Dark Souls Collector's Edition

by Namco

• Extremely Deep, Dark & Difficult - Unforgiving in its punishment, yet rewarding for the determined
• Fully Seamless World - Explore a completely integrated world of dark fantasy
• Mastery Earns Progression - Player success depends on their eventual mastery of usage of magic spells and weapons
• Network Play - Players may cross paths with one another, interacting with each other throughout the game
• Flexible Character Development & Role Play - As the player progresses, they must carefully choose their character's abilities

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00542ZQJO
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: October 4, 2011
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,468 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #58 in Video Games > PlayStation 3 > Games > Role-Playing
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Platform: PLAYSTATION 3 | Edition: Collector

From the Manufacturer

Strategize and use your mind to conquer seemingly impossible challenges. View larger.

Live Through A Million Deaths & Earn Your Legacy
Enter a dark world filled with despair and threaded by hope where your ability to creatively strategize, learn and overcome unpredictable and unique challenges determines your fate. Dark Souls will demand your absolute concentration, unflinchingly punish your mistakes, but reward your ability to learn from death. Each challenge is a mind game met with endless combinations that will test your ability to creatively strategize a way to conquer unimaginable monsters and progress deeper into this bleak and forbidding environment filled with the un-dead.

Key Game Features

• Extremely Deep, Dark & Difficult – Unforgiving in its punishment, yet rewarding for the determined – learn to strategize freely and conquer seemingly impossible challenges. You will organically design your own gameplay style by developing your character and continuously trying different strategies to finally achieve successful progression.
• Fully Seamless World – Explore a completely integrated world of dark fantasy where dungeons are seamlessly intertwined, with great height.
• Mastery Earns Progression – Contains 60 hours of gameplay, with nearly 100 uniquely despair-inducing monsters & an incredibly nuanced weaponry & magic spells system, the effectiveness of which is determined by combat situation, fighting style and character attributes. Player success depends on their eventual mastery of how and when to use the magic spells, choice of armor, the number of weapons, the types of weapons, and the moves attached to the weapons.
• Network Play – Players may cross paths with one another, interacting with each other throughout the game even as each player plays their own game. Networked play allows users to cross paths with one another to enhance the single-player gameplay experience without destroying it.
• Flexible Character Development & Role Play – As the player progresses, they must carefully choose which of their character’s abilities to enhance as this will determine their progression style. Players can choose to play as a sword master and a wizard, for example.
• Community – See other real players and empathize with their journey, learn from seeing how others died, find and leave messages for your fellow players; helping them or leading them into death.
• Symbolic of Life & Hope – The Beacon Fire is an important feature of Dark Souls for many reasons. Though in gameplay it serves as a recovery and re-spawn point for players whose health gets low, it is also where players can emotionally share experiences with other players, and is the one place in the dark world where players can find a fleeting moment of warmth and calm.

Additional Screenshots:

Will your fellow peers steer you from evil...or lead you to them? View larger.

Cross paths seamlessly with other adventurers during Network Play! View larger.

Savor the few moments of warmth and calm in a world of darkness. View larger.

Explore a world of fantasy and evil lurking around every corner... View larger.

Product Description

Live Through A Million Deaths & Earn Your Legacy. Enter a dark world filled with despair and threaded by hope where your ability to creatively strategize, learn and overcome unpredictable and unique challenges determines your fate. Dark Souls will demand your absolute concentration, unflinchingly punish your mistakes, but reward your ability to learn from death. Each challenge is a mind game met with endless combinations that will test your ability to creatively strategize a way to conquer unimaginable monsters and progress deeper into this bleak and forbidding environment filled with the un-dead. The Collector's Edition will include a limited edition art book containing premium illustrations of characters and environments from the game, a mini-strategy guidebook, behind-the-scenes videos from the development studio detailing various stages of game concept, design and building, and the game's soundtrack for digital download. All of this will come packaged with the standard edition game in a custom-designed metal case.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 76 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Setting the Record Straight on the Collector's Edition October 7, 2011

By Tamlane

Platform for Display:PLAYSTATION 3| Edition:Collector|Amazon Verified Purchase

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

Note: I going to concentrate this review on the "extras" found in the Collector's Edition. My reason being that if you are thinking of purchasing the Collector's Edition, you probably are aware of what the game is like.

