conkerconquer wrote:I have literally no doubt in my mind as to what will be the better game, so being as biased as I am I'll go no further. Suffice to say, I disagree.
Thing is your not the only one with a bias for Elder Scroll games. But in recognition of what From Software have created I've had to place any bias aside and thats not something I do lightly. Dark Souls isn't Demon Souls 1.5, 2.0 or even 3.0.
conkerconquer wrote:Both games are offering very different experiences so again it's slightly unfair to compare them. However, the writer of that article seems to me be missing much of the point of Skyrim versus Dark Souls.
Does Skyrim need multiplayer? No. Will it make it a better game? Not necessarily.
I agree it is unfair to compare them directly but comparisons can be made. The multiplayer is obviously a moot point. If anything Dark Souls proves that mp can be properly integrated into this type of game without compromising or diluting the single player experience in the slightest. Does Skyrim need mp? As you said not necessarily. But if Bethesda could incorporate mp into Skyrim with the quality of execution and level of finesse shown in Dark Souls any further Elder Scrolls games would most likely benefit from it.
conkerconquer wrote:(utterly ridiculous). Does a dozen different types of dragons bolster the scale and magnitude of Skyrim's free roaming and well integrated ones? Nope.
Utterly ridiculous? We are talking about fantasy videos games here; games that revel in bringing the ridiculous and unbelievable to life. Dark Souls is very understated for a japanese game and its very far from the usual ott affairs. As for Skyrim's dragons until I have faced a few of them in the actual game I won't make any detailed comments. However, if when facing Skyrim dragons I get no feelings of onscreen presence, intrepidation or intimidation then scale and magnitude is just an excuse for visual eye-candy.
conkerconquer wrote:Will the size and detail of Dark souls world truly compete with Skyrim's? I highly doubt it.
I shared your scepticism but Dark Souls world isn't the flat spider diagram open world design that Demon Souls was. From Software have thrown out all conventional open world designs and created a world which is truly unique and groundbreaking. I have played a lot of rpg's in my time and I've never been witness to a world designed like Dark Souls.
Traditional open world design takes one flat open expanse and then adds the terrain, cities, dungeons and so on. As seen in games like Bordelands, Gta, Oblivion, Fallout 3, The Wicther etc. It would be similiar to starting with a flat open field and working from there. Instead of doing that From Software have taken that and stacked multiple expanses on top of each other. If you can imagine Oblivion and Fallout 3's maps each being cut into 3 sections and then each section stacked one on top of other and all connected together seamlessly (no loading times). That is the best way I can describe Dark Souls world. Well, at least its first one after the prologue. When it comes to scale Dark Souls can easily compete with anything else on the market.
The result is games like Oblivion and Fallout 3 allow a player to explore the groundfloor of a block of flats where as Dark Souls lets a player explore the entire block from top to bottom. That said, its not until you start opening up shortcuts and connections between each stack that what From Software have so meticulously accomplished begins to dawn. As Dan said ' the game needs to be given time to seep in'.
Skyrim will undoutedly win the visual detail department award. Visually Dark Souls shares more incommon with the Witcher. Graphical emphasis being placed on consisent mood and effective change of atmospheres than straight forward visual showboating.
conkerconquer wrote:As for the whole DLC thing...that stems from From Softwares idiotic phrasing of the term. They're not cutting content. Nor will Skyrim I suspect. The only difference, as we've seen with Fallout and Oblivion, is they'll be expanding things sometimes poorly), so I'm not sure how Dark Souls lands a victory there.
The point over the dlc is From Software told it as it is and didn't try to hoodwink consumers. I see no idiocy in a developer saying we aren't going to cut content from our game and then sell it on to the consumer at a later date as dlc. I do see more idiocy in consumers being hoodwinked into believing that all dlc is supposedly non-existent during a main development cycle and created afterward. That was the case with some of Oblivions dlc, not all of it but some of it. I'm not accusing Bethesda of any wrong doing as content being cut can be for a number of reasons.
conkerconquer wrote:I also don't see how being difficult marks a revolutionary title. Hasn't gaming been doing that for years?
By convential wisdom it is.
Games have been doing it for years but Dark Souls difficulty isn't tacked on and its not difficulty in the convential sense either. This isn't a game where difficulty can be switched up or down and give some elitist jerk bragging rights. The difficulty is a key part of the experience and lowering it would completely undermine the experience. Yes, its great to run around Oblivion's world with gay abandon taking it all in but if you die you simply reload and off you go again. There is no loss to be had in games like Oblivion unless you haven't saved for the last 3 hrs or whatever. Your characters death in games like Oblivion and Fallout 3 has no meaning despite the effort made on creation and hours of investment levelling up.
conkerconquer wrote:All in all, I doubt Skyrim will be much more than a vast improvement on whats gone before. But here's the thing. I think the Elder Scrolls has continued to do things that few if any games really do, let alone well. With each improvement, I genuinely believe the Elder Scrolls series marches towards that perfect game that combines everything that makes gaming whole and good. Exploration, challenge, investment and freedom.
From Software decided to push the envelope and shun conventional design with Dark Souls and in doing so they have achieved a game that is groundbreaking and innovative on so many levels. Dan was right when he said 'Namco Bandai have done themselves no favours by putting so much emphasis on the difficulty'. Its a real shame that convential gaming wisdom entices people to want to give up on Ds before surmounting that first uphill struggle. Once at the top of that first hill the view beyond is an absolute masterclass in games design.
Will Skyrim be better than Dark Souls? Like any opinion on different games it all comes down to personal preference. I do totally get where your coming from and I do agree, but at the same time I can't ignore what From Software have achieved with Dark Souls based on my own personal bias.
As for the article. I don't see it as ineptitude on the writers part. I think he/she is just playing for a reaction to gain Dark Souls more of the attention it so rightly deserves. In the same way Rockstar flaunt controversy with Gta games.
