Dark Souls II
is a 2014 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Games. The second installment of the ''Dark Souls'' series, it is set in the kingdom of Drangleic and follows an undead traveler searching for a cure to their affliction. Despite the new setting, the presentation and gameplay, along with certain lore connections, remain similar to ''Dark Souls'', with notable differences including further penalty for repeated deaths via a "hollowing" mechanic. After initial delays, ''Dark Souls II'' was released worldwide on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in March 2014, with a Windows version released the following month. It was a commercial success and received critical acclaim, with reviewers praising its story, atmosphere, world design and visuals, although they were divided on its difficulty and deemed its boss battles and combat mechanics inferior to the original's. It is the only game in the trilogy to not be directed by series creator Hidetaka Miyazaki ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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FromSoftware
FromSoftware, Inc. is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. Founded by Naotoshi Zin on November 1, 1986 as a business software developer, the company released their first video game, '' King's Field'', for the PlayStation in 1994. Its success shifted FromSoftware to focus fully on games, with them producing two more '' King's Field'' games before the first release of the mecha shooter series '' Armored Core'' in 1997. By the 2000s, FromSoftware's releases included the '' Echo Night'', '' Shadow Tower'', '' Lost Kingdoms'', '' Otogi'', and '' Another Century's Episode'' series. The company achieved breakout success by the 2010s with '' Demon's Souls'' and the '' Dark Souls'' trilogy of action role-playing games. Often cited among the greatest video games ever made, their emphasis on high difficulty and environmental storytelling led to the creation of the Soulslike subgenre, which also includes other later FromSoftware titles such as '' Bloodborne'' (2015), '' Sekiro: ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Health (gaming)
Health is a video game or tabletop game quality that determines the maximum amount of damage or fatigue something takes before leaving the main game. In role-playing games, this typically takes the form of hit points (HP), a numerical attribute representing the health of a character or object. The game character can be a player character, a boss, or a mob. Health can also be attributed to destructible elements of the game environment or inanimate objects such as vehicles and their individual parts. In video games, health is often represented by visual elements such as a numerical fraction, a health bar or a series of small icons, though it may also be represented acoustically, such as through a character's heartbeat. Mechanics In video games, as in tabletop role-playing games, an object usually loses health as a result of being attacked. Protection points or armor help them to reduce the damage taken. Characters acting as tanks usually have more health and armor. In many gam ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Edge (magazine)
''Edge'' is a multi-format video game magazine published by Future plc. It is a UK-based magazine and publishes 13 issues annually. The magazine was launched by Steve Jarratt in 1993. It has also released foreign editions in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. History The magazine was launched in October 1993 by Steve Jarratt, a long-time video games journalist who has launched several other magazines for Future. The artwork for the cover of the magazine's 100th issue was specially provided by Shigeru Miyamoto. The 200th issue was released in March 2009 with 200 different covers, each commemorating a single game; 199 variants were in general circulation, and one was exclusive to subscribers. Only 200 magazines were printed with each cover, sufficient to more than satisfy ''Edge''s circulation of 28,898. In October 2003, the then-editor of ''Edge'', João Diniz-Sanches, left the magazine along with deputy editor David McCarthy and other staff writers. Afte ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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VG247
Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based in London. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and other video game businesses. Its flagship website, ''Eurogamer'', was launched alongside the company. It began hosting the video game trade show EGX in 2008. ReedPop acquired Gamer Network in 2018 and sold it to IGN Entertainment in 2024. History Gamer Network was founded under the name Eurogamer Network in 1999 by brothers Rupert and Nick Loman. It was formed alongside the opening of its flagship website, ''Eurogamer'', which itself launched on 4 September 1999. Nick Loman left the business in 2004 to pursue a career in medicine and "competitive BBQ". In February 2011, Eurogamer Network acquired American publishing house Hammersuit, alongside its IndustryGamers.com and Modojo.com websites. On 1 March 2013, in line with the internationa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The company is headquartered in Jersey City, New Jersey. Sherry Phillips is the current CEO of Forbes as of January 1, 2025. Published eight times per year, ''Forbes'' feature articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. It also reports on related subjects such as technology, communications, science, politics, and law. It has an international edition in Asia as well as editions produced under license in 27 countries and regions worldwide. The magazine is known for its lists and rankings, including its lists of the richest Americans (the Forbes 400, ''Forbes'' 400), of 30 notable people under the age of 30 (the Forbes 30 Under 30, ''Forbes'' 30 under 30), of America's wealthiest celebrities, of the world's top companies (the Fo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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VGX (award Show)
The Spike Video Game Awards (in short VGAs, known as the VGX for the final show) was an annual award show hosted by American television network Spike from 2003 that recognized the best computer and video games of the year. Produced by '' GameTrailers TV's'' Geoff Keighley, the show featured preview trailers for upcoming games, live music performances and appearances by popular performers in music, movies, and television. The VGAs was held at various locations in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, California as well as Las Vegas, Nevada. Spike's only Video Game Hall of Fame award, given to ''The Legend of Zelda'', was awarded at the 2011 awards show. On November 15, 2013, Spike announced a new format under the name ''VGX'', calling it "The next generation of the VGAs". The last award show, carrying this name, aired on December 7. Changes from the previous format included "in-depth extended demos of the next generation of games and interactive one-on-one interviews and panels in an i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Downloadable Content