What exactly is Dark Souls? It's a spiritual succesor to Demon's Souls, and in reality it might as well be called Demon's Souls II. The game is very atmospheric, very beautiful, eiry, and of course very challenging. As in Demon's Souls, dying is something that is a natural part of Dark Souls. The game is meant to be challenging, and if you played Demon's Souls you know exactly what to expect. If you did not enjoy Demon's Souls, there is no point in purchasing this game. If you did not play Demon's Souls, you might want to purchase that (it's only $20) before purchasing the more expensive Dark Souls. Now, for those of you who are definitely going to purchase Dark Souls, is the Collector's Edition worth the extra cost? The answer, it depends...

First, if you pre-ordered this game, you got the Collector's Edition at NO extra cost! So in that sense, yes this is clearly a wonderful bonus! If you missed out on the pre-order (the Collector's Edition is now sold out), should you pay extra for a copy? Well, here is what is found in the Collector's Edition:

1)First thing you'll notice, it comes in a beautiful and large steelcase (or steel case, steelbook, whatever you call it). Note that it's not real steel of course, but most likely tin. Nevertheless, the case is very well done, and holds the game and arbook.

2)Limited Edition Artbook: it's nice. I'm not a huge fan of game-related artbooks, but this is a nice hard cover artbook. It's not the size of a "normal" book (I consider normal the size of a sheet of paper or 8.5" x 11"), but substantially smaller. Still, it fits snuggly in the steelcase.

3)Mini-Strategy Guide: this is available as a DOWNLOAD only!! Boo... I hate download only items. I would much rather have had the strategy guide be available in hardcopy and have the artbook as a download. I don't know who decided this should be a download only, but I would not give that person/people a high I.Q. rating...

4)Original Game Soundtrack: this is available as a DOWNLOAD only!! What? the beautiful soundtrack...download only?! Yes, that's right. Another "brilliant" move by marketers who are oblivious to what their customers want.

5)Behind the Scenes Video: this is available as a DOWNLOAD only!! Yes, yet again, you are left stranded with a donwload only.

6)A Card to Redeem items 3,4,5.

So there you have it. The items that in my opinion truly make a collector's editions special (special strategy guide and game soundtrack) are download only! I consider this very lame. Yet, I gave the game 5 stars... why? Well, because I can't deny the fact that all these bonuses were given for free! This collector's edition did not cost (originally) any more than the regular edition. The regular edition is a 5-star game in my opinion, and the collector's edition is the same thing with FREE bonuses. So, it's up to you to decide whether these extras are worth the "extra" cost (since you likely will not find the collector's edition for the original price any more). Also, keep in mind that prices will vary. You might be able to find the collector's edition at only a "little" more than the original cost, and other sellers will ask 2-3 times the original cost. As I said, it's up to you, but hopefully this review has helped you decide one way or the other. Either way, let me say that the game itself is still fantastic...

74 of 86 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Spiritual (Soulful?) Successor October 3, 2011

By Justin Ladd

Platform for Display:PLAYSTATION 3|Edition:Collector

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

For those who have played FROM Software's Demon's Souls (itself a spiritual successor of FROM's King's Field franchise and what many would consider to be 2009's game-of-the-year) for the PlayStation 3, Dark Souls will feel immediately familiar, as the controls and play style are pulled directly from it and expanded upon. The same can be said for nearly all other aspects of the game.

