Bloodborne Community (Build: Bloodborne: The Old Hunters, 17 Sep 2015 14:44:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7787381Mike FutterFirst screensFile: Bloodborne: The Old Hunters, 17 Sep 2015 14:44:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7787380Mike FutterFirst screensFile: Bloodborne: The Old Hunters, 17 Sep 2015 14:44:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7787378Mike FutterFirst screensFile: Bloodborne: The Old Hunters, 17 Sep 2015 14:44:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7787377Mike FutterFirst screensBlog Post: A Bloody Good Time!, 11 Aug 2015 15:05:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7616301Buswaxer25I went into this game feeling pretty confident that I would love it. Having played the Dark Souls games from the same developer, I had a good idea of what to expect. This game met my expectations in the best ways possible and even managed to exceed them in others. The atmosphere that this game provides is top notch. While not advertised as a horror game, Bloodborne provides a distinct feeling of dread that few games with that intention manage to deliver. The gameplay is also excellent. The combat is tight and responsive and leaves a lot of room for experimentation and variety. All of the boss fights are distinct and offer their own unique challenges to overcome. The various RPG systems on display are all very smartly implemented: from the leveling, to the character progression, to the economy, everything works without a hitch and provides a highly satisfying experience. Even after completing the game, there are three possible endings to shoot for giving completionists something to strive for. There are also a myriad of hidden weapons to discover and unlock, not to mention the practically endless replayability of the procedurally generated Chalice Dungeons. While Bloodborne is not quite as difficult as its Dark Souls cousins, it still offers plenty of challenge, especially to those who are new to the series. The load times do tend to be a little longer than most would like, they do little to detract from the overall experience. Bloodborne is without a doubt, one of the best new titles of the year so far and I would highly recommend it to anyone who wants a good challenge, good atmosphere, or a good game in general. *This review does not include Online content due to the reviewer being to cheap to pay for PlayStation Plus *If anyone notices that this review is identical to one found on the GameStop website, fear no plagiarism! I am the author of that as well.Blog Post: Bloodborne Review: At The Mountains Of Madness, 12 Apr 2015 21:51:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7416790Swinhart<p>The Souls series is obtuse, dense and incredibly difficult to get into. &nbsp;None of this an insult but a compliment to their design and vision, the games are powerful, one of a kind experiences that provide a sense of accomplishment and discovery unlike any other. &nbsp;The problem is that Bloodborne, while a great game on its own merits, falls a little short in comparison to the other games in the Souls series. &nbsp;Providing an experience that may resonate more with new initiates and disappoint those who are still playing the original Dark Souls.</p> <p><a href=""><img height="528" width="939" alt="bloodborne-twin-blades-ready-to-rock" src="" class="alignnone wp-image-574" /></a></p> <p>The city&nbsp;of Yharnam is rich and ominous, filled with towering church steeples and Gothic spires, the tapestry weaved by From Software is a visage of a place&nbsp;gone mad. Home to werewolves, witches, eldritch abominations and cosmic terrors, the world on display is much like any of that in a From game, its dark, dreary, hopeless and utterly insane. &nbsp;Unfortunately the city of Yharnam makes up most of the game world, gone is the variety seen in Dark Souls and especially Dark Souls 2. Bloodborne does retain some of their flavor as the environments are open and have many shortcuts that lead in on themselves like the original. &nbsp;While the world is a little more connected than Dark Souls 2 was, it doesn&#39;t entirely fold in on itself and still follows a more linear design philosophy. &nbsp;Much of Yharnam feels the same, with little distinction between districts outside of their names and enemies, especially with the new health vial system causing players to spend entirely too much time in the&nbsp;opening section.</p> <p><a href=""><img height="478" width="850" alt="bloodborne-reaper" src="" class="alignnone wp-image-576" /></a></p> <p>Players are going to become well acquainted&nbsp;with central Yharnam, the games starting area and the subject of all the previews before its release. &nbsp;Perhaps the most intricate and well designed area in the game, it is sadly the one that players will end up becoming most tired of. &nbsp;The new blood vial system replaces the Estus flasks, they are dropped by enemies along with the quicksilver bullets that are used with the new guns. &nbsp;The health vials and bullets are unable to be upgraded and can only be farmed off of dead enemies or bought, which will bring players back to central Yharnam to no end.&nbsp; It is a terrible feeling to be penalized for making boss runs by running out of vials and having to take a break just to collect more ammo and health. &nbsp;It also hurts players looking to explore, whereas in Dark Souls one could know that at a bonfire they would gain full flasks and be able to set out anew and explore. &nbsp;In Bloodborne, you fear exploration because if you die you will lose any expunged blood vials or ammo.</p> <p><a href=""><img height="486" width="865" alt="bloodborne-evil-forest" src="" class="alignnone wp-image-577" /></a></p> <p>Bloodborne is also a more contained experience, the aesthetic is more focused, where the Souls games cast a wide net with all creatures of fantasy lore fair game, Bloodborne is all gothic, victorian horror. &nbsp;It does its best and provides some gruesome creatures for players to battle, which I will not spoil here, but it is also about half the size of the Souls games, with much less areas, bosses and content in general. &nbsp;There are far less weapons, armor and items. &nbsp;Magic is non-existent and the game-play focus is entirely on quickly dodging and shooting, with the removal of poise causing even the heaviest weapon users to dash and dart across the screen with ease. &nbsp;Many of the trick weapons feel the same, and outside of their transformations, can be fairly throw-away. &nbsp;Only a third or so of the weapons provide tangible benefits with their transformations, some of them are perplexing what the benefit of the transformation is. &nbsp;After three times through the game I have yet to find the use for the saw cleaver transformation outside of reach, the damage is usually less and the weapon swings slower, making it a nearly useless feature on some weapons. &nbsp;Other weapons shine, where their changes are equally as awesome and useful for different situations, sadly it takes so long to upgrade a weapon, the only intelligent decision is to stick with one &nbsp;for an entire playthrough and look with longing at the others.</p> <p><a href=""><img height="526" width="936" alt="Bloodborne1120-01" src="" class="alignnone wp-image-578" /></a></p> <p>The armor or &quot;fashion souls&quot; is at its weakest in the series, with the removal of poise, players don&#39;t choose their play style. &nbsp;One cannot play with a spear and shield and be quick and then change their character to be a lumbering, armor covered, great-sword wielding madman. &nbsp;The armor is almost entirely aesthetic, with barely noticeable stat changes and despite the choice, every armor set is meant for quick and fast paced fighting. &nbsp;Fortunately what armor is there is aesthetically awesome, players are allowed to live out their Van Helsing fantasy as trench coat wearing, blunderbuss wielding hunters of beasts.</p> <p>The combat in Bloodborne feels amazing, the combo of dodging and shooting to stun and then using a visceral attack to finish an enemy is cathartic. &nbsp;The quick pace adds intensity, the enemies are also more capable, making combat hectic. &nbsp;The learning curve can be steep for Souls vets, but once players get the stun down, they become too capable. &nbsp;I felt I walked all over certain bosses, whether they were the first or the last. &nbsp;Very few required more than one or two tries without being able to stun them constantly and just abuse the combat loop.</p> <p><a href=""><img height="498" width="886" alt="15269301662_e580044c17_o" src="" class="alignnone wp-image-579" /></a></p> <p>The issue with Bloodborne is From Software enforcing its design on players, they have to fight using the new combat system rather than find their own way to conquer bosses and proceed through the provided content. &nbsp;That combat is awesome, the loop is there, but it is one note. &nbsp;Gone is the discovery of finally getting it, you now are told how to play and gone is the player choice so important in a Souls RPG. &nbsp;Also gone are the complex and interesting covenants, only to be replaced by three that, only one of which, has a leader.