Dark Souls Review/News

[Rennn]

Sorry for the double post instead of an edit of my previous post, but people will definitely want this tidbit of bad news and my last post was on a completely different part of DkS.

 

I looked on the Steam page for Dark Souls, and 3rd party DRM is listed as "Microsoft". This means that it's now certain that even the Steam version of Dark Souls will use GFWL. I'm still buying it, but that DRM makes me nervous.

[Aegrus]

but dark souls isnt a good looking game. especially the FPS killing fire and water. compare it to the best looking console games, halo and uncharted. both look better and run better. before i become a PC gamer i was a console gamer and i cant think of a console game that ran as bad as dark souls, given ive really only played AAA games on consoles but still the worse running game ive seen on 360. i havent played skyrim on console but i hvae they seen hours of it played on a 360 never lags downs to 10 fps unless youre playing the non patched PS3 game as i know that one would lag to death.

 

dark souls has what i think is perfect combat in a RPG. easy to learn, hard to master. combat is pretty straight forward you have you normal and power attacks, block and counter, bows and spells all which can be completely different depending on your weapons and/or build. great enemy variety makes sure you cant kill everything the same way. the combination of the straight forward combat with deep RPG elements fighting against enemy with different weakness and strength makes what i think is the best way to make combat in a RPG.

 

with that said, it still runs like crap. now i can actually understand others when they say 30FPS lock isnt that bad if that can keep it stable because after playing it, getting it to keep running at 30 FPS would be a big HUGE improvement.

 

Straight-up comparison time!

 

http://prg.gamesradar.com/i/616301923001/616301923001_1034183902001_UC2AT-Train-wrecked.jpg?pubId=616301923001

 

http://kiplange.com/images/uncharted_2.jpg

 

http://www.ewanwilson.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/ds6.jpg

 

http://weeabooswithcontrollers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/dark-souls-screenshots-18.jpghttp://media.industrygamers.com/editorial/2011/12/uncharted_3_preview.jpg

 

http://www.originalsoundversion.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/uncharted2.jpghttp://www.gamergeddon.com/wp-content/gallery/retail/dark-souls-9.jpg

 

http://images.vg247.com/current//2011/04/5630539132_58aa8a94df_o.jpg

 

http://www.bagofgames.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/kk533.jpg

 

http://learningworksforkids.com/wp-content/uploads/UN12.jpg

Edited July 23, 2012 by Aegrus

[Aegrus]

And, a few more. . .

 

http://s.pro-gmedia.com/videogamer/media/images/xbox360/dark_souls/screens/dark_souls_59.jpg

 

http://www.8bitbot.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/uncharted-3-05.jpg

 

http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/30/1780452-ds.jpg

 

http://www.mobygames.com/images/shots/l/531825-uncharted-3-drake-s-deception-playstation-3-screenshot-pushing.jpg

 

http://www.psreveal.com/screenshots/212/9994156_1295065966.jpg

 

http://darksoulswiki.wikispaces.com/file/view/anorlondo.png/271811924/anorlondo.png

 

http://www.zeitgeistgamereview.com/wordpress/wp-content/gallery/dark-souls-screenshots/d.jpg

 

Say that these are bad fire graphics, I dare you. :P

 

http://thefacepalmedgamer.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/30019orig.jpg

Edited July 23, 2012 by Aegrus

[ginnyfizz]

For those of us who don't have either game and don't know much about their story/setting etc, but are considering possibly buying, which screens are from which game? There are no indications in your post which are Dark Souls, which are Uncharted, etc

[Aegrus]

For those of us who don't have either game and don't know much about their story/setting etc, but are considering possibly buying, which screens are from which game? There are no indications in your post which are Dark Souls, which are Uncharted, etc

 

 

Dark Souls has swords, Uncharted has guns? Honestly, if you can't tell them apart by graphics, I'd say that's pretty good for Dark Souls, given that Uncharted 3 is graphically perhaps the best console game. (Big emphasis on perhaps.)

Edited July 23, 2012 by Aegrus

[Rennn]

I've compiled a few images of Halo ODST and Dark Souls. I was going to use Halo 3, but decided that as ODST is newer it must have the more impressive graphics on the 360. I've rated each image on a 10 point scale with no half-points allowed, and I looked for:

-polygon density

-texture resolution and texture stretching

-texture filtering (trilinear, anisotropic, etc)

-antialiasing and jaggies

-optimization skill

-overall scene style

-shadow detail, filtering, and quantity

-light source counts and quality

-other gfx such as dof, water and fire, particles, reflections, etc

 

I don't address each point on each image, and I generally only point out a specific feature if it's extremely good or extremely bad. I attempted to be unbiased, but obviously I'm a fan of Dark Souls. In some cases, even given high polygon counts, meshes can look bad. The same applies for texture resolution. If a texture was HD or a mesh was high poly, yet it looked out of place or bad, I rated down the image accordingly. As this is a Dark Souls thread, the majority of the images are from Dark Souls. I cut Uncharted 3 since Aegrus covered screens of that and I was over the image limit. All images are a mixture of random shots and press releases, though in every case I have only used images with vanilla gameplay gfx, no in-game video shots were allowed unless they used only standard gameplay effects.

 

I urge you not to use my scores as the final grades of the images. Look at each one and decide for yourself which game looks graphically better; my scores are opinions influenced by my interest in dark fantasy. Note that graphics in games are inconsistent at times; there are some areas in Dark Souls that look great, while others look barren when taken on their own. Most games follow this pattern, and it's inaccurate to assume that every moment in-game looks as good or as bad as these screens.

