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Why The Last of Us shouldn't be made into a damn movie

As featured on Hyper.com.au It’s no secret that games have had a terrible run when it comes to movie adaptations. Just look at the stinking beast that is the long-running Resident Evil series, the hilariously bad live action first person shootout in the movie Doom, or anything by that cretin Uwe Boll… but that’s almost a different story altogether. My gripe isn't whether The Last of Us is going to make a good film or not. From a film perspective, it seems to be on the right track. Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, The Grudge) is in the production seat, a potential Maisie Williams (aka Arya Stark) looks to be filling Ellie’s shoes and the script is even being penned by Neil Druckmann himself. What bugs me is The Last of Us doesn’t need a film adaptation, just as the film world doesn’t need The Last of Us – it’s bad news man.  In 2013, the game released to critical acclaim and – despite the subsequent “too cinematic!’ cries – now boasts over 200 ‘game of the year’ awards, five BAFTA’s, three VGX awards and the ability to make a grown man cry. And no, I’m not ashamed. A combination of brilliant voice acting, well-rounded writing and character animation that managed to avoid the dreaded uncanny valley led to an experience that blew game brains the world over.

Yet this was a gaming experience, an interactive journey that played like a love letter to the last two generations of games. We met Joel and Ellie as strangers, became familiar with their ways and embraced them as our avatars. We experienced their pain firsthand, because we controlled them. We chose what they did; we chose when they interacted; we chose when they were violent and when they were stealthy. If we wanted to hear one of Ellie’s jokes – we asked her. If we grew sick of the dated punch lines – we ignored her. These experiences built up an understanding between game and player, right up until the final scene where control was ripped from our hands, leaving us with no choice but to pull out our hair as we watched how the end would play out. Naughty Dog dangled these instances in front of us with each extensive cut scene, allowing the characters to explain themselves to each other and us, strengthening our emotional bond like they do in film land. Yet while it borrows these traits, it uses them to enhance its interactive nature. And that’s just it, the real reason The Last of Us doesn’t need a film adaptation is because it’s already an amazing goddamn game. If those H-wood jerks insist we look towards a film adaptation of this gaming giant, the best place to look is actually behind; we’ve already got a Hollywood version of The Last of Us. It’s called Children of Men and it’s pretty damn great. A once compassionate man who’s forced to distance himself from his previous life due to a traumatic event is begrudgingly drawn into a rebel scheme to transport humanity’s last hope across a dangerous landscape of post-apocalyptic mayhem. Along the way, the brooding dude and his sassy young replacement daughter – who carries all our hopes on her shoulders – bond, teach each other compassion and the rest is summed up by a really great long-shot. If you haven’t already seen it, watch it. It even has Michael “blow the bloody doors off” Caine.

Children of Men is an incredible achievement for film, just as The Last of Us is an incredible achievement for games, but there’s no huge demand for a Children of Men game because, frankly, it would be inferior. Children of Men was designed to be a film as much as its gaming counterpart was designed to be a game, and with that comes certain design decisions that shouldn’t make the cross-medium jump. Considering their similarities, I wouldn’t be surprised to find that The Last of Us took some inspiration from Children of Men (*ahem* or even more than that), but in doing so it created an entirely new universe, an original story and endearing characters that perfectly suited the medium, and managed to challenge it. I don’t believe a Last of Us film will be able to do the same for cinema. Just as Gary Oldman, actor, politely asks professional basketballers to “STAY THE BLEEP OUT OF MOVIES”, it’s important that film and games finally accept they are very different mediums, capable of very different experiences. To take an interactive story and make it passive is a whole new cartridge. The Last of Us has already proven itself a damn fine game. A mediocre film adaptation won’t help this, nor will a good film adaptation for that matter – because that is the general nature of replication. On the other side of the spectrum, a bad film could tarnish the characters we’ve put in our “Must Have in Case of Apocalypse” lists, rob them of their life and distance some from the original material. We’re at the point where games should be able to stand as games, without the need to justify themselves in other mediums. While cross medium stories can definitely be beneficial, like Dragon Age’s graphic novels or Halo’s ‘Forward Unto Dawn’ web series, a direct retelling is simply a waste of time. Sony and Naughty Dog would be better off circling the wagons and leaving their film dreams to the Clickers, before it’s too late.