content (DLC) is additional content created for an already released video game, distributed through the Internet by the game's publisher. It can be added for no extra cost or as a form of video game monetization, enabling the publisher to gain additional revenue from a title after it has been purchased, often using a microtransaction system. DLC can range from cosmetic content, such as skins, to new in-game content, like characters, levels, modes, and larger expansions that may contain a mix of such content as a continuation of the base game. In some games, multiple DLCs (including future DLC not yet released) may be bundled as part of a "season pass"—typically at a discount rather than purchasing each DLC individually. While the Dreamcast was the first home console to support DLC (albeit in a limited form due to hardware and internet connection limitations), Sony's PlayStation 2 and Microsoft's Xbox helped to popularize the concept. Since the seventh generation of video g ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Flavor Text
Flavor text is Written language, text for action figure character backgrounds, video games, Card games, playing cards, or within the pages of a role-playing game's wikt:rulebook, rulebook. While appropriate to the product's or game's story concept, it usually has no effect on the Game mechanic, mechanics of the game, but instead serves to add realism, characterization, or lore to the item in question. Flavor text is often the last text on a card or on the rear of a toy card or package, and is usually printed in Emphasis (typography), italics or written between quotes to distinguish it from game-affecting text. Background The concept of flavor text was popularized by the dossiers of 1980s toys, primarily G.I. Joe filecards and Transformers (toy line), Transformers tech-specs, but is now more commonly associated with tabletop games. The term ''flavor text'' was originally coined in March 1993 for ''Magic: The Gathering'' by the game's production manager, Dave Howell. Format In most ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Non-player Character
A non-player character (NPC) is a character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster (or referee) rather than by another player. In video games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer (instead of a player) that has a predetermined set of behaviors that potentially will impact gameplay, but will not necessarily be the product of true artificial intelligence. Role-playing games In traditional tabletop role-playing games such as ''Dungeons & Dragons'', an NPC is a character portrayed by the gamemaster (GM). While the player characters (PCs) form the narrative's protagonists, non-player characters can be thought of as the "supporting cast" or "extras" of a roleplaying narrative. Non-player characters populate the fictional world of the game, and can fill any role not occupied by a player character. Non-player characters might be alli ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dark Souls (video Game)
is a 2011 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Namco Bandai Games. A spiritual successor to FromSoftware's '' Demon's Souls'', the game is the first in the ''Dark Souls'' series. The game takes place in the kingdom of Lordran, where players assume the role of a cursed undead character who escapes from the Northern Undead Asylum and begins a pilgrimage to discover the fate of their kind. A port for Windows featuring additional content, known as the ''Prepare to Die Edition'', was released in August 2012. It was also released for consoles under the subtitle '' Artorias of the Abyss'' in October 2012. ''Dark Souls'' has been cited as one of the greatest video games ever made. Critics praised the depth of its combat, intricate level design, and use of flavor text. However, they were divided on the game's difficulty for being unforgiving. The original Windows version of the game was less well-received, with criticism directed at several technical i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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New Game Plus
New Game Plus (also New Game+ or NG+) is an unlockable video game mode available in some video game titles that allows the player to restart the game's story with all or some of the items or experience gained in the first playthrough. New Game Plus modes are typically unlocked after completing the game's story at least once and sometimes contain certain features not normally available in the initial playthrough, such as increased difficulty, altered combat or encounters, and more. Origin The term was coined in the 1995 role-playing video game '' Chrono Trigger'', but examples can be found in earlier games, such as '' Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei'', ''The Legend of Zelda'', '' Ghosts 'n Goblins'', and '' Super Mario Bros.''. This play mode is most often found in role-playing video games, where starting a New Game Plus will usually have the player characters start the new game with the statistics and equipment with which they ended the last game. Key items that are related ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Item (gaming)
In pen and paper games and computer and video games, an item is an object within the game world that can be collected by a player character, player or, occasionally, a non-player character. These items are sometimes called pick-ups. Items are most often beneficial to the player character. Some games contain detrimental items, such as cursed pieces of armor that confers a negative bonus to the wearer and cannot be removed until the curse itself is lifted; the means to do this may be costly or require a special item. Some items may also be of absolutely no value to the player. Items are especially prevalent in role-playing games, as they are usually necessary for the completion of quests or to advance through the story. Sometimes certain items may be unique, and only appear once at a specific location, often after completing a particular task. Other items may appear frequently, and not give a big bonus alone, but when many are collected. Games may differ on how the player uses an it ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |