Dark Souls -- All-In-One.

I have completed what I intend to be the first of three eventual completions of the Xbox 360 version of Dark Souls. I want that thousand gamerscore for this one but that would be insanity in the midst of the busy season. So I'll have to wait for the summer to truly complete the game. Dark Souls is the spiritual successor to Demon's Souls and was developed by the great From Software and published by Namco-Bandai Games. Dark Souls, like Demon's Souls and the King's Field series before it, is an updated action RPG that acts as a love letter to the hardcore dungeon crawlers of yesteryear. The Souls series has a reputation for being extremely hard. I do not subscribe to that opinion. The game is challenging but that's the entire point. From Software is using this punishing style to bolster the eventual rush of satisfaction when you finally do conquer your current situation. Dark Souls offers the greatest sense of satisfaction I've ever felt in my three and half decades as an avid gamer. From Software has created a series of games that feature an almost overwhelmingly intoxicating atmosphere. Dark Souls features a hauntingly beautiful world in ruin filled to the brim with interesting characters and a wide variety of enemies who are more than capable of killing you. Dark Souls is the kind of game where the lowest enemies in the game can kill your end game character if you're not paying attention. The enemy AI is smarter than most and is both aggressive and tricky. I do have to say something about the enemy designs as they're some of the most original interpretations of classic creatures and visually impressive enemies you'll likely to encounter. Dark Souls continues Demon's Souls absolutely innovative online structure allowing for you to see phantoms of other players in their worlds. You can read hints or lies left by other players or leave your own. You can be invaded or invade the worlds of other players. It's easily one of the coolest online formats ever devised. The only real flaws are on the technical side as there a couple of areas where the frame rate just dies. I spent roughly a hundred and eighteen hours in Dark Souls. I came away extremely impressed. If there are games that define a console generation, I'd have to say the Souls series may just be that for me with the current generation. Dark Souls is currently the frontrunner for my Game of the Year 2011. Good thing there are actually serious potential contenders this year that have yet to be released. I'm giving Dark Souls a 9.5. A wonderfully rewarding gaming experience. Truly gaming at its best.