You definitely want to read the following information with a pinch of salt, but a new game by the name of Soul Sacrifice has just shown up in the latest edition of Japanese magazine Famitsu.

Accompanying information about the game along with scans from the magazine have been uploaded over at NeoGaf Forums here. The poster who provided the information has said that this game is due to be announced by Sony on May 10.

While the screenshots do not provide any evidence of Dark Souls material, it could be the case where Soul Sacrifice has been lost in translation over in Japan and it may indeed be linked to Dark Souls. It’s a long shot we agree, but you never know.

On the plus side, at least a brand new game is coming to the PS Vita either way. The system is in dire need of some new material and those three new apps by Sony are not going to cut it to be honest. To go back to the Dark Souls argument though – how fantastic would a PS Vita version of the game be? Dare we sayit , but should a new petition be started to get the word across to Namco Bandai? That certainly seems to be the fashion at the moment after noticing that a second petition is underway for the PC version to NOT include any form of Games for Windows Live DRM.

Take a look at the scans for yourself and tell us what you make of them. Would you like to see a Dark Souls game on the PS Vita as well? Surely the hardware would be handle Dark Souls without any problems either, after seeing gorgeous games like Uncharted: Golden Abyss on the Vita.

Dark Souls has become a cult favorite on console, although the game is arguably best known for its agonizing difficulty levels. Judging by the ‘Prepare to Die’ moniker though, it looks like Namco Bandai has no intention whatsoever of decreasing the difficultly for the PC version.

The game has showed up in a German magazine called PC Action and assuming their information is correct, Dark Souls will be available on the PC some time in August. We’re guessing that further details will be coming as soon as the latest issue of PC Action is translated.

So what about an official announcement from Namco Bandai? It looks like they won’t be able to keep the game a secret much longer, so we could even see a statement regarding the PC version later on this week. One major aspect that is already doing the rounds though, is that the Prepare to Die Edition will come with several new bosses not contained on the console version – although this obviously poses the idea of this new content becoming available via DLC at the end of the year.

If Namco Bandai has made the decision to bring out a PC version based on that online petition alone, you have to say that it’s pretty incredible. It has been a while since we last checked the vote count, but we can see that there are almost 100,000 signatures backing a PC version. A victory for all PC gamers perhaps?

We thought that something on the scale of this would be coming at E3 2012, but it looks like Namco Bandai will have to announce their plans much sooner than that. We love the sound of the name though – how many of you who have played the console version are planning to pick up the new Prepare to Die Edition on PC?

We want to talk a little about Dark Souls though as it was a game that many of you will agree one of the best to release last year. The game took many by surprise, not just because of its immense difficulty but also because it was a great game generally as well, so hats off to the guys at From Software and Namco Bandai for that.

This year, another highly anticipated RPG is on the way, and we’re not talking about Final Fantasy XIII-2. Dragon’s Dogma is slowly starting to gather quite a following, and its a game which Capcom is releasing this year as a brand new IP. Earlier this week we told you that customers who buy the game will be given a surprise preview of Resident Evil 6, which releases at the end of the year, but we believe that Dragon’s Dogma will be a must purchase for most of you anyway when it comes out in May.

If you haven’t been following Dragon’s Dogma at all, you’ll be pleased to hear that Capcom has just given the game a fairly big media unveil, with the release of a brand new story trailer which gives you an idea of how the game is shaping up. For a Capcom RPG, these are easily some of the best graphics we’ve seen so far from the developer so the game is definitely not going to be lacking in the graphics department.

Capcom has also revealed two of the many classes that are featured in the game, and these are the Strider and Fighter classes. You’ll find gameplay examples and details of both over on the Capcom Unity website – well worth a look.

After seeing the new footage for the game, you may feel like this is another game in the mould of Dragon Age and Skyrim with an open world environment, but we have a suspicious feeling that it could go on to be one of the surprise titles of the year, just like Dark Souls in 2011. Dark Souls was very much the surprise success of 2011, so do you think Capcom will be able to match that with Dragon’s Dogma? We would much rather see a new Breath of Fire game from Capcom, but Dragons Dogma is looking very promising indeed.

This will come as a very pleasant surprise indeed for Dark Souls fans, as it was widely believed that the game would not be receiving any DLC after launch, evident in the fact that Dark Souls as it currently stands is pretty much a complete package.

The game has become a huge success, and perhaps Namco Bandai are now responding to that with a no brainer push for new content via DLC – it would make perfect sense from a business perspective of course. According to an ‘exclusive’ report published by EGMNow, DLC content for Dark Souls is already well underway and thought to be releasing on the Xbox 360 and PS3 soon. Their report even claims that the DLC may be titled ‘ “Yami no Mori”— which when translated from Japanese becomes “Forest of Darkness” or “Dark Forest”.

Assuming the information is real, it now provides all sorts of exciting possibilities for fans. What new content could they possibly add to the game to make it even better? Is there one area in particular where you feel content is lacking and could be one option as DLC? We predict that a lot of people are going to buy DLC for Dark Soul without a doubt, so the ball firmly rests in Namco Bandai’s court to see what they can come up with. If the DLC maintains the same quality as the core gameplay, then we’re all in for a treat.

What would you like to see as Dark Souls DLC – is the game easily one of the best you’ve ever played?

Inevitably, just like other gaming petitions which prove to be priceless thanks to the powers of social media, this petition has now reached the attention of Namco themselves and it has been claimed that a Namco employee has said that the possibility of Dark Souls appearing on the PC is far from impossible.

