• 17Mar 13

  Ornstein and Smough didnt hold me back!

  Well I only went and did it! Ornstein and Smough are history!

  Things just werent working, so I swapped my armour and weapon choice, did a little level grinding, summoned a little help and switched up my tactics. My summoned helper (who I shall name Keith) kept Smough busy whilst I took down Ornstein. Keith died in the process but it was just enough to get me through to phase 2 of the battle. 

  The empowered Smough still wasnt no cake walk, but I took it slow, picked my moments to strike and took full advantage of the cover provided by the pillar bases. I took a few hits and depleted my estus flask, but after a long 10 minutes (it felt longer) it was all over. 

  Raising my level and sinking a few points in to endurance certainly helped - my character build could finally wear a decent set of heavy armour without feeling like he was wading through quicksand. I was starting to get concerned that my lack of ranged attacks was going to prevent me beating this boss battle but in the end I didnt even need it. 

  So, Im back in love with Dark Souls again! It feels good. 

  • Posted Mar 17, 2013 10:59 am GMT
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• 16Mar 13

  Ornstein and Smough wont hold me back

  Yesterday after playing a little XCOM:Enemy Unkown, I opened the disc try on my 360 and, without thinking, reached for the Dark Souls box on the shelf. I put the disc in, closed the tray calmly and sat down. Press start. Load game. Ah, there is my adventurer, sat in the warm glow of the Firelink Shrine, taking things easy. Maybe I'll just let him stretch his legs? After all, he has been sat on his backside for months now. Yes, a little stroll round that graveyard near here is a wonderful idea.

  So we headed to the graveyard, my hero and I, and quickly discovered my divine club permenantly puts a stop to those pesky skeletons. Hmm, interesting. Thats good ol' Dark Souls for you; always something new to discover, always new things to learn! Oh and what is this? A pathway leading to a tunnel? Sure why not...

  ...and so it continued. Without a worry in the world and my new divine club in my hand, I almost skipped through the catacombs, dispatching skeletons and mages with joy. Further in I discovered that switching to a heavy armour and shield helped deal with the pinwheel skeletons and I proceeded to discover a new area of the game. I was in a strange hazy trance with a big smile on my face when I dropped down in to a tomb and came face to face with a boss, but I was not discouraged. "Hell, Ive made it this far" I told myself happily "Its all or nothing - charge!!" I ran at the boss, waving my club in the air (well thats how I imagined it anyway) and wailed on him with all my heart.

  Mr Boss went down quick. I was unstoppable! Why did I ever stop playing this game?! This is great! Lets keep going! I scrambled out of the bosses lair and continued forward. It got dark real quick but I strolled in to the blackness with great confidence. "Tomb of Giants" Dark souls welcomed me. 

  It got darker & darker until I could barely see a foot in front of me. And there were noises in the darkness. Oh...oh dear... all my confidence suddenly drained from me as if someone had pulled out a plug. Panic descended on me. Stood still in the darkness with no idea on which way is back. I had completely forgetton how Dark Souls works - to charge in to new areas carelessly without fear is guaranteed death. I wasnt alone down there, I quickly discovered.

  It was all over in seconds. Giant skeletons (I presume thats what they were, it all happened so quickly) attacked me mercilessly from the shadows. You Died the game told me as it had a hundred times before.

  Back at the bonfire I decided that I had learnt a lot of important lessons. Probably most importantly, that you cant fear death. Its going to happen again and again, but as long as you are learning from the expirience then it has not been in vain. I had originally stopped playing Dark Souls months back, when I had got stuck on the bossess Ornstein & Smough. Maybe, just maybe, now is the time to try again...

  

  So, any advice..?

  • Posted Mar 16, 2013 5:33 am GMT
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• 15Mar 13

  Big Dumb Fun

  Army of Two, the coop shooter franchise from EA, has now spawned three games in the series. The third in the series, The Devils Cartel, is due for release very soon and has a demo now live on XBL.If a franchise hits three games, someone is obviously buying them. But who? I cant recall anyone ever waxing lyrical about either of the previous AoT games and thats probably because they are pretty dumb games. During the demo, you play as one of an Army of Two (clever title, eh?) grizzled, tattooed muscle bound ex-special forces men. You gunfight identical looking Mexican drug dealers who all seem to wear sweatpants. You fight through a dilapidated warehouse, up on to the roof where you jump in to a chopper & proceed to blow up more stuff.

  

  Grrr. Bang Bang Bang. Not fun. 

  Okay, normally I wouldnt judge a game entirely on its demo, but I think its safe to say Army of Two: The Devils Cartel isnt going to go much deeper than what is presented here. It truly is devoid of imagination. It doesnt even seem to get the basics right; movement feels sticky & the weapons lack impact.There is nothing wrong with big dumb fun. But if thats what youre after I would still look elsewhere. Try Bulletstorm - yes, its large angry men swearing and shooting a lot, but my god is that game fantastic fun & has the incredibly unique points based system encouraging creative kills. And it has a dinosuar that fires frikkin' lasers from its eyes. There's imagination for ya.

  

  Grrr. Bang Bang Bang. Much Better. 

  • Posted Mar 15, 2013 4:09 am GMT
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