The GameSparked Podcast July-24-2012

The GameSparked Team

Photo Credited to ReclusiarchGrimaldus

It’s just Myles, Mat, and Jordan this week, as they start off with a spoiler-free discussion of The Dark Knight Rises. But since this is a videogame website, they quickly dive into lists of games they lost money to during the Steam Summer Sale. In other news, Jordan jumps back into previous Tales games, Mat wrecks it with Wreckateer and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD, and Myles continues to make his way through a laundry list of games. Also, what could that super secret thing they mentioned at the end be? Who knows? Who cares? You can find that out, and much more, in this week’s episode of The GameSparked Podcast.


Original Intro/Outro by Cody DeBoer
The DubSparked Remix by Kevin Madden


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[REVIEW] Dark Souls

Jonathan Tay

(Xbox 360 [Reviewed], PlayStation 3)

Do you like swearing? If you do, great! If not, then get ready to start, because Dark Souls is fucking hard.

Dark Souls is From Software’s follow-up to the hit PS3 game, Demon’s Souls. If you like the latter, then you will certainly want to pick up the former. Dark Souls is the very definition of a good sequel, taking all of the successful elements of its predecessor and improving on them. I would also say that it eliminates some of its faults, but let’s face it: Demon’s Souls is a pretty faultless game.

For those of you not in the know, let me reiterate: Dark Souls is fucking hard. You will die. A lot. Don’t let that deter you, however, as the extreme difficulty is a big part of an unforgettable experience.

It’s an image from Demon’s Souls, but still pretty relevant.

Dark Souls takes place in the fantasy world of Lordran. You have the particular misfortune of being undead. On top of that, you are tasked with saving the kingdom from an encroaching darkness. Beasts and demons alike rest between you and your goal. You will kill them, and they will kill you. Such is the way of Dark Souls. If you come to this game looking for a deep and immersive narrative, look elsewhere – the gameplay is, by far and large, the main attraction.

On its surface, Dark Souls functions like any other action-adventure RPG.  The world of Lordran is a big one, filled with interconnected hub areas and multiple pathways. It isn’t an open world in the same vein as, say, Fallout 3, but it has enough openness to make you feel like you are charting your own course through a dark fantasy realm.

Gameplay-wise, the controls are fairly simple. The left and right triggers control what weapons you are using in your respective hands. While the traditional combo is usually a shield in one hand and a weapon of your choice in the other, you also have the ability to dual wield, as well as hold them with two hands. The former would be more effective with, say, a shortsword and a rapier, while the latter is more appropriate with something like a claymore. The choices are, of course, up to you. You can even dual wield shields – if you can beat the game like that, you may very well be the king of the internet. 

While your life bar is of vital importance, your stamina bar will put a real strain on gameplay. Your stamina will deplete as you sprint, dodge, block, attack, and more. Almost every action you perform relies on your stamina bar – no stamina, no nothing. Winning battles involves budgeting it carefully and intelligently.

Stamina isn’t all there is to battles, though. Environmental awareness and an intimate knowledge of your character will help you along the way. Are you a knight, clad in armour? You’re probably better off just turtling – blocking enemy attacks until they let their guard down. If you’re an agile rogue, you’d probably do better by dodging attacks and flanking your enemies. How you allocate your statistics as you level up might be of even greater importance. Heading into the poisonous Blighttown? Raise your Resistance. Can’t use a bow properly? Up your Dexterity. The way you mould your character as you level up can further compliment your strengths or exacerbate your weaknesses – the system is deep and intricate, inviting multiple playthroughs. 

You’ll probably want to increase the testicle-size statistic to face this guy.

Levelling up in Dark Souls is a bit different than in most traditional RPGs, however. To do so, you must expend the souls you have acquired. You typically gain souls by defeating enemies – but don’t think that “souls” is just a pretentious way of saying “experience points”. Souls are used for pretty much everything in Lordran, from buying items to upgrading equipment. The way you spend your souls is of critical importance to how you experience the game. For example, imagine that you’re trying to beat a boss that hits for a lot of damage. Will you spend your souls on endurance so that you can dodge faster? Or will you buy a new shield so that you can better absorb the damage? Answering these questions is part of the fun of Dark Souls’ unique take on problem solving.

Not everything is all smiles and rainbows when it comes to souls, however. When you get killed, you lose all your souls. You will then revive at a bonfire (which is a checkpoint), and are given a chance to fight your way back to where you died. If you can touch your bloodstain, great! You recover all your lost souls. If you die on the way there, however, you’ll leave a new bloodstain, and your old one, along with all the souls it had, is lost forever. This is one of the reasons why the game is so challenging – but don’t get “challenging” confused with “frustratingly and unfairly difficult”. The “I need to get back to my bloodstain” feeling is one that will push you to keep on playing – sometimes for much longer than you intended.

A new feature in Dark Souls is humanity. The primary use of humanity is to turn you from an Undead to a Human. Being in Human form is key to the multiplayer aspect of Dark Souls. Being in Human form allows other players to enter your world, either as a helpful Blue Phantom or an antagonistic Black Phantom.  This raises an interesting dynamic: while you can find companions to help you fight your way through Lordran, you can also have players invade you in a PvP-esque scenario. Online play isn’t perfect, however, and you might have some trouble entering other people’s games. This can either be a minor nuisance or a serious problem, depending on your point of view.

A mystical posse in a mystical forest. 

At this point of the review, I realize that I’ve done more “describing” than actual “reviewing”. I hope you put up with all of it, though, as I feel that by describing the game’s systems, you can see that all of the elements of the game are tied together beautifully. There are no disparate elements: everything fits together like a jigsaw puzzle, and it is a testament to how well-developed the game is.

By now you’ve probably already decided if this is your kind of game or not. If you haven’t, here’s some extra stuff to pull you in or push you away. Dark Souls looks beautiful, both graphics-wise and aesthetically. Every texture in the game oozes style, giving the world of Lordran its own distinct feel. While the graphics are quite good, a constant framerate is the trade-off. When engaged in battles with many enemies or while watching intense visual effects, you might find the game chugging along – this can be very problematic, especially considering the precision required for combat. The controls of the game used to be a little wonky – sometimes your character wouldn’t attack when you pressed a button, and targeting was harder than it should have been. If you have internet access, however, you should be good – these problems have been patched out. Finally, the sounds of Dark Souls are great… when you notice them. For the most part, music is absent as you navigate the world, much like in Shadow of the Colossus. Fighting bosses, however, is a different story – it is here that the musical score shines. Some tracks get the blood pumping, while others are hauntingly beautiful. Overall, the musical direction of the game is great.

Well, there you have it. My review of Dark Souls. Personally, I think I’ve failed. I feel like I’ve barely scratched the surface of such a unique game – but now I’m wandering into strategy guide territory. By the way, the community for this game is amazing… but I suppose that such an amazing community is the natural product of such an amazing game.