I Have Become Embered (The One About Dark Souls 3)

A beautiful night for hunting monstrosities!

First, my apologies for being MIA for a while; I've had a big helping of life smack me in the face on top of investing +70 hours in Dark Souls 3, so I've been a bit preoccupied!

I gotta say, the masterminds behind Dark Souls 3 have really outdone themselves.  After investing as much time as I have, which I have defeated every single boss, I can say that this is my favorite entry in the Dark Souls Trilogy.  The boss battles are challenging, the puzzles are clever, and the locations are gorgeous.  Jolly cooperation is the best of the series, and PVP is exactly what you'd expect from Dark Souls; entirely unpredictable, yet fun and grueling.

Which is why I'm somewhat upset with some of the community bashing/trash talking arguably the best entry in the series.  This doesn't seem to be coming from the "core" Dark Souls fans; it's coming from people who are either new to the series or casual players.  Mind you, there's nothing wrong with either player type...if it were nearly any other game, I would consider myself a pretty casual gamer.  And I was new to the series at one point (having dropped in at Dark Souls 2,) so I will relate to some of the new gamer frustrations with the game.  What I cannot relate to, however, is the nonsensical whimpering of those who simply don't "get it."

I would like to say that, to those claiming the game is too "easy" and made for a wider audience; you obviously didn't continue to play after the final boss fight.  This was experienced first hand by one of our members in our online group, or clan, which they now must go back through the game on a much harder difficulty and fight these monstrosities for the first time.  If you're speed running through the game to collect the best gear/armor and not spending time reading the lore and exploring literally every single nook and cranny, I feel that you're doing it wrong and should be playing more linear games (Lords of the Fallen may be a good alternative for you...not kidding...I love that game!)

The crew and I enjoying some Jolly Cooperation!  (I'm the middle back character)

This is a game full of challenge and reward...if you're willing to invest the time.  Even with as much as I've put in, I have barely scratched the surface of the underlying story.  The crew and I have done very minimal guide look-ups, only referencing the bare minimum while still maintaining the sense of awe and wonder the series is so famous for (I will admit, however, that I did look up one boss battle, but I was getting STOMPED.)  At end game, you're main hurdle is finding a good fight via PVP.  If you're finding that to be a breeze, it's time to up your game to New Game Plus.

And in regards to the complaining about stats, frame rates, etc, they're all trivial things.  The stats work near exactly as they did in the last entry, and, if you're not able to best your fellow "Embered One" in PVP because they maxed out one or two stats, you have some character leveling to do.  The frame rate rant, in my opinion, is bogus as well; with as many giant creatures, multiple minions, and up to six PVP-ers in a world at once, 30 fps was the obvious way to go to avoid issues.  Mind you, this argument is for the vanilla launch, so the horrible experiences players are having with patch 1.04 aren't being debated here.  But players knew of this before launch if they paid attention to anything that was published beforehand.

While it may be irritating, I'm not letting the whiny, yet very vocal, few cast a shadow over an excellent game.  Regardless of your previous experience with the Dark Souls series (or lack of,) this is a phenomenal game that is more than worthy of your time...I plan on investing plenty more of mine before moving on!

If you'd like, I invite you to check out my YouTube page, TheStarSmasher, or follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for regular updates, pics, videos, and random nonsense!  Also, there will be a central hub for everything soon (a dedicated "website," if you will,) which I will be sure to update on soon(ish)!

The 5 Most Disappointing Boss Battles in Gaming (From Recent Memory)

There's nothing more frustrating than spending hours upon hours playing through a game, conquering difficult missions and slaying hundreds of minions just to have a "meh" end boss battle.  Thankfully, this doesn't happen very often, but it does happen every now and again.

Before I get into my list, I want to explain my two qualifications for a boss battle to be disappointing.  First, and most importantly, is the level of challenge they offer.  A boss battle should be a test of your skills and abilities obtained up to that point in the game.  And second is design...is the boss an original creature/character, or just a knock off of another enemy encountered earlier?  There are more qualifications, but some are on a case-by-case basis (not all boss battles are the same, you know!)

Also, If you haven't played the games below, you may want to avoid this post until you get a chance.  There are some spoilers (though not many) and I do not want you to judge an entire game based on a very lack luster fight.  Go play the game first, then come back and let me know if you agree or disagree...I welcome the conversation!