 

Halo ODST: The graphics are certainly... crisp. The lack of Anisotropic Filtering, Antialiasing, and object self shadowing is very noticeable though. 4/10

http://bluestarblues.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/H3ODST.jpg

 

Halo ODST: I can't say anything nice about this one. It looks like it was ported from an original Xbox game, with visible texture stretching at the neck and noticeably absent lighting effects. Moving on... 2/10

http://xboxoz360.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/halo-odst-oxcgn-37.jpg

 

Halo ODST: This image has reasonable amounts of clutter and solid lighting, but the complete lack of Antialiasing, the near absence of texture filtering of any kind, and the scarcity of landscape shadows heavily degrades the quality. I struggled to decide whether to give this a 7 or an 8, but ultimately decided that a score of 8 would not be fair compared to similarly rated images from Dark Souls. 7/10

http://www.platformnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/I-CAN-SEE-YOUR-HALOOO-HALOOOOO.jpg

 

Uncharted 3: Sorry, I removed this because Aegrus already has pics of Uncharted up and I'm over the image limit per post.

 

Dark Souls: The statue texture and the belt pouch texture are blurred, but aside from that you have a very cinematic image. Metal reflections are good and the scene has a nice dark feel. The statue texture is so low resolution despite being a centerpiece of the scene I'm taking off 2 points for it. 8/10

http://media1.gameinformer.com/imagefeed/screenshots/DarkSouls/g.jpg

 

Dark Souls: While this is technically not gameplay footage, the graphical effects are identical to actual gameplay. The sky has noticeable banding from light to dark, but the ivy and scattered weaponry is high poly and the overall scene is very well done. Sif's fur looks downright fluffy. 9/10

http://news.tgn.tv/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/dark_souls_screen6.jpg

 

Dark Souls:

This is about as pretty as you'll see PS3 or 360 graphics. You'll notice the torch flames in the background look very realistic. The boss itself is very well done, and even at such close range the character model holds up very well. The only complaint I have is the low-poly center of the character's forearm, and I don't think that's big enough to be worth a point deduction on its own. 10/10

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2toE38AUpaU/TwvYri4RZGI/AAAAAAAABXk/EiLJaYLiad8/s1600/Dark+Souls.jpg

 

Dark Souls: This displays the water and again the fire, and both are extremely impressive for a console game, which is no doubt why they cause slowdown. The water has splash decals, character reflections, and motion deformation, all of which most console games lack. The background textures are crisp, though the rat's nose could use a few more polygons and the soft fur effect is heavy handed at this close range. 9/10

http://www.pixeljumpers.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Demons-Souls-Multiplayer.jpg

 

Dark Souls: Though the subject matter here is amusing I can't add points for that. The scene is barren and the chains are very clearly flat meshes. They're helped somewhat by the triple-layering of the meshes, which adds a 3d effect on the more distant chains, but they're still not great. The textures are of a middling resolution, and though there is still no texture stretching evident, the character model clearly has few polygons that are visible from this unexpected angle. 4/10

http://splitkick.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/trap_traproad048.jpg

 

Dark Souls: This is a non-scenic capture of basic gameplay. The scene is sparse, but what's present is well done. The mangy fur on the cat/rat thing is beyond reproach, as is the style and mesh. The character model holds up well, but you can see that the bend in the knees is supported by only a single line of polygons. The textures are good, but the fact that the character carries a light source eliminates the possibility of shadows at this range and degrades the image. 7/10

http://www.d22-zone.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Dark-Souls-3.jpg

 

Dark Souls: This is quite a good combat screen, though the player seems to have forgotten the lock-on button. The skeleton cracked apart into many havok'd pieces, which is impressive. The tombstones are well used and add a degree of polygon lavishness not normally seen in console games. Antialiasing does its job well, and reflection effects on the metal are top-notch. However, the dead trees have noticeable sharp bends in the branches due to low polygon counts. 9/10

http://www.preparetodie.com/images/gallery/screenshot-e3-06.jpg

Edited July 23, 2012 by Rennn

[Aegrus]

You're missing some links, Rennn.

[Rennn]

You're missing some links, Rennn.

 

Fixed.

[Rennn]

For those of us who don't have either game and don't know much about their story/setting etc, but are considering possibly buying, which screens are from which game? There are no indications in your post which are Dark Souls, which are Uncharted, etc

 

1 (snowy scene with the burning tree)=Uncharted

2 (Ruined town with the flipped vehicle and the brightly colored banners)=Uncharted

3 (giant tooth vagina monster)=Dark Souls

4 (large blue dragon)=Dark Souls

5 (guy in green shirt with a guy in a red shirt behind him)=Uncharted

6 (guy on a bridge about to shoot another dude)=Uncharted

7 (No Hot Linking)

8 (guy in a gas mask getting kicked in the delicates)=Uncharted

9 (roots with a red glow over them)=Dark Souls

10 (guy with an AK on his back in a burning building)=Uncharted

 

And a few more...

 

1 (giant glowy roots/trees and a guy with a sword)=Dark Souls

2 (pretty ruins with trees on the left)=Uncharted

3 (jello blob eating a guy)=Dark Souls

4 (dude pushing a green vehicle)=Uncharted

5 (angry dude about to punch another dude, with fire in the background)=Uncharted

6 (giant city with sunbeams)=Dark Souls

7 (Furry horned monster about to pancake a glowing guy with no hair)=Dark Souls

8 (zombie guys which are coated in dark magical flame, with a pile of bricks and an armored dude up front)=Dark Souls

Edited July 23, 2012 by Rennn

[Iv000]

That wolf in the upper picture is so fluffy! :ohdear:

Will I have to kill it? I don't want to kill fluffy things D: