Be Excellent To Each Other

Right, from the campfire I can go downstairs to a big elevator thing, or upstairs to a watery courtyard which has the graveyard on the other side. Then there's a spur off to the right(ish) that has a man with huge hips and thighs teaching miracles before an area with chests that just leads to the graveyard again. I am completely at a loss to know what to do or where to go, and now there's shit like "Up. Rating:0" written everywhere.

Have you been up round the cliff edge near the start (past the body leaning over the well)? Stairs leading up to some enemies and then up to a narrow set of stairs?

From Firelink bonfire, walk past the well and head up the hill thats by a drop.You'll be able to get inside the aqueduct/bridge thing.

It's interesting that I've seen loads of people struggle with the correct direction to head at the start, but surely things you can not kill is a bigger hint than a higher level than you; I think Dark Souls doesn't always follow those unsaid rules that games normally follow....

Hmm stairs hiding behind a withered tree.



Well I did kill the skellingtons quite ably until they ganged up on me and pincered me in one of the narrow corridors that the game forces you down.

A narrow corridor of a battlement with a huge demon at the end with wide swiping attacks while being shot from behind by a twat! Awesome!

Wooo! Dark Souls! It's like playing it for the first time all over again!

If it helps, there's a ladder for getting you to the blokes shooting at you. I forget if you can access it while the boss is about though.

You certainly can. Climb it before you spawn the boss, get rid of the nobheads up top, then activate the boss, then leg it back up the tower and wait for the boss to come. Then jump down and smash him in the heed from the tower - but do it before he jumps up and knacks you! That will get rid of a decent chunk of his life. Personally I just rolled between his legs and thwarted him to death. You can also get him to attack you mid-way on the wall where there's a crumbly bit, and he'll fall off.

Thankfully, bosses don't respawn when you light a bonfire. Everything else does, though. Have fun!

Edit: thwarted?! Twatted!

Yeah, I used the run away up the ladder technique with him.

...man, that seems like such a long time ago now.

Honestly, this is the exact opposite to fun.

Dark Souls

One hit - Dead. One hit - Dead. One hit - Dead.
! BLOOD LOSS ! One hit - Dead. One hit - Dead. One hit - Dead.
One hit - Dead. One hit - Dead. One hit - Dead.

Are you using a shield?

Yes! But against huge fucking swipey corridor boss CUNT it's useless.

Oh yeah, you can't block his heavy attacks. I managed him first go! A few people struggled with him though, but they were enjoying the game a lot more after him, do don't give up yet! It's mainly panic because of the trudge up there every time you die. He's pretty easy if you relax and try to roll away from his attacks.

I have given up. Five hours of my life this bag of shit's taken off me and it's getting no more. I'm sure the minstrels you managed to extract from this dogshit tasted extra sweet, but I'm not prepared to munch through more tods to get to them.

I had more fun playing Risen and Two Worlds.

Dark Souls Broke DImrill.

Our next challenger please.

The first boss!

Seriously though, I'm sorry you couldn't stick it. Although I do expect you'll look at the box tomorrow, think for a little bit. And pick the controller up again.

It's a game you have to invest in, like a good book, or HBO's The Wire (TM), and it's not going to be for everyone; but I do think everyone should play it.

Because it's for far, far, far more people than is generally assumed, and if it clicks, you've got your new favourite game of forever.

It's boring. There's no carrot at all. Why are you doing this? What's my motivation? Never explained. It's like waking up in a bank and having to wait in a queue of people in grey suits, when you reach the front the banker just looks at you. You say "erm, hello" and he just lowers his face and the world fades to black. You wake up in a bank and have to wait in a queue of people in grey suits, when you reach the front the banker just looks at you. You say "ah" and he just lowers his face and the world fades to black. You wake up in a bank and have to wait in a queue of people in grey suits, when you reach the front the banker just looks at you. You say "what am I supposed to do...?" and he just lowers his face and the world fades to black. You wake up in a bank and have to wait in a queue of people in grey suits, when you reach the front the banker just looks at you. You say "I want money!" and he just lowers his face and the world fades to black. You wake up in a bank and have to wait in a queue of people in grey suits, when you reach the front the banker just looks at you. You say "Can I give you money?" and he just lowers his face and the world fades to black. You wake up in a bank and have to wait in a queue of people in grey suits, when you reach the front the banker just looks at you. You say "what about if I turn around?" and he just lowers his face and the world fades to black. You wake up in a bank and have to wait in a queue of people in grey suits, when you reach the front the banker just looks at you. You say nothing and just look at him, and he just lowers his face and the world fades to black. ......

BeeX: 3 Dark Souls: 1

2 still in progress and WTB at half time

It might yet beat me. I went into the fortress for the first time yesterday and I can see myself dying in there a lot.

The plot is pretty much the greatest plot I've ever played in a computer game. At the start a guy tells you basically 'you can ring two bells if you like, I wouldn't bother.'

I love the fact there are no quest lists, or boxes, or go here next heads up guides: but there are quests hidden away to be done.

Solaire, the Onion Knight, The trapped princess.

The story is fantastic, but rather than reams of text to plough through, you have to pay attention to your enviroment, read item descriptions and read between the lines of what people are telling you.

