Added: 17.06.2015 2:44 | 2 views | 0 comments

I sat down to see about 20 minutes’ worth of Dark Souls III at E3 2015. My reaction to the first 10 minutes? “Yes, this is Dark Souls.” My reaction to the latter minutes? “Yes! This is Dark Souls!”

Game players reserve a special kind of cynicism for series that oversaturate the market, and as special as

Miyazaki says that fluid controls were a major focus for Dark Souls III, and to that end, not only are the dual blades apparently ultra-responsive to player input, but short-bow attacks can be combined with slashes, allowing you to land shots quickly, even under duress. Miyazaki compared these moves to those you might see from The Lord of the Rings’ Legolas, though I didn’t see anything quite that acrobatic. The tour de force of the presentation, of course, was the boss fight that closed it--and what a boss fight it was. Miyazaki referred to the lithe, imposing knight that descended from the ceiling as the Dancer of the Frigid Valley. This beastly foe moved about the arena with moves you might see in a ferocious ballet, and the creature’s ghostly cape and veil made its unpredictable moves all the more frightening.

The fight grew more and tense as the beast swung its flaming blade, which had an amazingly long reach, and set the room aflame as the battle raged on. Alas, the demo ended when the player succumbed to one last sizzling swipe, and my reservations had been vanquished, at least in part. Do I still worry that Dark Souls III is retreading too much familiar ground too soon? A little. But at least it is ground that has proven itself worth treading in the first place.

Added: 17.06.2015 2:44 | 2 views | 0 comments

I sat down to see about 20 minutes’ worth of Dark Souls III at E3 2015. My reaction to the first 10 minutes? “Yes, this is Dark Souls.” My reaction to the latter minutes? “Yes! This is Dark Souls!”

Game players reserve a special kind of cynicism for series that oversaturate the market, and as special as

Miyazaki says that fluid controls were a major focus for Dark Souls III, and to that end, not only are the dual blades apparently ultra-responsive to player input, but short-bow attacks can be combined with slashes, allowing you to land shots quickly, even under duress. Miyazaki compared these moves to those you might see from The Lord of the Rings’ Legolas, though I didn’t see anything quite that acrobatic. The tour de force of the presentation, of course, was the boss fight that closed it--and what a boss fight it was. Miyazaki referred to the lithe, imposing knight that descended from the ceiling as the Dancer of the Frigid Valley. This beastly foe moved about the arena with moves you might see in a ferocious ballet, and the creature’s ghostly cape and veil made its unpredictable moves all the more frightening.

The fight grew more and tense as the beast swung its flaming blade, which had an amazingly long reach, and set the room aflame as the battle raged on. Alas, the demo ended when the player succumbed to one last sizzling swipe, and my reservations had been vanquished, at least in part. Do I still worry that Dark Souls III is retreading too much familiar ground too soon? A little. But at least it is ground that has proven itself worth treading in the first place.