One does not simply walk into Dark Souls…
Every hardcore gamer has a triumphant battle cry that roars when a bosses face has been smashed in or a Ninja Gaiden level is completed on easy. Finding a checkpoint in Dark Souls manages to amplify that victory chant by 10, and between those precious moments of peace, you’ll improvise some hundred jeers, cries and boos whilst Falcon Punching furniture so far in frustration it hits sun leaving you reasonably (if fairly epically) homeless. 
Spiritual successor to the PS3 exclusive Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls is the first chance poor 360 gamers have to take on the twisted machinations FROM Software have developed. As the game opens and you lay rotting in an Undead Asylum, the game pulls no punches to show how the next 50 hours or will play out. As a ‘Hollow’, you’re condemned to a life without permanent death, and upon principle it sounds great. Then it’s not long that such a curse will lead to unimaginable pain, as an obese dragon the size of Norwich wielding a colossal war hammer that can turn you from corpse to crepe blocks your route to freedom. Despite a boss that screams instakill, the walls graffitied with hints consisting simply of basic controls suggests that this is the closest you’ll get to a tutorial, and the ride only gets more daunting from there. From there on in, it would be worth getting used to falling to death, being skewered to death, being burned to death, and penetrated in the face by a monster with an axe for a tail and then melted to death. Once the daunting initiation ceremony is finished, Dark Souls drops you straight into its world like an unloved child. The paths sprawl ahead of you, your inventory quickly grows with every weird artifact you uncover and the NPC’s spectate at your vain attempts to survive. You know you’re in for a very tough ride as the first gigantic monstrosity crushed you simply by walking forwards. You’re barely given any information to work with as you progress through the land, and it’s the lack of hand holding which makes the game such a joy to delve into. Not only are you creeping around cautiously uncovering treasures and dodging death, you’re also constantly learning about the dangerous world that surrounds you like you’re back in nursery. Sure, you end up looking like the kid who constantly accidentally pisses themselves 10 times a day, but that’s all part of the learning process, and you’ll be proud when you finally turn out high and dry. 
When you grasp hold of a weapon and charge forth all swords glazing against even the most rotten of shambling corpses, you’ll be in for a nasty shock. You’re no super-being whom can hack and slash through armies. Swinging a sword will leave your ribs open for an unwelcome stab, and as soon as anything vaguely sharp punctures your fragile being, you’re left stunned and asking for more fatal cuts. The title ‘Hero’ isn’t dished out lightly in this land, and it becomes clear that each encounter must be met with wit and patience in order to triumph. One swing of the sword can destroy one opponent, but the time and stamina it takes to raise it once again allows enough time for a mob of baddies to decimate you. At first the fight system seems clunky and slow, yet you soon realise it’s deliberately quite realistic and sweeps away glamorised combat feats that cloud reality. Because of this, every encounter feels like a threat and makes way for a fight system that requires timing and tact where every hit really could decimate you. Your ability to adapt in order to survive is almost as important as your blade. As weapons focus on so many more aspects beyond that of sheer power, you’ll find yourself flicking in and out of weapon sets frequently unless you stumble upon a colossal lightsaber during the opening stages. You’re allowed to keep all the items you collect in your inventory should you need them for a later strategy, weight only coming into question with items equipped, meaning you thankfully won’t be smacking yourself for binning an important weapon when vitally needed later on. There’s a certain versatility to planning an attack with many possibilities that can suit your playstyle, so although there’s a fair share of classes to pick from in the beginning, your poor character at least has no annoying boundaries to their creation and evolution. Although there are no hubs that can guarantee a safe haven to collect your thoughts, strategically placed ‘Bonfires’ are scattered throughout the harsh landscape to act somewhat like checkpoints. Every time you die, you can lie in a foetus position and cosy up by the warmth, wallowing in the fact you’ve lost a lot more than just your life. The Dark Souls world revolves around the currency of ‘Souls’ gained by defeating enemies, and can be used to level up your character, purchase items and repair equipment. Should you die, however, the ground you stood stains with blood…and all of those precious souls. Should you meet an unwanted death before you reach that elusive bloodstain, it vanishes forever along with all your souls. It’s a heavy punishment that holds your arrogance hostage, and forces you to play by its rules or face a very harsh fine. Should you not wish to play by its rules, Dark Souls is very happy to force you to. 