So, without further delay, the list, starting at...

     5: Phogoth (Destiny)

     A fairly straight forward, and, in all honesty, bland boss battle.  The encounter itself is little more than fighting an over-sized ogre while wave after wave of enemies rush in to take you out.  Having run the mission this boss is in multiple times, I've found that the waves of enemies are way more challenging that the boss itself.  And even then, the encounter can be done without exposing yourself to the enemy, if you know where to set your team up.  If Phogoth was given an unique ability, like Gulrot and his Bile that slows players for 10 seconds, he wouldn't be on this list, but that, sadly, isn't the case here.  

    4: Spider Bosses (Nearly Every Fantasy Based Game)

     This battle seems to be the one you can expect every time you play a game involving swords, shields, and magic.  The set up is almost always the same; you fight your way through a dark cavern/cave/abandoned mine/whatever it's dark, fend off against swarms of smaller spider creatures, then, when you're about to exit the area, the mother of all spiders in the world appears to slow your roll.  Spider bosses are entirely over used at this point, especially in fantasy games, and usually offer little in variety.  There are only so many ways a spider can stomp you with it's feet, bite you with its fangs, shoot out webbing, and spawn even more spiders to hinder the player.  There are a few that have different attacks, such as the spider boss in Dark Souls 2 that somehow learned to shoot lasers, but ultimately they all follow the same pattern.  At this point, I'd much rather have one less boss to fight than to keep fighting the same 8 legged creepy crawly.

     3: The Joker (Batman: Arkham Asylum)

     Let me start off by saying this: I absolutely LOVE the Arkham series, and each one deserves to be on everyone's collection.  That being said, I felt that the end encounter with Joker, who has injected himself with the deadly Titan formula, was very lackluster.  The battle is pretty much the same as every encounter with the over-sized Titan filled minions from before; stun them, then follow up with a flurry of combos.  This fight is exactly the same, except that it is broken up into several phases and you get to listen to Joker taunt you while fighting his minions.  While I wasn't expecting to fight the Joker in hand to hand combat, I felt that the boss battle could have been handled differently (maybe Joker sends out another villain or two to finish you off while racing against the clock to keep him from releasing the formula upon the entire city?)  We didn't get that, however, and are stuck with dealing with a re-skinned, bantering Titian boss to wrap up the otherwise phenomenal game.

     2: The Destroyer (Borderlands)

     Throughout Borderlands, the end boss was hyped to be an epic showdown against an awesome entity of massive power.  What we got was a giant, pink, tentacled thing straight out of an adult rated anime film.  For a game that had amazing encounters and interesting characters, "The Destroyer" felt out of place.  The battle itself can be completed by staying far away and sniping its weak points, which, if you're at the appropriate level, won't take but a minute or two tops.  Much like Phogoth from earlier, the real threat comes from a swarm of enemies that harass you as you're trying to maintain focus on the boss itself, which has a limited number of attacks.  It's also sad that the loot gained afterwards is, in my opinion, lacking as a whole.  Maybe I didn't invest the time to max out my character, but this is one boss that could have been done a lot better all around.

     1: Lucien (Fable 2)

     This is probably the biggest middle finger to gamers who took the time to play through Fable 2.  Lucien is built up to be the big bad boogieman of the game; he controls nearly everything, has a small army that's building a tower to channel magical energy for nefarious reasons, and regularly undermines the player's progress.  So, when I finally get a chance to fight the boss, I'm hoping for an epic encounter on par with the first Fable (which, by the way, was a very enjoyable fight against Jack of Blades.)  What I got instead was the chance to press 1 button to end it.  Yes, pressing any button at the end of Fable 2 will instantly kill the big bad boss you fought so hard to get to.  Actually, that's not entirely accurate; you can press NOTHING and the boss will be defeated, because a member of your party gets a little impatient.  Absolutely no challenge here, which makes an otherwise OK game very disappointing and leaves me asking, "How could a sequel lack content in comparison to its predecessor?

This list is in no way definitive, and is purely my opinion.  I also want to point out that there are many other boss battles that are disappointing that didn't make the list.  The ones listed are the ones I find to be the "cream of the crop" in regards to being major let downs.  Disagree?  Comment and lets have a conversation!