</p> <p>One of Bloodbornes most egregious sins is in its storytelling. &nbsp;From have always crafted dark, hopeless, interesting and downright fascinating stories in their games. &nbsp;The sparsely told tales through item descriptions and scarce NPC dialogue provide clues for players to discern the overarching story. &nbsp;Bloodborne tries to provide the same experience but lacks items to use as hints, and the NPC&#39;s you meet are one note and provide almost nothing in terms of story. &nbsp;The games finale&nbsp;comes so quickly and without warning that even after nearly a dozen pages of notes, I was still as lost as ever. &nbsp;And all of this comes after one of the easiest boss fights, no matter what ending you get. &nbsp;On top of all of this, Bloodborne relies on one of the worst story tropes used in modern film and gaming and tells the player the twist outright within the starting cut-scene.</p> <p><a href=""><img height="371" width="660" alt="bloodborne-10" src="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-580" /></a></p> <p>This has all sounded incredibly negative, but this is a review for diehard Souls fans. &nbsp;Bloodborne is an amazing game, the visuals and sound design are unparalleled, the world is fascinating, the combat is visceral and intense like no other action game and it is a meaty experience that has already provided me with over a hundred hours of game-play. &nbsp;The chalice dungeons provide extra incentive with their randomly generated templates with&nbsp;exclusive gear, weapons and bosses, even if some are palette swaps. &nbsp;Nothing will beat discovering the main games areas, but the chalice dungeons provide some of that trademark Souls challenge and appeal despite feeling a little samey.</p> <p>Bloodborne is still challenging, and will give&nbsp;newcomers as intense an experience as ever, bosses are the best the series has seen in terms of creature design and their capability to change tactics or stages as their health gets lower. &nbsp;When the music is pumping and the boss is on its final legs, it will lash out like a cornered animal, providing an intense and blood-pumping experience that only a Souls game can provide. &nbsp;Sadly these moments are fewer and farther between compared to the rest of the series.</p> <p><a href=""><img height="371" width="660" alt="bloodborne-crazyeyed-dog" src="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-581" /></a></p> <p>Bloodborne is one of a kind, even within the Souls games, its also a phenomenal individual experience, especially for those new to the series. &nbsp;The quick game-play, disturbing beauty and flashy violence are appealing, drawing newcomers and old veterans alike into its terrifying world. &nbsp;As a Souls game Bloodborne is lacking, with less options, streamlined combat, stats and general player choice, it is the weakest of the series in sheer depth. &nbsp;Despite all of this, it is still a powerful trip through a lovecraftian tapestry of horror and violence.</p> <p><a href=""><img height="168" width="300" alt="Shot_2-noscale" src="" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-586" /></a></p> <p><strong>Pros:</strong></p> <p><strong>+Gorgeous&nbsp;</strong></p> <p><strong>+Incredible Art</strong></p> <p><strong>+Fluid, fast gameplay</strong></p> <p><strong>+Amazing world</strong></p> <p><strong>Cons:</strong></p> <p><strong>-Lacks depth of previous entries</strong></p> <p><strong>-Story fumbles</strong></p> <p><strong>-Load times</strong></p>Blog Post: Bloodborne Review: Blood Soaked Masterpiece, 08 Apr 2015 00:42:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7410312Krobolt<p><img src="" border="0" alt="" />The dark moon hangs over the maddened city. You slowly walk down the misty cobblestone roads of a land long abandoned by its people. All that remains are beasts that prowl the streets and creatures you can only imagine from nightmares. The sound of the clock tower echoes throughout the night, terrifying howls linger in the dark, and unknown footsteps slowly become closer and closer. Just as you feel you can stop and take a breath, an axe swiftly cuts through the air towards you and your heart races once again. This is the world of Bloodborne, where your survival skills and sanity are put to the ultimate test.<br /><br />You are a hunter, who visits the gothic city of Yharnam in the midst of a plague. The cursed city is home to several horror tropes such as werewolves, twisted humans, and larger than life creatures. As the night continues, the tale quickly takes a turn for the strange as creatures you&rsquo;ve once fought become nightmarish and fiends of Lovecraftian lore lurk; all with their sights on you. Never before as a dark fantasy game captivated me in such a way. With its strong visuals, gothic aesthetic, and astounding atmosphere, Yharnam is a city many players can truly feel lost in.<br /><br />Bloodborne does an excellent job at combining fantastic gameplay with terror. Combat is deliberate just as any Souls game, only faster paced. Enemies can cut you down pretty quickly so dodging is crucial for survival. However, the best defense is a good offense, when you&rsquo;re landing powerful blows with the fast saw cleaver or the massive holy blade. The revenge system encourages this through aggressive play. As enemies take your life away, you have a short window of opportunity to take back most of your life. If you&rsquo;re bold enough, you can take a shot using the reworked parry system. Using the hunter&rsquo;s gun, players can stagger foes with good timing leading to powerful visceral attacks. Parrying doesn&rsquo;t affect later foes so use it as often as you can. These gruesome foes aren&rsquo;t easy and players will die a lot before the credits roll, so use each method wisely.<br /><br />There are enough weapons, armor, and runes to customize your very own hunter. Each weapon has a &ldquo;trick&rdquo; mode allowing for every weapon to have different functions in combat. The saw cleaver, for example, has a mode allowing for quick, close ranged attacks, while its other mode extends the blade allowing for more arched attacks against flying foes. Runes can also be added onto these weapons adding additional buffs such as health regen after visceral attacks and fire damage per hit. <br /><br />Your trek through Yharnam is centered on exploration, loot collecting, and learning. Exploration has its perks - finding new shortcuts and connecting lamps makes each visit to the city somewhat easier and finding treasure hidden away can be profitable. Studying your surroundings is both rewarding and necessary. New enemies will greet players around every corner and often times lead to your demise. Each death gives players crucial knowledge to avoid meeting the same fate during their next attempt, and those deaths come quite often. <br /><br />Massive boss battles are fantastic set pieces throughout Bloodborne. Every creature as its own special battle, fitting in with the overarching horror theme, each with multi-phases to change up the fight midway. Once you feel like you&rsquo;re in control of the fight, the boss can undertake some crazy transformation or change their fighting style leaving players on their toes. As tensions rise, your heart races as you come closer and closer to slaying the massive beasts, emerging either victorious, soaking in blood, or dead, awaiting your chance at revenge. Aside from traditional boss battles, NPC hunters, armed with their own arsenal of hunter tools, hide within Yharnam providing thrilling fights. These fights are all intense and a single misstep can be the difference between victory and death. <br /><br />Bloodborne is as challenging as any Souls title, but just as with that series, various multiplayer options can add several means of success. If you&rsquo;re having trouble playing solo or just stuck on a massive monster, you can call allies to help. Playing with friends is easy thanks to a friendly password system. These aspects are great allowing for fun cooperative moments through this difficult journey. Along with coop, players can also invade others&rsquo; game worlds, where the players task is to wreak havoc on the others playthrough.<br /><br />If there are any issues I have with Bloodborne, it&rsquo;s the games long load times. Normally, I wouldn&rsquo;t pay it too much mind, but in this game every death is met with a rather long loading screen. These moments become rather annoying, especially during difficult times where inevitable death is met with a load screen, breaking the game&rsquo;s immersion.<br /><br />Bloodborne is a horror gem unlike any other. While Bloodborne doesn&rsquo;t stay too far from its roots, its beautiful gothic atmosphere, fearsome foes, and tight combat make it strong enough to stand on its own feet. Those brave enough to dive into this nightmarish landscape will be met with a challenging, yet satisfying journey. In terror and hardship, Bloodborne triumphs.