The design of the trap-coated surroundings beautifully replicates that of a mind-bending limbo. Camping your way through the underworld, the land feels open, yet certain areas which will kick you out practically limbless guides you en route to more plausible paths. When you can glimpse upon silver-lined clouds, the ancient castle architecture looks beautiful and marble-laden palaces serve as a heavy contrast to the locations you’ll have to delve into. Possibly the most harrowing experience of my life has been spent in the grisly sewers, partly due to the piles of…something, partly due to the horrid monster design. The machinations get more grim the further you dare explore, and do their best to both destroy and disgust.
The most mentally draining experience on consoles. Yet I still recommend it
It’s incredibly tempting to stick to an area and farm souls until you’re a Goliath who’s ready to literally go face-to-face with the gigantic beasts whom block your progress, but the ongoing fear of soul loss plus slow but steady stat growth means you can’t simply rely on your own endeavours. That’s where the beauty of Dark Soul’s online capabilities come in. Should you have gathered any ‘Humanity’ on your travels, you can regain your human form and start interacting with players online. Their hints lie strewn on the ground, warning you of possible dangers and directing you to lovely items to help on the journey. Ghosts of other players kindly demonstrate how you shouldn’t be playing the game, and should you need help before a massive boss fight (you will), you can call upon a stranger into your world to slay a horrid beast. The benefit for them? They earn humanity. The benefit
for you? You destroy a tough son of a bitch and make a friend for life. Should you not be lucky enough to be online, you can summon an NPC, but that takes away the brilliant camaraderie that makes the aid almost poetic. You do have the option to invade another player’s world to assassinate them and earn humanity, but you’ll earn your place in a book that will show to the public that you’re not to be trusted. A jerk for the world to see, you probably won’t be heavily shunned, but with the emphasis being on helping rather than hindering, you’ll be something of a massive douche to the community. Although you don’t want to sound like a cry-baby throughout travels, there are some aspects which are borderline unfair. Bosses have this horrible move called ‘Screw up player camera’, and whilst most of the games trials and tribulations seem harsh but fair, the discouraging tendency to not allow you to see what a foe has lined up for you can frustrate if you don’t have a pal slaying the bugger from behind. The dreaded ‘Curse’ statistic is also something which can eradicate patience. A horrid easy to catch illness, Curse chomps half of your maximum HP each time you catch it until you end up with an eighth of your impressively buff life bar. Hopefully you’ll have some idea of where to go to cure yourself, but even if you do, it’s exceptionally difficult to progress and these waves on the otherwise fair difficulty balance can soon drain patience just as quickly as health. 
It’s so easy to become deterred at many of the challenges thrown your way, and considering Dark Souls doesn’t exactly care whether you’re having fun or not it’s easy to cast your petty revenge on it by using the disc as a glorified coaster. Yet the lack of such staple RPG trademarks such as a plot which attempts to over-epic itself with each line of dialogue or ground-breaking glorious cut-scenes boils everything down to the sheer adrenaline you get from the gameplay. There’s a dastardly carrot constantly hanging out in front of you with each challenge. Though it’s incredibly difficult, it never feels totally impossible to end up triumphant, and as long as you’re not cursed, there’s a glim shimmer of hope in your trepidation. Enter with your wits about you and the fear of a dagger in the neck, you might just make it through. If you were to separate yourself from your love of gaming, Dark Souls is fit enough to be your divorce proceedings. It’s brutally unforgiving, horribly soul crushing and is possibly the most mentally draining experience on consoles. Yet I still recommend it. There’s an unparalleled sense of achievement from slaying the ridiculously gigantic bosses. The vicious cycles of loathing that generate from yourself and the screen escalate the gambles you have to take to progress, and gives a even bigger hit of absolute joy even if you accomplish the smallest feat, like uncover a shortcut to that bonfire you’re one step closer to calling home. Should you need a title which pushes your gaming prowess to the absolute limits, then Dark Souls is a worthy experience to envelop yourself in before the winter rush of blockbusters. If you’re not in the slightest bit competitive and simply play games for fun and not so much for the challenge, walk past the copies of Dark Souls in you local game store, nod and smile politely, then move fast before the box spits razor discs at you.
The Bad: Those who play games casually should avoid this completely due to its painful difficulty, Bosses are so large they can sometimes shift the camera into walls
Gold Y Award