
"I got about 20 hours into Dark Souls when it came out before the old ball and chain put the kibosh on it. I'd play late at night, but she'd still get mad that I personally enjoyed something that couldn't be enjoyed by the whole family. I resisted at first, but then my dinners started tasting worse and worse and my laundry sat out dirty for much longer than usual, so I stopped. When I heard about Dark Souls II being more accessible and easy, I was glad that From Software made the compromise for me. Now the family and I can all enjoy Dark Souls together."

"In my normal, every day life, I play a tough alpha male, which is reinforced by the constant validation of my peers and the fact that I get to fuck dumb drunk bitches after our weekly binge drinking contests. When I found out about the existence of a video game that only allowed me to progress based on my merits as a player, I thought that was gay as shit. It's not that I don't want to get better, but isn't it easier and funner to get better with killstreaks and other icons popping up on screen for every action you perform? Makes you feel totally bad ass. I really hope the new Dark Souls combines the constant positive feedback of CoD, the easy combat and platforming of Assassin's Creed, and the illusory RPG mechanics of Skyrim."

"OMG, I totally love Dark Souls II. It's like...my favorite game. I totally cosplayed as Maneater Mildred at the last anime con. If you want to see more, please send donations to my paypal account and don't forget to leave a nice note--who knows, you may be the one I write back to

"

"That backstabber perk is fuckin' RAW yo, I fuck bitch noob jewniggaz up with that shit"

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS SHIT THEY FUCKIN RUINED MY FAVORITE GAME FOR A BUNCH OF PIECE OF SHIT CASUAL MOTHERFUCKERS FUCKING HATE EVERYTHING I'M GONNA PUT A FLAMING BAG OF SHIT ON FROM SOFTWARE'S DOORSTEP EVERY FUCKING NIGHT AFTER I MOVE TO JAPAN"

"Though just a few hardcore older fans (like 2 or 3 angry basement dwellers on the internet) may not like the new direction Dark Souls II has taken, I applaud From Software's daring experiment in refinement. The epic QTEs, easy combos, auto-guard, and wonderful cut scenes added to break up the action and add extra exposition all really work well here. The needless and convoluted alignment systems have been replaced by a simple good/evil dialogue tree system, straight out of Bioware's playbook. The cumbersome crafting system has been refined as well--simply press start and select the merchant option to buy newer and better swords and armor at any time and any place. The generous drop system always makes sure you have enough gold to buy an overpowered sword. What's that, you say? Gold? Yes, the "souls" of past games have been replaced by a currency that actually makes sense, which you get to keep when you die. Speaking of which, gone is the intimidating "You Died" screen, in favor of simply reviving your character right in place any time your energy bar is drained out. This advancement is very welcome--it's not 1987 anymore, we don't need arbitrary game over screens. It just doesn't get much more visceral and cinematic than this. 9.6457/10 "