Destiny's Fall From Its Own Golden Age

A year and a half after launch, the MMO/FPS shooter Destiny is starting to feel barren.

I am a die hard fan of Bungie; I've conquered every single Halo game to date (except Halo 5...I only own a PS4 right now, sadly) and I was stoked when they announced Destiny years before it launched.  I was lucky enough to participate in both Betas, and, while some were a bit underwhelmed, I was enthusiastic; SPACE MAGIC!  SPEEDER BIKES!  GIANT TANKS!  What could possibly go wrong?!

And I've conquered nearly every challenge in game since then; I've done each raid except King's Fall on Hard, participated in a LOT of Iron Banner, and sometimes, when I feel like putting myself in my place, dare to fight in the Trials of Osiris.  My light level, at max, is 314, which isn't too shabby at all.  I'm one trophy away from 100% completing the base game (I just am too lazy to search for all of the Ghosts, honestly.)

Destiny's first year was pretty exciting; we had both DLC packs "The Dark Below" and "House of Wolves" as well as the introduction of the yearly events (something nearly every MMO does, but I appreciate it nonetheless.)  And when they announced The Taken King, I was jumping for joy in hopes that we were going to be treated to several more fantastic experiences!  A chance to take on the father of Crota, the biggest bad-ass of the game until then, was going to be awesome!   But now I'm at a point where I turn on the console, scroll past the looming Oryx icon on the dashboard, and let out a, "meh."

Six months since The Taken King dropped, I have found myself in a rut.  I almost never play unless it's to participate in Iron Banner (and that's because I know I can get a group of friends to jump in) or Xur has that one piece of gear I haven't got from a random drop.  There's literally nothing new or exciting going on, and that's frustrating given that I paid for the collector's editions for both Destiny and The Taken King (no regrets though, my Dinkle Bot is pretty freakin' cool, as well as the book with Cayde-6's notes.)

Bungie has made a few attempts to keep the community interest, adding speeder bike racing for a few weeks and a ho-hum Valentine's Day PVP event, but, beyond that, its been dismal.  Even right now, I'm looking at a text message from a friend wanting to know if I'd care to jump into a fire team and run the daily challenges, but those are, at this point, boring.  I have done nearly everything, and I'm only a few items away from having every exotic for my main (EXO TITAN FOR THE WIN!!!)

Honestly, the only thing that keeps me coming back is the fact that there are so few games I can play with 6 friends cooperatively on PS4.  Say what you will about the many flaws of the game (still waiting on a fix for the run button -_-) Bungie got co-op with friends right.  Yeah, there's a lack of match making to pick up a random person to help clear a raid after someone drops out...and that is very frustrating not to have when a person drops out an hour after starting, but I've learned to keep a big list of friends, just in case.  Which is another positive for me; I've met a lot of really good players and made some pretty cool friends as a result.

We keep in touch here and there, but it's not the same when you're coordinating a group to take down huge robots and platform jump across disappearing platforms (and we have some great one liners, like, "The F@$%ing walls are made of rubber!!!")  Some of our clan have been playing games from their back log (I've been trying to play catch up on Pokemon Omega Ruby,) some have been playing other FPS games, like Call of Duty or Battlefield, and a very select few are still holding out hope for Destiny on a regular basis.  They continue to fight for the Traveler and the Tower, and I commend them for their continued efforts; I was right beside them from day one.

So, since we're pretty positive that there's going to be a lack of content until Destiny 2 arrives, what does that mean for a Titan ready to smash the Hive back into their holes?  It probably means that I'm going to have to be OK with one of two outcomes; either continue to be OK with the grind and deal with the lack of content so I can spend time with friends, or hang up my Suros Regime & try and con my group into migrating over to other cooperative games.  The thing is, I don't want to be OK with that outcome, but, given the lack of exciting new content combined with dwindling support for issues from the initial launch of the game, I'll probably find myself migrating over to "The Division."

That is, until Destiny 2 arrives.

What Can Be Learned From Dark Souls?

