I didn't just pay full price for a video game. I preordered it. I never do that. My cheapo conscience rarely lets me make such an expensive video game purchase. But in this rare instance we were in agreement on spending 60 dollars on a video game. The game I pre-ordered was Dark Souls.

The pre ordering the game got you the Collector's Edition at no extra charge. The collector's edition is sort of cheap though, but that is the publisher (Namco's) fault and not the developer From Software. It just got you a metal tin for the game, a cheaply constructed artbook that is ready to fall apart if a slight breeze happens to touch it, and you also get a little fake credit card looking thing with a code on it to download some stuff from the game's website. This stuff is sort of neat, if a bit half-assed, but I didnt buy the game for the swag. I bought the game because this game is a sequel to Demon's Souls on the ps3 which is one of my favorite games ever. I replayed that game like probably 5 or 6 times in the time since it came out about 2 years ago.

For any of you that haven't heard about these games, they are action rpgs with very little story in the way of cut scenes and long sections of scrolling text stuff which is something I like since I dont play games for story. I play games for great gameplay and that is something that Demon's Souls and Dark Souls are focused on. Demon's Souls and Dark Souls are all about the gameplay. It is unforgiving and brutal at times, but it fair. It punished you for being an idiot and makes you have to learn and adapt to get better, making any vicotires feel a lot more rewarding than other games.

Ive put in a ton of hours into Dark Souls in the week I have had it and it was 60 dollars very well spent. At first it seems worse than Demon's Souls as some of the changes to the gameplay and the mechanics of the game seem awful at first, but the longer you play the more you understand why those changes were made and why they enhance the experience. I think this game is as good or better than Demon's Sous so far, but I cannot say for sure yet since I haven't beat it yet. That being said it does have it's flaws. The frame rate in some parts of the game is really awful and seems like its taking a s*** all over your fun experience. Luckily its only a frequent problem in one level so far.

Dark Souls does feel a lot harder than Demon's Souls at the start, but once you get used to things you start having less trouble with the game. These games are always talked about for their difficulty, but really they aren't all that hard. Like they involve some trial and error so you can adapt to each experience. THe difficulty is a return to the old school sty le of games like Castelevania and other NES era games.

Just like Demon's Souls this game is addicting as hell. I cannot stop playing Dark Soul's. It is time travel. I start up the game and say to myself that I will only play for one hour. Five minutes later, or so I believe, I look at the clock and see that 3 hours has past...