</p>Blog Post: Blood souls or dark born ?, 03 Apr 2015 20:38:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7404998jenniferttookewl<p>I bought a Ps4 with my tax check. I got Bloodborne as I needed something to play on my shinny new system. </p> <p>The game its self did not sell the system to me I had planned to get one regardless this tax season. </p> <p>I have played both dark souls and dark souls 2 and after sometimes with bloodborne I feel BB should be dark souls 3 or it will be the standard that dark souls 3 will be judged against.</p> <p>Any one who is familar with dark souls or From software&#39;s work. Should already know the formula. </p> <p>Bone crushing difficulty: check </p> <p>souls/blood echos as currency and leveling up: check </p> <p>lose in battle lose said currency( often): check </p> <p>light bonfires/lanterns to save progress and fast travel: check</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>I could continue to run down the list of striking similarities between the 3 games.</p> <p>Where Bloodborne stands out on its own merit I feel is in its atmosphere and combat . Dark souls games&nbsp; have a very medieval sword and sorcery vibe to them. as where where bloodborne goes for a gothic victorian horror show vibe . To great effect I may add. The whole atmosphere of blood borne I feel is its shinning spot and sets it apart from dark souls. This is what sucked me in most about Bloodborne the worlds feel alive and legitimately scary. </p> <p>the seconds is the combat. While both game require patience and carful consideration in combat . One mistep or hasty move will cause you a death. BB cast of the shield and perry combat of dark souls in favor of movement and speed . and out maneuvering what ever gastly beast confronts you. For souls players it feels alien but u eventually settle in to the new groove of things.</p> <p>The game is beautiful even in its horror vibe beautifully realized and detailed to an insaine amount . It makes dark souls world feel limp and lifeless by comparision. though all this eye candy comes at a price . the game does suffer from longe loading times and noticable frame rate drops . I find the frame rate drops to be more annoying than the long load times. simply because they cause me more than a few cheap deaths during my play threw. </p> <p>I want to Love bloodborne . But I often feel like if i peeled of the name bloodborne just under it would say dark souls 3. So in that it has really done nothing special and feels more like a clone than anything unique and special</p> <p>If you are not a fan of the souls games there is little here that will change your mind about from software&#39;s work. The game is extremely challenging, the story is pretty much what you make of it and vague . the world and atmosphere is the biggest draw , but as stated if you do not have the time or patcience to dive into it and willing to be set back time and time again, then this game is not for you.</p>Blog Post: Borne For Greatness, 03 Apr 2015 02:59:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7404148Refle<p><span>On only the second boss I encountered I fully realized what separated Bloodborne from the Souls series. Father Gascoigne, when you initially begin to fight him you think it will be a basic human style boss fight but quickly you realize that this is not a basic human it is a hunter. As I continued to damage him, he became faster and more agile, he was moving at speeds I was entirely not used to but I myself was moving with quickness and speed that could match his. At the end of the fight the intensity of the fight was at a climax with both of us moving around like blurs until finally I laid the final blow to my prey, my heart racing from the intense fight. I thought to myself, so this is Bloodborne&hellip;. awesome.</span></p> <p><span>Bloodborne uses many elements from the Dark Souls series and I would say a solid chunk of the game contains elements that most Souls fans will be able to identify instantly. The overall idea is similar as well, as you create your character who will go on a journey through hell where they will die over and over again. At a quick glance many people would say the games look pretty much identical but once you get your hands on the game itself you soon realize that this is not a Souls game, this is Bloodborne.</span></p> <p><span>Bloodborne adds quickness and aggressiveness not seen in the Souls series. Your character is more agile than any Souls class. Bloodborne is not a game where you hide behind a shield and wait for your chance to strike, in Bloodborne you are the hunter and the beasts you encounter are you prey. The instant you start playing Bloodborne you begin to realize that you must be the one to strike first.</span></p> <p><span>The added agility of your hunter is just one way in which the game differs from Dark Souls. Guns have been added to the formula and they change up the formula in numerous ways. Guns let you attack opponents from range depending on the gun. They also are key in parrying enemies in the game, a well-timed blast with the Blunderbuss will immobilize a enemy for a second where you then must press R1 to initiate a visceral attack. These attacks do major damage and are very important in many fights, as most bosses can be stunned with a perfectly timed blast. </span></p> <p><span>You will almost always have a gun equipped as there are no &ldquo;real&rdquo; shields in the game besides a wooden plank that does not work well at all. Backstabs are also different in that you must use a charged strong attack from behind an enemy in order to stun them and then do a visceral attack from behind. The changes to core gameplay make take a little time to get used to for both Souls veterans and newcomers but once you grasp the gameplay it comes natural to the player. Blood vials are your main source of gaining health as you can carry up to 20 blood vials at once but they are not upgradable and only give a fair amount of health. The changes to gameplay are great and makes Bloodborne feel unique.</span></p> <p><span>Bosses in the game are sights to behold as many of them look amazing and disturbing, I love the designs of many of the bosses. Many of the bosses have sort of stages, in that they will add a move or become quicker the more you damage them. The best parts of the boss fights are when you have a boss low on health and they begin to unleash everything they have to kill you, it delivers some of the most frantic and intense gameplay I have encountered. I will say having defeated most of the bosses that I found them to be easier than the bosses I have fought in Dark Souls as I remember dying way less than when I played through Dark Souls 2.</span></p> <p><span>The dark Victorian setting is disturbing and creepy but it also has its moments of beauty. Yharnam is disturbing and you never know who or what is going to come out of it. There were many moments throughout were I walked slowly as I became tense from the sound of something ghastly and looked around a room that oozed a Lovecraftian feel. Overall there was a good amount of setting variety as I never knew what to expect while going from area to area, not to mention that the game looks great and is one of the better looking games on the PS4.</span></p> <p><span>As far as the story goes it is told in a way Souls fans will be familiar with but is more present than you normally see in Dark Souls. As you get deeper in the game you begin to understand bit by bit what is going on in this world. You play as a hunter who must go out and hunt terrifying beasts during the Hunt, which as far as I am aware takes place over one night. The story is dark and depressing but I still found myself interested in knowing what was going on. There are parts later in the game that have an effect on what happens but I won&rsquo;t mention them. The story is not what is going to be bringing you back but it is interesting and I am sure the lore will continue to expand after the release.</span></p> <p><span>Bloodborne is not just a Dark Souls game with a name change it changes aspects of gameplay to make it have its own unique style and while it does share many similarities to the Souls series it is not a clone. It contains some of the best and most intense fights I have encountered in awhile but also makes sure you are always on edge. I will say that I thought Bloodborne was slightly easier than what I have experienced from the Dark Souls series but I would consider myself more of a Souls veteran than a newcomer. I had my fair share of frustrations while playing through the game but the highs were much higher than the lows. Bloodborne is a great start for a new (most likely) franchise and is without a doubt the best PS4 exclusive if not the best exclusive this generation for both consoles (I would like to point out that Sunset Overdrive is awesome and is pretty much neck for neck tied with this game for me, if you have an Xbox One buy Sunset Overdrive&hellip;.. seriously buy it). I can&rsquo;t wait to see more from both the Dark Souls series and Bloodborne in the future.