if I bought it on the console, I would be greatly upset.
Yeah, but you wouldn't. What would be
really upsetting is trying to pump any more graphics quality out of this hardware.
I can't comment about the PS3 version as I'm on 360, but that ps3 hardware is rubbish. It couldn't even handle the physics calculations when you smashed barrels in Demon Souls without dropping to 10fps.
Those two screenshots are utter non-sense and you should be embarrassed linking them. They're both captures of youtube videos blown up to full screen and neither represent the real in game quality. As I said earlier - it looks
awesome! They've hit a perfect balance between quality and performance and it's held a solid framerate the entire time! Of course the PC version looks better.
I think that the xbox version looks better than the PS3 version and even has some fancy shader effects going on. It's got FXAA and some manner of AO, for sure. I think we can finally say the 360 hardware actually was the superior console of the generation!
@JonNik
I must have played about 25 hours so far? Yep, plenty of cups of tea going on. I'll survive.
Leveling is a little bit faster for the early levels, but its more steady than dks1. That's probably because there's way more to kill. If you're into co-op you'll gain levels super fast.
I'm not 100% sure what you mean by game balance.... So far I've only lost a handful of PVP fights but I like to put that down to my build and skill.
I've never seen anyone pull off a backstab in PVP, let alone a classic dks1 lagstab. Also not seeing a lot of magic users. It seems like most people are going for melee builds.
There is a LOT of gear! So far no two people look the same. The Drangliac chest piece is pretty popular with its smart little cape, but the helm slot once again acts as a sort of secondary ring slot. The explorers set can be bought early on too, but Id highly recommend starting as explorer because I still haven't found where to get his magic resist ring and theres a pyromancer chick who sells the other 3 elements. That said, I started as Bandit because the 1 INT is best for min/max. I did level his Adaptation first tho. Still getting a feel for this new stat, but faster potion drinking and shield raising speed is priceless. You want to keep your END and ADA at the same level because you get bonus Poise equal to the lower of the two.
I'm loving the dual wielding but I think it might almost be too good. I found my two swords at the very start and I've been upgrading them as I go and consequentially every new weapon I find doesn't quite match up. To dual wield you need 1.5x the STR/DEX stats so when you find some of the more powerful weapons you generally don't have the stats to dual them. I found the Twinblade and thought I'd become a twinblade user, but it was kinda silly to me. Lots of flashy looking spinning it around doing lots of little hits with each swing. It's too showy for me. I'm just really loving the shortsword this time around. Since the longsword lost its R2 stab while 1handing it, the shortword now acts much like the Balder Side Sword and does two stabs. The range on it isn't that good but the stamina cost, attack speed and overall damage between them works out very well. I only wish I could find a second shortsword! Also, while I still haven't found where, apparently bleeding and poison are now weapon enchants so you can add bleeding to your shortsword.
I was aiming for a dex build but I've still leveled by STR to 20. Your first respec stone is actually in the starting town and its nice to not have to worry about gimping your build.
The exploration and environment is fantastic. You'll be thinking alright, don't worry about that. The world is massive and there's so many locked doors! It's an amazing game for exploring and they even have an explorer class. It's very atmospheric so don't worry about any lack of immersion. You'll feel this game! The sense of reward has never been stronger in a souls game and that's at least partly due to how much harder it is. I'm a souls veteran. I've won the game with a level 1 darkwraith. Well, I've already died 111 times, it tells me!
Just you wait! It's got some surprises in store for you. You'll be wanting to go online and summon some friends some some of these fights. You really do want to be online. Some areas don't seem to make a lot of sense until you get invaded in them and then you see why they put those holes in the ground.
Also, if youre afraid of invaders then I assume its just because its your first time being invaded. I remember my very first invader and I was freaking out. But now I'm all like...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipWoX9xL2No
@igor
It's funny you mention going back to RPG roots for ideas because I've always felt that the souls games had a lot of classic Dungeons and Dragons in them. You got your Longsword +1 and your shield and platemail. Clerics use blunt maces, etc.
*minor spoiler ahead*
There's this part in DkS2 where the enemy throw Flasks of Oil at you. Each time you get hit they do no damage but you get more and more black and oily, which isn't so bad on its own.... It's the other guys sniping you with flaming arrows that cause you the grief.