As much as I tried to convince myself I liked DkS2 as much or more than the first, I eventually couldn't do it. It just wouldn't stick. I listened to ENB and VaatiVidya praise it to the sky and really hoped it would live up to the hype, but it didn't. I mean, there are things it does better than the first. but it's kind of like the difference between Doom 3 and the original games - one is more advanced technically (far more so in the case of Doom 3 obviously), but the "soul" is missing, or is much diluted. I think that's what sums up DkS2 to me, anyway. It just shows that there's a certain indefinable something that transcends all merely surface aspects of a game, and Dark Souls had it, while the second one just didn't. You felt the total lack of a defining vision and atmosphere. I understand why people still like the second game, but I'm sorry to break it to them, it's already been decided by history that the first game was miles away "better" in most of the ways that really matter, despite the great things they did with the second game. Again, it's like RE5, or maybe even RE6, compared to 4. (I understand some people didn't like RE4, but that's just kind of cute.) The later games just didn't quite have the heart. (Although I felt they kept the spirit of the series more faithfully that DkS2.) Thinking DkS2 is better is like thinking Metallica actually improved after the Black album. The only response is a quizzical, "Really? I guess we all have opinions," and then changing the topic, because confrontation is useless at that point.
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