</span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p class="MsoNormal">&nbsp;</p>Blog Post: Hunt With Me, 01 Apr 2015 20:49:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7401856Nicholas H<p>Let me start off by saying that playing <i>BloodBorne</i>&nbsp;doesn&#39;t make you a, &quot;real gamer&quot;. It doesn&#39;t make you any more hardcore than anyone else who enjoys casual games such as <i>Call of Duty, </i>or even, <i>The Order: 1886. BloodBorne </i>is easily one of the best games I have ever played, and now ranks among my top action RPG&#39;s of all time. </p> <p>But it is hard for me to even go online and look at anything about the game because people seem to think this is a &quot;better&quot; gaming experience than anything else, and for the most part, <i>it is. </i>But the reasons for that fall under the time and care you can see went into crafting this game, the environments, the enemies, the design and execution are flawless here. </p> <p>But like many, I never played <i>Dark Souls </i>because all I would hear online is how &#39;hard&quot; and &quot;not for everyone it is&quot;. So i decided to try <i>BloodBorne </i>out because I wanted to see how it held up with the other ps4 exclusives, (I also gave a perfect 10 score to <i>The Order: 1886 </i>for completely different reasons, and many people are upset over that game). </p> <p>I waited to write my <i>BloodBorne </i>review until I had completely finished the game, and thirty hours later with my level 92 hunter I am proud to say I have conquered this journey. No matter what you may have heard about <i>BloodBorne, </i>whether from fanboys proud to say it&#39;s too hard for casuals, or those intimidated by those very statements and skip over the game immediately dismissing it as garbage, please play it for yourself before making an opinion. </p> <p>This is the rare type of game where watching, or reading about it doesn&#39;t do it justice. Is it hard? No. It is challenging but like most RPG&#39;s if you take the time to study and the eventual grind you will come out victorious. &nbsp;</p> <p>I cannot emphasis enough how sad I am that many people are overlooking this game because of the buzz surrounding it. I&#39;m a casual gamer, <i>Destiny </i>and <i>The Order: 1886 </i>rank among some of my all time favorites, but now so does <i>BloodBorne. </i></p> <p><i>Don&#39;t fall into a&nbsp;clique! </i>You can play this game, and it is designed for anyone who wants to play it! It is a beautiful, terrifying, action-packed journey into the depths of darkness, and overcoming those struggles with a grin in place.&nbsp;</p> <p><i>BloodBorne </i>has its claws sunk deep into me, and if you are looking for a game filled to the brim with content (and non traditional story-telling comparable to <i>Destiny) </i>then you are in the right place. Don&#39;t be scared, be ready to have fun, because this is one of the finest gaming experiences the market has to offer.&nbsp;</p> <p>How do you guys like the game? Let me know in the comments and thank you so much for reading. Please add me on PSN and njh0510 if you ever want to play!&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>Blog Post: A little bit disappointing, 30 Mar 2015 14:55:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7398320stalepie<p>Don&#39;t get me wrong, I liked it and thought it was one of the best PS4 games so far, but I don&#39;t find it nearly as memorable or interesting as Demon&#39;s Souls or Dark Souls (haven&#39;t played DS2).&nbsp;</p> <p>In many ways Bloodborne feels more refined and polished than any game I&#39;ve played from From Software before. What&#39;s lacking though are the truly excellent, stand-out moments that made the previous games special. For instance, remember the part in Demon&#39;s where you&#39;re running along the fortress wall in Boletaria and a dragon keeps swooping down, burning all the enemies to a crisp and you have to keep running to avoid getting turned to a crisp yourself? Or the part in Dark Souls where you&#39;re getting shot at by archers as you match your way along ledges in Anor Londo? Bloodborne seems to be lacking in moments like this.&nbsp;</p> <p>It&#39;s also lacking in items - you can get more gems to fortify your weapon, but their effects aren&#39;t nearly as interesting as the items you get in the Souls series. Also since BB pares down the importance of armor and rare weapons, it&#39;s less interesting to go exploring. When you do the best items you find are often just blood stone shards that are used to give a +1 to weapons.&nbsp;</p> <p>In Dark Souls and Demon&#39;s Souls there were some really interesting or amazing bosses. Sif, the great wolf, or the Old Monk which is actually a PvP fight against another player, disguised as a single player campaign boss fight. In Bloodborne although the bosses often look really good (lots of detail) they aren&#39;t as interesting overall. I might update my opinion here on a second playthrough as I think I missed a couple of the optional ones.&nbsp;</p> <p>The Chalice dungeons are an interesting feature - I tried two of them to three levels each. Perhaps I was overpowered at that point, but it was all too easy. Each dungeon was fairly similar to the other, so the &quot;randomization&quot; has clear prefab sections that splice together. These areas didn&#39;t add much of visual interest or items that you can&#39;t get elsewhere (from what I noticed). Maybe a few blood gems or something...&nbsp;</p> <p>PvP I had trouble getting working. Perhaps the servers are messed up at launch, but I never got invaded once. I did manage to invade someone else, but they seemed to already be on new game+ (enemies were much harder), so I&#39;m not sure it matched me via player levels. I did get co-op working once and a random person helped me beat a boss early on. Bloodborne is missing the offline NPC co-op characters you could summon in Dark Souls when you went out of the way to find their spots.&nbsp;</p> <p>Music-wise it fares decently, but again I didn&#39;t hear much that really stuck out. Dark Souls had excellent, amazing even, boss themes by Motoi Sakuraba, as well as a few memorable other tracks like Firelink and the last boss and credits piano work. This game had new composers, one of which (<span>Tsukasa Saito) worked on King&#39;s Field IV, but I didn&#39;t notice anything nearly as good as that game had. Look it up on YouTube sometime. Its soundtrack is awesome.&nbsp;</span></p> <p>So what does Bloodborne has that IS good, that IS stand-out? Well, the weapons are pretty great. They have two forms and even the boring Hunter&#39;s Axe is fun to use. They are fewer in number but have more distinction and a bigger moveset than the weapons in previous Souls games.&nbsp;</p> <p>The story set up is interesting, with something involving blood transfusion. They did a good job of coming up with a new world and location. Yharnam is one of the better locations and is quite big overall (if you&#39;re counting it as one whole place). It&#39;s hard to say how it compares to previous locations in the series, but there&#39;s a lot of beautiful moments, with particularly good use of setting suns and super bright moons setting the moods for every part you&#39;re in. There&#39;s also a good bit more detail than ever before in all objects on screen. It doesn&#39;t quite look as impressive as some other first party titles on the system, but it holds its own in terms of lavish designs, texture detail, etc. The environments almost look a little too busy at times and it&#39;s easy to get lost in them and not notice the monsters.&nbsp;</p> <p>Monsters are also generally excellent, especially the way they look. Their attacks are pretty standard, but a number of them do have grab moves that scare you into thinking they&#39;ll take off a lot more damage than they actually do. The worst thing to get inflicted by is &quot;Frenzy,&quot; a fast-acting affliction like a curse, which mysteriously begins attacking almost invisibly and you have to be careful your meter doesn&#39;t go over or it&#39;s instant death. There are some clothes and blood gems that protect against it, as well as a type of antidote that eliminates its effects.</p> <p>By the end of the game, the story does not wrap up very well and I never really understood what I was doing there in that world. I didn&#39;t even understand if it was a real world or some kind of dream. </p> <p>With all that said, though, it&#39;s still a fine action game and one of From Software&#39;s best. I just found it to be a little of a letdown. It&#39;s overwith too fast and I didn&#39;t know what I was doing most of the time or why I was exploring different parts - just that I needed to get on to the next unexplored area.&nbsp;</p> <p>As for difficulty, it&#39;s about the same as the previous games - hard, but not unmanageable. Some of the hardest parts are at the beginning before you can level up. The new blood-gaining method of attacking right after you&#39;ve been hurt does change up the fight style a good bit, and for the better, I think. I almost wish it didn&#39;t even have healing potions (blood vials), but you regained all your health by attacking enemies. It&#39;s a cool near feature.&nbsp;</p> <p>Will play the game again to see how my opinion continues to form...