 

     Dark Souls...the very name strikes a sense of fear and dread for those unfamiliar with its content.  For others, it's a constant festival of anger, rage, and frustration.  But, for those that are left, it's an amazing, though extremely demanding, experience.  I've personally have invested a minimum of 60 hours in each installment (except for Demon Souls, that one I've yet to complete, unfortunately, but life is hectic,) and I don't regret it one bit.  The series is known to be intimidating to the faint of heart and the weak of spirit, but, in my opinion, it's a must play game for anyone even remotely interested in fantasy based games and great story telling.

     As the gaming world prepares for the launch of Dark Souls III, I would like to share some of the life lessons I've taken from the series and how it relates to life (particularly my life, but I feel it applies to everyone.)  Please note that Dark Souls teaches a lot of difficult lessons, but it's important to learn them; I'd personally would rather learn them through a video game than, say, several months of real life hard lessons, but that's just me!

• Life is Frustrating

     Dark Souls is notorious for one thing; you will die, and you will die many, many times (the original Dark Souls has a "Prepare to Die" edition, and the second installment has an achievement/trophy called "Welcome to Dark Souls," which is awarded after your first death.)  Casual gamers will be infuriated with this, causing many to give up before leaving the first area they come across.  

     This is true in real life as well...I often find myself giving up on new things before giving them an honest shot because I found it way too hard, when, if I had just given it a chance, I know I would have excelled.  I've also have learned that raw talent means nothing in the real world.  Just because you're naturally good at something doesn't mean you'll be great, it just means you have a talent.  Talent means nothing if you're not willing to push it even further; you have to challenge yourself to overcome the daunting and strive to emerge victorious, even if it means failing over and over again.

• Hard Work Pays Off

     In every version of the game thus far, you start off with minimum equipment; you may be lucky and have a sword and shield, or you may find yourself stripped down to your undergarments.  When you start exploring the world and face off against formidable foes, you'll see that you are rewarded for your efforts.  Unlike most of today's "free to play" or "follow the path from A to B," games that give instant feel good rewards just for playing, Dark Souls demands that you learn from your failures, study the patterns of your foes, and use it to tackle new and ever increasingly challenging obstacles. 

     I've found that, while it's not true in every single case, working hard on a given task and pushing yourself to learn things from different angles is extremely rewarding.  From something as grande as being promoted at a job to as small as a "Thank you," and a handshake, when I take the time and put all of my effort into a job/hobby/passion, I find that it pays off.  If nothing else, I take enjoyment from being able to say, "I gave it my all, now look at what I've accomplished!"  

• The Path Forward Is Not Always Clear

     One of my favorite things about Dark Souls is the fact that, beyond telling you the basic button functions, the game itself does not give you a clear path to follow.  Unless you're willing to invest the time, you'll find yourself running around in circles trying to open a door down the hallway in a fortress when in fact you should have been in the forest fighting giants to obtain the item you needed.  Dark Souls prides itself on keeping most things hidden from its players, who must strive to put together the small hints and clues the game occasionally leaves behind.  

     This is perhaps one of the hardest lessons I've learned in my life; things aren't always so clear cut and straight forward, especially when it involves a game plan for the future.  The unexpected is going to happen, regardless of what is done to prepare.  I'm not suggesting to forgo having a plan of attack, rather, I'm asking to be accepting of the fact that there will always be things that happen that can't be predicted.  From having cars fail after owning them for 6 months to sleeping on a bench, I would never have planned for these events beforehand because they happened so suddenly.  But I did get through, oftentimes with a little bit of help, and I gained experience I otherwise would never have obtained...although, I wouldn't have complained too much if things were a tad easier, I'll always argue that I wouldn't be who I am now without the events in my life unfolding as they did.

• People, As A Whole, Are Good...

     This one isn't particularly about Dark Souls in relation to the game's story or themes, but the community at large.  Dark Souls has a unique form of communication for its players so that you can leave helpful tips and hints for others (this requires being online FYI.)  You're limited to only a few key words, but it's usually more than enough to get the point across; there's only so many ways to warn a person there's a hidden ledge ahead, you know!  This also gives people a chance to do some devious things, such as to leave a message stating "Treasure Awaits Ahead!" when, in reality, there's a dragon ready to reign down fiery death upon you.  Thankfully, there's also a way to give positive and negative "votes" to these messages so other players won't suffer the same fate.