It should be noted that this is NOT a sequel to Demon's Souls, as it fleshes out its own original tale and does nothing to further the reality and mythos of Demon's Souls aside from sly winks, subtle nudges and the occasional DEMON THAT WANTS TO BURN YOU WITH ITS FIERY EVERYTHING.

Even within the tutorial level, the game quickly gets you up to speed on the controls and type of game you're in for, one of patience and exploration and existence as meat (somewhat literally, as you start off rather "undead", resembling a bipedal stick of jerky) to be tenderized by every punishing enemy that can reach you... if you're not careful. After the tutorial you are placed at what can loosely be described as a hub, or bonfire, but it's more of a branching off point where the land of Dark Souls can take you down many paths, each showing off a unique and darkly beautiful environment to explore and conquer. While each of these paths is considered accessible, you'll find that you might not yet be prepared to traverse them until later on, once you've leveled up your character and equipped them with better armor, weapons and items.

And that is where the bonfire comes in to play. Scattered through the lands are unlit mounds marked with a sword, waiting for you to come and ignite them, where they then become resting places/refresher points. By refresher I mean that that newly lit bonfire is where you will respawn should you happen (Oh, it WILL happen) to be killed. So there is some comfort in that, and also in the fact that whenever you return to a fire your consumable health flasks, known as Estus flasks, will be replenished, along with spells and miracles if you decide to put focus in using magic. Now by rest I mean you can take comfort in that spot, knowing that enemies, unless currently chasing you, will not interrupt you as you sit by the fire and take the souls collected from each enemy slain and trade them toward improving your character's stats. The downside? Touching the fire resets the world, so all minor enemies return to their locations ready to battle you once again. So choose wisely the times you wish to touch the flames.

I mentioned souls gained from enemies, and they are important, as it is your method not only for leveling up your stats, but also purchasing an array of items from merchants and others NPCs.

With many games these days inviting a "run and gun" type of mentality and a fair amount of hand-holding, it takes a bit of reconditioning to understand that with this game it pays to think logically, as Dark Souls adheres to rules. There are clues within the layout of the land regarding where to go and what secrets lie ahead, and every enemy is beatable, even at low level stats, by studying movements and method and knowing the right equipment to go in with. This game is all about bettering yourself, and thus feels incredibly rewarding with each land successfully journeyed or boss demon defeated. And the treasure that comes from that? It's best left unspoiled what you'll come to possess.

The combat in Dark Souls is some of the best combat I've encountered in any game, with each weapon offering its own style and moveset, from long-range to short, slashing, cutting, blunt, piercing, so many options and secret weapons to discover and build as well using blacksmiths. Each set of armor provides its own strengths and weaknesses, and there's a level of balancing that doesn't allow any weapon to feel over-powered or game-breaking. And if it starts to because of how high you've leveled? Just wait until you carry over into New Game +. And as I mentioned, battling feels fun and intuitive because of the logical nature of the enemies. Logical but not bland.

A lot of people have wanted to know more about multi-player. It's been ramped up significantly from what was offered in Demon's Souls, while still maintaining that "This is my difficult journey through a harsh and desolate land" feel. Some nice carry-overs from Demon's Souls are the blood stains and ghosts. Blood stains can appear on the ground in your world and when clicked on, you'll see the last 10 seconds of another players in ghost form, leading up to their death. It's a nice touch in providing the player an idea of what might be in store for them. Players can also sometimes just briefly appear visible in one another's worlds. You can't interact with them, and they only appear doing what they are doing in their game for a few seconds, but it helps to add a bit more ambiance to the game.

Further multi-player options are done using certain stone items. One stone, an orange soapstone that you can buy early in the game, allows you to write messages on the ground that get displayed to other players, just as theirs are displayed to you. It's helpful for hints, tactics and if you want, trickery. If someone chooses to recommend a message, the person who wrote it is rewarded immediately with a boost of health. You have the ability, once awarded a white soapstone, to join other players or have them join you for some aid in felling the demons. But just as easily through yet another stone, players could choose to instead invade your world as a black phantom (or vice-versa), seeking to destroy you and collect your souls and restore their humanity, as the more human you are, the more inclined certain NPCs are to speak and deal with you, as well as other perks. That was as far as things went in Demon's Souls. Dark Souls, however, really makes things interesting.