&nbsp;</p>Blog Post: Grab a Glass Because There's Going to be a Flood, 29 Mar 2015 03:04:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7395575Enuo<p><img src="" alt="" /></p> <p>In mid 2011, if you were to tell me that my game of the year, and one of my all time favorite games would be one that prided itself on being difficult, I probably wouldn&#39;t have believed you. But that&#39;s what happened, Dark Souls took me by surprise by how much I loved it, From Software proved to me just how rewarding a game as unforgiving as Dark Souls can be. I attribute a great deal of that to Hidetaka Miyazaki and his peerless direction, the absence of which being the primary reason Dark Souls 2 was such a disappointment to me. It turns out, he was working on Bloodborne; a game that proves, almost definitively, that Miyazki has a vision that can&#39;t be easily duplicated.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>It also quite possibly proves that he was holding back with Dark Souls.</p> <p><img src="" alt="" /></p> <p>Bloodborne takes place in Yharnam; a city stricken by a plague that&#39;s slowly turning it&#39;s residents into blood-crazed monsters, leaving a brave few with sanity intact to hunt them down. That&#39;s where you come in; the player takes on the role of a hunter from a foreign land, and after arrive in Yharnam, you receive a blood transfusion that gives you the strength and agility to deal with the beasts roaming the city, as well as the ability to communicate with the Messengers; ghouls from beyond this realm that provide assistance in a number of ways. That&#39;s just how I interpreted the story, and I may have made it sound more straightforward than it really is. Much like Dark Souls, Bloodborne&#39;s plot threads are shrouded in mystery and left open for the player to figure out. Throughout the game, you&#39;ll find other hunters and even a religious faction that help flesh out some of the vaguer plot threads. But if you want to push the plot to the wayside, you&#39;re more than welcome to do so, especially since there&#39;s prey to hunt.</p> <p><img src="" alt="" /></p> <p>If you&#39;ve played any of the previous Souls games, than Bloodborne&#39;s gameplay will be immediately familiar; as you wander the streets of Yharnam, and eventually work your way to it&#39;s surrounding territory, you&#39;ll find yourself hacking and slashing through all kinds of vicious monsters. But Bloodborne&#39;s combat does feel distinct from it&#39;s predecessors; while Dark Souls&#39; combat is precise and methodical, Bloodborne&#39;s is brisk and flexible, with a much greater focus on dodging and staying aggressive than hiding behind a shield and waiting for the right moment. Playing evasively has always been a viable option in this game, as anyone whose ever done a no shield run through Dark Souls can attest to, but Bloodborne feels fine-tuned to that approach; there&#39;s no heavy armor to weigh you down, enemies telegraph their attacks more noticeably, and you standard dodge roll is replaced with a sliding dash when locked on to an enemy, give you more precise control. In many ways, it feels as though From Software took what was essentially a meta game challenge from it&#39;s previous games, and built a brand new game around it.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>And yet, despite the fact that I play a great deal of Dark Souls very defensively, making the transition to a more aggressive play style wasn&#39;t difficult, Bloodborne&#39;s combat does have it&#39;s own rhythm, but once it clicks, you&#39;ll be darting through he streets cutting down foes like it&#39;s second nature. There is a single shield in the game, and if you want to try and build a defensive play style around it, then best of luck to you, but I found it much more enthralling learning how to dodge and parry. Of course, there are a few other mechanics helping to keep everything in balance; in addition to added strength, that transfusion also gave you the power to absorb enemy blood. When you take damage, you&#39;ll have a brief window of time to get your health back by attacking nearby enemies. It&#39;s a welcome change, and rewards riskier play. But the best change from the Souls game by far, is the weapons.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>In loo of more traditional swords and spears seen in Dark Souls, Bloodborne has a collection of what it calls Trick Weapons; each of your combat tools have two forms, each with their own attack style. The most basic weapon for example, is the Saw Cleaver; in it&#39;s standard for, it a simple hand saw used for close-range slashing, but with the press of a button, it snaps open to become a cleaver capable of long-range attacks. There&#39;s a fair number of Trick Weapons available throughout the game, admittedly not as many as previous Souls games, but that also means that you won&#39;t be constantly bogged down by stuff you don&#39;t need. And frankly, it makes each weapon you acquire feel all the more special; every time I got a new weapon, I immediately tested it out with all the enthusiasm of a kid opening his Christmas presents. And while I can say I like all of them (namely the Stake Driver) I was pleasantly surprised that each weapon felt practical in their own way. And in place of shields, Bloodborne has guns, and before you think you can just shoot your way through the game, keep in mind that the guns mainly there to stagger enemies, leaving them open for attack. That&#39;s Bloodborne&#39;s version of parrying, and it works really well, when an enemy&#39;s staggered, be it by a gun blast or an attack from behind, they leave themselves open for a visceral attack, and it&#39;s always satisfying to pull one off. And in general, Bloodborne&#39;s combat feels absolutely fantastic; you can feel you blade hacking into the flesh of the enemy with every swing, you can feel the punch behind each blast of you gun, and you can feel just how visceral your visceral attacks truly are, and it helps make sure combat never gets stale. If anything, it just keeps getting better.</p> <p><img src="" alt="" /></p> <p>In terms of visuals, Bloodborne looks absolutely fantastic. True, odds are you seen games that look better in terms of raw graphical power, but the artistic design on display is extraordinary. The Gothic architecture is brimming with little details, the lighting is spot on, and all of the monsters are impeccably designed, especially where the bosses are concerned. Some are towering beasts that simply cant be described in a single sentence, some are fellow hunters on the brink of insanity, some are beautiful in how frightening they are, and some are so horrifically disfigured that I almost felt like I was doing them a favor by putting them out of their misery. The atmosphere on display is excellent as well, moaning ghouls shamble along the streets while the unaffected lock themselves up in their houses and cling to whatever sanity the have left. And it&#39;s all complimented by a soundtrack that&#39;s a beautiful as it is unsettling. It&#39;s all wonderful to take in, but it seems to come at the expense of some rather lengthy loading times, it&#39;s a little annoying, but when you&#39;re in the thick of the game, you&#39;ll hardly notice.</p> <p><img src="$MediaCarousel_Original$" alt="" /></p> <p>The online component hasn&#39;t changed much from the souls games, but it has been refined in some ways, namely that it&#39;s all optional now, I&#39;ve rarely had to worry about being invaded in the middle of a dangerous are, and having the freedom to take bosses on alone, and the ability to call for help when I needed it was a nice change of pace from the rather forceful way it&#39;s been implemented in previous games. It&#39;s all framed, pretty smartly, by the Messengers; they show you notes left behind by other players, their specters showing their final moments, and ferry you to other players worlds. It&#39;s a neat little framing device that puts all of you inline interaction into min-game context, and I appreciate that a lot. And the ability to call for help comes in handy because, as many of you Souls player already know, Bloodborne in an immensely difficult game. Even with all of these balancing mechanics in place, the enemies won&#39;t let up for a second. Survival, let alone victory on the streets of Yharnam requires you stay on top of you game at all times, lest you see yourself respawning at the last lamp you activated.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>And if you&#39;re wondering why I keep bringing up the Souls games, it&#39;s because that&#39;s basically what Bloodborne is at it&#39;s core. The look and feel is distinct, but all the mechanics and gameplay elements of Demon&#39;s Souls and Dark Souls are all here; dying respawns all killed enemies, you drop all of your souls when you die (and they pretty much are souls, no matter how much the game wants to call them Blood Echoes), and the game world is full of secrets and shortcuts to discover. It&#39;s by no means a bad thing though, as Bloodborne does feel like it&#39;s own game, one thing that did urk me a little bit was how guided the game felt in comparison to it&#39;s predecessors; true, the streets of Yharnam are densely packed with branching paths and secrets to find, but I couldn&#39;t shake the feeling that I was a little too much on a set path.