Now available for pre-order.

http://www.darksoulsii.com/

I'm actually disappointed with the preview video. The video makes the game appear to be less like Demon Souls and Dark Souls, and more like a "traditional" JRPG. Of course, we won't know until the final product ships, but so far I'm just meh.

From what I've gathered, I know they are bringing back the hub system from Demons' Souls, but aside from that, not sure how the rest of the product will turn out.

Lets wait and see. Unless Square Enix are developing, I'll remain hopeful.

I still think my idea of "Dead Souls" sounds better than "Dark Souls 2".

I'd vote for Dead Souls, or Death Souls. Maybe even Dark Souls 22.2 the Smell of Fear!

It could just be a patch: the biggest change they'll make is every enemy in the game replaced with wheel skeletons.

Don't give them ideas! Most annoying enemy in the entire game...

In a game filled with annoying 絵ね身家s、てぇytるly十kてぇｃろｗん。

Dark Souls II is up for pre-order. Apparently, all pre-orders are upgraded to include a free soundtrack + steelbook! Then there's the Collector's Edition for $120.

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/09/22/dark- … -to-be-br/

Whoa, what the hell happened here?!

What on Earth was I trying to type?

I just preordered this magnificent beast. Not the big collector's edition, but that super swank Black Armour Edition. Here's hoping it comes with one of those clear slip cases I love so much. May just spring for that big box with the map and statue, too. If my wife doesn't complain, that is.

There's so much to love about Dark Souls. It's probably my favorite game of this last gen.

The game has been receiving universal acclaim! I can't wait to delve into what I hope will be another masterpiece. One thing for sure, to truly enjoy this game, do NOT read any hints nor look anything up!

"In a game filled with annoying enemies, they truly took the crown." Looks like you typed English into a Japanese IME.

Haha, good job on that, I couldn't get farther than "enemies" although I did figure out "crown"

Must have typed an extra "i" in enemies. Otherwise it comes out as 絵ね見栄s.

I was typing on my wife's old Japanese laptop at the time. It had this annoying tendency to switch to Japanese at the click of a very (in)conveniently placed button. Made playing games an unbelievable hassle.

Anyways, still waiting on my Black Armor Edition to come in the mail. Excited to tackle this beast. No guides for my first run, of course. Avatar, what class you thinking of going with?

Well, you know it doesn't really matter. You'll also find, that you have fewer classes to choose from! No Swamp Necromancer this time
They've really made some tweaks to make sure this game will be harder than the other two games in the series, and they've succeeded. Damn though, is it as addictive as ever!

Did you order on amazon? My game hasn't shipped yet, and at first I thought they were going to wait and bundle with chronophantasma, but that is still two weeks away.

You're right. The more you level, the less the starting class seems to matter. I played a bit different in Dark Souls, though. For my penultimate playthrough (108 hours so far!), I chose Wanderer, and to get into the frame of mind for more heavy roleplaying, I chose only to equip weapons, armor, and items that I imagine a light-traveling wanderer would use (curved swords, nothing heavier than leather armor, nothing too far beyond leather bucklers, etc). It made playing an already tough-as-nails game that much more difficult and tense. Love the feeling playing like this gives me.

Dark Souls II has been harder than Dark Souls I. I would say substantially harder. However, it's also different, more like a blend of Demon's Souls and Dark Souls. There seem to be less boss battles, and more exploring, which I like. I thought Dark Souls I had too many frequent boss battles. It appears to be toned down in this game. Also, the enemies are more vicious, and you'll find that farming is limited. Still, it's amazing how well the game is designed. You come across enemies that at first destroy you, then little by little you make progress until for example you manage to find an item which greatly helps you. After a few hours, you find yourself beginning to dominate the enemies which at first seemed impossibly hard! Also this "after a few hours" is a problem, the game is way too addictive!

How are people progressing with the game? Paladin, I did pre-order my copy through amazon. I have to say, the steelcase is very well done! Also, it comes with the soundtrack, and really what more could you wish for? Well, how about a manual! I know this is how games are going these days, to save a little money companies are now no longer publishing manuals, and while I think this is OK for cheaper titles (such as "Greatest Hits"), when you pay full retail for a game, it would be nice to have a manual, even if it's only a few pages!

Not sure if it's because of the collector's edition or if it's from preordering at the same time as blazblue, but yeah no notice of shipment yet

Thank you! I find this so annoying... manuals use to be something! I mean Final Fantasy II on the SNES actually had part of a walk-through in it.

I was pretty angry with Luigi's Mansion's "manual" last year... might as well not have put anything in there. Mirror of fate didn't have one either.

And please, not to be an ass but no one go on a tear about companies caring about the environment... they don't... they do this to save money.

It'd be nice to have SOMETHING there even if it's just two pages. I've already a few times gotten quite scared that my SEALED NEW copies of games (Etrian Odyssey IV, Lumines Electronic Symphony and Tales of Xillia) were missing them. It's really frustrating. It's even worse if one buys something used...I actually had to look through GFaqs to confirm that Catherine did in fact have one (and thus my so-called new but unsealed copy was not, in fact, complete)

my black armor edition came in a steel case with a manual (b/w), soundtrack cd and limited metallic art card (numbered). i killed the first boss. so far, it feels like the other souls games, can't say anything more enlightening. praise the sun.

Mine came with the steel case, download card, game disc and soundtrack. Didn't get a limited metallic art card or manual.