Dark Souls II

[Hguols]

Just got this for my birthday. ‎ 
Seems more "King's Field-ish" than the first one. ‎  Even more so, the menu interaction is actually very SoM-ish.
I'm really REALLY enjoying it.

Anyone else have thoughts about this game?

[HwitVlf]

There's a little thread started about Dark Souls 2 here:
https://www.swordofmoonlight.com/bbs/ind...3#msg10993

I do like it more than DS1 because I don't seem to be dying from bad camera angles so often. The environments are good in that special Fromsoft way.

[JC Bailey]

Overall I liked Dark Souls 2, but could never get over the wonky animations and inconsistent hitboxes.

[dmpdesign]

I am still playing it religiously on PS3 and now Steam Tom - planning on a session of DLC goodness tomorrow :D

[Xethuminra]

Dark Souls animations are no wonkier than King's Field's animations =P

In my opinion, they are very similar to each other, actually.

It's not that I think it's a good excuse for ignoring the problems with the game, but I do think that there is a certain standard set by the slow progression of the quality of graphics and gameplay in this series. If ya got a problem with anything, it ought to be Demon's Souls for starting this madness in the first place, or better yet - King's Field itself, which originally didn't even have faces for the NPCs.

[Verdite]

In my opinion, the game quality is alot better than alot of modern games. For an actual adventure game (that is, less interactive cinema and more gameplay) it is one of the closest series we can play that maintains a traditional means of gameplay. Its easy to compare the series to other games that may have slightly better graphics, controls etc, but From had to make the game more commercialized and more acceptable to a wider audience, and took away some of the majesty and mystery that the marmite Kings Field series had to offer. I don't blame them, for a game company to survive in these times requires a very fine balance of originality to make a game stand out, and conformity that players are used to to immerse them into the game. Without that, companies sink, even if they do produce groundbreaking material or an amazing story.

The amount of animation work in the souls games is pretty heavy. Animating for a game is very different to animating for a movie where you can choreograph action scenes to make them look more believable. Animation in games require set timings, balance with the enemy / npc turn rates, and attack animations have to match enemy and player hit reactions... In the process of creating a well balanced game, animations play a huge part in difficulty, and prove to be a big challenge. Getting everything perfect in a big game like DS2 rarely happens - dont forget that there is always a budget in terms of funding, too.

[Xethuminra]

Yes, a lot of work goes into it and there is a limit to what can be done with time constraints and budgeting. Sometimes, it's the direction between team members and producers which can damage the final product.

The same could be said for any production. Resident Evil is an insanely popular franchise, despite its roots in frustrating, poorly animated game design.

Jill Sandwiches - 'nuff said

But people love it anyway!

Well, they don't make Jill Sandwiches anymore... But they also don't make 'em like they used to, if you know what I mean

If Resident Evil can evolve from what it was on the PS1, to being the polished, expensive thing that Resident Evil 6 is, a decade and a half later, I think that the Souls series has an equal opportunity at getting more sales and, thusly, more budget in the future.

[Hguols]

Anyone still play this? I've conquered all 3 DLCs, I'm at Soul Level 700 and am a force to be reckoned with in PvP.

Also, someone made a first person mod for the PC port of this game. Oh the King's Field nostalgia.
youtube.com/watch?v=pBtk6rOGmpU

[JC Bailey]

Soul level 700... that's pretty damn high lol.

I don't tend to create ultra high level characters because PS3s have a tendancy to completely wipe out your data when you least expect it. That said, I managed to just about 100% NG with a level 200 character. All DLCs completed, and bosses defeated. By the end game I was decked out in the Vendrick's Armor & Crown and was using the Curved Dragon Greatsword & Sun Sword as my main weapons.

I'm currently working on a 2D rendition/remake of Dark Souls over at https://www.facebook.com/darksoulsace. If I ever finish it, I might consider doing the same for Dark Souls 2, I bet it'd be quite fun.

[Auric]

Wow, 700? I'm only at around 330, but I spend most of my time in the Brotherhood of Blood arena now so I'm not getting any souls from that.