D. Souls - Prepare to die!

Club for the 'FromSoftware' games Demon's and Dark Souls 1 - 2 <img src="http://i744.photobucket.com/albums/xx81/Eridanus01/227519.jpg" /> <div style="text-align: center;"> <strong><span style="font-size: 300%;">Demon's Souls<!--size--></span></strong> <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> Demon's Souls is an action role-playing game video game developed primarily by From Software Set in a dark fantasy world, players take control of a hero who has journeyed to the fictional kingdom of Boletaria, which is being ravaged by a cursed fog that brings forth demons that feast on the souls of mortals. The game has been described as a spiritual successor to the King's Field series of games. The gameplay involves a character creation system with emphasis on gathering loot through combat with enemies in a non-linear series of varied locations. It has a unique online multiplayer system integrated into the single-player where players can leave useful messages and warnings for other players' game worlds. <strong>Gameplay</strong> <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> Players take control of the main character in a third-person view who, at the start of the game, can be customized in their gender, appearance, name and starting class. There are 10 starting classes ranging from knights and barbarians to thieves and mages, each with their own set of statistics, starting gear, weapons and type of magic used that emphasize certain approaches to combat depending on the player's preference. As players kill demons, they gain souls which are currency that can be used to buy, repair, and upgrade weapons as well as increase player statistics such as strength, luck, and endurance. Along with souls, players can retrieve items such as weaponry and ore for upgrading. When a player is killed during a level, they are sent to the beginning of the level with all non-boss enemies re-spawned, and the player returns in soul form with lower maximum health and the loss of all unused souls. If the player manages to retrieve their bloodstain at the point where they were last killed, they regain their lost souls, but if they are killed before then, the souls are lost permanently. Upon defeating a boss, the player can choose to re-spawn back at that location, marked in the form of an Archstone. When not engaged in levels, players reside in the Nexus, a realm of souls that acts as a hub where players can exchange souls, store items and travel between regions. After completing the initial portion of the first region, players can choose to progress through any other of the newly available regions. Gameplay can change depending on both the World and Character tendency, which can be either white or black. Tendency depends on the actions of the player such as helping or killing NPCs. When white, enemies are easier, yet the soul and items rewards are fewer; when black, enemies are stronger and give greater rewards. Players can manipulate their tendency to suit their current needs. Character tendency affects the player throughout, while World Tendency only affects the region where an action was taken. Further emphasizing the challenging nature of the game is the increased difficulty upon completion of the story. After finishing the game, the player may choose to continue playing from the beginning, except with a 40% increase in difficulty. Subsequent completions increase the difficulty further by 8% <!--spoiler--></span></div> <strong>Online</strong> <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> When connected to the PlayStation Network, online play is integrated into the single-player experience. Throughout levels, players can briefly see the actions of other players as ghosts in the same area that may show hidden passages or switches. When a player dies, a bloodstain can be left in other players' game world that when activated can show a ghost playing out their final moments, indicating how that person died and potentially helping the player avoid the same fate in advance. Players can leave messages on the floor that can also help others such as forewarning safe or hostile positions, trap locations and tactics against enemies or bosses, among general comments. Co-operative play allows up to three characters to team up in the host's game world where visiting players appear in soul form that can only be returned to their bodies when a boss is defeated. In competitive play, players can invade a player's adventure as a Black Phantom to engage in combat with the host player. If the Black Phantom kills the host, they can be returned to their body in their own game whereas if killed themselves, the host gains a portion of the Black Phantom's souls <!--spoiler--></span></div> <strong>Story</strong> <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> The story is set in the kingdom of Boletaria, ruled by the aging King Allant XII. Because of his greed, the king searched for power and prosperity through a dark ritual of channeling the power of souls that brought unprecedented prosperity to Boletaria, until the "Deep Fog" covered the land's outskirts, cutting off the kingdom from the outside world. Neighboring kingdoms sent scouts to investigate but none returned after entering the fog. It was only after Vallarfax of the royal Twin Fangs broke free from the fog that the rest of the world could be told of Boletaria's plight. By channeling souls, King Allant had awakened the Old One, a great demon residing below the Nexus. With the Old One's awakening, a dark fog had swept in that within it unleashed demons who feasted on the souls of mankind, where those left alive without a soul became insane and violent. Without resistance, the fog slowly begins to spread beyond Boletaria. The Maiden in Black beckons to the Old One. Many brave warriors attempted to breach the fog and save Boletaria while others were swayed at the prospect of harnessing the demon's souls, either way many were lost to the fog. The player takes