Great game and beautiful Collectors Edition

I've been playing since appearance, have made the first passage and think that I am now in a position to be able to post reviews. But before I talk about the game itself, I would like to focus on the contents of the Collector's Edition first.

The Steelbook:

Looks very beautiful is very stable, there is nothing to complain about it.

The artbook:

Has the typical size that I know of other Collector Editions (perhaps a little smaller than a DVD case). It is very well made and the drawings are very nice.

The Stoffmap:

But for my taste a little small but nice to look at fall.

The Figure:

The heart of the Collectors Edition. The 30cm high figure makes a great impression. She does not smell unpleasant, very good workmanship and beautifully painted. The swords of the figure are extra settled and have no problem even be installed but this absolutely is. Only the base on which the figure stands seem to be made of cheap plastic, but what one remembers even if you touch the base. From the look ago it blends perfectly into the overall picture of the figure.

So now the game itself:

For my first pass I needed some 60 hours. Is certainly faster but I always try to explore the entire game world. And explore are plentiful in Dark Souls 2. The game world is much bigger than in Dark Souls 1. As in the previous one is simply thrown in the game world into without much explanation and has to find its way through the endless expanses of Dark Souls itself. This is in my opinion one of the great strengths of the game. It is not taken as in many other games by the hand and pulled virtually through the game world, but is completely on its own.

Sometimes that is indeed frustrating but that the joy is greater if, for example discovered more new territory. In each area there are beacons of which one has discovered any other beacon that you can teleport. This is sorely needed because otherwise you would have to constantly endless wide cover to get from A to B. In addition, the beacon used as usual as a storage point where you almost resist resurrected when you die. And dying is a fundamental component in Dark Souls.

I had feared that the developers would reduce the degree of difficulty for the benefit of the mass compatibility. Fortunately this is not the case and I found it even a bit harder than Dark Souls 1. Nevertheless, the game is by no means unfair. With enough persistence and strategy you can defeat every boss. Thanks to the high level of difficulty Dark Souls is a game but in which one can be frustrated right to it then also really pleased when you've made it and have very few games nowadays.

Graphically the game looks very good. Not quite as good as in part 1 but I think the developers had to something to turn back so that it does not come to such a frame rate dips as in Dark Souls 1. But I personally look anyway not as accurate on the graph. A game has to be fun and that makes Dark Souls all.

The sound is again very successful in the first part and fits well into the overall picture.

There are also some new features in gameplay as the already mentioned teleport from beacon to beacon. Okay that there was indeed in Part 1 also but there quite late in the game. More I would, however, not reveal because it is precisely with the best is all find out in Dark Souls itself.

So from me a strong buy recommendation. For collectors like me, the Collector's Edition is definitely worth and you should access while it is still available. For all non-collectors are looking for a game which challenges one, it also does the standard or BlackArmor Edition.