Role-Playing

So, after eighty-two hours with Dark Souls, I finally defeated the cheese-tastic final boss and completed the game. Whoopee.

Criticism of Deus Ex: Human Revolution tends to be mostly directed towards its boss battles. That's fair, because they don't fit the game very well, but the overwhelming focus on these moments seems to have distracted people from an equally significant problem, namely that the game seems to fall apart in its final level.

The Family that Slays Together...

HIGH Disgaea is still as funny as ever.

LOW It's also just as repetitive, which started to wear on even me when I got stuck.

WTF Using a giant monster as a weapon.

Our Song to the People

HIGH The string of excellent plot twists around the halfway point.

LOW Not figuring out how to use supermoves until I was forty hours in.

WTF "Of" is the only part of the title I understand.

I'm still putting a lot of time into Dark Souls. I decided to abandon my original Hunter and I've been focusing on my restart character, a Pyromancer. I've already surpassed the progress made on my first attempt, and it's only taken me about a third as long—the game goes quite a bit quicker once you know what you're doing. That said, at this point I think I've put (total) a little over fifty hours into it, and I'm starting to feel as though a short break might be welcome.

Unlike previous entries in the Deus Ex franchise, Human Revolution has a clearly characterized protagonist. Except for his extremely dry sense of humor, J.C. Denton was essentially a blank slate for the player, and Alex Denton had even fewer set characteristics. Adam Jensen, on the other hand, comes into his game with a long, involved backstory and several pre-existing relationships.

How Do All Those Augmentations Run Off of One AA Battery?

HIGH Earning the Pacifist and Foxiest of Hounds Achievements in one run.

LOW Constantly dealing with low energy for augmentations.

WTF So I'm a corporate superspy who never... gets... supplied?

With my Hunter character, I put about forty hours in and had just gotten to Sen's Fortress before I decided that I wasn't happy with how my character was progressing. It wasn't terrible and it certainly wasn't awful to the point that I was unable to progress, but I just wasn't feeling great about the way I had built my character. I had a few regrets.

Curiosity is a Serial Killer

HIGH Exploration has never been so satisfying.

LOW Plays too safe with other aspects of the Demon's Souls formula.

WTF Why is Blighttown such a stutter-fest?

Dark Souls. Need I type more? Plus: Our most embarrassing gaming confessions, and indie hits Wizorb and Robotriot. Featuring Chi Kong "Not Sure Where These Quotes Go" Lui, Brad Gallaway, Mike Bracken, Richard Naik, and Tim Spaeth.

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Links:

• Dark Souls Review
• Demon's Souls Review
• Demon's Souls Second Opinion
• Dark Souls vs Skyrim

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