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>None of which changes the fact that, even as I write this, I&#39;m already plotting out my next playthrough in my head. I cant wait to see just how much of my own path I can carve through this game, and I believe there&#39;s at least some room for experimentation, especially when you consider how much Bloodborne rewards exploration. One moment that stuck out to me early in the game game was when I was exploring the sewers; I found a tunnel guarded by a giant pig, and after steeling myself for battle, I was able to bring the beast down. And at the end of that tunnel, I found a ladder that let me bypass a mob of enemies and a flaming boulder trap, giving me a clear route to the boss, and the nearby shortcut. I took a risk, and was rewarded for it, and it&#39;s a sense of accomplishment that would be felt multiple time throughout the game.</p> <p><img src="" alt="" /></p> <p>What few hang-ups I have with this game are so vastly overshadowed by just how much fun I had. Bloodborne is a rare treasure that doesn&#39;t happen very often. I wouldn&#39;t say it&#39;s &ldquo;better&rdquo; than Demon&#39;s Souls or Dark Souls, but I also don&#39;t think it was trying to be. Bloodborne takes the familiar foundation laid out my it&#39;s predecessors, and turns it into something new and fresh. I didn&#39;t feel like I was playing just another Souls game, I felt like I was playing something that&#39;s it&#39;s own creation, which may be the best compliment of all. Hidetaka Miyazaki and From Software have crafted yet another masterpiece, one that can stand proud alongside Demon&#39;s Souls and Dark Souls. And with any luck, it&#39;ll help the world forget Dark Souls 2 ever happened.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>2015 is shaping up to be a great year, but it&#39;s hard to imagine it getting any better than this.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><b>10/10</b></p>Blog Post: Souls Reborn, 28 Mar 2015 23:47:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7394924Codyeo<p>Bloodborne is a great game that sticks closely to the formula established by the Souls series, but makes a few welcome changes. There is no encumbrance in Bloodborne. You have the standard four weapon slots, two for each hand. You can wear clothing for your head, torso, hands, and legs, but there are no rings. Also, you cannot defend with your weapons and there is only a single shield in the game, one that doesn&#39;t come close to blocking all damage. Which leads me into my next point.</p> <p>Bloodborne is paced faster. Your near-complete lack of blocking options leaves you only with the option to dodge. An aggressive playstyle works wonders here, and trying to turtle or take it slow but steady works against you. When it comes to checkpoints, Bloodborne takes a page from Dark Souls, but with lamps instead of campfires. These lamps send you back to a safe zone called the &quot;Hunter&#39;s Dream&quot;, where you shop, level up, upgrade weapons, attach blood gems, and enter player-created dungeons (including ones you can create). These dungeons are procedurally generated upon creation, are very large, and even have their own bosses. You can also sell items, which was new to me (I skipped Dark Souls II so forgive me if that&#39;s not mind-blowing).&nbsp;</p> <p>There are not many weapons compared to the Souls series. Every right-hand weapon has a &quot;trick&quot; form activated by pressing L1. A cane can turn into a whip, and an axe can be extended for use with both hands. Honestly, I did not use weapon form changes much. Several, like the axe, were too slow in their normal form to be used as multipurpose. Instead, I used the extended axe to crush enemies and the saw cleaver for quick hits. Later on, the silver sword/claymore combination became my go-to for all situations. Your left-hand weapons consist of a shield, torches, and firearms ranging from pistols to shotguns to even a cannon. </p> <p>All of these weapons can have blood gems attached once they&#39;ve been upgraded. Thankfully there is only a single line of upgrade stones, so you don&#39;t have to hunt around. The further in you get, the higher tier stone enemies drop, simple as that. These can have effects ranging from increased types of damage (physical, arcane, blunt, thrust), to adding poison or fire, and even to making a weapon&#39;s stat scaling go up by an entire letter grade. Each weapon can get three of these, and your character himself can equip three plus a covenant gem. It does not take long until you&#39;re able to completely destroy basically any enemy you come across.</p> <p>Firearms make use of Quicksilver or Blood Bullets. You can hold 20 Quicksilver shots at a time, just like your restoration item, Blood Vials. If you get a surplus of any item, they are automatically sent to storage, with bullets and vials being refilled upon returning to Hunter&#39;s Dream. Blood Bullets are formed 5 at a time with 5 being the max, as a fallback if you run out of ammo. They are also made from your own blood, so you sacrifice hp making them. Firearms themselves are not meant to be main damage dealers (except for the cannon). Instead, they function like the shield in previous games, allowing you to stun your opponents mid-attack. Attacking during this stun results in a gruesome parry that deals massive damage.</p> <p>As for co-op, you must use what is called Insight to summon others for help. You gain 1 insight for entering a boss area (which is how much you use to summon, thankfully) and 3 insight for killing bosses. Insight works like world tendency, in that enemies seem to get stronger at certain intervals. At 20 insight, for example, some enemies started having flaming weapons.</p> <p>In all, Bloodborne will be distinctly familiar to Souls vets, though it brings enough to the table to be distinguishable. My only gripes are that load times are long (though they are working to patch this) and, for me at least, it seems to be much easier than past games. By going back to the Hunters Dream, enemies respawn and you get your healing vials back. But the enemy drop rate for these vials is insane, to the point where I&#39;ve only run out once, in a boss fight, because I was already low when it started. I also have had my inventory and storage maxed on them for a while now. I haven&#39;t played a Souls game in over a year since Dark Souls, and I&#39;m not so egocentric as to think I&#39;m just that good. Hopefully after a couple more NG+, it&#39;ll be hard enough. Casual gamers will struggle, but anyone who&#39;s spent an hour or so playing a Souls game before should find this one a breeze.</p>Blog Post: Best game ive ever played, 28 Mar 2015 05:38:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7393422Brian Giffrow<p>Ive never played any of the previous souls or actually any game like this in my long gaming lifespan. see im 37 and have had basically every major system since the old days of pong. This game is difficult to pick up and play at first that being said it is a true &quot;next gen&quot; experience. The gameplay is a blast what once had you terrified and sneaking thru after a couple hrs you will be slashing and spraying blood everywhere like a badass killing your nightmares! The graphics are stunning the environments and sound put you in a place that can raise your hair.I see no issues with the length of this game either i have alot of hrs already into this game and no end in sight. Multiplayer is unique and works flawlessly i dont want to give any spoilers because finding your way is part of the fun. Long load times dont bother me it gives me time to reflect where i went wrong. Do yourself a favor buy this game now but dont give up because its hard the accomplishment and gratitude you will feel is amazing</p>Blog Post: Bloodborne: The First Killer App on the PS4, 26 Mar 2015 02:36:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7388545Uncha1n3d<p>It&rsquo;s no surprise that the current generation of consoles have been underwhelming since launch. They have boasted an insane amount of HD re-releases, uninspired first parties, and broken games. Just when I thought the PS4 was doomed after the colossal disappointment of The Order 1886(among other failures), I feared it would go back to collecting dust until who knows when. So here arrives Bloodborne; a brutal 3rd person action-rpg by From Software, the developers behind the popular Souls series. Bloodborne is Sony&rsquo;s first opportunity to make the PS4 live up to its &ldquo;Greatness Awaits&rdquo; slogan, and it does so in nearly every way.</p> <p>&nbsp;It might be a bit harsh to start off with a negative statement, but let&rsquo;s get this out of the way: Bloodborne is more like a reskinned Souls sequel than a new IP. As cruel as that sounds, it doesn&rsquo;t change the fact that it&rsquo;s still an excellent game, and frankly the best first party PS4 game to date. Any way you look at it, From Software was damned no matter what they did. If they kept the same gameplay, item names, descriptions and icons, then there would be nothing different about Bloodborne, but if they changed all those things, which they did, then we are forced to ask ourselves &ldquo;WHAT ITEM DOES WHAT&rdquo;, All&hellip;.Over&hellip;. Again. &nbsp;Each item looks different, has a different name, and yet accomplishes the same thing as they did in Souls. It&rsquo;s not really a big deal, but definitely worth mentioning for anyone curious about a potential learning curve.