I am trudging through a narrow passage, wondering how long this area will last. I keep my weapon ready for a fight. I look up and see sunlight shining through the top of the cave. As I round a bend, I see something remarkably beautiful: the sun, poised over a reflective sea of water. The location's name shows on the screen, 'Majula'.
This was one of the many times when I looked at the screen and said, "I made the right choice!" These moments appeared after killing a hulking giant inside a cave, or a magma-covered demon in a lava lake. Of course, you have to work towards these goals. When I say work I really mean learn, which you do, when the oh so familiar words flash on the screen. 'YOU DIED'. I saw this over 60 times in one play through. However, I never felt cheated when this happened, because it was always my fault. I should have rolled sooner, I should have been watching for an ambush. This game rewards you for learning, and studying.
Unlike it's predecessor, Dark Souls 2 introduces fast travel from the beginning, which is understandable, given the size of the world you are thrown into. The land ranges from stormy castles, to gloomy forests, to huge underground caverns. The enemies are all unique and interesting, and balance out the difficulty in an area (except for some crazily violent ogres at the very beginning of the game [optional, of course]).
The game barely gives you any story to start off, and what you learn, you learn from talking to the various interesting characters around the game. Basically, your goal is to succeed the king, who is decrepit and weak. The way to do this is, of course, to kill many, many enemies.
There are many ways to kill them. You can slice and dice them with a sword, crush them with a metal mace, fry them with pyromancies, use miracles, or give them a taste of some sorceries. The combat is focused on blocking, learning enemies patterns, countering, parrying and killing. Even though nothing changes in this, it remains fresh for the whole game.
All playstyles are viable, from timid archer to full-blown tank. Some items crop up late in the game which allow you to reallocate levels, which in turn allows you to change your stats completely. One big change in Dark Souls 2 is that you can only level up at the hub, Majula, which does noticeably slow the speed at which you progress.
This game doesn't require too much graphically, though it requires a hefty amount of space. Even on lower graphics settings, it still looks pretty, and the sound effects are brilliantly done.
Overall, this game is the best of the best, with the graphics, combat, sound, story, enemies and locations seamlessly blending to make the Masterpiece that is Dark Souls 2.
-Knight Arveleg