Hah, I like that Chris picked the DSII Beta. I didn't expect that but I should've seen it coming. 53 days till launch, Chris. Then we all dine in Hell together.
Personal Picks for GOTY 2013
Winners in our hearts.
Dark Souls II Beta
by Chris Yarger
I wear my Dark Souls pride on my sleeve, I can never deny that and I never shall. Don’t let this fool you though, for it’s not my love of the series that has me writing this, but it’s the merits Dark Souls II has shown through a mere beta that have left an incredible impression on me as well as the Dark Souls community.
The game played like the previous installments, only it felt slicker with more refined movement and battling mechanics. Though the beta could easily be beaten within an hour (depending on your skill level, of course) it showcased that it’s not only a well-polished Dark Souls sequel, but hearkens back to the proven mechanics from Demon’s Souls as well. After spending insurmountable hours with Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls, it was absolutely incredible to step into the lands of Dark Souls II and once again feel the sense of wonder and mystery that defined the first two installments.
However, the best part of Dark Souls II isn’t just its gameplay.
To truly understand the Souls franchise, one must understand the lore of the games. It’s the lore that separates the weak and meager from the strong and persistent. While we were only given a taste of what the game had to offer via the beta, there has been loads of information extracted from the small sampling we were graciously provided. Dark Souls is the type of game that truly brings a community together; whether people are collecting information in-game through dialogues and item descriptions, or scouring through the content locked away on the disk which was never meant to be released, people have managed to discover the truth that lies in the history of the games. If you were to search around within gaming forums or on YouTube, you can already find numerous theories (both proven and hypothetical) in regards to the lore, which is incredibly intriguing given the limited view beta testers were given across a couple token sessions.
The bottom line is this: a simple beta has already proven to me that this game is going to be in the race for Game of the Year 2014. Never in my life have I gone to bed early with the sole intention of waking up at midnight to play for a short period of time. And if it was ever offered to me again, I would do it without a second thought - I’d bet my Humanity on it.
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