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After finishing Dark Souls, I found myself wanting more. However, after experiencing over 60 hours of stress, heartache and solid victory I wasn't sure I was ready to tackle Lordran again. Instead, I turned to my barely unplayed copy of Demon's Souls, the spiritual predecessor to Dark Souls. I played the game briefly when it came out in 2009 but hit a massive brick wall only a few hours in. What was this game? Why was it so unfair? How could anyone play this? Because Dark Souls broke me down before building me up again, I felt I was adequately prepared to face the horrors and dangers of Boletaria. With this, I'm happy to say that I accomplished something amazing: I finished the game!

After defeating the twisted remains of King Allant and taking the good ending by allowing the Maiden in Black to lull the Old One back to sleep (thereby cleansing the world of the demon menace), I was surprised to discover just how quickly I finished Demon's Souls. A lot of that has to do with a) using the excellent Demon Soul's wiki and b) experience with the game's mechanics and concepts. I thought the game would be harder due to the lack of refillable Estus flask to replenish my health but thanks to the structure of Demon's Souls, which is not open world, conducting farming runs for consumables and souls is a considerably easy prospect. Here's a hint for anyone just starting out: be sure to clear out level 4-1 as soon as you can. There's an excellent place to farm 4,000+ souls and it only takes about a minute. Leveling up has never been easier! Also, invest in a good bow! It makes traversing levels and fighting bosses an easy prospect. 

In terms of boss fights, this is another area that differs from Dark Souls. The battles here feel considerably easier and there are a great number of them that can be dealt with swiftly through spells or by finding exploits. For the Maneater boss in level 3-2, I was able to destroy the first creature by firing at it from outside the initial fog wall. The False King Allant boss in 1-4 (which I beat before completing world 3) ended up being a breeze thanks to about 200 arrows shot from the area's starting position. The boss literally didn't know what hit him and I didn't have to engage the boss until he was well out of range - and only carrying about 500 points of health. The final boss was actually a nice break from the norm. Whereas Dark Souls' Lord of Cinder was a ferocious swordfighter, King Allant was a mutated pushover - a fair reward for braving the game's harder sections (Valley of Defilement, I'm looking directly at you). 

And so, after five years, the Demon's Souls chapter in my gaming life finally comes to a close. It's an odd feeling to look over at my shelf and no longer feeling terrified and intimidated by the game and the guilt for not having playing it through has dissipated. If I had to choose, I'd say that Dark Souls, despite its difficulty, was a better game specifically for its open world. I felt a lot safer knowing I could warp back to the Nexus at any time and be free from harm. In Lordran, safety is never assured. Plus, the world of Lordran and its lore is considerably more fascinating as are the people that inhabit it. 

All that's left to do now is to start tackling my backlog while waiting for Dark Souls II. 

Praise The Sun!

I did it. I finally did it. I finished Dark Souls.

Radio Silence

Much to my chagrin, I haven't been posting on this blog for a good while. Increased review and editing duties on Darkstation is one reason for it; life getting positively interesting is another. I haven't even had the time to update my progress on my 1,001 Games Played page either - something I feel really terrible about. If I could pick one reason why I've allowed things to lapse is my continued obsession with Dark Souls. In my previous entry, I mentioned that I progressed as far as ringing the second Bell of Awakening which then opened up Sen's Fortress, a trap-laden, snake infested fortress that caused me no end of grief. As it was with the loathsome Capra Demon, Dark Souls is the game that will push your buttons enough to make you rage quit and as it has been the case for me, storming off the couch in a deep huff. These fits of anger inveritably lead to the all too familiar, "I'm going to do this one more time. If I fail, then fuck this game."

This is immediately followed by getting through the troublesome section.

Sen's Fortress was a doozy. Thirty hours into the game, I was getting tired of grinding the same areas over and over. I made it a goal that I just wanted to see the city of Anor Londo, the city of the gods, and then stop. After repeatedly hitting a brick wall with serpent enemies and traps, I left the game in order to play other stuff. Dark Souls was always at the back of my mind, though. Part of me knew that forgetting enemy and trap placement would be the death of me after getting back into the game some time later. While guiding Lara through her survivalist adventure in the Dragon's Triangle, it was not common to hear a voice whispering analytically: "Lure first serpent into arrow trap. Isolate second serpent. Strike third serpent with arrow and allow it to fall off edge. Wait for it to reach the platform. Shoot arrows to knock down serpent sorcerer." To this day, I can draw a map of Sen's Fortress on a piece of paper complete with enemy placements from memory.