control of one such warrior who breaches the fog and enters the lost kingdom, however shortly after entering, the lone hero adventurer is killed by a great demon, The Vanguard. If the adventurer manages to defeat the Vanguard, they are killed by the Dragon God, another great demon in the form of a massive dragon. After dying, the hero, now in soul form, appears in the Nexus. In the Nexus, they are greeted by the Maiden in Black, a mysterious and blinded matron of the Nexus who gives them the quest to travel to each region of Boletaria and retrieve the demon's souls to gain power and eventually free the corrupted kingdom of Boletaria from the Old One. One by one the hero slays the mighty demons that reside in many of Boletaria's notable locations; the Boletarian Palace, Stonefang Tunnel, Tower of Latria, Shrine of Storms and Valley of Defilement. It is also in these places where they encounter the few remaining great men and women of Boletaria. Once the hero claims all the demon's souls and has killed the Dragon God, the Maiden in Black leads them down below the Nexus to the Old One itself. The Maiden in Black beckons the Old One who invites the hero inside where the now deformed King Allant XII remains. During the final battle Allant claims that because of humanity's own violence and suffering, the Old One is acting mercifully by putting "an end to our tragic realm of existence." Upon Allant's defeat, his last words are a warning to the hero: "You fool. Don't you understand? No one wishes to go on." During the end game the hero makes one last choice to either slay or walk away from the Maiden in Black. If the hero walks away, they have not succumbed to the temptation of the souls when the fog is lifted and the Maiden departs with the Old One back into the fog into its slumber once again, saving Boletaria and the rest of the world. If, however, the Maiden in Black is killed, they have become lustful for the power of souls, condemning the world with the hero as its ruler at the side of the Old One. <!--spoiler--></span></div> <strong>Trailer</strong> <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.com/v/sVxeiLxVajc&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/sVxeiLxVajc&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><!--spoiler--></span></div><!--spoiler--></span></div> <strong><span style="font-size: 300%;">Dark Souls<!--size--></span></strong> <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> Dark Souls is an action role-playing open world video game developed and published by FromSoftware <strong>Gameplay</strong> <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> Gameplay consists of dungeon crawling in almost relentlessly hostile environments. The challenging nature of the game provides a foundation of achievement and reward, reinforced by penalties upon player death. Dark Souls takes place in a large and contiguous open world environment, with the player able to travel to and from areas and explore various available paths seamlessly. Bonfires are scattered throughout the world; these function as resting hubs for the player. Resting at a bonfire causes all non-boss enemies to respawn, but also refills the player's supply of estus flasks (healing items), sorceries, miracles, and pyromancies. The player can be in either undead form or human form, and death in human form reverts the player to undead form. In undead form, the player is unable to kindle bonfires or summon help from other players; at the same time, players in undead form cannot be invaded by other players. Death in either form results in the loss of all carried souls and humanity, both of which act as forms of currency in the world, though they are each used for different purposes. The player has one chance to recollect the souls and humanity by reaching the location of their death; failing this, the items are permanently lost. Souls are awarded upon killing any enemy, (other online players included) with the amount rewarded generally being proportional to the toughness of the enemy. Humanity on the other hand is significantly rarer. Some enemies have higher chances of dropping humanity. It is required to switch from undead to human form or to kindle bonfires (which itself requires the player to be in human form). Humanity also has several subtle effects on gameplay, such as increasing the item discovery rate by 50 the first humanity, and 5 for all humanity consumed afterwards. It can be also used for buffing some of the player's resistances. Certain weapons also scale in damage considerably with the possession of humanity. Dark Souls features an online mode which is active whenever the console is connected to the internet. The online mode adds numerous dynamic interactions between the individual players, including limited co-op and player versus player, within certain conditions. Communication between players is deliberately limited. If the player is in "party chat" on the 360, the game will be set to offline mode, on the other hand, private chat between two players at a time is allowed. The online interactions can facilitate a great amount of PvP activity. Under certain conditions, one player can invade another player's world with the goal of killing the other player, once they succeed they are sent home with a certain amount of souls and 1 new found humanity. Some areas of the game have been designated unofficial PvP hotspots by the community; in these areas it is common to find hundreds of players either invading or waiting to be invaded in order to engage in 1v1 duels. Two elements of skill are generally involved in PvP: the dueling itself, which relies on reflexes and on-the-spot thinking, and the planning and development of the character build, which involves carefully engineering the character's stats to reap maximum benefits from a chosen configuration of armor and weapons. <!