It's official - PC owners are 100% masochists. They love pain; they love frustration. Well, they must do because it's all down to them that the Dark Souls: Prepare To Die Edition is now available on PC.
The original version of this epic title is legendarily tough on consoles. Every inch, every footstep will see you killed over and over (and over) again, falling foul of brutal foes, murderous traps and bosses the size of buses as you move through the game's third-person world as a warrior charged with defeating the Dark Knight Artorias.
While the original Dark Souls was released on the Xbox 360 and PS3 last year to critical acclaim, there were some serious grumbles about the lack of a PC version. A port wasn't even being considered by the developer From Software until an online petition garnered so many 'signatures' from self-flagellating PC owners that the surprised developer decided to take the plunge.
Well, PC owners, you've got what you wished for; hour upon hour of teeth-grinding, expletive-inducing gameplay that would normally leave you cold if it were not for the fact Dark Souls is also immensely rewarding and satisfying precisely because of its toughness. Even better, this special Prepare To Die Edition adds to the original game with new areas, bosses, enemies, NPCs, weapons, armour and more; and PC owners will be getting these extra features well before console users do.
The pain/pleasure ratio is re-balanced in this special version with a host of spangly bits; the original soundtrack, the 'Making Of', an artbook, poster and five exclusive postcards that we can only assume are included so that you send them to friends and family, pleading for their help from the bowels of one of Dark Souls' many death-infested dungeons.
It all adds up to a massively generous package then; but one which we do recommend investing in new gamepads or mice for due to the game's tendency to induce peripheral-throwing fury in its players. Consider yourselves warned...