[alexthe-dragon]

Neverending Nightmares and Mental Illness

Everyone has nightmares, but not everyone’s nightmares are quite as terrifying as Matt Gilgenbach’s. Having battled mental illness in the form of obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression, the Infitap Games founder and co-founder of 24 Caret Games has taken it upon himself to shine some light on his more hellish experiences through his work-in-progress title Neverending Nightmares. DREAM WEAVER >> The game follows main protagonist Adam as he navigates his way through a set of recurring nightmares, challenging the player to sort the real from the imaginary. The pencil-stroke art successfully creates oppressive, dark environments that draw inspiration from legendary illustrator Edward Gorey, but it’s the brutality of the blood-red gore that really stands out against the hand-drawn black and white aesthetic. “Many of the disturbing images came from intrusive thoughts that came from my OCD” Gilgenbach reveals in his dev diary, not ashamed to share the truth of his illness. “I suffered a lot, and why did I suffer a lot? Because I was born with mental illness.”

Despite being met with critical acclaim, Retro/Grade, (Gilgenbach’s first indie game) was unsuccessful financially, and the shock sent the designer spiraling into depression. “All the memories of when I was at my darkest points came flooding back.” he recalls, “I just wished I could communicate what I was feeling to others but I couldn’t find the words.” According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, approximately one million Australians currently suffer from depression, a number that’s believed to be grossly under exaggerated due to the tendency to leave the illness unaddressed. But Gilgenbach mind won through, as he turned the situation to his advantage. “I soon realised that this was a great opportunity. I could channel my experience into a game and recreate the fear, the terror, the anxiety of suffering from OCD and depression.”

BARE BONES >> To do this, Gilgenbach has put the focus on immersion, avoiding the use of any HUD and UI elements that may distract players or break tension. As a result, the black and white art style has become key, as players will only be able to interact with objects that are in colour. This single handedly negates the desire to spam clicks across a screen, allowing the pace and atmosphere to fully embed themselves in a gamer’s mind. To make matters even more tense, the game is set to branch out into multiple paths depending on player decisions, with the intention of providing as wide a variety as possible, allowing for multiple playthroughs and avoiding the need to return to a singular narrative. Having successfully achieved their Kickstarter goal at the end of last year, a demo of Infinitap’s latest title is currently playable online. While only a mere taste of what’s to come, it’s already managing to send hearts racing, but Gilgenbach isn’t solely malicious in his drive to dish out scares. ”While drawing on true psychological horrors is a great way to create a terrifying and disturbing game, I feel like this is the opportunity to do so much more.” He says, “I feel like with this game I can help people who are suffering and show them they’re not alone. If I can help people through their struggles… that makes my hellish struggle worthwhile. That’s why making this game is so important to me.” As featured in Hyper Magazine #252.

[alexthe-dragon]

Dark Souls II DLC: The Crown of the Sunken King

As featured in Hyper Magazine #253. Downloadable content is a mysterious beast. You can never know whether you’re in for a meaningful expansion, a rushed add-on or a demonic turd. Despite having one of the most heinous beginnings to grace a DLC, Artorias of the Abyss proved itself by not only offering a huge chunk of extra content, but shining new light on the previous game’s illusive lore. This alone should have been enough to make Souls fans eager for the first of three add-ons, yet From Software still teased players to the point of salivation: gifting special items pre-release as well as inserting the realm’s gate in-game a week early. Hordes of rabid players and hackers broke themselves upon its iron doors, but somehow the gate managed to remain shut. A COUCH TO BE SUNKEN IN >> Like their previous DLC, The Crown of the Sunken King is accessed organically; no awkward menus, no warp stations - rather content that’s placed strategically as if it were part of the game from the get go. This time FromSoft had the wisdom to keep it simple, utilizing the spire in Majula to direct players to the sunken tomb of Shulva, the forgotten city. Here level design is far from linear, creating an area where it’s not only easy to get lost, but one that manages to connect back on itself on multiple occasions like the original Dark Souls’ serpentine maps. Mayan-esque pyramids rise from the depths as stalactites thrust down to meet them, hiding secret tombs, teetering stone bridges and even switch based puzzles from the world above. “HOORAY! POOZZLES!” you ‘re probably yelping - incoherently I might add - but it’s more exciting than it sounds. These are handled with great care, adding elements that feel fresh without straying too far from the original content.

