In the half hour or so that I played the new content in Dark Souls: Prepare to Die Edition, the upcoming PC version of the masochistic console dungeon-crawler (which will also be released on August 24 on the PC and as DLC for the existing console versions sometime this winter), I managed to let my armored character die six times without really trying. I hope the following breakdown of those deaths will give you an idea of just how much the expansion matches the somewhat insane and unforgiving difficulty of the original.

I start off running through a short, exquisitely lit cave into an open, circular valley dominated by a white, dragon-like creature that's easily twice my height. I'm told this fellow is called the Chimera of the Tomb. I'm still reacclimating to the game's controls (using a PS3 controller) when I realize the two-handed weapon I'm using is making my blocking relatively ineffective. I'm dead after a handful of vicious, clawed attacks. Death count: 1.

Before heading into battle the second time, I equip a shield and remind myself not to be afraid to use the copious amount of health potions I've been given to extend the fight (though the PR rep tells me most players will not have access to so much easy healing when playing the actual game). I manage to take out about 25 percent of the Chimera's health with a nonstop bevy of head-on attacks, but I fail to account for the recovery time for my biggest attacks, leaving me unable to block the Chimera's counterattacks a number of times in quick succession. Death count: 2

My third time through, I manage to chop off a full 50 percent of the Chimera's health, mainly because I've switched from a strategy dominated by blocking to one based on quickly dodging out of the way of each attack. One well-timed dodge catches the massive creature in a wall temporarily, where I can whale on his exposed hindquarters for a while. After he escapes, though, I end up the victim of a massive charging attack as I'm stuck casting my healing animation. Death count: 3.

This time through, I'm determined not to make any stupid mistakes, confident that I can now read every potential attack and know how to respond. It's just a matter of executing these split-second responses perfectly across an epic, ten-minute battle and being careful not to attack unless I'm absolutely sure I'm safe from counter-attack. I'm eventually victorious, though I have to use a ridiculous seven healing spells to make up for quite a few imperfect moves, despite my extra care. The PR rep also notes that I'm "tricked out with a debug character," making me more powerful than most normal players would be at this point in the game. Just when I was feeling proud of myself, too...

From the valley I run through another short cave and easily chop my way through two skeletons while crossing a narrow bridge. In the dense forest beyond I run into a hulking clay golem, whose massive attacks force me to keep my distance. My fourth death comes embarrassingly as I run away from an incoming overhead smash and directly off a cliff. Death count: 4.

I forgot to save my progress once I passed the Chimera, but luckily I find my character is fast enough to simply run through the far end of the valley without actually having to face the massive battle again. I'm determined to stand my ground against the golem this time, rather than running from his attacks like a coward. This turns out to be a massive mistake—even with my guard up, an overhead smash takes away a full third of my health bar in a single swing. Death count: 5.

For my third golem battle, I make sure I'm far from any cliffs and focus on quickly rolling away from each of his slow attacks. The strategy works, and I feel a brief swell of pride at my first golem kill. The pride turns to fear rather quickly, though, when I manage to attract the ire of two golems and two skeleton warriors at the same time a little further into the forest. I peel off the skeletons and take them out relatively quickly, but I'm unable to roll away quickly enough to escape when the golems have the ability to flank me. One of them finally does me in when I'm busy trying to heal from the attacks of the other.

This is about the point where I've decided I've had enough. While I'm sure hours of training at home could get my instincts and reflexes up to the point where these punishing, precise, repetitive battles would finally be old hat, that's not something I have time for right now.