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| (Photo Credit: http://thecontrolleronline.com/) |
INTRODUCTION
This
is a review of the PC release of Dark Souls: Prepare To Die edition.
Throughout this review I cover everything from my first impressions to
delving deep into the gameplay.
First Impressions:
Being
an avid fan of the Xbox 360 version I had this game pre-ordered well
before release, I was quite excited to get my hands on a PC copy that
could really dish out some of the beautiful graphics that had been
designed for the game. After the pre-download I waited eagerly for it to
unlock, once I did I was disappointed. I had to wait another half an
hour for Games for Windows to install--Not a good sign. My next bad sign
was the blurriness--Even the first couple of messages about auto-saving
were blurry I headed straight to options and went to graphics and
disappointingly only found 3 settings to change. Doing what I could, I
chose the highest resolution and got reborn as an undead.
After
that it was downhill for first impressions. I got in and found a
texture lock in-game. What is a texture lock you ask? The in-game
resolution of a port is stuck at 1025--Period. The next was the game was
a direct port from console. That’s right a direct port.
Scary words to describe any PC game but this takes the cake. Without an
actual controller plugged in the message still tells you “Press A to
read message.”
Alright, by this time I had had enough of the low blows, I was ready to try to figure out the keyboard controls. They were somewhere between undesirable to just plain horrific, I didn’t even try to fix this. A quick run to Gamestop Canada and a 30 dollar purchase later, I was ready to experience the PC port just like a console.
Next
I browsed Google for a fix to the texture lock. I found out that a 3rd
party had created a simple fix and voila! My computer was throwing out
the beautiful graphics that the game was meant for. I then played around
a bit and found that the game was the exact same as console but without
the lock it was far more beautiful. The port itself on initiation was a
little bit grimey but once I worked out the few bugs I came across it
looked as beautiful and acted the exact same as the original release for
consoles.
I
personally believe that they could have spent more time working on the
port, making it more user friendly and making sure all kinks were worked
out beforehand but as this is likely a test run for their next addition
to the series as Dark Souls 2 has been confirmed for PC release at the
same time as the console versions. Thankfully the gameplay didn’t
dissapoint me.
Gameplay:
The overall gameplay and storyline stay firm to the original Xbox 360
version. The only true change is the expansion, which until October 26th
was a PC exclusive. This expansion is one of the best expansions I have
had the pleasure of experiencing--not only does it add new objectives
and loot to the game, it adds a variety of new lore and background to
the series.
In
this expansion you explore the past and meet with some pretty heavy
hitters of the game’s backstory. For example you meet with a younger
Sif, you are introduced to Artorias and are greeted by Manus.
Dark Souls Overall:
I find this is one of the best RPGs to be released in the last 5 years.
The difficulty, storyline, visuals and of course the customization
possibilities make this one of my top 10 games of all time.
Storyline and Basic Mechanics:
The
storyline of this game starts off as such; you wake up in a prison with
a broken sword hilt sitting by your feet. From Software approaches the
storytelling of Dark Souls with a direction few games have; It is
unlocked as you play. You need to strive to complete every single aspect
of the game to fully understand everything about the lore and what your
goal as an undead is, which if you play the game is really your choice,
but the ultimate goal is to get your soul back.
That,
in my opinion, is an amazing game development tactic. You strive to
figure out what this seemingly random boss has to do with the story. You
want to understand what the NPCs are doing in this exact spot or what
they offer you. There is no quest line. There is no beginner level.
There is no forgiveness.
Your
currency in this game are souls. These are highly valuable as not only
do they level up your character, but they purchase everything in the
game as well.
New
items, weapons, armour and upgrades all require souls. Souls are lost
upon death, and not just a few. All of your savings. The only way to
retrieve them is to return to the spot where you died. If you die trying
to get them, they are gone forever. This can lead to much frustration.
Another
currency is humanity. You use it to upgrade your bonfires (hearth), to
turn from undead to human. They increase your drop rate depending on how
many you have used and they can be offered to covenants to increase
your rankings with them. These also drop upon death and are lost if you
die, a package concept for souls. You can get both of these by advancing
farther into the game--all bosses offer a nice package of souls and
some even offer humanity. Of course lower tier mobs still drop souls and
occasionally humanity, but don’t hold your breath on the latter. The
farther you go, the more souls mobs will drop and the harder they’ll
become to kill.
High Risk, High Reward:
This game offers many “bonus” areas. These are usually able to be
skipped, but are almost always worth exploring. These general areas can
share with you riches, or steal your souls if you are not careful. If
you do happen to die, do not lose hope, the average player tends to die a
lot on their first play through. It is the only way to learn.
This is not a game that you can pick-up and hope to clear without
dying. This game’s way of teaching you how to play, is to show you how
you can die. If you are easily frustrated by dying this likely is not a
game for you.
The Visuals:
This game’s visuals are outstanding and it is not just the landscapes
either. Every little detail is breathtaking, from the scarred dead skin
on your character to the beautiful lightwork. Don’t forget this is with
the texture resolution unlocked, this is the
unofficial patch
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| This is an example of the PC texture lock. Photo Credit to www.forbes.com |
In this game you travel through the depths of hell, to the illustrious
city of giants (Anor Londo). Every single atmosphere and landscape has
special properties to it. Whether it be different mobs, different traps
or different landscapes to maneuver around, each area has a certain set
of challenges to it.
These
properties help form the details and visuals of the game. The lava has a
certain lighting to it that reflects off of your plate armour as you
walk cautiously around it. Anor Londo impresses players with its
spectacular buildings, arches, hallways and stone guards. Yes, every
area has its own difficulties which make the landscape and visuals stand
out to you even after you have died ten times.
Customization:
Customization
in an RPG decides whether I let it slip past or purchase and live off
this game for the next month. This game had every property I could ever
require. The amount of time and mathematics put into this game’s stats
is overwhelming. With most games you level up the one skill your class
uses and on you go. Dark Souls however has many restrictions. You play a
2-handed behemoth with high armour? You likely will need a lot of
strength to wield those end game bad boys and on top of that you have a
carry limit.
If
you reach half of your max carry weight you can no longer roll
properly. At 75% you can barely run. With a game that being overburdened
is the same as being crippled this is terrifying. Of course there is
still base health stats to upgrade and also strength, agility and
spirit, the same as every RPG. This may not seem too bad but the soul
cost of leveling increases drastically. Near end-game you can farm souls
for hours just to get enough for one stat increase. A never ending
cause for frustration.
CONCLUSION
PC Version: Overall
this game, after working out the problems, was still amazing. However
for such a major release that was highly anticipated, I was expecting a
more refined version. With the expansions now out for consoles there are
no real pro’s to buying the PC version anymore, I suggest unless you
have a high resolution monitor, just stick to the console version and
save yourself some hassle.
Game: A
great game with many hours of gameplay. Worth the purchase and I
sincerely suggest adventuring everywhere on your quest to be reborn.
Question for the readers!
What was your most memorable encounter in Dark Souls and why?
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