</p> <p>If you&rsquo;ve ever played a Souls game before, you&rsquo;ll feel right at home. You time your dodges, swing when you can, heal every so often and then repeat. Get yourself caught in an enemy&rsquo;s &nbsp; combo string, and its game over. You need to constantly be on your toes for potential ambushes and attacks from large groups. Enemies just love sticking together in Bloodborne, so more often than not, you&rsquo;ll have to lure them out one by one, just to maintain the upper hand.</p> <p>&nbsp;Bloodbornes speed seems to be faster than Souls too, with quicker enemy responses and overall animation. This doesn&rsquo;t really work against you though, because there&rsquo;s been many tweaks to stamina, falling damage and dodging that will work in your favor. Right off the bat, you will be able to heal faster, run longer, and roll more frequently before ever applying the first level to your character. If that makes it sound easier, than your dead wrong, cause it&rsquo;s still really hard. &nbsp;In Dark Souls, you would take shelter at bonfires, which are now &lsquo;Lanterns&rsquo;. Bonfires would respawn the enemies and refill your estes flasks, which was the main healing item in Souls. You couldn&rsquo;t abuse Bonfires in Dark Souls 2 though. After killing enemies in any given area 2 or 3 times over, they wouldn&rsquo;t come back unless you&rsquo;d opt to use an item called a &ldquo;Bonfire Ascetic&rdquo;, which brings enemies back and increases their level. In Bloodborne, you can kill enemies as many times as you want. This is most likely to balance the fact that Blood Viles, Bloodborns main healing item, doesn&rsquo;t come back when you reach a Lantern. You actually pick them up from random enemy drops. If you run out, shame on you, cause you&rsquo;re going to have to run around killing things to get them back. Luckily they are a fairly common drop, and you can often collect multiple at a time.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The combat is a bit different in Bloodborne, along with some different controls. L1 now switches your weapon mode from one-handed to two-handed, Circle runs, and L2 stuns enemies and Fires Silver Bullets if a gun is equipped. Pressing triangle now uses Blood Vials, and Square uses items like Molotov&rsquo;s and pebbles. (Have fun wasting blood vials while you attempt to two-hand a weapon btw;p) &nbsp;Stunning an enemy, which is done by holding L2 at the right time, can buy you some time to get free hits in before they regain control. And speaking of &ldquo;regain&rdquo;, its Bloodborne&rsquo;s new system that allows you to get some of your health back by dealing damage immediately after being attacked. When you receive damage, a little white bar will jolt to the left depending on how much damage you took, which leaves the health to the right as your regain-able life. If you deal damage to an enemy fast enough (I think it&rsquo;s like a 4 second window), you can actually get some, if not all of your health back. If you hesitate for too long, then the health is gone for good unless you use a healing item. It may seem risky to attack right after being hit, but you are often rewarded for being offensive, and strategic play will leave you victorious in most instances. It will be tough to try anything other than the usual: roll away, heal, roll in and attack dance that seemed to work for most of the Souls games, but once you learn to adapt to Bloodbornes gameplay, you will be hooked, even 50 hours into it.</p> <p>(It&rsquo;s also worth mentioning that parrying and relying on shields is no longer a thing&hellip;&hellip;swing away hunters!)</p> <p>I&rsquo;ve always been a fan of From Softwares art direction. The city of Yahrnam looks absolutely gorgeous by design. From the foggy, wet sewers to the sparkling cobblestone streets and Victorian architecture. The immense scale of Bloodborne becomes apparent shortly after leaving the opening area and taking a look into the sunset. It&rsquo;s a vast landscape just waiting to be explored and conquered. &nbsp;It also helps that the game runs in 1080p, and looks pretty sharp at all angles, minus a few muddy corners. The game runs at 30fps through and through, so its not as responsive as I would have liked, but its pretty easy to get used to. From Software games never truly look groundbreaking from a graphical and performance standpoint, (at least on consoles) and this game naturally has the occasional dip in framerate when things get rough. The graphics are nowhere near on par with what the PlayStation 4 can do, but luckily you&rsquo;ll be too busy exploring and taking in the atmosphere to care very much. The audio on the other hand, is pretty stellar, with the sounds of blood spewing on the ground after every landed swing, to the sploshing of water dropplets from puddles, to enemy growls and wind gusts humming through tight alleys. It all creates a very gothic and terrifying atmosphere, and sets the tone for many of the games incredible enemy and boss designs.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Bloodbornes slightly less impressive in the Multiplayer and Chalice dungeons side of everything. Chalice Dungeons are randomly generated sections that generate based on a ritual performed at one of the headstones in the Hunters Dream, Bloodbornes main hub. Problem is, it&rsquo;s very possible to end up with some low-level enemies if you fail to carry out new rituals. It&rsquo;s a good addition, but not something I could see extending the life of the game, even with the inclusion of downloaded dungeons from fellow players. Invasions work in a very similar fashion as they did in the Souls games where you use a certain item to ask for assistance from a fellow player. In this case, you&rsquo;re going to be utilizing bells. I won&rsquo;t give away much in this area as this review is mostly spoiler free, but as far as connection quality, it&rsquo;s basically the same experience as dark souls. I generally play offline so I won&rsquo;t get my day ruined, and my blood echos(dark souls&rsquo; souls) taken from me.</p> <p>It&rsquo;s worth mentioning that Bloodborne has horrendous loading times. It wouldn&rsquo;t matter if it wasn&rsquo;t a game about trial and error deaths, but it is, so prepare to stare at the loading screen a lot. Accessing the Hunters Dream, takes around 20 seconds, whereas the main world takes between 35 and 40 seconds. What makes matters worse is that you have no item descriptions, weapon lore, screenshots or anything to look at during the process. You just blankly stare at the Bloodborne logo with a black screen in the background. Now lets say the painful loading time is a good enough reason to take the game slow, and not take any risks&hellip;..well, I&rsquo;m sorry to say you actually HAVE to teleport back to the Hunters Dream if you wish to fast travel ANYWHERE. For example. Let&rsquo;s say you are at the first Lantern; Bloodbornes bonfire, and you wanted to get to the third Lantern deeper into the city. You can&rsquo;t just access the list of lanterns you have discovered. Your only option is to &lsquo;return to the Hunters Dream&rsquo;. To fast travel in a nutshell, you MUST return to the hub world, THEN select the desired location from a gravestone that acts as the Hub&rsquo;s main fast travel mechanism. It&rsquo;s kinda crazy to force any gamer to sit through over a minute of a black loading screen just to get across the map. For all of you who have gone through the trouble to install a larger, and potentially faster drive for your PS4, you will be in for a treat. On my Seagate 1tb Solid State Hybrid drive, I can actually get into the main world from the hub in around 27 seconds instead of the reported 40. Still pretty bad, but at least it&rsquo;s an improvement. Apparently there is a patch on the way that increases framerate, improves performance, and shaves some seconds off of the loading screen. We can only hope&hellip;</p> <p>If you&rsquo;re even mildly interested in the Souls series, then you most definitely should get this game. &nbsp;Its gameplay is fast, it&rsquo;s reactive, and thrilling. Adding in blood, along with the regain system&rsquo; just makes things better, and putting a gun in my hand gave me more ways to survive a difficult encounter. I loved exploring the world, chatting with the inhabitants and leveling up my character. Its atmosphere like this that define the action rpg genre. The graphics aren&rsquo;t mind blowing, and the performance isn&rsquo;t stellar, but it&rsquo;s a From Software game. You know what you&rsquo;re getting here, and if you&rsquo;re looking for a good challenge and a damn good game that just so happens to be exclusive to PS4, then say goodbye to the next 50-100 hours of your life. You won&rsquo;t regret a thing.