The game offers you the option through various interactions to join covenants. By pledging allegiance, you are opening yourself up to new opportunities, usually regarding multi-player, that are incredibly unique. One such covenant awards you black armor and sword and sends you to other worlds to slay those who choose to maliciously invade players, thus avenging the victims, but only if the victim submitted the invader into the Book of the Guilty, which acts as a WANTED list. Another covenant allows you to place a glowing sign on the ground, which appears in that same spot in the games of three other random players, who then encounter waves of black phantom enemies that spawn from the sign, until the player is either killed (thus awarding the sign layer souls) or one of the three players finds the sign in their world and crosses through it to hunt down and kill you. Potentially all three could enter your world, and then you better be running. That's just a small example of the possibilities that covenants can offer, but be careful of which you join, because they do not take kindly to those who break it, but even that presents its own interesting opportunities.

I can't say enough about how beautifully designed the world is. There is a staggering amount of variance with each path you take, to the point that you're surprised you've found an area that looks so surprisingly new and different. It's amazingly how intuitively intertwined it all becomes as well, with shortcuts opened as you progress and multiple ways to get around. And sometimes you'll catch yourself looking far off in the distance, even if that distance is somehow ABOVE you, and wondering if you can get there. Yep, you can. Demon's Souls managed to be pretty with a palette of grays and kept that feeling of dark, foreboding emptiness. Dark Souls takes that, splashes it in many parts with color and STILL manages to keep that same wonderful, moody atmosphere. And FROM really allows their environments to sing and provide ambiance on their own, without constant background music for that evocation. Music is there, and it's thrilling and moody and fitting, but saved for certain moments. Everything else is soundtracked by the fulfilling clang of swords, the echoing water drops in a far-reaching cavern, the sound of a dragon's lungs heaving somewhere in the dark. That's music in and of itself.

OVERALL:
If I had to say something in the negative regarding this game, it would only be that there are times, despite how intuitively the game is laid out, that you can get a bit lost or confused on where to go next. But in my experience, it's never for very long.

Dark Souls takes everything about its spiritual predecessor, Demon's Souls, and enriches and improves upon it with bigger worlds, a wider array of enemies and locations, more weapons, more secrets, more items. Armor serves a greater purpose and can be upgraded, multi-player is all the more exciting with new play options and a chance to be saintly and helpful or insidiously vicious. Upgrading weapons and armor makes more sense and offers a variety of paths to improve your stuff, sound is rich and atmospheric, and bosses are absolutely epic.

Oh. And yes, crystal lizards are still in this game. BUT! They continue to respawn until you manage to kill them. Huzzah!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Franchise Keeps Getting Better October 5, 2011

By B. Ellis

Platform for Display:PLAYSTATION 3|Edition:Collector

Fun: 5.0 out of 5 stars   

This title feels like a more well-polished, more well-defined version of what Demon's Souls should have been. On its own, Demon's Souls was a fantastically challenging game, but the mechanics (particularly menu navigation) were a bit overwhelming at times. Dark Souls seems to have improved upon this model with a more intuitive menu system, and they even seem to have tweaked some of the action mechanics as well, while still keeping the spirit of the game intact. This franchise (the same as King's Field before it) will always be about learning from your mistakes and playing intelligently for a more rewarding experience. I've only spent about two hours with it, but already I can tell that I'm going to be getting just as ensconced in the world of Dark Souls as I was with its predecessor. Bottom Line: This is a 5-Star game for those who love a challenge built into a well-crafted world/storyline. All those looking for quick thrills and even quicker bursts of playtime should move on to other game franchises.