Backlog Burnout Review of Dark Souls: If it was easy it wouldn't be worth doing.

System(s): Xbox 360, Playstation 3, PC
Release Year: 2011
Rating: Mature
Current Amazon Price: $16.29 (PS3), $15.30 (Xbox 360), $19.99 (PC)

The Skinny:

While it may be more Stockholm Syndrome than actual fun, Dark Souls never the less has a strong appeal. If you're a fan of hack and slash and aren't afraid of a learning curve resembling the Great Wall then this game may just scratch your itch.

The Meat:

Dark Souls is like an abusive lover. It treats you like dirt, kicks you while you're down, makes you doubt yourself, and expects you to take it, say thank you, and come back for more. And the weird thing is you do. Dark Souls is notorious for its brutal, unrelenting difficulty and the horror stories you may have heard are not exaggeration. Anyone who says "it's not that hard" is full of crap. It is that hard, however it is the best kind of hard that a game can be. At no point in my frustrating, death filled playthrough did I ever feel like the game had cheated me or pulled a fast one. Every single one of the hundreds and hundreds of times I died was completely and totally my own fault. The game is harsh, but fair. Now the reason I'm hammering this difficulty home so hard is that it is an integral part of ever facet of the game's design. The gameplay, the environments, the bosses, the NPC behavior, it all is just HARD. And that's not necessarily a bad or a good thing. It will mean different things to different people. Let's break the game down a bit.

In the story department the game sticks with its theme of not holding your hand at all. You get an opening cutscene outlining the basic history and back story of the terrifying world you are about to be dropped in to, but no real details or explanation. If you want to find out explanations for the events around you then you'd best put on your detective goggles. Very few aspects of Dark Souls story are outright stated. They may be mentioned in passing by an NPC or implied by the design of a derelict castle. However, for all of its subtlety and secrecy I really really enjoyed the story of Dark Souls. It's dark, sad, haunting, and well worth exploring. Just be willing to put a little effort into it. In fact, that is a theme that runs through most of this game. If you don't want to put a large amount of effort into the experience, you should probably steer clear.

Gameplay wise Dark Souls is an immaculate beast of a game. Controls are extremely tight and responsive, regardless of if you're fighting with a sword, spear, bow, or magic staff. And its a good thing they are too because almost everything in this game is trying to kill you and kill you quickly. This is not a Legend of Zelda game where your hero can take more hits than an olympic boxer. If a basic enemy hits you two or three times with a sword like as not you'll find yourself respawning back at the last bonfire you visited. And death is only the beginning in Dark Souls. When you kill enemies you absorb their souls. These souls are used as currency for everything in the game. Buying things from merchants, bartering for favors, and leveling up your characters stats. When you die, you lose any souls you have collected that you haven't used. However, they are not gone forever. You will respawn at the last bonfire you rested at in an undead state and you will have one opportunity to fight your way back to the place of your death and retreive your lost souls. In this undead state you have less health and are vulnerable to invasions by other real life players in the game. If you can manage to stay alive long enough to reach the place of your earlier demise you can retrieve your lost souls. If not, they are gone forever.

The invasion aspect of Dark Souls is interesting. While in your undead, or Hollowed, state other players can invade your game and attempt to end you. Manage to fight them off and you may get a sweet payoff. You can even report their invasion of your world to an NPC who promises judgement and retribution. And there may even be a way to, if you play your cards right, become an agent of that retribution. This multiplayer aspect of Dark Souls is pretty darn cool and adds a unique element. While you may be on edge that someone will invade your world, you can also call upon the help of other players to assist you with a difficult boss. My first playthrough of Dark Souls was done as a solo run, and then I replayed it with multiplayer functionality. Both methods of play have their own strengths and weaknesses. Besting the game without another player's assistance gives a great feeling of accomplishment, however few things feel as good as smiting down an upstart player with the nerve to attack you in your own world.

Combat involves careful reactionary dodges to enemy attacks and near perfect execution. While difficult, the combat is extremely deep and rewarding, involving crits for back stabs and split second evasions. Learning a towering boss's movements and finally besting a titan much greater than yourself is an extremely gratifying experience. No matter your play style there is something for everyone here. If you want to be a massive, armor covered beefcake that is a viable option. Mage and rogue paths are available as well. No one method is more effective than another in my opinion, and they all play in radically different ways. While the combat takes time to master, it is fun and extremely fluid. Just don't expect the game to hold your hand or help you very much.

