@alim298 said:
@gwynnblade said:
The port was still crap. Though, better than the original. Nonetheless, when I compare Dark Souls 2 to Dark Souls, it doesn't feel as 'colossal' as the first one but it does have that 'familiarity' that makes you feel like 'yes, this is my game' no matter how intimidating it might be. Might have something to do with aesthetics of the two games but really, Dark Souls 2 feel more disjointed.
Dark Souls 1 was the absolute worst port I'd ever seen only seconded by Prototype 2. I had like 16 fps in blighttown which made the game unbearable. The combat in Dark Souls 1 also didn't feel right. It was so... Playstation 1-style. It was rough.
Dark Souls 2 imho surpassed the first one in nearly every way. The combat was more fluid. Dual wielding was the absolute best part of the combat and I used that new mechanic to the fullest. Dark souls 1 was a nightmare for the dexterity-based classes whereas Dark Souls 2 was a dream come true. Dark Souls 2 had shortcuts but still you could fast-travel between different parts of the world which saved me a lot of time. The mobs only would re-spawn for like 15 times and not forever which made the game less tedious as you were granted the freedom to explore rather than to face the same enemy for the 100th time.
Dark Souls 2 also had better and less ambiguous characters and story. The story and the characters in Dark Souls 2 actually made sense and when you put the pieces together, there's actually a story without any holes in it whereas Dark Souls 1 had an ambiguous story that was ambiguous not for the sake of mystery rather because some characters were simply not developed enough and were only there to provide aid to the player or conclude the story in some way.
The environments in Dark Souls 1 were too dark and disturbing. To the point that sometimes it didn’t make any sense whereas Dark Souls 2 had a rural landscape and its different parts made a lot of sense except for black gulch which seemed unnecessary.
Also Dark Souls 1 was simply about fighting monsters. Dark Souls 2 had you actually fight a lot of human-like creatures and sorcerers which made the challenge seem fair.
Overall I think that things in Dark Souls 2 seemed more collaborated. The combat, the environments, the story, the art etc. everything felt like it belongs to the same place whereas Dark Souls 1 changed its themes and feel many times throughout the game.
Haven't been able to finish Dark Souls due to the crap port, so can't comment on the story and characters. But one thing is for sure, I love this type of story-telling. It lets you familiarize yourself with the world in such a way you feel like its your own.
I'm more of a hack n slash guy so even in Dark Souls 2, I found the dual-wielding to be pretty lackluster. Up to level 50, I was a dual-wielder and from then on, I just used the greatsword or the twinblades. I think Souls game really do need the agility in combat as in Bloodborne.
Got to agree with you on the 'respawning' thing.
As for environments, I would like to differ. In Dark Souls 2, it wasn't just the Black Gulch that felt out of place and not-so-exquisite place of exploration, almost every third location in Dark Souls 2 felt uninspired. Dragon's Aerie, Majula, Aldia's Keep and a few others were the only locations that left a deep impression on me. But in Dark Souls, almost every location was worth exploring and a visual treat. The varied landscape was another thing that made Dark Souls feel more like Dark Souls. The bosses in Dark Souls were downright glorious. No boss fight in Dark Souls 2 come close to Artorias The Abysswalker's boss fight. The "Royal Rat Authority'' boss in DS2 was a copy-paste of Sif boss fight. There was little variation in bosses of Dark Souls 2. There wasn't much spectacle. When I walked into the huge chamber of "The Guardian Dragon", I expected a challenging and a spectacular fight but instead, I figured out his move in just one attempt and killed him in another. The "Ancient Dragon" was the only exception. Damn, that guy was a thick-skinned bastard.
All in all, in terms of aesthetics, Dark Souls take the upper hand. But Dark Souls 2 is the superior ''game''.
Another thing that's particularly noticeable in Souls series is the lack of variety in combat. Each weapon has almost the same combos and there's very little incentive in not choosing one favorite weapon and sticking with it. I played 25 hours of Dark Souls 2 for the combat, the rest of the 50 hours were only because of the story. The combat gets boring, repetitive and at times a 'chore'. Even if they have to reduce the number of weapons in the game for including different combos for different weapons - so be it. I'd take quality over quantity any day. For now, I only wish for ''Dark Souls + Bloodborne = Dark Souls 3", which seems pretty plausible and possible at this point.
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