Genre: Survival Horror RPG
Developer: From Software
Publisher: Namco Bandai Games

The first title in what is suddenly becoming a bona fide video game franchise, Demon's Souls, was known as a not-exactly-pretty-but-definitely-distinctive title, which was made even more atmospheric and creepy via a clever, gentle glowing special effect applied to the player character. Dark Souls trumps its predecessor by marrying this trademark glowing effect to some positively stunning vistas.

Demon's Souls minimalistic aural approach is recreated exactly in its successor, and what worked once has worked just as well again. In the rare cases where music does play, it's difficult to even tell that Shinsuke Kida was replaced with Motoi Sakaruba, given the latter's uncanny ability to imitate the style of the former.

Like its predecessor, Dark Souls' map design is as water tight as Jacques Cousteau's scuba suit. "Anor Londo" in particular is almost certainly one of the best video game levels ever created, as it weaves in on itself in stunningly cool ways. Bosses and enemies are taken on with a control scheme entirely lifted from the previous title; why fix what isn't broken?

Like how George H.W. Bush staked his Presidency on Ronald Reagan's coat tails, the Dark Souls mission for From Software was to simply give people more of the same. Even though they succeeded in their mission, sometimes to a spectacular degree, new innovations are going to be required in a third title to keep the series moving forward.