Dark Souls 2 Review

Genre: Action RPG, Open world exploration

Released for/Reviewed on: Released on Playstation 3, X-Box 360 and soon-to-be PC (April 25th), reviewed on PS3

Publisher/Developer: Namco Bandai Games (Tekken, lots of Japanese ported games)/From Software (Souls saga, Tenchu series)

Notable Voice Actors or Writers: Nobody that stood out to us

Alluring Element: True Next-Gen visuals combined with genre leading stealth and action gameplay

Check it out if you liked: MGS series, Splinter Cell series, having two thumbs connected to a brain

Rated: M

 

SCORECARD (each category ranked on a 10-point scale):

Storyline – 8

Gameplay – 10

Animation – 7

Replay Value – 10

Entertainment Value – 10

Captivity – 9

Variety – 9

Originality/Creativity – 8

Soundtrack – 8

Overall awesomeness – 9

The Souls video-game series have been known to cause the destruction of many a-controller since their release a few years back, and Dark Souls 2 is no different. Dark Souls 2 is set in the same universe as the first one but isn’t supposed to be directly related to it in any way. If you don’t really take the time to search it out, however, you won’t be finding much of a story anyways. There are plenty of websites and wikis dedicated to the collection and retelling of the Souls series lore. All you really need to know is that you are an undead who is afflicted with a curse that – only by killing tons of undead enemies and bosses – can you hope to cure it. Fortunately, the game focuses entirely on the gameplay so searching out the story can only help to enhance your experience.

 

The real meat of the game is in the ridiculously hard enemies and even more grueling bosses. Add to that the ability to customize you characters stats to play any way you want and the game has almost infinite replayability. The basic builds are still present but this time around the finishing stat-cap will be higher this time around which will open up all sorts of interesting combinations. You can be a massive hammer-wielding mage or a katana-slashing monk with any type of variation in-between. The gameplay itself hasn’t changed too much since the first Dark Souls but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The controls have been more refined and a few things like an actual jump button and a power stance have been added. Tack on more equipment from the previous list and you have a pretty full game to play around with as you please. Once you have found the build that you like, you are able to put it to the test in one of the many co-op or PvP type game modes. There is nothing more fun in this game than the thrill of pitting your character against someone else.

My main complaint with the game isn’t so much in the game itself as it is the hardware that From Software chose to run it on. This is a very ambitious project and, unfortunately, it has only proven to show the age of the previous-gen consoles. Even the PS3 has some frame rate dips in some of the busier places and the graphics can take a major dip in certain places. There are rumors that it will be ported to next gen but there hasn’t been anything to substantiate those rumors yet. The other main gripe I have with this game is that the difficulty compared to other games feels off. While it is noticeably more difficult, it feels like some of the bosses are only arbitrarily harder because they will put three on the screen instead of one. It does make it more strategic for co-op play-through, but I don’t feel like it takes away from the enjoyment of the single player experience.

The good thing is there will always be someone to help you out due to the very dedicated community that plays this game – and while there are plenty of scumbags playing, I can attest to having met many friendly people that are more than willing to help people learn the game and enjoy it even more. While this game isn’t for everyone, I strongly urge that everyone at least give it a try once. If you don’t start with this one, the first Dark Souls and Demon Souls are both under $20 and give you a great idea of what to expect with Dark Souls 2.

 

All media credited to From Software and Namco Bandai Games

So Far this Week… February 26, 2014

With the expansion of Hush Comics, we have decided to give bi-weekly news updates.  Anything we find news-worthy will be posted here bi-weekly.  Have anything to add?  Post it in the comments!

Arrow and Survivor come back tonight. About damn time! This week, we say hello to the Clock King.

Breaking Bad is finally completely available to stream on Netflix, in all it’s tragic glory. We laughed, we cried, we dressed up as meth cooks; it was the best. Open up our reviews or “Breaking Bad Week” articles while you enjoy the end of the decades’ best show.

Also in BrBa news, The Heisenberg himself, Bryan Cranston, is moving on to become a serial killer in the upcoming movie Holland, Michigan, acting along-side Naomi Watts. I’m instantly sold with anything this man does, so it will great seeing him back on the big screen.

The makers of Batman: Arkham Origins might not care about your glitchy game, but they do want you to enjoy the new “Cold, Cold Heart” DLC, released April 22nd and centered around a battle with Mr. Freeze.

Hideo Kojima has just collectively shoved everybody off the fence when it comes to buying Metal Gear Solid: Ground Zeroes. When the game is released on March 18th, next-gen gamers will be able to purchase Ground Zeroes for $10 less.

A gentleman and an entertainer, original Ghostbuster Harold Ramis has passed away, after complications from an auto-immune disease he had been with for years.

I’ve given it five episodes before I spread the good word, but FX’s Chozen is the real deal. Give it ten minutes, and I swear he will be your favorite white, gay rapper ever.

The upcoming Joseph Gordon-Levitt led Sandman movie has found a writer in Jack Thorne, who has written several British shows – including Skins and Shameless.

Adam Driver has been cast as a villain in Star Wars: Episode VII. Yup, the guy from HBO’s Girls. I hold judgment, though, and take it as a sign that we are one step closer to an Episode VII release.

Jason Momoa, who Thronies (men who love Game of Thrones) might know better as Khal Drogo, actually turned down the part given the role of Drax the Destroyer in Guardians of the Galaxy to avoid being type-casted as the big, brooding alien – similar to his role in Stargate: Atlantis. His loss.