One last thing I want to mention is the atmosphere of the game. It is absolutely amazing. No matter where you are, from the giant halls of Anor Lando to the scum covered, rotting boardwalks of Blight Town the world feels real. I almost wanted to use the term alive and breathing, but that would be completely wrong. This is a dead world. Every inch of it reeks of decay, degradation, despair, and doom. And for all of that it is beautiful. In its own weird way, Dark Souls is, in my opinion, one of the best looking games ever made just because of how absolutely effective its visuals are. It really must be played to be experienced.

The Bottom Line:

If you are looking for a fun, low effort romp through a fantasy game you really need to look elsewhere. This game is brutally difficult, almost to a fault. I use the word almost because it never enters the realm of unfair or broken. The difficulty will turn many people off and rightly so. If you are a gamer who gets easily frustrated or isn't super persistent this is not the game for you. The tutorial boss killed me 5 times the first time I played. However, if you are willing to put in a little work to learn the game and can manage to beat it even within its own hellish rule set the feeling of accomplishment you will get is unmatched. I would highly recommend trying to beat the game without a walkthrough as well because like any game there are exploits that reduce the difficulty. However, this is really missing the point. Once you see past the gruff, murderous, spiky exterior and get to the burning, molten hot, pain filled interior you may just find that you are enjoying yourself. If you're like me you'll notice you're having a better time than you've had with a game in a long while. Is it "fun" in the really traditional sense of the word? Maybe not. But is it a hell of a good time? Absolutely. You're a dead man walking through a dead world, and it's absolutely breathtaking.

Grant Nielsen

Backlog Burnout Review of Tales of Graces f: A tale well worth telling

System(s): Playstation 3

Release Year: 2012

Rating: Teen

Current Amazon Price: $37.70

The Skinny:

This touching and extremely well crafted game is a must play for fans of Japanese RPGs or action RPGs in general. With loveable characters, a fantastic battle system, and an effective musical score this tale is a blast from start to finish.

The Meat:

Tales of Graces was released as a Japan only Wii exclusive in 2009. However, American fans of Namco Bandai’s Tales games were clamoring to get their hands on the latest release. In 2012, they got their wish in a PS3 exclusive port of Tales of Graces titled Tales of Graces f. The game boasts boosted visuals and a continuation of the original game’s story titled Lineage and Legacies.  While we here in the states never got access to the original game, I’m not crying over that as this port is an extremely good game that is enjoyable and solid throughout its entire 50+ hour story.

This game has two primary strengths: its characters and its battle system. Let’s start with taking a look at the characters. You play as Asbel Lhant, the energetic and mischievous son of the duke of the village of Lhant. The game begins when as children Asbel and his much more responsible brother Hubert take a little rule breaking adventure to the nearby wilderness of Lhant Hill, where they find a strange girl with amnesia. From here the story follows them through their childhood and budding friendships with the crown prince of their Kingdom of Windor, Richard. This segment also exists to lay the foundation for the problems and trials that will face the characters in the future. While this initial part of the game may seem slow and particularly small in scale for people familiar with the normal earth shattering and world saving antics common to Japanese RPGs it is in fact one of the game’s greatest and unique features. This time spent with the characters as children helps give background and foundation for all of the events that take place later in the game and in their lives. It allows you to understand the characters and their motivations better than any other game I have ever played. In most games, especially JRPGs, a character will reference their mysterious past or a figure from their childhood and it’s just that. Them discussing it. In Tales of Graces f when they reference childhood events you understand exactly how they feel, because you were there and experienced it with them. This adds a personal layer to the story and events of the game that I have never experienced before in a video game and is truly an unusual and pleasant device that I hope more games in the series implement. While the story isn’t as robust or unusual as some other games I’ve played, you feel more invested and interested in it as a result of this style of presentation and it makes the story much more engaging.

