Stark wrote:I've had no luck actually getting guys to enter my game; triggering their summon signs always fails.
I finally got one to work earlier today. It got kind of ridiculous when I discovered my controller's battery was much lower than I thought it was. I had to scramble to plug it in while still fighting the boss with my companion. I spent quite a lot of time in human form but have yet to be invaded though.
While the game isn't hard, there a some pret dodgy decisions made. Most bosses are only dangerous because of the area they're in; open area bosses like the belltower guys are trivial.
Funny. The belltower gargoyles were one of the more troublesome bosses for me. I beat the tutorial boss, the Taurus demon, the Capra demon the Moonlight Butterfly, and the Gaping Dragon on my first attempt. I got stomped by the Wolf Sif and the new and improved asylum demon.
After ringing the first bell I'm a bit at a loss where to go (besides the Capra demon) and the guy I released from prison is kinda just sitting ere saying he'll leave eventually.
The Depths is the natural path I believe, but there's still the two other paths from Firelink shrine, plus all the branching paths of Darkroot Forest. I'm gradually working my way through both the Depths and Darkroot. There's an unlockable door a short ways into Darkroot Garden. I find the human enemy hunters in there to be a quick easy source for souls.
That dude you freed is Lautrec. He'll kill that woman who upgrades your Estus flasks if you progress to a certain point in the game. You can get an item from her corpse that will allow you to track him down and retrieve her soul to bring her back to life. Or you can just kill him while you have the chance. You'll get his sweet ring and some humanity, but miss out on some other loot.
The more I progress in this game the more I'm floored by the crazy shit that From put in here. They really upped the ante with the enemy variety and different environments this time around. I went one direction and ran into a massive hydra surrounded by crystalline titans, then fled in the other direction only to end up in a valley full of dragons that spit lightning. The danger of the curse ailment had me in a panic when I ran into those gas spewing toads. Then there's the fact that while cursed you can actually harm ghosts. And then I discovered how to make it back to the asylum for some sweet loot. The little hidden secrets were one of the many things I liked about Demon's Souls, and they've really expanded on that element.
I'm just saddened that despite all the improvements they made to the game design, they made so many blunders as well. I've already mentioned the issue with the leveling menu, and there's the issues with the online functionality.
But then there's the framerate that seems to bog down at the most peculiar times. For me it's usually been in nearly empty rooms for no apparent reason. From didn't really improve on the quality of the graphics a whole lot, other than making the world more open and continuous, so it would have been nice if they could have at least provided a stable framerate. Demon's Souls had a dodgy framerate in a couple areas, but I would say Dark Souls is worse in that regard.
I'd say the new lock-on system is a step back as well. IIRC, you didn't have to jerk the right stick so quickly to change targets in Demon's Souls, and I really don't see a reason for the change. I also didn't like having to switch between catalysts and talismans to cast spells and miracles respectively. Dark Souls makes it even more difficult by adding pyromancy to the equation which requires equipping a flaming fist thingy. I also think they should have added a free-aim system for magic like they have with the bow. You have next to no hope of hitting anything with magic if you don't get a lock-on, which is an issue in some situations. Though I will say that it is awesome that you can now two-hand a bow while it's equipped in your left hand.
And then there's the menus, which I find more irritating as well. Mostly it's due to not having access to Stockpile Thomas. I got the Bottomless Box which helps matters considerably, but the manner in which it works is very peculiar with you shifting numbers from one column to another, rather than just selecting which items you want to store. I would have liked multiple weapon items and the like to stack, and maybe have different tabs for different weapon and armor types.
However, none of these shortcomings are keeping me from enjoying the fuck out of this game. It's just a little disheartening to see From Software take steps back in areas that were perfectly fine in Demon's Souls. It's still one of my favorite games of the year so far, and I haven't played anything else all week. I constantly want to go back to play more, and I'm betting I'll sink at least as many hours into it as I did Demon's Souls.
the hatboxes on many attacks (especially bosses) are WAY too big, so you need a huge area of empty air to actually 'dodge' them, which is quite lame. That said the their armour is so bad I generally take it all off for bosses, so y'know.