Imagine my surprise when I found that getting through the area was easier after coming back from Tomb Raider. There comes a point in Dark Souls when you get that small, budding feeling of pride when things end up going really well. You can't act on that feeling otherwise you grow self conscious and then start doing very poorly. I risked it by offering myself a small victory cheer after finally breaching the Fortress and getting to the rooftop where the final boss (and a well placed bonfire) awaited me. I failed the boss the first time, but after reversing my hollowed state (being sure to sign out of PSN so I wouldn't get invaded - yeah, I do that) and summoning an NPC hero I vanquished my foe and achieved my goal of reaching Anor Londo. I felt good, I felt proud. I felt like I really accomplished something difficult. It was when I reached the sun soaked city, staring at the majestic and sprawling kingdom that I decided to do something really dumb.

I made a new goal.

This time, it would be to reach Gwynevere - Anor Londo's Princess of Sunlight. This, of course, led to a incredibly difficult section involving two Silver Knights firing massive arrows that will knock you off the ledge. I must have played through this section at least a dozen times. What makes it especially dreadful wasn't so much that I kept dying, it was that it takes a lot of time to get there. Each run had to be done with care and tact. You can't just run through most of it because the enemies are massive, agile and do lots of damage to the unaware. These Knights fire a constant volley of arrows from a narrow ledge and all it takes is a shot from the rear or bad situational awareness before you find yourself falling to your death. This was another section where I achieved success only after a rage quit (PROTIP: equip a great shield  wield with two hands and let the Silver Knight on the right hand side fall to his death by staggering after he hits your shield).

With that nightmarish section of the game surpassed (and a shortcut opened), the game has settled into a good pace. I'm at a point where grinding and farming is favorable, with Silver Knights falling effortlessly thanks to my improved combat style and wide open areas. All that's left not is to tackle the area boss, a devilish duo that cut me down to size pretty easily during my first attempt. Defeating these two will take me into a straight shot Gwynevere and the end of my goal.

After that, I suppose I will do something stupid. Like seeing Dark Souls through to the very end.

Musings on Dark Souls

After a rather unsuccessful run on the Xbox 360, I went back into Dark Souls (this time on the PS3 for the free online player help/hell) and thanks to some helpful(link) wiki sites(link) I've advanced further than I ever thought possible. I braved the terror of the red dragon, took out two Black Knights, nearly rage quit the Capra Demon, fell at the hands of scumbag invaders, waded my way through the poisonous swamps of Blighttown and defeated (rather cheaply, I might add) the terrifying spider-witch Quelag. I've only had a few heart breaking moments, dying before recovering my souls, but what keeps me going is how deeply I've been sucked into the world of Lordran.

Unlike Demon's Souls, where stages were reached via a hub world, Dark Souls is an open world game very much like Metroid where I am given the freedom to go wherever I want, although significant progress is hampered by locked doors and tough enemies far beyond my character's skill level. Much like the Fallout games, Dark Souls affords me the opportunity to see something in the horizon and say, "I want to go there!" and actually do that. Unfortunately, death is a constant companion on these excursions and it comes quickly and often. Many people have said it and its worth repeating: Dark Souls may be excruciatingly and infuriatingly hard but it is also fair. Everything you encounter is a lesson in patience. It's about studying tells and knowing when the best time to strike - values that many games today eschew in order to attract the elusive "wider audience." Overcoming the game's difficult parts results in a righteous feeling of accomplishment and self-satisfaction which has become my new high.

Engaging the Capra Demon (the game's third area boss) was a terrifying experience. Up until this fight, the boss arenas were comfortably large and offered plenty of space to manuver. The Capra Demon's realm was a mercilessly tight corridor that offered very little breathing room from the Capra Demon as well as his two poison-inflicting hell hounds. I discovered some strategies on YouTube that instructed me to head up a set of stairs and pick off the dogs as they come to you in order to get some breathing room. I must have died doing this about eight times. After the eighth attempt, I was ready to call it quits after calling the game every filthy word I could muster. I then said to myself, "OK, one more try." And wouldn't you know it, I killed the monster on that try. Seeing the boss fall and the text "Victory Achieved" fill up the screen was like stepping into a shower of pure, uncut adrenaline. Several fist pumps and a dance later, I was ready to explore the game further.

As much as I respect the game for its difficulty and the elation that comes with victory, I find myself tempted to get the PC version and track down an invincibility code. Lordran is a beautiful area to play in and I'd like nothing more than to simply walk its grounds, exploringe every nook and cranny.

