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PepsimanVsJoe talks about random games.

Why not talk about Dark Souls? I've spent enough time with it.

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First off I'm not a big fan of Demon's Souls. Why? All you need to know is that I didn't like it.
However with Dark Souls if I had played it last year I'd probably have considered it one of my favorites of 2011.

For quite awhile I was almost entirely immersed in this game. Not only would I be playing Dark Souls but I'd also be watching DS streams at the same time.

This title is a perfect example of "Making the game yours". This is a motto I came up with for what I believe exemplifies great game-design. As long as the player adheres to the rules set forth by the game they should be free to complete it in the manner that suits them best. The options for getting through this game are innumerable and there's no real wrong way to play. Certainly the first play-through is going to be very intimidating but once the player figures things out they'll be able to push themselves further by creating their own challenges. This game is consistent in that it rewards skillful as well as intelligent play. If all else fails there are always the easy ways out such as summoning other players to assist or creating an all-situation weapon such as a lightning claymore.

After that first play-through the game really opens up. While combat is a constant in this game outside of boss-fights it isn't always required. I started a completely fresh character and spent the first couple hours running through every area the master key opens to acquire useful equipment. While the possibility for grave mistakes is very high it makes for an all the more thrilling experience. Rushing through areas where normally I'd be in way over my head feels really natural. This really shows how well this game was thought-out. I will say that the worst idea is to ever do the same thing twice. This has happened to me before with other games. On subsequent play-throughs I find myself going through the motions and doing almost exactly the same thing I did before. This game is simply not designed for that sort of play. Sure it's nice to beat XXXX boss without getting hit or getting through so-and-whatever area without dying but in order for this game to stay fresh you always have to be willing to try something new. Try out new builds, alternate routes, mess with soul-levels, always do whatever you can differently.

I probably could keep playing this game but eh I think I earned a bit of a break.
I'm playing Driver: San Francisco (awesome), Dissidia Final Fantasy 012 Duodecim(interesting), and GTA4(hrrm) right now it looks like. Also I got a few of the Pixeljunk games and Ape Escape 3. I have no idea but whatevs...it'll be fun.

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