I wont talk about the ending spoilers that I want too, because Dimrill will read them before he starts playing again (you know you want to...) but I will have to post them later.

Solaires story. The Witch of Iselith, The Children of Gwyn, it's just fantastic.It's like a Greek Myth.

I've stopped playing my NG+ because I want to start and finish Demon Souls before they close the server (which has been delayed since Jan - but who knowns when till!) But just writing this post makes me want to go do a certain thing in Dark Souls to a certain someone....

Dark Souls is exactly like that bank analogy. Except when you walk in some guy whispers "You're the chosen one. There's two telephones: ones upstairs and the others in the basement. Go answer them." but you ignore him and go scream at the bank clerk about your money.

Elsewhere, everyone has answered the phones and opened the bank vault which leads to a secret labyrinth.

You're round the corner in Toys R Us collecting 100 Lego pieces hidden around the store squealing like a pig when you find another piece.

That turned into one of my favourite parts of the game in the end. It's actually very forgiving.

Make sure you have levelled up and fire or lightning or whatever a nice weapon, The R2 attack of the Zweihander is brilliant on the snake men for example, and I love the Halberd.

True or not, that banker thing better get posted as a review somewhere

The problem with Dimrill's analogy is that the chap in the bank doesn't seem to be getting any closer to his money each time. My experience with Dark Souls has me getting a step closer each time.

Were you higher up?

Yes, I'm a pig. A tiny child pig who likes child things as I'm a pig. Big fucking thanks Ian.

Heh! What took me five hours the first time took about an hour the second time! You little scamp, you!

Dark Souls. Better than relativity.

Actually, I'd like some more on this particular prickery. What has me not liking the game done to upset you Ian?

Eh? He's just comparing a tough game to a simple one. We all know you take great delight in collecting stuff in games, you always mention that. Surely it's a dig at your taste in games and not a personal comment. Well, that's how I read it.

Halbards are the best weapon in the game for me.

I didn't read it with any malice either

Halbards are clearly awesome in the game. But the Black Knight Great Axe replaces it just before I quit (tempted to go back...)

In Demon Souls I've chosen a rapier using royalty guy. Parry&Riposte is amazing! Completely different experience to my heavy knight guy of Dark Souls.

I see what you mean about it being forgiving. Once you get used to how the traps work, it's not too hard to use them to your advantage. I've been tinkering with a couple of different weapons - I was using the ridiculous Great Club (basically a tree branch) for a bit, but after grabbing the lightning spear from the chest trap, that's quickly becoming a favourite weapon. I can just swing round the back of a snake man and backstab for a straight kill on them now.

Made it to the top of the fortress to have one go at the Golem and didn't do too badly, taking half his health but ultimately got knocked off to my death. Hopefully I can sort him out next time.

Yeah, he's fairly easy to take down so long as you don't get cocky. If you do get cocky, you do tend to go over the edge.

The next boss fight though surely makes up for it with interest.

Took me a few attempts to get back up to fight him again (I keep doing clumsy things along the way and falling to my death) but when I got there, I beat him with little trouble. However, I then went to Anor Londo, got a bit close to one of the guards at the start and took a beating, dropping my 40+k worth of souls. Going all back through the fortress was a little hairy, but at least I made it to the next bonfire and then nipped back to grab the dropped souls.

I love the scale of Anor Londo - it looks amazing from what I've seen so far.

I'm guessing you missed the bonfire then. Or the shortcut.

Yeah. I didn't realise how soon after those two guards the bonfire was. So next time round, I went looking for a bonfire first then doubled back to grab the souls. Just glad the bonfire wasn't too far away.

I was more referring to the bonfire near the end of sens fortress - from it the only enemy is the crossbow dude.

That bonfire off the edge of the fortress was one of the times when the messages on the floor was genuinely helpful. I spotted the message and wondered why it was in a spot where the bombs were being thrown. I wandered over and it said "down". I peered over the edge, saw the bonfire and gave plussed that guys message up. I'm sure a few similar messages netted me a couple of hidden entrances too.

The message that got the most rating for me was at the very first bridge from the shrine. You can drop off at the top the other side of the soldier that throws the fire bombs at you and grab one of those rings that lets you keep your souls when you die.

Oh and I doubt I'd have found my way to the crow had I not seen those messages on the hillside where you jump while descending the lift from the Undead Parish. Good times.

That's a sneakily hidden bonfire.

Damn. You can tell that I missed that one.

I've had that with the hidden bonfire in Darkroot garden (by the door that you unlock). Sadly, the only one where the bombs were being thrown was a message that said 'danger zone', which at least was accurate when I then got firebombed.

Wait, what?!

One use only

One of my favoured things about the game was that searching round for little secrets gave you things that were genuinely useful. It was like the time spent in doom trying to find all the secret areas.

Yes.

I also the fact that no matter how tough you got, the little guys could still mess you up if you got cocky or clumsy.

I am amused at the thought of you being flaggelated to death by one of the hollows you encounter at the beginning of new londo ruins

I made some progress - using havels armour, I managed to "tank" Nito.
Moved onto the Archives now. Through that, and now Im at the crystal cave. Died a few times on silly invisible platforms and rage quit.
I will reconvene on the weekend I think, getting close to the end now. Seeth, then the abyss, then its done, I think.