THINK THANK THUNK >> Puzzles aren’t merely limited to the environment in this forgotten city, as some of the more interesting enemies require a bit of thought to take down. Even once a problem has been identified, a combination of bravery and skill is necessary to achieve success. On the other end of the blade lie the Sanctum Warriors, an enemy that run the risk of brainless combat, only being saved by their placement in what is ultimately a constantly shifting environment.

For the Sun Bros out there, the new content is packed with plenty of secrets that will make repeated run-throughs extremely beneficial. The three new bosses tend to lean towards these “grossly incandescent” co-op players – yet for those running solo these can feel like mere tweaks of those previously vanquished. Despite this, the first entry to the triple-threat crown saga manages to capture the rewarding highs and terrifying lows that define the Souls series, and that alone makes it well worth the coin. VERDICT: An enjoyable piece of content that is well designed, providing some fresh gameplay elements without straying too far from the original material. 8/10

[alexthe-dragon]

A feature I wrote for Hyper #254 about gaming's blank canvas. Click the following links to read Page 1, Page 2, Page 3.

[alexthe-dragon]

Wii U Ain't Next Gen - It's Retro Baby

As published on Hyper.com.au From the moment some dingus decided to slap the uninspired “Wii U” on the unit, Nintendo’s latest home console has had a hard time in the battle for the new generation. The Kinect 2.0 has routed the once novel draw of Motion Plus, the PS4's processing capabilities seemingly tower above anything the Wii U can produce, and looking inward we have the troubles of single gamepad support, a lacklustre launch lineup, and a stale first year that lead the console to slowly shuffle into the darkest part of our collective awareness.  But lately Nintendo have done something very un-Nintendo. Instead of their usual in-house nature. they pulled a fast one and outsourced for this years E3. They drew on the “hip” crowd, calling upon retro fanboys Mega64 and RobotChicken to make content that not only poked fun at the company but drew upon its rich history to spice up the usual boardroom (MOAR LIKE ‘BORED ROOM’) delivery. They struck a POW here, creating ripples that caused the great burning eye of the interwebs to cast its gaze on Nintendo once more. But the fact remains that the console still doesn't quite rival it's next gen predecessors, not when you look at it from a next gen point of view. The sad thing is, most people still think it's simply a Wii. 

But E3 proved to us Nintendo have made a shift. The shift may not have been as dramatic as previously stated, but at the very least it evoked a cry from some guy’s throat in some basement…. somewhere. “FINALLY!” Sounded the cry (er, it was more like “fuhmally” being stifled by Doritos and cola) Fuhmally, Nintendo are throwing names around that we desire: Zelda, StarFox, Smash Bros - hell, they’ve even gone so far as to risk new ground with the ingeniously named Splatoon. All these titles make for an exciting 2015, but by then we may well have hover-boards, teleporters and microwaves that make roasts the work of mere seconds - so what have they to offer us now? The truth is, I jumped the gun with my Wii U purchase. I got it straight out of the gate and — while ZombiU offered a good bit of gore, Wind Waker reminded me that Zelda games pre-Skyward Sword were actually exciting and Mario Kart is about as much fun as you can possibly have on wheels — in the two years I’ve owned it there has been little praise to give the black box known to me and mine as “Dust Gatherer”. Yet lately, I’ve been spending more time with my WiiU than any of the other next gen consoles - a fact that made me realise we’ve been looking at the WiiU in the wrong way. It’s not really a “next gen” console. For one, it’s technologically inferior to its intimidating brothers. When people think about getting a console, they ask themselves whether they want to buy a PS4 or an XBONE, umming and ahhing ‘til the cuccoos come home before diving one way or the other.