The petition, which has been set up by Rock Paper Shotgun has now racked up almost 60,000 signatures, and the statement from the Namco admin as mentioned above will be cause for much optimism from PC gamers who want the game to appear this year. Here’s the quote below just so you know what has been said, as reported from Rock Paper Shotgun:

”There is always possibilities to have games adapted on PC and the good news is that Dark Souls is not a 100% typical Console game so the adaptation is possible. Now to make things happen, let’s say the demand has to be properly done. someone to make a successful petition?”

While this has came from a Namco Bandai forum admin, figures higher up in the company have distanced themselves from the likelihood of a PC version by labelling it as a ‘rumor’. Almost 60,000 signatures paint a different picture though and Namco should obviously see it as a win win situation that so many fans are willing to buy a PC version straight away – don’t forget that 55,000 signatures have been made in just three days.

Could Namco deliver to PC gamers by announcing a port over to PC at E3 2012? We would love to see this happen, more so since the community and this online petition would be solely responsible. It remains to be seen though how serious Namco Bandai will be taking this petition though, we’ll keep you updated on the situation.

As a PC owner, would you like to see Dark Souls? You can sign the petition here if you want to add your support.

No matter how good a game there is also a weak point, and Digital Trends believes that it is the story with Dark Souls. The developer has spent so much time in the gameplay itself that they seem to have forgotten about the story. It’s not all bad, as it starts off well, it just losing momentum throughout the game. This is just a minor issue, and those that embrace Dark Souls will be rewarded with a superb gameplay experience. Overall score is 8.5 out of 10.

PSX Extreme explains in their review how Dark Souls will test you, as it places you in a ridiculous situation and then your task is to survive as long as you can. You have to have a fast mind to react, because you need to be cautious, while trying not to remain still for too long. The audio will immerse you, and the bosses are impressive. However, because of the difficulty level of the game, this will result in boredom setting in quickly. The reviewer gave this an 8.6 out of 10.

PSU has much more praise for the game, as they say that it is a worthy successor to Demon Souls. Again, they say that the game is addictive and challenging, and the online environment is truly amazing. However, there are areas where the game is not as polished as it could be. The final score for this review is 9.5.

These are reviews from critics, now we would like a user review, so please share with us what you think of the game.

You may wonder why we would mention multiplayer, when Skyrim does not even have that feature, and there lies the problem, which to us could be its Achilles heel. IGN does find this a little strange, as fans of the franchise have been asking for said feature for some time now – now that’s one way to upset those who will make your game successful or not.

Bethesda has not let all fans requests go unnoticed though, as they have now given us dragons, which we did mention above – not sure if that is enough to keep the wolf from the door. Both games do have their strengths, and Multiplayer is Dark Souls. Fans hope that Skyrim will be able to redeem itself when it comes to downloadable content; we suggest that you do not hold your breath.

The reason why is due to the fact that Skyrim fans will have to wait a few months for the final parts of the game, in way of DLC. However, Dark Souls will already have the completion of the game on release, which means that you will not have to part with any more money in order to reach the games conclusion.

Do not think that the dragons will help redeem Skyrim, as Dark Souls has them as well. We do not want to appear one-sided, but it seems that Namco Bandai Games has Bethesda covered in almost every aspect of the RPG shootout.

It’s now the third week without the PSN, a problem which has not only cost potentially billions of dollars but is now beginning to eat into From Software’s production schedule. Dark Souls is the sequel to Demon Souls.

The new game provides the same experience during gameplay but has much more to offer on its online mode than the previous game. This is according to From Software’s Kei Horono who according to The Christian Science Monitor, was speaking to CVG.

It is reported that the PSN will be fully restored by May 31st but it is uncertain, we will just have to wait and see. Check out the link above for more details about the effect the outage is having on the developers.

Do you think we will be seeing the network up and running by the end of the month? Share your thoughts below.

However, rather than selling the Collector’s Edition at a higher price than the Standard Edition, Namco Bandai has decided to offer it as a pre-order incentive instead and offer it at the exact same price as the Standard Edition. This means that the Collector’s Edition will set you back $59.99.

According to Richard Mitchell over on the joystiq.com website, the Dark Souls Collector’s Edition will come packaged in a metal case, and will include a download of the game soundtrack, a limited edition art book, a mini strategy guide and behind-the-scenes development videos.

Both the Standard and Collector’s Editions of Dark Souls will be available to purchase in North America as from October this year. The Dark Souls action RPG game – which is developed by From Software and published by Namco Bandai – is a spiritual successor to the critically acclaimed Demon’s Souls.

The Dark Souls game will provide gamers with extreme battles, weaponry and magic, rewarding challenges, and the ability to customize each character to suit their choice of play style. The game’s online element will include both co-op and competitive multiplayer.

Are you looking forward to playing Dark Souls? Will you be buying the Standard or Collector’s Edition?

According to a recent article by Adam Rosenberg over at multiplayerblog.mtv.com (via Andriasang), the recently revealed details are courtesy of the Japanese gaming publication Famitsu. The biggest reveal of them all is in relation to the campfires found throughout the game.

These campfires not only serve as your character’s home base in the game’s various environments, but they also serve as a healing location and a respawn point in multiplayer mode. In other words, when you die, you will respawn and continue your game from the campfire.

As well as being used for basic health recovery (done by just simply touching the fire and using a special Monk spell), gamers will also be able to use the campfires to fill up their stock of Est – a health potion that is stored in an Est jar. If you are playing online, you will be able to see images of other players around the campfire.

Other features explained include the ladders, which players can either climb or kick over to prevent anyone from pursuing them, a transformation spell and NPC summons (including a Black Iron Knight). Do you like the sound of the Dark Souls game from the information you’ve heard?