Dark Souls II: Crown of the Ivory King - Xbox 360 DLC Review

Game of the year?

That is up for debate (like most things), but Dark Souls II has certainly earned a place on our team as one of the best of 2014. The DLC to date has been an outstanding expansion on the base game, giving me a reason to go back in and die (over and over) again. This latest DLC, the Crown of the Ivory King, is visually a huge departure from what we have come to expect so far. The battles themselves feel just a bit more familiar than I would like, but this is a fantastic send-off to fans of Dark Souls II.

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Dark Souls II and Crown of the Sunken King - Xbox 360 Review

The darkness has been punishing, almost oppressive. Multiple tunnels led to murky shores, perilous cliffs and a host of strange, violent creatures. I dared to follow the nearby footprints near the beginning, and I was nearly slain for my curiosity. Caution is key because success is never guaranteed. However, there is quite literally light at the end of the tunnel. Upon reaching the end of said passage, there is an almost hauntingly beautiful expanse of land before me, stretching out to a village that is quiet and almost - but not completely empty. Still, there is a sun in the distance, fighting to get free of the clouds in the sky. It is a sign of hope, that perhaps my struggles will not end in vein.

I continue through the village and near a well that likely has no water. I have fought dozens of battles, cheated death multiple times along the way, and now I have some much deserved respite before setting back off onto my path.

At least, that was what I thought moments before these angry little mongrel creatures charged me, chasing me through what I thought was an otherwise safe village. I hacked at them repeatedly, but that just seemed to tick the rest of them off because before long all of my carefully planned strategies were ruined because I had forgotten two very simple rules of the Souls series:

1) You are never truly safe
2) You are going to die (a lot)

Yet I can never get enough of it.

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Persona 4 Arena - Xbox 360 Review

It was pretty recently I wrapped up playing Persona 4 Golden, which I absolutely loved. It is still my favorite PlayStation Vita game to date. I have actually been sitting on Persona 4 Arena for a few months now - but I kept putting off playing it because the events of this title were set two months after Persona 4. It was a good decision to wait, because while anyone can pick up Persona 4 Arena and play it, I definitely felt a stronger connection to the characters I knew from Persona 4 Golden than I did to the ones from Persona 3 I did not know anything about.

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Dead or Alive 4 - Xbox 360 Review

While the Dead or Alive series has been around for several years, this was my first brush with any of its games. Dead or Alive 4 has been out for a handful of years in and of itself now, and was one of the earlier titles I picked up when I purchased my Xbox 360.

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