So why is the Wii U left out of this debate? I don’t believe it’s because it’s the ugly duckling of the bunch - but simply because it’s a different beast all together. It's not getting the AAA titles that other consoles are getting — Arkham City proved that this would be a bad move going forward — yet that’s because Nintendo are utilising their console in a different way, focusing on what it can excel at instead of making inferior versions of cross platform games. No, while the other consoles battle it out in a neck and neck brawl, Nintendo is walking its own path. If anything, this year’s E3 proved the company is finally looking forward with their console, teasing the names we’ve been sobbing into our pillows at night, but the reason this has taken so long is because to move forward, they first had to look back. Of all three new consoles, the Wii U has the best foundation of games upon which it currently sits, and that’s all thanks to Nintendo’s history of colourful characters, stories and innovative gameplay. Sure, the Wii U sections in your closest games retailers are tucked into the tiniest corner, cobwebbed and abandoned, but the amount of quality titles that live on the online shop is impressive to say the least. Enter the Virtual Console, something we’ve been familiar with for a long time on our respective Wii’s and 3DS’ but a function that has never quite got it right until now. Previously, we could access a tiny bit here, a glimpse of an era there, but Nintendo have been working hard to get as much of their back catalogue online as possible, and the list just keeps growing.

At the risk of sounding like a used car salesman, the Virtual Console has gaming gold. They’ve got bargains from the NES, the SNES, the GBA and soon to come the N64 (bring on Mario Kart n Smash Bros) and I'll be damned if they aren't cheap, Cheap, CHEAP. They’ve got yer Castlevanias, yer Mega Mans, yer Zeldas, yer Mario Karts, they’ve got Ghouls n Ghosts and they’re matchin’ them with Ghosts n Goblins. They’ve thrown in some F-Zeros, some Fire Emblems, Street Fighters, a bunch of RPGS (Earthbound and Breath of Fire come to mind). HELL, they even got the damn classics like Galaga and Donkey Kong. And what’s more? The majority of these games are under ten bucks. Sure, the future of the WiiU is looking a lot better than a year ago, but the present is also pretty damn healthy as far as the Nintendo nerd is concerned. The release of Gamecube controller ports alongside the new Smash Bros. is also a shining light for the console, meaning Gamecube titles could also feasibly make their way to the console in the near future. Sure, you can just emulate these games on your compy if you really like - but if you have a conscience - playing these games on an official Nintendo console is pretty damn special. The WiiU tablet works perfectly for this retro style of play laying down the option for a quiet handheld experience or the epic home theatre system depending on the mood. The only thing that’s lacking is linked access across the 3DS and the Wii U, allowing saves to be easily transferrable for optimal play. So let Sony and Microsoft butt heads over who gets what first or who is beating who at a random point in time. We all want what they are offering, but no one wants all their gaming experiences to be bundled into one form. The fact that Nintendo are offering a unique play experience, one that at the moment is considerably retro, is something special all in itself, and something definitely worth exploring.

[alexthe-dragon]

The Five Faces of Geralt - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Preview

The Witcher 3 looks incredible. More than incredible. So much so that I must have broke some kind of salivation record while sitting through almost an hour of gameplay lead by CD Projekt RED’s Head of Marketing, Michal Platkow-Gilewski. The Nilfgaardian’s have invaded the Northern Kigndoms, but while the upper class are distracted by the onslaught, Geralt roams the wild searching for bounties.  In doing so, The Witcher 3 places the focus back on the grizzled Witcher’s personal journey and, between changing drip buckets, I was exposed to five different sides of of the famous White Wolf.

Geralt the Traveller

The Witcher 3’s biggest change from previous titles is the addition of a huge open world for players to explore. To give you an idea of what this means, the island we were on was the size of the entire Witcher 2 game alone, with a mounted trip from the top to the bottom taking players roughly 40 minutes. The world has been designed to reflect an eclectic array of mythological epics, creating wastelands, towns and forests inspired by the stories of old. No Man’s Land, for example, is a reflection of a famous Slavic legend, depicting a war-ravaged territory made up of swamplands and overgrown forests, whereas Skellige, a wind swept archipelago, is the setting of many Nordic and Celtic sagas. More importantly, there are no painted horizons, everything you can see you can travel to.

Geralt can travel between all these locations as he pleases, whether it be on foot, horseback, boat or the new fast travel mechanic. Each place is a dynamic life force and will develop whether the White Wolf is around or not. An integrated economy system means prices will vary depending on the state of the landscape and the distance to the items origin, and characters will continue to interact with each other on a daily basis.

