By Cody Roy – Editor-in-Chief

To a veteran gamer, games could get a bit repetitive. Saving the princess takes less effort than tying their shoes, and the so called “dark lord” of the realm may as well be one of his many lackeys. Namco-Bandai Games seeks to change this with its newest sequel, “Dark Souls.”

“Dark Souls,” developed by From Software and Namco-Bandai Games and released in October of 2011, is a sequel to the critically acclaimed “Demon’s Souls,” which was released in October of 2009.

One of the most interesting features of “Dark Souls” is how open ended the plot is. The game only goes into depth about the “Dark Souls” universe comes into being. Most of the more lore and story is revealed through the sporadic cut scenes and dialog with NPC’s.

Players take the roll of a male or female Undead of a various profession, a low ranking knight, a fearless warrior, a mysterious sorcerer, or a sneaky thief are but a few of the choices available to the player.

“Dark Souls” is an open-world dungeon crawler. The game is incredibly difficult, and capitalized on this with a punishment / reward system that compliments the game. Defeating enemies rewards the player with the universal currency of the “Dark Souls” realm, Souls. These souls are used to level up, buy items, and upgrade your equipment with powerful enchantments. Death, in contrast, causes the player to lose all of his gained souls.

Combat in “Dark Souls” is slow and deliberate. In contrast to more popular titles with similar, hack-and-slash combat engines such as the “Assassin’s Creed” series, taping a few attacks in a row doesn’t cause the character to perform physics-defying stunts with flair and grace. In fact, attacking is a commitment, with at least a second of wind up leaving the player open to counter attacks. This plays into the risk versus reward system that “Dark Souls” implants. Players are forced to decide when attacking is a safe and smart move, and are punished when they decide to rush six enemies simultaneously with no regard for their safety.

Namco-Bandai also includes a very thought out multiplayer – an online mode that is constantly engaged so long as the console is connected. Players are able to help or “invade” another’s world where they either help them defeat a boss in a certain area, or try and kill the player to pillage their souls from their corpse.

“Dark Souls” is definitely not for the faint of heart, and should only be played by gamers looking for a challenge. It is a difficult, sometimes frustrating game, with an unforgiving environment further endangered by the constant threat of another player deciding your souls looked tasty. It is a game with many subtle qualities that aren’t seen in many modern games. It does little hand holding in both game play and plot, and allows players to figure out how to play the game with their own style.

Rating: 5 out 5 stars

(Photo courtesy of gamerant.com)