Review: Binary Domain (PS3)

Binary Domain can easily be described as Japan's answer to Gears of War. It's a third person, over the shoulder, cover based shooter that attempts to capture the magic of a summer blockbuster by pitting an international cast of soldiers against the dangers of a isolationist nation occupied by hyper advanced robots. The plot involves the Hollow Children - robots designed to look, act and feel human but without the knowledge that they are, in fact, robots. Such advanced robotics has frightened a coalition of nations led by the United States (whom everyone seems to have a Southern drawl) to the point that Clause 21 of the New Geneva Convention was created to outlaw the production of Hollow Children. When one of these robots attacks a prominent American robotics engineer, special operations units from the International Robotics Technology Association are sent to Japan with orders to apprehend the creator of the Hollow Children, Yoji Amada. 

Binary Domain offers much of what you'd expect from the third person shooter genre while adding a few Japanese-minded flairs. Much of the action involves the player taking on the role of Dan Marshall as he shoots his way through an army of robot forces. During combat engagements, Dan can direct his squad through a combination of button commands or by speaking into a headset (if you happen to have one). How you respond to their questions, exclamations and requests for help influences a "Trust" meter that dictates how they respond to you in turn. Giving inappropriate response or accidentally shooting them will negatively affect their level of trust towards Dan. As interesting as this system is, I felt that it really didn't add anything to the experience. Given that many prompts to respond came up during intense fire fights, I didn't bother to agonize over my responses in order to just get things moving. The system also fails to convey Dan's emotions during in-game conversations when characters espouse on the ethics of Hollow Children or the role of mankind in the future. In these situations, Dan's vocabulary usually consists of short, one-off phrases like "Good Job", "God Damnit" or "Love You". And because you don't hear Dan's responses a la Mass Effect, any attempt at drama falls laughably short.  

Battling Amada's personal robot army is a process that seems laborious at first but soon enough, I found myself eager for the next melee. Robots can withstand a lot of firepower during the early stages as their armor has a tendency to soak bullets. They can also be impacted by where they are shot - robots that can charge your position are best removed by shooting out their legs. Blow away a robot's head and they'll attack nearby enemies. Credits are awarded for every robot destroyed and by taking the time to tear them apart before they die earns additional credits that can be spent through shopping terminals. Credits buy additional weapons (outside of Dan's customized assault rifle and pistol), grenades, health kits and ammo. Nanobots can be used to bolster each character's defense, grenade capacity, health and maneuverability   Shopping terminals also allow the player to level up Dan and his team's weapons by putting cash towards better firepower, accuracy and magazine size. By virtue of constant upgrading, difficult enemies soon become easily destroyed. 

Although the game keeps you busy by sending out a constant wave of targets, its difficult to escape the "hallway crawl" nature of the action. Very little action takes place outside of an office, laboratory, storage facility except for a few on-rails vehicle sections. On occasion  the player will be called upon to complete an annoying quick time event involving a short meter and a moving icon. Ideally, you'll click a button with the icon falls within a blue section in the meter but what complicates things is how the blue portion shrinks over time making it difficult to press the button within the "sweet spot," especially during action scenes. A note to developers: don't use this QTE scheme ever again.

Where Binary Domain excels is its beautiful visuals and some of the best robot designs I've seen in a video game. Robot types run the gamut of simple, military style Terminators to massive spider-like giants that can fill an entire city block. While tromping through the sprawling megacity of 2080 Japan, I caught a very strong Ghost in the Shell vibe as the design of the weapons, armor and environments offer a close resemblance to the animated series. I mentioned earlier that the game feels like it wants to be treated like a popcorn action movie and it succeeds in a lot of ways through larger than life characters, grandiose action sequences, and silly attempts at humor and character pathos. What I found particularly amusing is the game's portrayal as Americans. Outside of familiar criticisms from the Chinese and British operatives, its the Americans themselves that earn gross caricatures. During the game's final moments, when Dan is forced to do battle with a colleague, his minions will shout out exclamations with laughably bad over the top Texas accents. This mockery is also attributed to a number of characters within the American president's cabinet. I personally don't find it offensive because it adds to the overall craziness and lunacy of the entire experience. 

I realize that I've gone this far without pointing out the most surprising thing about Binary Domain: it was designed by Toshihiro Nagoshi, the individual responsible for the Yakuza series. Talk about a wild departure from the norm! And yet, despite the game's flaws, Binary Domain is a really solid shooter that is destined to be a cult favorite. It won't acheive greatness like Gears of War but it really doesn't have to. There are enough people out there who want what the game has to offer - good gameplay, interesting characters, B-grade movie atmosphere - and are likely to flock to it. If you have an appreciation for Japanese action games and don't mind the occasional stereotyping, Binary Domain is definitely worth playing.