One of the most impressive visuals we saw was the REDengine3’s powerful weather simulation. When Geralt went to rest at a campfire, the camera began to spin around our hero as clouds rushed by, switching between day and night in a magnificent time lapse. When we stood back up, it was suddenly storming, the world around us raging with thunder, lighting and billowing rain. Geralt’s hair blew fiercely in the winds, and the surrounding environments reacted just as intuitively. It was truly awe inspiring, which leads us onto our next Geralt…

Geralt the Hunter

Now the war is over, Geralt can finally focus on his trade, namely “Killing. Monsters.”. As he travels from town to town, Geralt can pick up contracts from the local government, but from what we saw, The Witcher 3 also leads the contracts to you by creating dynamic events that pull you unknowingly towards them. For example, after battling a Slavic Fiend that we happened across in the wild, Geralt entered a small town in which the townsfolk were gathered together causing a ruckus. On closer inspection, we saw someone had been impaled by a tree root risen from the ground. The crowd was in an uproar, with accusations flying to and fro, but Geralt decided to gather more information before committing himself to the hunt.

To do this, we activated our Witcher senses, a similar technique to the Arkham game’s Detective Vision or the Eagle Vision in Assassin’s Creed. Here Geralt’s senses are heightened and anything beast related appears in a glowing red. Following some animal tracks into the forest, we slowly found clues that helped us piece together what we were dealing with, and the further we delved the more we found out about the creature. Its weaknesses, fears, strengths etc. were all revealed, thus giving Geralt an idea how to handle things moving forward.

Upon consulting our bestiary (a much less confusing version of The Witcher 2’s countless books and journals) we learnt even more about the subject at hand, namely a powerful Leshen, a forest spirit that appears alongside a murder of crows. With all these facts at hand, players can now make educated choices, choosing whether it wise to hunt the creature or leave it be, as well as whether they’ll be strong enough to take it on. There are over 80 different beasts scattered throughout the world, and Geralt is able to hunt them all.

Geralt the Warrior

The skill tree in The Witcher 3 has been modified to incorporate a larger array of active skills, expanding on the meagre passive upgrades of The Witcher 2. The tree remains focused on the three strands of Swordsman, Mage and Alchemist, but each skill increase has a notable affect on combat. Putting points into the Swordsman branch, for example, will not only unlock more combos and skills, but will also increase Geralt's general swordsmanshipl depending on how many points lie within, whereas more points towards signs will see the Igni flame build to a fierce blue and so on so forth.

Combat plays out in a similar fashion to The Witcher 2, only that swordplay has expanded to 96 action sequences in order to create a much smoother system, compared to the Witcher 2’s mere 20. On top of this, signs are more streamlined to slot into combat, becoming more accessible than in previous titles. For the Alchemist path, potions operate in largely the same way, with Geralt only being able to handle a certain amount of potions at the one time. A nice addition comes in their execution. however, for while they are still required to be drunk before battles, they can now be activated at the players will, no longer being wasted on the periods of dead time before conflict.

Geralt the Wolf

One of the more exciting parts of the gameplay wasn’t necessarily the most action based, rather it was the return of the gruelling decision making system. While inspecting the surrounding forests, Geralt discovered that the Leshen marks a person from its neighbouring village, meaning it cannot die while that person still breathes. Believing it was one of the elders who had been defending the beast, an ambitious young villager openly declared that whoever was marked needed to die in order for the rest of the village to live. On closer inspection it was his lover who was marked, and as we chose to tell him publicly, we were impressed when the young man went through with his words.

After slaying the beast however, we returned to the town to find the elders massacred anyway by the man and his brigands. And while he paid the Witcher the money promised, we left the small town with a bitter taste in our mouth and a not so pleasant exchange. The Witcher games have never shown a black and white morality, but the murky grey of Geralt’s current world is masterfully handled, and the White Wolf’s isolation was outlined perfectly in this exchange.

Geralt the Lover

A Geralt that was glaringly absent from the gameplay was the infamous lover, but once pried for information, Michal Platkow-Gilewski revealed that Geralt is still “up for the ladies”. In fact, he was adamant that in The Witcher 3 he is “much more romantic” than in the previous two titles. This most likely means that he’ll be more focused on the two swords strapped to his back, and not as quick to use the one below his belt.