The characters are brought to life through exceptional voice acting and the skit system, which fans of the series will be familiar with. For new players, the skit system involves optional cutscenes which the player can trigger at certain points in the game. These skits range from silly, farcical moments among the cast to deep, personal internal monologues when characters are trying to make important decisions or work through personal problems. Regardless of their content, all of them are enjoyable, well written sequences involving animated portraits of the characters, and they really bring vibrancy and life to the proceedings.

The games second greatest strength is its battle system. In a unique new twist on the series typical combat MP has been completely disposed of. Instead, your characters all have a rapidly regenerating resource called CC, which is used every time the character attacks. The combat is based off of A artes and B artes, or in a more simple sense basic attacks and magic attacks. They both draw from the CC pool and can be combo-ed together. B artes all take a set amount of CC, but A artes are where the interesting and strategic aspect of the combat comes in. A artes work in a combo tree, with each step of the combo taking more CC to pull off. For example, you start with a 1 CC basic attack, and then move on to a 2 CC sideslash followed by a 4 CC flipkick. CC regenerates rapidly when guarding or being passive so you are chaining combos left and right, however proper management of your CC and how it reacts with your A and B arte chains adds a new level of involvement and care typically not seen in Japanese RPGs. It’s a fun, interesting, and refreshing system that never gets old. And that is definitely a good thing, as there is a lot of fighting to be done.

Over the course of the game your group will fight quite often. Battles are typically encountered by running into enemies on the field, which transitions the player into a battle screen. At the conclusion of battle the player will receive both xp for basic levels and for whichever “title” they have equipped. As these titles gain levels they give stat boosts or teach new skills that can be kept even after the title is switched out for a new one, which can be done at any time. It’s a refreshing system that allows for excellent character customization. One thing I will say is that to effectively play the game a lot of leveling needs to be done, so if excessive fighting and experience gaining isn’t your bag then you may have issues with the game’s level curve.

Finally, the music of the game is excellent. Not in the Nobuo Uematsu, stand out in your memory forever kind of way, but in more of a subdued, effective manner. At no point in the game did I feel the music was out of place or going against the tone. At all times I felt it was enhancing and facilitating the events on screen and at several points I stopped just to enjoy it. While it may not be a particularly memorable score, it is still fantastic in its own right and is an interesting mix of pop, classical, and heavy rock themes.

The Bottom Line:

 Tales of Graces f is an excellent, character focused action JRPG with a loveable cast, fun combat, and excellent sound work from the music to the voice acting. While the story is nothing ground breaking, the characters make it an extremely enjoyable journey from beginning to end. The added Lineage and Legacies mode found in this port is a welcome addition as well, adding at least 15 additional hours of story and gameplay as well as he “true” final boss. All in all I give this game an extremely high recommendation. 

Backlog Burnout Review of Etrian Odyssey: In a labyrinth this dangerous I would expect to find David Bowie

System(s): Nintendo DS

Release Year: 2007

Rating: Teen

Current Amazon Price: $21.50

The Skinny:

If you like extremely traditional turn based Japanese RPG (JRPG) combat, exploring, and don’t mind getting your teeth kicked in every now and then Etrian Odyssey is a must for you. Others may want to give it a pass.

The Meat:

Etrian Odyssey is an interesting beast. This Nintendo DS exclusive title from Atlus, the folks better known for the Shin Megami Tensei series, is a first person turn based dungeon crawler that cares little for the gameplay innovations of the past 20 years. From a gameplay perspective this 2007 release would not look out of place among the early 90s fare that it so clearly draws its inspiration from. The task it sets before you is simple. You are an explorer who has come to the town of Etria which is situated near a massive maze known as the Yggdrasil Labyrinth. Form a guild and explore it. What are you waiting for? Off you go! The game offers little explanation or guidance in the form of story that we have become so accustomed to in modern games. While this may seem like a criticism, it is actually one of the game’s greatest strengths. Presenting the player with this mysterious labyrinth and giving them no direction or instructions other than “go exploring” creates an interesting and unique experience. Every player will approach this task in their own way. Will you create a party of brutish thugs who rampage through the labyrinth smashing everything in your path or will you create a team of agile archers and survivalists who harvest materials and items from the labyrinth to sell for increased funds? Will you explore every floor carefully and find every hidden nook and cranny or will you rush through each layer of the labyrinth in a mad rush to uncover its deeper mysteries? The game places no pre conceived notions or requirements on you other than “go forth”.  While this task is simple and refreshing in concept, it is far from easy.