The track listing for the soundtrack to the movie Divergent has been released. If you like Ellie Goulding, sprinkled in with some alternative and Hip-Hop, then you should love it. It’s still not on par with the Hunger Games movies’ soundtrack.

Written by Sherif Elkhatib and Adrian Puryear

Deadpool Videogame Review

Genre – Run and Gun, Action/Adventure
Publisher/Developer – Activision/High Moon Studios (Transformers Cybertron series)
Voice Actors/Writers – Nolan North (Desmond Miles in Assassin’s Creed, Cole McGrath in inFamous, Nathan Drake in Uncharted, the list goes on…), Daniel Way (Deadpool, Wolverine Origins)
Alluring element – A hack and slash videogame featuring Deadpool in his true form
Check it out if you liked – Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Wolverine: X-Men Origins (the game)
**NOT FOR CHILDREN**

SCORECARD (each category ranked on a 10-point scale):

Storyline – 7
Gameplay –7
Animation – 8
Replay Value – 6
Entertainment Value – 10
Captivity – 9
Variety – 8
Originality/Creativity – 7
Soundtrack/Music – 8
Overall awesomeness – 7

When the Deadpool videogame was announced last year at San Diego Comic-Con, I could hardly contain myself. My expectations weren’t too high. This is clearly an example of style of substance, and I was okay with that. Often himself being style over substance, The Merc With A Mouth originated in the early 90’s as a parody of DC’s Deathstroke, an assassin for hire that is. on many occasion, too badass for his own good. Deadpool’s known for breaking the fourth wall in the comics, which means that he blatantly speaks to the reader, or in this case the player. He’s also known to be bat-s*** crazy. Casual fans who really only know him from Wolverine: X-Men Origins will find this portrayal to be completely new, and hopefully lovable.

Deadpool crashes the SDCC 2012 Marvel Videogames panel to promote his own game. Typical.

The premise of Deadpool is one that doesn’t quite make sense. Not only does he know that he’s a comic book character, but he also knows he’s a videogame character. After threatening a big-shot producer into approving his pitch for a videogame, they send him a script which he quickly throws out the window – a process that I can’t imagine was too different from the process they used in real life. They establish a “big bad” and the reason why they go from level to level, but that’s about as fleshed out as it gets. The first time through, I had no idea what was going on or where I was supposed to be headed for much of the game. I “just enjoyed the senseless slaughter.” To be fair, Deadpool rarely has any meaningful arcs in the comics and, excepting for X-Force titles, stories are really just centered around comic relief and violence. If you’re a fan who needs a deep, thoughtful storyline to enjoy the game, this is definitely not for you. However, in between all the plot-heavy games like The Last of Us, Metal Gear Solid, and The Walking Dead, it was really nice to just laugh at immature jokes and shoot things in the head.

Deadpool‘s gameplay is, by and large, the most disappointing part of the game; normally this is a deal-breaker, but there are still redeeming qualities about it. I will say that I am quite a bit more critical than warranted because I thought it would be a good idea to play Deadpool on the hardest difficulty level the first time through, making the errors much more apparent. The control scheme is laid out like a bastardization of your typical third-person shooter game and a Batman: Arkham game. I think the goal was to create a game you could melee with close-range weapons, but switch up on the fly to use guns when a fire-fight happens. High Moon actually does a fairly good job at this, as you can chain combos and switch weapons almost seamlessly. Combat would be a lot of fun if it weren’t for that damn camera. In a game that is a constant all-out brawl from all sides with all types of enemies, having a reliable in-game camera has become a staple of successful games. If you’ve played Metal Gear Rising, then you know an example of how a camera angle that won’t let you see further than three feet out can hinder a gaming experience. That being said, there were minimal glitches and loading times and the character models looked gorgeous. Deadpool’s first full videogame rendering looked just as good playing as he did in the non-gameplay videos.

The gaming experience is very linear. You spend most of your time going from Point A to Point B while eliminating a set amount of enemies. Even on the hardest difficulty, the story didn’t take that long and can take an afternoon to complete when on an easier difficulty level. Once the game is beaten, there are Challenge levels unlocked that you can play. Sadly, these levels are the same exact ones you play in the game. The only upside to these missions are the hilarious costumes that are unlocked (see below). Besides the generic weapons and character upgrades (almost all of which you can get by the end of your first play-through), there are no collectibles, no unlockables, nothing to make the game fun after you beat the story mode.

I have a soft spot for French Maid Deadpool

What Deadpool lacks in depth, it makes up in personality with Nolan North. North has quite a long list of accolades in action game heroes, and portrays Deadpool with flare and enthusiasm. The developers spend a lot of time cramming Deadpool with as many sound bytes from North as possible. Deadpool just doesn’t shut up and I LOVE it. It’s dick and fart jokes combined with gratuitous violence, but it’s done with crass and originality.  It’s something that’s simply not done in gaming anymore. There were also mini-game segments strewn throughout the game that forces you to stop and smell the roses. I never knew how much fun repeatedly bitch-slapping Wolverine would be until I did it for five minutes straight. Okay, maybe not the best example, but there are tons of fun segments in Deadpool to keep you interested. The bread and butter of Deadpool is that it is, through and through, a Deadpool game. The story is forgettable and the gameplay is generic. Whether you will enjoy it or not really comes down to whether or not you like Deadpool as a character. With his resurgence warranting a cult following in pop culture, this was an admirable attempt to push him into the forefront in pure, unadulterated fashion. Deadpool plays more like an interactive movie than a fully enveloped game, and with low enough expectations, can be a gut-busting experience.

Wrap it up already! This is a review, not a memoir.

Written by Sherif Elkhatib