At this stage, The Witcher 3 boasts 50 hours of main story and 50 hours of side quests, and while a release date is still unconfirmed, it's easily the most ambitious in the series so far. As seen on Rocket Chainsaw.

[alexthe-dragon]

The Evil Within Preview

As published in PC PowerPlay #229 and pcpowerplay.com.au Shinji Mikami, affectionately known to the video game world as the Father of Horror, has been extremely tight lipped about his new IP. Having initially bought the survival horror genre to the fore with Resident Evil, it seems any game he’s behind will be greeted with a greedy anticipation from fans the world over. Yet admittedly when the first load of footage surfaced I wasn’t drawn in. The Saw-like dungeons, swinging corpses and a chainsaw wielding maniac showcased a game that got its kicks from excessive gore as opposed to a tense atmosphere. But upon trying my hand at the game, I was surprised to find something very different. To keep things vague, I was assigned to play through chapters four and eight, with little to fill the blanks between. Each chapter took around an hour to complete, making up a mere one seventh of the total game. Chapter four opened up with main character Sebastian Castellanos and a gentleman in a white coat (who we’ll simply call “The Professor”) entering a small shanty village. The Professor, concerned about a missing patient, urged me toward an ominous wooden house that creaked in the distance, but this wasn’t my first walk in the park, so I decided to hug the walls and get a feel for the mechanics. My inventory was made up of a pistol, a shotgun, a crossbow (with a few homemade bolts), a box of matches and a syringe used to recover health. Despite playing on a PC, the demo required a controller to play, not yet being geared for keyboard and mouse, and as a result I was able to map only four of these to the D-pad to provide quick access. As I circled the house, it wasn’t long before I found a bloated mass of flesh wandering around outside. The fat mess, who had an axe protruding from his stomach, caught my scent and stumbled carelessly in my direction. A nuisance, more than anything, one that quickly fell to the rounds of my pistol before I set the sucker aflame with a single match.

“Scary, my butt.” I thought to myself, walking away from the burning corps like a cool dude walks away from explosions. “A common problem with horror games is the need to make the main character a super hero. Empowering the player takes the threat away from their aggressors, rendering things that go bump in the nigh-“ All of a sudden the door in front of me slammed open, cutting my pompous train of thought in two. A woman burst through screaming in agony as flames engulfed her body. My reaction was instinctive, but in vain. By the time I’d raised my pistol she was already gone, having disappeared without a trace. An illusion? A ghost? I break my eyes from the screen and look around the room at the few others engrossed in the game. My heart’s pounding, but it looks like no one saw me jump. I collect myself the same way a child who just grazed his knee might, the type who decides not to cry when he realises there’s no audience to turn on the waterworks for. “Gotcha scares don’t count” I think to myself. I guess there’s some truth to the words fear makes children of us all. As I worked my way through the two separate chapters it became clear that Mikami’s latest title takes inspiration form his previous works. Its over the shoulder viewpoint leans towards Resident Evil 4, yet the stripped back nature of combat, especially seen through the almost futile melee option, as well as Castellanos having the sprinting endurance of an overweight pensioner, help make things a bit more tense during action sequences.

While still living in gore city (a prime example being a sequence where you wade through a pool of blood, needing to destroy X amounts of undead bad guys before the fleshy mass that blocks your exit let’s you through) the storyline leans more towards the psychological, focusing on some severely disturbed characters. Things are not always what they seem, and some strange occurrences have left a bunch of questions I’m dying to find answers for. The Evil Within even goes so far as to play mind games with the player via some strategically placed items. Certain enemies can’t be damaged, and when you come up against one of these you need to push Castellanos’ underwhelming endurance to its limits by bolting as fast as you can in the opposite direction. During these scenes, there were some very tempting placements of certain items. Disarming traps yields gears that can be used to upgrade weapons later in the game, and these are placed heavily and pointedly during these sequences. As I was only glancing through the game, I didn’t bother trying my hand, as the risk/reward margin wasn’t worth it, but when it could mean the difference between having more fire power later on… the temptation might just be enough to risk some very close calls. Ammunition is scarce, even more so in higher difficulty modes, which encourages players to hide when possible, saving their ammo for future encounters. To avoid wastage, players can hide under beds and tables, inside cupboards, behind boxes etcetera, peeking out at enemies as they amble around in search of their prey. The closer enemies get, the more intense the heartbeat soundtrack becomes, building tension and coercing player’s hearts to fall in line.

