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.

I imagine Pellasos had the European release? Those of us in North America apparently got the short end of the stick again. Really, is there a reason why the European release has more goodies? I really wouldn't be complaining if we had a manual... ANY manual!

Not to scald you - and I know there was no malice intent - but when it comes to comparing the NSTC and PAL territory games I never feel I have the right to complain. There are TONS of must have games in my collection that the PAL territories never got... and I can't imagine not having them... so given that when the NTSC regions get a little screwed I can't even muster up even a little anger.

For reals. As someone who grew up in the Netherlands, it was incredibly vexing to see all the great stuff the US was getting, none of which made it to European shores. I think the only Final Fantasy we ever got before 7 was Mystic Quest, so let that be an example.

And Chrono Trigger? You think we got Chrono Trigger!? HECK NO.

I stand by my complaint! Dark Souls 2 was released all across the globe and there's no reason why the US release should not have included a manual! That said, the game is definitely as addictive as ever. How are people progressing with the game? Any tough bosses thus far? I think most of the bosses are fairly straight forward, and a few of them have been truly epic battles with one boss being by far the most challenging for me. I will however say that I don't know exactly "how far" I've progressed in the game. That said, I'm very happy with the pace of the game. It seems to me like there is much more exploration involved and fewer boss battles per area. Also, I personally rather like the fact that after a certain amount of killing enemies will stop spawning. It makes the game both easier and harder at the same time, brilliant!

Hm, so I've been avoiding all spoilers/faqs/help but I am wondering something.  Has anyone killed the pursuer in the little arena up the ladder after ascending the tree branch (before you have the key that is)?

i haven't. i turned around and he was gone. didn't even had a chance, heh.

game is great. i'm having lots of fun.

Game is brutal, yet as I said very addictive. I just recently beat a boss that was whopping my rear end (it was epic, one more hit and I would have been toast, but those are the best fights Of course now I've run into a boss that just destroys me in a ridiculously short amount of time. Well, we'll see. I haven't given up yet, and I've played the game entirely on my own thus far (no asking for help)! Hopefully I won't need to summon anyone for the remaining part of the game, but we'll see. Music, as always, is excellent. By the way, the Pursuer was one super boss fight!

The one thing they finally did was balance starting class levels and points.  The last two bosses I beat were multiple enemies against me, and being beaten into learning proper timing.  The two other bosses I have waiting for me have taken me out pretty easily so not sure which to pound my head against... oh, but there was probably a third I haven't tried.

Completed the game! Phew, that was a beautiful challenge! I did it solo, offline. I like it that way, I think it greatly adds to the feeling of isolation, and lets you enjoy the world much more. Some thoughts:
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SPOILERS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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I think all three games, Demon's Souls, Dark Souls, and Dark Souls II need to be played to fully appreciate the story. While Demon's Souls is slightly different than the two Dark Souls, it also touches upon the same ideas. My view is that this is a story of order versus chaos. Humanity represents the "dark" while nature (or the divine) represents the "fire". The "curse" which afflicts humans is part of our nature, our need to revert to the dark which is disorder. Recall that this dark comes from the Abyss, and the father of the Abyss is "Manus". Break that name up, and you have "Man" and "us". While I can not be certain that this is exactly what the programmers/translators etc were thinking when they decided upon this name, it is appropriate and I would not be surprised if the root "Man" was chosen on purpose. When the Chosen Undead sacrifices him/herself to continue the Age of Fire, he/she is basically restoring order. Such order is what allows civilizations to be built and thrive. After a time, humans start to revert to their "nature" -they become hollow. They become mindless and attack anything and everything in their hunger. This is the curse. The Emerald Herald was born in the hopes to avert this natural degradation, however this was unsuccessful. In the end of Dark Souls II, it appears that nothing much has changed, which is to say order has been restored, and a new civilization will likely arise. This is supported in many ways, including Sweet Shalquoir who says "Honourable Sovereign, take your throne. And do great things, if it please." Of course, in the end, the player will end up as Vendrick. Such is fate.

I really enjoyed all three games. They were some of the best games I have played, especially the first two. While Dark Souls II was exactly what people wanted (more Dark Souls), there were some game decision I did not like. I realize From decided to make Dark Souls II more difficult, although I'm not sure that was necessary. A game is meant to be enjoyed, not just be punishing. That said, I really did enjoy the exploration in Dark Souls II, however it was not as amazing as Dark Souls I. One of the reasons being that the world in Dark Souls II while huge, was not as interconnected as in Dark Souls I. One of the fantastic things about Dark Souls I was finding all these short cuts that would take you between places so you did not have to backtrack all the time. In Dark Souls II you could instantly travel between any bonfire. I felt that decision was unfortunate. As I said, the world of Dark Souls II is not as interconnected as in Dark Souls I, so perhaps instant travel between any bonfire is a necessity. Regardless, the world was not as seamless, and the locals not as majestic. My favorite area in Dark Souls I was the Darkroot Garden and Basin (fantastic)! In Dark Souls II I don't think I really had a favorite area. I thought the most beautiful area was Majula, and the least interesting Things Betwixt (it's nowhere nearly as awe inspiring as the Undead Asylum in Dark Souls I)! The Dark Souls games are of course told in minimalistic fashion. However, I do like that in Dark Souls I someone says "ring the bells". In Dark Souls II, well, no one says much. A point for Dark Souls II is the fact that enemies stop spawning after enough kills. I actually think that makes many places easier, and if you are finding an area very difficult, you can take out the enemies enough times and they will be gone! Should you want to fight them again, thrown in a bonfire ascetic. Brilliant! Many of the boss fights were fantastic. The Skeleton Lords, the Pursuer,  Lost Sinner, Scorpioness, all were epic fights! Some bosses, not so epic of course, but the same is true in Dark Souls I. I wish there was more communication and interactions with the NPCs. For example, Benhart was cool. However, you really did not interact with him that much. In Dark Souls I you interacted with Oscar a LOT! Same with Solaire and your interactions and decisions affected their outcome! Not so much in Dark Souls II. Of course in Dark Souls II we do get a talking cat, so that is a huge bonus (hey, I'm serious In Dark Souls II they greatly limited your weapon's potential. Only +10 instead of +15. Furthermore, many of the "powerful" weapons you traded for, did not really appear to be particularly powerful. I suppose it may depend on the build, but even so, the fact that such weapons could only be upgraded to +5 using dragon bones is disappointing. I did however like the fact that you trade for weapons, instead of having to wonder if you should reinforce this broken sword so maybe it can be fused with a soul. Anyway, those are some of my thoughts. I hope that Dark Souls is released on the PS4 with some new content! I also hope a direct or spiritual sequel is released. Good times.

You know, if I ever sit down to play through this series, I think I'm gonna go with that too (if the games are still online in the first place once I get round to them).
When I hear stories from people apparently being invaded by much stronger other players, that just makes me want to switch off the Internet entirely.