Dark Souls II

It is undoubtedly a difficult game where you die more often than you would like but the unforgiving combat system is a pure joy

Fantasy role playing game is not everyone’s cup of tea and the Soul series are the most hardcore games in this genre. Chances are many will hate this game but only because of you can only take so much of “You died” on the screen. The only thing that sounds simple is the plot. You are in the cursed kingdom of Drangleic where strange creatures and men create only chaos and destruction. You need to restore some balance before they completely lose their humanity. You venture out in this open world hostile environment where you kill the enemies, collect their souls that can be used to purchase items and equipment as well as level up your character. Spoiler alert, once you die you start from where you last collected souls without dying. So you end up losing your recently collected precious souls. This is another challenge to test your patience. The game play of Dark Souls II is definitely one of the most difficult ones but even though after getting stabbed in the face for the upteempth number of time, dying is not a punishment, it lets you understand how to overcome enemies. A lot of plotting and strategising is required and the satisfaction of slaying heathen creatures is simply awesome when your tactic works out. What is guaranteed to make your blood boil is that most of your enemies respawn or comeback to life after you have destroyed them when you recharge your batteries and regain your health. Also there are times that the game feels like a revolving door at times, as you are killing the same scumbag over and over again. One of the standout features of this game is the terrorising encounters with the evil bosses. If your fight game plan is to run around them and go for the kill then let us spare you the planning because you are just setting yourself up to be clobbered to death. The artificial intelligence is quite sharp so dodge, roll, sucker punch, lure them into a trap, rather than going all aggressive. Stamina management is very important as you need to know when to dodge, block or attack. You get the hang of all this only through the tried and tested hit and try method. The crux of the game is patience. It is painstaking when you try and put things together as you figure out where to go, search for the treasures, find hidden passages and map out the game. Keep in mind you aren’t the only one who keeps dying on a regular basis, it’s not you, it’s the game.

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• Available on: XBox
• Price: ₹2800

From the May 2014 issue of FHM India.