By the end of the playthrough, I felt far more excited by the Evil Within than I did going in. The game itself was enjoyable, but whether it fills the horror mark is a different matter entirely. I found it hard to connect with characters or become engrossed in the story, but this could well have been the product of beginning the game a third of the way through, and then skipping a large chunk to continue on. Whatever the case, the result was sadly that I never truly had my heart in my throat. The game promises some great action sequences, but I feel its creepy environments and eerie character design won’t be enough to sate the frightful fix that horror purists crave.

[alexthe-dragon]

Dark Souls II PC Comparison Review/Discussion

Note: This is a comparison review regarding the nature of Dark Souls II on PC versus that of Dark Souls II on console. For a straight up review click here. Before we start things off let’s get one thing straight. Dark Souls II is a damn good game. Well, it’s more than good. It’s great. The gaming community as a whole has generally been unified in this belief since the game’s inferior release on the console world, yet if you’re reading this magazine (PC PowerPlay #224), you’re already well aware of the restrictions that world implies. The real questions here are will Dark Souls II’s greatness transfer onto our beloved PCs? Or will we be left with some deformed monstrosity of an age long past, one trapped by the confines of its console origins? Before we can answer that there are a few things we need to go over. It’s no secret the Souls series has a troubled history with its PC iterations. Demon’s Souls has sadly never had a proper port, largely due to a combination of ownership, sales and FromSoftware’s lack of PC knowhow. Dark Souls, on the other hand, was free of this first constraint and its popular console reception helped push it over the edge, yet it soon became apparent that FromSoftware were still being hindered by that latter ball and chain. Despite this, the Japanese devs were always upfront about the demons that plagued their attempts to breach our golden shores. When initially asked how the Dark Souls port was coming along, producer Daisukle Uchiyama stated “To be completely honest, we’re having a tough time doing it due to our lack of experience and knowledge in terms of porting to PC. First we thought it would be a breeze, but it’s turned out not to be the case." He finished by revealing that it the final result would be "more strictly a port from the console version. We haven’t been able to step up into doing any specific optimisation for PC.” When the battle was over, the result was as unfortunate as one would expect from such an announcement: awkward controls, blurry visuals and a mediocre frame rate led to a game that was a mere shadow of its consolian brother. 

But the Souls series has always inspired a strange kinship amongst its players, one that has slowly formed from its obscure content, resulting in a strong sense of “jolly cooperation”. And so it was that, within days of release, Peter ‘Durante’ Thoman did wield his modding sword to cut through the main issues, releasing the celebrated DSFix to the public. The mod essentially made the game user friendly, inspiring other modders to work on textures, controls and so on and so forth to create a Dark Souls experience that left previous versions in the dust. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, especially considering the arduous process one had to go through to achieve the final result, but it did offer an experience that, in essence, is very much linked with the Souls series itself. FromSoftware were lucky. Thanks to some talented (and extremely efficient) fans, they were able to recover from a blunder that should have proved fatal... yet somehow the PC community were still on their side. Even so, one thing remained clear, FromSoftware had to lift their game if they wanted to avoid going hollow. So what did they do? The clever devs sent their best PC smiths to the forge to build an entirely new engine for Dark Souls II, going forward to use the PC as the lead test platform for both iterations of the title. Praise. The damn. Sun.

The final result is a game that is able to run and render at 1920 x 1080, providing a crisp and sharp experience. On top of this, the PC version runs at a tight 60 frames per second (as opposed to the console’s standard 30 frames) allowing for a more accurate execution of moves and abilities. Despite being aesthetically pleasing, this actually makes a world of difference to the gameplay itself. Dark Souls II’s combat, much like its predecessors, is entirely reaction based, with the slightest delay spelling the difference between gaining and losing an ungodly sum of souls. The smoother frame rate makes the timing of parrying, blocking and rolls all the more accurate, allowing highly skilled players to weave between attacks with anime-esque precision. Furthermore, the functions themselves appear to perform more accurately in the PC build. Those familiar with the console version may have noticed a slight button lag when sprinting or jumping - an upset that, while not entirely fixed, has been improved with the PC edition. But of all the improvements the PC world offers, by far the most important is the load times. One of the game’s new features is the ability to warp between bonfires, demanding that you travel back to the land of Majula (the games main hub) whenever you want to level up your character. Previously, this came as a tiresome inclusion, especially considering the first title allowed you to level up at any bonfire you wanted to rest your tush beside. In this version, players are able to warp between three bonfires in the time it would take the console version to load one, making Majula trips a breeze.