</p> <p>My personal Video Review:&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>Blog Post: A Macabre Masterpiece, 24 Mar 2015 02:00:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7386131Daniel Tack<p><img src="" style="max-width:610px;" border="0" alt="" /></p> <p>Laughter of the mad surrounds you as the blood moon rises over the top of a damned city. You tighten your grip on the controller and your stress level rises as a terrifying visage approaches in the distance, unearthly aberrations sprouting from its squirming limbs. Soon the laughter of the mad is yours; the impossible battle that you have finally managed to obtain a fraction of control over takes an unexpected turn, and you realize how little you know. Welcome to Bloodborne, where death and insanity lurk around every dark corner and nothing is as it seems.[Excerpt]</p> <p>You are a tourist in From Software&rsquo;s mad dreamscape, and your journey through this atmospheric masterpiece leaves you unsettled and craving more. You face the impossible and the unreal, and through prowess and persistence, you overcome the nightmares with an unrivaled sense of achievement and satisfaction. Yes, the game is as challenging as a Souls title (also made by From Software), but just as with that series, multiplayer options and player progression can provide methods for anyone to triumph.</p> <p>Bloodborne is a shining example of fantastic gameplay combined with terror, with its introductory hours rooted in traditional horror tropes, rife with werewolves and twisted humans in the cursed city of Yharnam. The tale quickly takes a turn for the weird and the wonderful as the true plot is revealed layer by layer, an esoteric and eldritch trek through a luxurious Lovecraftian yarn. Never before has From&rsquo;s dark fantasy setting been so intimately realized, with strong visuals and atmosphere, and the switch to a pure horror aesthetic allows the studio to embrace aspects that have only been subtly injected in previous titles.</p> <p><img src="" style="max-width:610px;" border="0" alt="" /></p> <p>Combat is deliberate like the Souls series, but faster and focused on a razor-sharp balance: Offense is rewarded and passivity punished. The best defense is a good offense, whether you&rsquo;re landing precise blows with the threaded cane or heavy impact slams with the tombstone-on-a-sword Kirkhammer. The regain system encourages this &ndash; as enemies cut into your life, you have a window to gain back many of the lost hit points by returning blows within a short time frame. Your adventure is steeped in exploration through Bloodborne&rsquo;s vast interconnected world, unlocking shortcuts and learning. Through every death you obtain critical knowledge that you can use to avoid the same fate on your next attempt, and those deaths come often.</p> <p>You have many opportunities to select new weapons, level up, purchase new armor, and equip runes and blood gems to customize your character. While the selection of weapons isn&rsquo;t vast, the customization options and the fact that most weapons have &ldquo;trick&rdquo; settings that allow it to function as essentially two completely different entities should curb any associated woes. The loot ramp up, while slow, is satisfying as you cobble together different builds and combinations, tailoring certain builds to better face certain encounters or zones.</p> <p>The boss battles are fascinating, some built on special gimmicks or setpieces. Each functions as its own special battle, with few uninteresting or generic monstrosities; many bosses serve up multi-phase encounters that transition from the understandable and controllable to crazed transformations with cosmic terrors. These battles sync up incredibly well with the overarching themes of the game &ndash; keep your cool as the music and tension rise, and you shall emerge soaked in blood as fiends fall before you. Battles with other NPC hunters can often be as thrilling as boss fights &ndash; with guns blasting and swords swinging in a frenzy &ndash; and a single mistimed maneuver can be the difference between victory and defeat.</p> <p>[View:4069581134001]</p> <p>If you&rsquo;re having trouble playing solo, you can call in friends (or random players) to help. You can also invade others&rsquo; games, providing they have enabled the option. These aspects are great for players having trouble with certain bosses, or those that want to explore Chalice Dungeons. Chalice Dungeons come in several flavors: locked-configuration endeavors that have set bosses and areas, and procedurally generated dungeons that can be shared with friends. These continuing challenges add a lot of longevity to the game outside of the traditional new game plus.</p> <p>If there are any qualms about Bloodborne, perhaps one of the only ones is the long load times associated with entering new areas or death &ndash; these long affairs can become quite irksome during the frequent, inevitable deaths that go along with playing the game.</p> <p>Bloodborne is a blood-drenched horror gem that has only the faintest of cracks in its fa&ccedil;ade. Bloodborne succeeds through sparse storytelling, lush atmospheres (conjuring up notions of the best of Lovecraft&rsquo;s work), and tight combat that forces you to be aggressive. While this new IP doesn&rsquo;t stray far from the established Souls franchise, it is a magical, wondrous work that admirably instills both terror and triumph in those brave enough to delve into it. </p> <table style="margin:20px auto;color:#000;width:550px;" bgcolor="#efefef" cellpadding="10" cellspacing="0"> <tbody> <tr> <td style="background-color:#ccc;font-weight:bold;"> Online Functionality</td> </tr> <tr> <td> I tested Bloodborne&rsquo;s online elements on a pre-release press server that allowed me to engage in the multiplayer components. Under those conditions, everything worked as intended, though whether the live server performance is smooth at launch remains to be seen. Bloodborne is a fantastic game online or off, though it is enhanced with many more players involved in the shared discovery process, Chalice Dungeons, and world invasion. </td> </tr> </tbody> </table>File: bloodreview, 24 Mar 2015 01:43:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7386117Daniel TackbloodreviewBlog Post: New Bloodborne Trailer Shows Off The Game's Bizarre Creatures, 20 Mar 2015 19:44:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7380512Jeff Cork<p><img style="max-width:610px;" src="" border="0" alt="" /></p> <p>From Software&#39;s latest creation, Bloodborne, is coming to the PlayStation 4 next week. It builds off the notoriously unforgiving gameplay from the studio&#39;s Souls series, though it&#39;s shifting away from dark fantasy to a Lovecraftian nightmare. A new trailer starts with shots of a few comparatively mundane enemies, but the creature designs quickly go off the rails &ndash; in a good way.[Excerpt]</p> <p>It&#39;s one thing to take on werewolves, giant humanoids, and spiders. We&#39;ve all done that before. Bloodborne&#39;s menagerie gets weird, as you can see in the clip below. That tentacled beast near the end is a particular highlight. Or are they eels? Who even knows anymore?</p> <p>[View:]</p> <p>For more on the game, check out Daniel Tack&#39;s <a href="" title="hands-on impressions">hands-on impressions</a>, as well as <a href="" title="a feature">a feature</a> that traces From Software&#39;s path to Bloodborne.</p> <p>Bloodborne is coming exclusively to the PS4 on March 24.</p>Blog Post: This Is The Japanese Bloodborne Launch Trailer, 13 Mar 2015 19:22:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7363504Mike Futter<p><img src="" border="0" style="max-width:610px;" alt="" /></p> <p>This might be the Japanese version of the Bloodborne launch trailer, but you&rsquo;re in luck. The voiceovers are in English and you can understand just how much trouble you&rsquo;re in when the title launches.[Excerpt]</p> <p>From Software is moving its challenging gameplay from the dark fantasy setting of the Souls series to Victorian streets. Based on what we&rsquo;re seeing in the video below, despite the change in setting, you&rsquo;re still going to die quite a lot.</p> <p>[View:4109907400001]</p> <p>The wait for Sony&rsquo;s next big exclusive isn&rsquo;t too much longer. Bloodborne arrives on March 24. For more, check out <a href="">a hands-on preview</a>.</p>Blog Post: Gothic Horror Comes Alive In Bloodborne Story Trailer, 19 Feb 2015 19:08:00 GMT79ef0c18-1c65-4225-984f-fdaeab0f0862:7316885Mike Futter<p><img src="" border="0" style="max-width:610px;" alt="" /></p> <p>The city of Yharnam is cursed, and you must purge it. If this seems like a theme you&rsquo;ve heard before, you&rsquo;re not wrong.[Excerpt]</p> <p>Bloodborne&rsquo;s set-up sounds familiar, especially if you&rsquo;ve played a Souls game, the setting has changed. Whereas the previous titles are dark fantasy, Bloodborne takes us to the cobblestone streets of a more contemporary city plagued by darkness.</p> <p>[View:4069581134001]</p> <p>Blood is the answer to the riddle From Software&rsquo;s latest poses, and we suspect much of yours will be spilled along the way. You can <a href=";y=2014&amp;m=09&amp;d=03&amp;WeblogPostName=bloodborne-s-horrific-setting-makes-combat-even-more-intense&amp;GroupKeys=games/bloodborne/">read our Bloodborne hands-on impressions</a>&nbsp;as you get ready for its March 24 release.</p>