Now, I've worked with the public almost my entire life; I've served food, done tech support, recommended items for loved ones, and so on.  What I've seen, first hand, is that people are going to be good towards you even if you've just met with them.  The most important part of the interaction is attitude...treat people well, and the message I'm leaving them will be positive; treat them poorly, and the message I'm leaving them will be negative.  And even when a person's message is negative, I do my damnedest not to sweat it!  There will always be others that will help support and guide me to a more positive path.

• ...But Some People Enjoy Being Mean

     In addition to the message system, Dark Souls boasts an equally unique system for gamers to play online.  A person may appear as a "Phantom" into your world (again, online only!) that can either help you through tough points (such as the Ruin Sentinels, whom I despise with every fiber of my being) or hinder you by stalking you in your own world (and your only heads up is a message stating they have invaded your world.)  While most people I've encountered have been nice about invading my world (usually by at least bowing beforehand, just to be polite before following up by giving me  a beat down,) others will employ cheap tricks and downright dirty tactics, such as waiting with a large group of in game enemies to overwhelm you or staying hidden until you pass by and striking with your back turned.  What's more, the game prides itself on this element, making you that much more cautious when the daunting "You've Been Invaded By (username)" comes across the screen.

     Again, people are good as a whole, but I've come across people that enjoy being mean or spiteful because they know they can.  In my experience, it's not always telegraphed, either; I've had customers that I could tell from watching them walk from their car to the door that they're looking to start a fight, and I've had some walk in, nice and calm, only to blow up when they have my undivided attention.  Now, I'm not going to say that every one of them were unjustified; I'd be mad too if I was promised something like, say, a $25 credit on my phone bill that hasn't shown up for 3 months.  But some are downright ridiculous, like the time I had a customer rage that I couldn't set them up for a new cell phone plan within 10 minutes.  The former person I will always sympathize with and will do my best to help them out in a time they're most frustrated, while the latter will most likely receive directions to the nearest exit.  There's never, ever a good reason to be downright rude and mean to the people you come across, because, as John Watson once said, "Be kind; everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."  Keeping positive and refusing to stoop to that level is it's own reward, because I know my integrity is always intact.

• Life Is Full Of Want

     This is a huge theme in the second Dark Souls game.  One of the biggest points that Dark Souls II tries to make is that you, the player, are always wanting more; I won't spoil anything for anyone that has yet to play this, but the climax makes you wonder, "Did I really get what I want, or am I still Hollow?" (Hollow is referencing the state of being undead throughout the game by the way.)  My favorite line that puts it all into perspective is, "For the curse of life is the curse of want."  

     Coming to terms with this in my life wasn't easy; it's hard to admit that, regardless of all the things I have, I'm constantly wanting more.  And with commercialism as it is, it's hard not to.  There's a constant war going on for my (and your) dollar, and everyone wants a piece of it.  Living where I live now, I'm sure I'm considered poor by most people's standards (lower middle class at best, honestly,) but, all of that aside, I'm doing very well; I'm fortunate enough to own a video game system to play Dark Souls, as well as a computer that has regular access to the internet, among many other things.  And while I may never become a millionaire that's driving a fully loaded Mustang while living in a mansion on my own private island, I've at least learned to realize that I don't need these things to stay happy; being content with what I already own is more than enough to keep me smiling (although, I do see me buying the collector's edition of Dark Souls III...)

     My experience with the Dark Souls series has been wonderful.  I've put in a lot of time and effort into many games (I think my main WoW character has over a month of in game time put into him, for example,) but none have made me do as much self reflection as Dark Souls.  Many people will just pass it off without seeing the true beauty of working and striving towards a rewarding goal, but that's ok; Dark Souls isn't for them.  It's for those who are able to pick themselves up after falling many times to the same foe (or be humble enough to ask for help from a stranger!)  It's for those who aren't afraid to dedicate their time to achieve their wants and desires.  And it's for those who aren't afraid of what may lurk behind the next corner.  

     If nothing else, I hope that the experiences I've shared will give you some helpful insight, both in regards to Dark Souls itself as well as the lessons we learn in life,  There are going to be times that things look bleak, and the path ahead isn't clear.  However, if you're willing to put forth the effort, learn from your failures, and learn to ask for a helping hand every now and again, you'll be able to overcome even the most daunting obstacles you come across.  After all, that's how I summoned the courage to write this blog post (and many more, I hope!  Special thanks to my wife; without her support, I would still be drowning in a pit of despair.)

