage. Gamespot's Kevin Van Ord published a review-in-progress blog and 2-minute teaser montage, along with the 6 or 7 other gameplay videos that Gamespot has released since yesterday. It's looking friggin' amazing... I can't believe I'll have my hands on it in only a week. I'm also learning some specifics on the game mechanics that weren't precisely clear to me before: -The idea of mana/MP has been removed entirely in favor of assigning a specific number of casts for each spell you have. Depending on your stats, you'll have up to 10 slots for magic spells, which can include repeats of spells if you want more charges. For instance, you can have two slots each filled with "soul arrow" (which comes with 30 charges), and added together you'll have 60 charges to use. If you're worried about using up all your charges, don't worry too much, you can recharge them at: -Bonfires. We've been seeing the bonfires since fairly early development, but until now I didn't know exactly how they worked. Apparently resting at a bonfire will both heal you completely and recharge all your magic charges... but it will also re-spawn all non-boss creatures in the area. If you die, you'll appear at the last bonfire you rested at. EDIT: Apparently resting at a bonfire will also re-stock your Estus flasks (healing item) up to five... and if you sacrifice a point of "humanity," you can stoke the fire higher and it'll give you ten Estus flasks instead. Not sure exactly how the whole "humanity" rating mechanic works yet, other than it's analogous with the body/soul mechanic from Demon's Souls. -There's also a completely new mechanic/option within the game called "covenants," which are basically factions you can join. Not all details are clear on this yet, but what is clear is that each covenant both gives you rewards for doing specific tasks, as well as potentially punishes you for breaking certain rules. Breaking covenants will apparently write your name in the "Book of the Guilty," which invites other players to invade your game and assassinate you for breaking covenant rules. Damn, can't wait to get my hands on this game...
Its crazy how much attention this game is getting, when you think back to demon's souls and how little fanfare it released to. Was it some word of mouth grassroots campaign that made it so popular? Or does the cream always rise to the top?
A little bit of both. It was a fantastic game that sparked word of mouth. I never would have played this game except for the rave talk on ClutchFans about it, and I asbsolutely loved it. Definitely the hardest platinum I've scored, but the most rewarding as well. I'm avoiding all the video gameplay. It seems like every game site out there right now has video marathons of their staff playing the game, but I want to be surprised by this game.
It is crazy. Kevin Van Ord isn't even the only one doing a review-in-progress blog... IGN's Keza MacDonald has published a three part diary about experiences with the game leading up to the review, as well. I wonder myself at all the coverage going on. One certainly gets the sense that it's not going to sell as well as Skyrim, for instance, but that hasn't stopped critics from lavishing an unusual amount of attention on Dark Souls. I'd like to think it's because Dark Souls is truly a unique and fresh experience compared to some of the big-budget games being developed with more attention to market data, and that the jaded critics see it as such. I get the sense (although I'm quite biased) that From Software is really focused on creating a game that they themselves would enjoy playing, while other companies are more focused on making a game that will sell well. Some would say that this is a distinction without a difference, but I think there's a mindset there that can be seen in the finished product.
I still remember when Demon's Souls was shown off at TGS a few years ago (I guess TGS 08?). Wasn't quite as well received (though that was more due to lack of polish at the time IIRC). I want to say I was a bit more positive on it than others, but yeah, I thought "decent looking dark fantasy game that will never make it out of Japan, and I'll never hear about again." It is good to be wrong. edit: Also, I think I probably bought Demon's Souls mostly because Atlus published it.
Yeah, that certainly didn't hurt, since I did love Persona 3 so much. But for me it was more about the fact that it was From Software... since I really liked both their King's Field and Armored Core games, as well as a few of their efforts in the Tenchu series. Still kills me that I never owned an X-Box original, so I never played either of their Otogi games. They looked right up my alley. Worth nothing too that Atlus also brought over From Software's 3D Dot Game Heroes in 2010. That was a fun one as well. BTW, have you played Catherine yet? I've been holding off... probably wait for a price drop, but it looked interesting.
I didn't have quite the same history with From Software (didn't really play much, if any, of KF, AC, or Otogi...although I played some Tenchu). Knew they were a solid developer, but didn't realize how good they were (or at least could be) at the time. Agreed about 3D Dot Game Heroes. I still need to revisit that game and put some more time into it though. Yes, I played/finished Catherine around the time it came out. Too lazy to repost my thoughts, so I'll link to a thread I made: http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=207508 I did really like it. To some degree, I was worried I wouldn't like it since it wasn't exactly what I was used to, but I should have known to expect the usual high quality effort from Atlus (the developer).
Looks like Dark Souls sold ~280K in its first week in Japan, topping the sales chart for the week (SotC/Ico were 2nd, so good job Japan). That's pretty good, as you might imagine (already outsold Demon's Souls LTD, and it had a budget re-release IIRC).
Nice. With all the hype it's been getting, I'm not too surprised. Is it too much to hope that this begins a small shift by developers to making games that are more genuinely challenging? Probably. But I can dream.
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My collector's edition pre-ordered copy has arrived at local gamespot. I got a text message saying it will be available for picup at midnight but I need to make arrangements for payment at 10pm. Why 10 pm? Has anyone done this with gamespot before?
Yeah, hold on till it drops. Horrible that people are buying, essentially, just a puzzle game. Atlus' a master at making games around repetitive game mechanics and hooking you in with a story but Catherine is their laziest effort, yet.
Probably because their registers are closed at the end of regular business hours. Nobody wants to sit and wait until midnight...and then wait for 25 or so people to pay...have cards declined....scramble in pockets for change....try their card again.
Dangit, I was gonna wait for a month or two until some buy 2 get 1 free deal, but that review makes the game too appealing. I thought covenants was a social aspect between players, not in-game factions. And it looks like there are a lot more viable builds in this game too.
I'm as excited for this game as I have been for any game in a really long time. Demon's Souls was a system-seller for me back in 2009... I had a 360 already, but bought a PS3 solely so I could play Demon's Souls. It didn't disappoint me one little bit, and I don't think this one will either. And excepting Demon's Souls, for which Dark Souls is, after all, a sequel in all but name, I probably haven't been this excited for a game since Resident Evil 4. Only one more day. Gonna be awesome.
Got the game delivered earlier via Amazon. Sounds like Namco-Bandai really screwed up on the supply side (the CE seems out of stock at a lot of places, with some preorders not filled...maybe even regular version OOS too, not sure). I knew they should have stuck with Atlus. Probably would have gotten a better CE too...or at least a sequel to this: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Rhlr1tAqljk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> (haven't sniffed my copy yet) Going to get something to eat, then I might play a bit later tonight. Guess I'll go with Sorcerer and spam Soul Arrows like I did in Demon's Souls. Obligatory (cause-you're-going-to-need-it) link to a Wiki Guide: http://darksouls.wikidot.com/
