October 27th, 2011, 08:52

After almost 30 hours of playthrough (where I haven't seen half of the game) I'd like to share some toughts with you:- Dark Souls is free roaming in the sense of Divinity II: Ego Draconis, and not like Oblivion, which means that there are many areas linked together by tunnels, and some of them are locked for you at the start (unless you have the Mastery Key, which opens some paths at your risk).Fortunately there are many shortcuts to help your trip, but you have to be careful because there's no map at all, just like DS.- Bonfires (the checkpoints) are a sort of mini hub where you can rest, repair, store and upgrade your gear, but you have to buy the boxes that allow you to do that.You have to remember where you can find merchants for items or magic, because of the lack of central hub.Also, to upgrade your weapons apart from normal upgrade, you have to find smiths that allow to do that: there are four as far as I know.- Lots of new content compared to its prequel: not only new stuff, but also more enemies and more bosses (and mini-bosses too), and some of them are totally optional.- Bosses fights: oh well, just like DS, I have mixed feelings about this.So far, I haven't found (except two cases) them too much difficult: in human form, you can summon spirits (or other players in online mode) to help you, which makes them a sort of PvE raid of WoW (a player 'tanks', while others do damage and/or heal), but much more quick and funnyAnyway, this lowers indeed the difficulty, so if you look for a challenge, I suggest you don't use it.Sadly, some 'mini-bosses' are much more difficult than the area boss, and this leaves me a bit disappointed, but that's just me…- Level design is very good: as its prequel, if you just want to rush, you have to know first the enviroment, otherwise you're going to die pretty soonlots of hidden traps, danger zones, enemies placed in hidden spots, you got the point.Artwork is amazing, and there's nothing to discuss here: some monsters are incredible, and so the landscapes.- Magic has limited uses, so sooner or later you are 'forced' to go melee: I've written it in brackets because depending on your character you can still win fights spamming spells, just make sure to aim correctly- About factions, there are nine in total, and each of them represent a sort of D&D alignment (if you want to know more, look at this: http://darksoulswiki.wikispaces.com/Covenants ). So far I found just three of them, and they are intended to give you a sort of RP during online playing, because of the Covenant (and relative betrayal) you estabilish with them. Plus, there are ranks and in some cases you earn rewards for raising your reputation.This is another thing that I have mixed feelings: it's a good idea, but for me it's too much multiplayer oriented, which I don't like too much.- Almost total lack of plot: there's indeed a story, but even if you don't follow it you lose nothing, so if you're looking for a strong story-driven RPG, this is not the game for you, sorryI think that the true story is the struggle to survive in the world of Lordran, or at last that's maybe developers' idea, personally I don't care too much (if I want a good story I know other games to play with).Anyway, I'm enjoying quite a lot, and if you enjoy Demon's Souls, I'm sure you'll enjoy the sequel too, even if I have to admit that for now I still prefer the prequel.Only time will tell… if I don't throw my pad over the window (just joking).