The Emerald Herald Or How I Learned To Love Dying So Many Times

In the hardcore gamer circles, there are several games that are legendary for their difficulty; Ghosts n' Goblins, Mega Man, the original Castlevania...and the Dark Souls series.

To most, the idea of dying multiple times before getting any sort of reward is an instant turn-off.  Why trudge through a game with such a painful and brutal learning curve when you can hack and slash multitudes of enemies in games like Dynasty Warriors or Lord of the Rings: War in the North?  If it's known that a game is going to make you want to slam your fists through the wall and send your controller sailing across the living room, why bother?

Well, for me, it's the love of a challenge.  The trend with games has been seeing a larger casual audience, and so, must be playable to a wide variety of people.  In ye olde 8 bit days, you didn't get a choice from "Beginner" to "Hard", you just played the preset difficulty.  Patience was a requirement, since most games had little instructions on how to defeat a boss, or what upgrades you could potentially get.  You invested not just money, but time into these well crafted levels, memorizing enemy patterns and hidden dangers while losing lives and restarting from square one.  And when you defeated the final boss, you were excited to brag to your friends.

This is where Dark Souls comes in (more specifically, I'll be making reference to Dark Souls 2).  You're given a chance to customize your character's appearance and class, choose a few starting items, and get to go through a brief tutorial level.  After that, you're on your own.  Things like stats and equipment aren't explained, and you have to know how you want to play in order to effectively level up.  Even if you know that, you must collect a large number of souls: which, if you die (and you will, many, many times) you lose them all.  You're given one last chance to revisit your death bed to regain them, but, should you die again before that point, they're gone for good.  Enemies aren't dead forever, like in most games, and they will respawn many times to kill you in gruesome ways (one of my first deaths was by an ogre, by the way...grabbed me and bit off my head).  Even if you get good, and you go through and attempt to farm enemies for souls, the game will eventually take out enemies, meaning the total number of souls you can gather has a cap.

To the casual gamer that may be looking into the series, consider this your warning: you're going to rage.  And you're going to rage many, many times, because you ran right through a door that happened to have three undead soldiers that jump you.  Or you opened a chest that happened to sprout teeth and killed you in one shot.  Or you fell off a bridge because you didn't see that well placed hole.

To the hardcore gamers, the ones that do things like play Gears of War on Hardcore solo, or Zelda with only the starting hearts, this game is for you.  The level designs are amazing, the traps are delightfully evil, and the ever present chance of being invaded by a random gamer will keep you on your toes.  At the time of this post, I've personally invested over 55 hours into the game, and I'm nearing the end (I probably have another 5-10 to beat it, not including extras).  I've literally obsessed over this game: my wife is wondering if I'm going Hollow or not myself.  But my mage is fairly fearsome, and there's a large sense of pride and satisfaction when you defeat a boss and become that much stronger as a character.

 It's not like other games, where you feel overpowered from the get go.  The game constantly reminds you of your place: you're a human, afflicted with a curse that no one ever cures, fighting off evil wizards, swarms of giant spiders, and the awesome dragons.  Other games would let you kill such creatures with a few simple button commands or a flurry of sword swings, but Dark Souls makes sure to keep you grounded by killing you off with moves other games would let your survive (like that ogre biting my head off...I was also destroyed by a mimic, and a giant that stomped me with his feet).

I'd also like to take a moment and suggest the strategy guide if you're going to invest time into the game...I rarely buy one for anything other than my collection, but this one is a must if you want to discover everything post game and for New Game + and ++ (and the guides to some of the boss battles are handy, I must admit, but I at least give it a few tries before resorting to the book).

If you're the kind of person that rushes into the heat of battle, flailing your sword or casting spells with reckless abandon, then skip this.  If you're willing to practice the sacred art of patience and aren't afraid of learning from death, then you should, nay, NEED, to pick up this game.  But be forewarned: once you get into the Dark Souls games, you're going to be disappointed with most games afterwards, and there's no turning back once you're hooked.



"For the curse of life, is the curse of want.  And so, you peer...Into the fog, looking for answers."