--spoiler--></span></div> <strong>Plot</strong> <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> Dark Souls has a minimalistic plot. Events and their significance are often implicit and left to player interpretation rather than fully shown or explained. Much of the story and lore of the world is given to the player through dialogue from characters within the world, item descriptions, or the scarce cutscenes. It is up to the player to put the pieces together. In the founding of the universe, the earth was unformed, covered in crags, and dragons held sole dominion over the world. However, The Lords of Fire along with the human race eventually came into existence for reasons long lost to time. From the Dark, which gained meaning in contrast to Light from the newly kindled flame, emerged four powerful entities—Nito, the first of the dead; the Witch of Izalith and her daughters of chaos; Gwyn, the Lord of Sunlight, and his faithful knights; and the furtive pygmy, so easily forgotten—who harnessed the Souls of Lords to combat the dragons, eventually overthrowing them and launching humanity and its new lordly gods into a golden era known as the Age of Fire. Many years later, however, the flames supporting the Age of Fire are fading. Along with this, humans become afflicted by a mysterious mark known as the Darksign, which brands them as nigh-immortal but decrepit-looking beings known as "Undead." Some Undead become insanely violent and are referred to "Hollow." The player character is an Undead, who has yet to become Hollow. The protagonist escapes from the northern Undead Asylum with the help of another Undead and learns of the prophecy concerning a chosen Undead who leaves the Undead Asylum in pilgrimage and rings the two Bells of Awakening in the land of the ancient lords, Lordran. Once the character has rung the Bells of Awakening, one in the heights of the Undead Parish and the other far, far below in the poisonous swamp at the base of Blighttown, the gate leading to Sen's Fortress and Anor Londo is opened, and the Primordial Serpent Kingseeker Frampt is awoken. He tells the player that he or she is the Chosen Undead who must succeed Lord Gwyn and remove the affliction of the Darksign. It is implied that Frampt is very old and has awaited the protagonist's arrival for a very long time. To achieve this given task, the character must get the Lordvessel from the land of Anor Londo, a forsaken city bathed in sunlight. When the task is done, the character must obtain the four powerful Lord Souls: one from Seath the Scaleless, the proud dragon who betrayed his own out of deep anger over his lack of immortality; one from the Four Kings, ancient rulers of New Londo who fell to Dark and were banished to the Abyss; one from the Bed of Chaos, a mass of life and the source of all demons which was the result of the failed experiments of the Witch of Izalith to recreate the primeval Flame; and Gravelord Nito, the first of the dead. However, in the Abyss if the player has not placed the Lordvessel on the altar at that point then he can instead meet Darkstalker Kaathe, a different Primordial Serpent who opposes Frampt. After informing the player that he is a direct descendent of the pygmy, who obtained the Dark Soul, Kaathe will present the protagonist with a different path: to end the Age of Fire and "usher in the Age of Dark." Kaathe stated that Gwyn had wished to "avoid the course of nature," prolonged the Age of Fire, and in doing so branded Undead with the Darksign, which only caused suffering. In Linking the Fire, Gwyn sacrificed himself, becoming the Lord of Cinder. The Age of Dark will erase this curse. Kaathe implies that the prophecy of the Chosen Undead espoused by Frampt is a lie crafted by the gods to trick the player into sacrificing himself in order to prolong the tyranny of the old order of deities; indeed, Kaathe implies that the deity status of Gwyn et al. is only granted to them by the primordial Flame so long as it is kindled. The player must come to his own conclusion regarding whether Frampt or Kaathe is telling the truth. After offering the four Lord Souls to the Lordvessel, with the help of either Frampt or Kaathe, the character must go on to defeat Gwyn. Once the character has slain him, the player is given a vague choice which affects the ending. The player may choose to either sacrifice himself in order to re-kindle the Flame and prolong the rule of the existing order of deities or to let the Flame wither and die, ushering in the Age of Dark (or of Humanity as Kaathe would suggest), where the player character will become the "Lord of Dark." <!--spoiler--></span></div> <strong>Trailers</strong> Opening <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.com/v/ylFzJ3wRgHw&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ylFzJ3wRgHw&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> <!--spoiler--></span></div> Bartholomew <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.com/v/93LFz_j5fQA&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/93LFz_j5fQA&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> <!--spoiler--></span></div> Ignite <div class="spoiler"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.nextSibling.nextSibling.style.display='block';this.style.display='none';" value="Show spoiler"> <span class="spoiler_content" style="display:none"><input type="button" class="button" onClick="this.parentNode.style.display='none';this.parentNode.parentNode.childNodes[0].style.display='block';" value="Hide spoiler"><br> <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.com/v/Y8h0E8SSjJE&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Y8h0E8SSjJE&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> <!--spoiler--></span></div><!--spoiler--></span></div> <strong><span style="font-size: 300%;">Dark Souls 2<!--size--></span></strong> <img src="http://i744.photobucket.com/albums/xx81/Eridanus01/DS2.jpg" /> <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://youtube.com/v/rPJaJ5ys_G0&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/rPJaJ5ys_G0&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> <!--center--></div>