The keyboard and mouse controls are much more effective than the previous Dark Souls, with remappable buttons and keys allowing for a customisable experience. Yet for some reason FromSoftware left the tacky Xbox interface for action prompts, meaning you’ll need to stay on top of your key allocation as finding the green “A” button on your keyboard may prove futile. Generally, I found that the controller makes for a more comfortable fit (not really a surprise considering the game was designed with controller functionality in mind) but I have no doubt that purists will be able to make the keyboard and mouse work just as effectively… even if it does take a little bit longer. An upside for those who tread the purist path comes with the decision to make the mouse appear in menu screens, a small blessing, but one that leads to quicker item browsing and equipping without having to address every single item in the menu. For Souls veterans, gameplay follows in a very similar stream, only its mechanics have been tightened and tweaked to allow for greater variation in class configuration. One of the most notable aspects is the ability to effectively dual wield, as your left hand can now strike with both light and heavy attacks, while also allowing for special dual attacks when wielding two of the same weapon. There’s so much choice here, as the weapons list in Dark Souls II is incredibly large, providing a vast array of maces, sword, bows, staves, axes, shields and spears to sate whichever path you choose to roam, not to mention deciding whether you’ll fight one handed or two handed, weapon and shield or weapon and magic etc. There are even specialty weapons such as whips, catalysts and claws, all of which have their own unique combination of attacks, keeping combat fresh and exciting.

For those looking for something to sink your teeth into, Drangleic offers a huge world to explore so newcomers can expect to clock up at least 70 hours in their first playthrough, give or take a few depending on how much jolly cooperation and online PvP one decides to attempt. On top of this, FromSoftware have gone out of their way to add a bunch of new content to New Game+, inserting more boss fights, increased enemies and new items that simply aren’t accessible in a single playthrough. But by far the best part of any Souls game is the lore. FromSoftware have built their name around their epically derelict landscapes that speak of a bygone age. It's true that most of what lies within these landscapes may never be found by the player, but that’s where the brilliance of Dark Souls II’s design lies. Everything they create has a purpose, whether or not that purpose will be realised by the user matters not, for it only adds to the authenticity of their landscapes. It allows for the explorers among us to delve deep into the world, theorise and discuss their findings without a definitive answer lying a click away in some forum, a concept rarely found in games these days. At the same time, those who are content to simply play through the game, cutting down the monsters and men that cross their path, can still do so without heavy slabs of text or lengthy cut scenes getting in their way.

It’s evident that the PC version’s numerous little tweaks all work towards a much more enjoyable Dark Souls II experience, yet the game is in no way a rebuild of its counterparts, as the mechanics, environments and combat all dance to the same tune as the console versions. Yes, the resolution is sharper, offering textures that are more pronounced, but it still very much looks like a last gen game. If you are looking for a title that pushes the boundaries of current tech DSII is not it. But don’t let this throw you off, as it is still an incredible sight to behold. At first I was a little disappointed with some of the area designs, lamenting the use of canvas backgrounds and closed in spaces, but as the game progresses the environments open up to offer some truly awe inspiring stages that will stick with gamers for a long time to come. For all these reasons, it has to be said that the PC version of Dark Souls II undoubtedly provides the definitive DSII experience to date. If I had one complaint, it would be that the lighting, while offering a better light/dark contrast than the previous instalments, is still a far cry from what we were shown in the mirror knight previews way back when. But hey, considering they don’t have to worry about fixing a broken game this time around, I expect our beloved modding community is already working tirelessly to remedy that. Verdict: The definitive Dark Souls II experience, the latest entry to The Souls series shines on the PC. As published in PC PowerPlay #228.