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It’s not very often that I get obsessive about a game – usually about once in a generation. In the n64/ps1 generation it was Ocarina of Time; in the xbox/ps2/gamecube generation it was Final Fantasy X.

 

It’s been a while since something struck me as being generation defining, but Dark Souls is it. By all accounts, I’ve barely started it, having played for a mere eight hours, but its richness, depth and sheer brutal difficulty has already made its mark.

In terms of difficulty, it reminds me a lot of Williams’ Defender. For the first dozen hours of that game, the accomplished player will have concentrated on learning how to fly the damn ship. Shooting aliens comes later. In Dark Souls, the wise gamer will perfect his fighting techniques. The bosses are tough – really tough – but pale into insignificance next to the almost casually brutal ‘general mobs’ that roam around the areas.

Entering a new area involves being mercilessly beaten to death by a few new enemy types. You spend an obscene amount of time making incremental progress through the area, punctuated by frequent messy deaths. Then you get to the boss. And die. Back to the start. Wash rinse repeat.

But it NEVER gets dull and it NEVER gets frustrating. Every time you die, it’s your own fault and you know EXACTLY what you did to get yourself killed. By the time you’re skilled enough (and I’m talking playing skills here, not Mary-Sue equipment) to handle the boss, you’re flying through that previously ‘impossible’ area with all the destructive grace of a ballet-dancing ninja. And then, when against all odds, you take down that boss without taking a scratch – well, that’s the surge of satisfaction that gaming is all about.

Brutally difficult, horrible punishing, and never unfair. This is easily the game of the generation for me.

So, advocacy done, I’ll let you know where I am. I just *finally* killed the Taurus Demon in the first area (after numerous deaths) by using a combination of plunge attacks and well-time axe-blows to the bollocks. Next up, I have a nasty knight on top of a tower to take care of…

 

Well, that’s the forest temple done now – Ghost Ganon is a fun boss, I reckon – and one of the easier ones. Now it’s back to the Temple of Time to see what I’m up to next.

I’m all growed up now! I finally finished trawling through Jabu Jabu’s Belly after getting myself totally confused because I had it in my mind it was different. The miniboss gave me some trouble too as I have a tendency to lean to the side when I’m running in a circle and this, of course, wreaks havoc with the 3D display. Anyway, I got it all done and then scampered off to the Temple of Time where I was made all growed up

Then it was off to Kakariko village, shortly followed by HOOKSHOT GET!  and WALLET GET!

Navigated the eternally annoying Lost Woods, ganked the irritating spear-wielding thingies, and gained access to the Forest Temple. Time for some crate puzzles.

What? A game diary entry? Surely not! Well, yes! I’ve been suffering from an extended period of gaming ennui of late, largely because between writing and working I never seem to have much in the way of time. On top of that, there really hasn’t been much of any interest happening gaming wise. Then the Nintendo 3DS arrived. I didn’t buy one on launch because I thought the price was really pretty ridiculous, but with the recent drop to around £120, I reckoned it was time to take the plunge (as I don’t currently have a DS of any kind anyway). A contributing factor, obviously, was the re-re-re-re-release of Ocarina of Time.

And oh-mi-god it’s lovely. Really. It’s one of the best Zelda games (in my opinion) to begin with, and in this incarnation it just looks magnificent. Long sweeping vistas, a real sense of depth, and greatly prettificated graphics make it gaming paradise for the likes of me. The placement of the face buttons (and in particular, the sliding joypad thingy) makes it  a cinch to play.

So far, I’ve done the usual Deku tree nonsense and have just arrived in Dodongo Caverns, which is pretty much the first real dungeon. The lighting is exquisite and the 3Dness of it all really brings it to life. It actually felt a bit creepy early on as it really does look like you’re controlling little blokes just through the window of the screen. Loving it so far, though – I can highly recommend both the console and, obviously, the game.