Recent reviews by Nini

Here's the things I liked and a thing I didn't like quite as much about Dark Souls 2.

-YOUR WAY. Character creation that lets you be somewhat unique in both appearance and playstyle, you can make almost any weapon viable in this game. From swords and shields to archery to spell casting to gigantic hammers to crusty old whips, you can play in a whole host of different ways. The introduction of dual-weilding and powerstances in this game adds a whole new layer of combat variety previously unworkable in previous entries in the Souls series.

-SOLO PLAY. This is where the Souls series (In my opinion) really shines. A game that doesn't hold your hand, a game that doesn't pity you or help you. In fact every time you die, the game gets harder. You lose a portion of your total health. There are no rewards for failure. If you fail, you try again. And again and again and again. You learn the best way to defeat the various beasties of Drangleic through playing the game. There's a good variety in the kinds of bosses you encounter too, from giants who rip of their own limbs to strike you with, to a horde of skeletons and their masters, to a spellcasting scorpion-woman.

-ONLINE PLAY. For many others, this is where you can really spend your time. The metagame exists in the multiplayer. Certain areas of the game are populated almost entirely by players wishing to test their skills and the bulid agains others. You can invade players almost anywhere in the game or you can take part in fights in the designated "Arena". You can also allow your character to be summoned into the world of another player if they need help with an area or a boss.

-GAME WORLD. This is just about the only way that DS2 falls short of the first. In Dark Souls, you were set on a somewhat linear path to start with, but the world felt so connected that you could picture it on a larger scale, or even look from areas near the start to areas much later in the game and see how it all joined up. Dark Souls 2 feels different. With the ability to fast-travel from the start of the game, it makes each area feel separate from the previous one, and with such drastic changes in scenery from one to the next, it doesn't feel cohesive. That being said, the areas themselves seem well thought out and the styling of each area is both unique and enjoyable to explore.

So yeah, for me it's not as good as its predecessor, but still an excellent video game that I'll be re-playing for a long time.