Standing in your way first and foremost is the Yggdrasil Labyrinth itself. As its name would imply it is a forested maze teeming with life. You explore the labyrinth in a first person perspective and this really allows you to realize how convoluted and twisted the pathways and locations are. Without a map you will quickly become hopelessly lost. This is where one of the more unique aspects of Etrian Odyssey comes to the fore. Most modern games would provide you with a map or have a map be filled out automatically as you explore. Etrian Odyssey would never hold your hand like that. It requires that you utilize the lower touch screen of the DS to draw your own map. While this may sound cumbersome it is in fact brilliant and enjoyable. You step into this labyrinth with no knowledge of what to expect. And then through your careful exploration of the starting areas a map of your own creation begins to take shape. You find shortcuts and secrets. The exploration becomes personal and you feel as if your guild is actually exploring an unknown realm. It gives a feeling of accomplishment and success to get to the end of a floor and see your carefully created map detailing every bit of the inhospitable maze you just traversed.

As mentioned above, the labyrinth is far from a dead place. It is filled with creatures and beasts, none of whom appreciate upstart adventurers wandering through their territory. When you inevitably bump in to these critters in random encounter battles, which happen at an extremely high rate, you enter first person turn based combat. This combat is about as traditional as it gets. Monsters are represented by nice static sprite drawings, and what battle animations can be seen are quite simple. Your options are the normal attack, skill, item, defend, escape, etc. If you've played a turn based RPG before you will be immediately at home here. However, unless you cut your teeth on old school NES RPGs of the early 90s the difficulty might catch you off guard. These monsters aren't playing around at all. Even basic battles can kick you to the game over screen faster than you can say Dragon Warrior. However, while difficult, the combat never enters the realm of unfair. With proper preparation, leveling, and strategy you will persevere and fell your foes. Once dead they will drop pieces of their bodies or materials that can be taken back to town and sold for currency to purchase items and equipment. And the more materials you sell to the shopkeeper the more equipment you can buy. Looking for a better shield? Better go find a dragon scale that you can have the shopkeeper make it from then. This almost Monster Hunter-ish aspect of the game makes hunting for a specific monster or drop meaningful and fun. While nothing in the gameplay and battle department is new or exotic, it is all executed with such precision and expertise that it never gets stale, repetitive, or boring. The developer knew what they were doing, and it can be seen and felt clearly in the end result.

Aside from the basic monsters you run into in the maze there are also the imposing FOEs. These monsters can be seen as angry looking orange or red snarls of energy in the dungeon. If they see you, they will chase you. If they catch you then you’d best hope you’re ready. These mini boss level monsters are extremely dangerous. When you first enter a floor you had best do your best to avoid them until you have done some serious leveling. This adds an aspect of cat and mouse to your exploration of the unknown. Turning a corner and seeing a FOE waiting for you leads to a terrified run hoping nothing gets in your way and that it doesn't catch you. Finding ways around these obstacles is a kind of puzzle solving in its own way. If it’s blocking your path do you let it see you and lure it out only to sneak behind it or do you wait until it leaves on its own? Is it moving in a set path or randomly? Only one way to find out.

As stated earlier the game gives you very little direction or purpose. Every now and then a member of town will ask you for a favor or the town leadership will task you with slaying a particular monster or collecting something. However, the exploration of the unknown is the true driving force of the game. As you go deeper into the labyrinth and it begins to change around you more questions arise than answers and you can feel that the answers are waiting if you can only get a bit deeper. Why is this labyrinth here? What is it? Where are these creatures coming from? The only way to find out is to play and go deeper.

The Bottom Line:

Etrian Odyssey is a supremely difficult, perfectly executed traditional JRPG firmly rooted in old school mechanics. If simple turn based combat isn’t enough for you then you may want to look elsewhere for your fun. This is not the place to go for a deep, gripping story or in depth character development. However, if the thrill of exploring the unknown and a really solid battle system coupled with an addictive mapping mechanic sounds like your cup of tea then drink up because this game is a blast for the right type of audience.

Grant Nielsen