Although many games do their best job to hand-hold gamers, making sure they never get lost along the way, the Dark Souls series throws players into the pool headfirst. It's an approach that some find inordinately frustrating, while others absolutely love it.

However, with very few games as challenging as Dark Souls around, the wait for its sequel, Dark Souls II, has been excruciating. But the wait just got a little more bearable, as Namco Bandai has finally announced a PS3 and Xbox 360 release date for the title.

Slated to hit store shelves on March 11, 2014 in North America, Dark Souls 2 will come in three different flavors. There will, of course, be the standard edition of the game sold day-and-date, but those who pre-order the game will net themselves the "Black Armor Edition" of Dark Souls 2, which includes a metal case and the official soundtrack.

And, for those gamers who truly want to show their love for the Dark Souls franchise, Namco Bandai has also revealed the Dark Souls 2  Collector's Edition. Although Namco has not revealed a price, they did reveal its contents. The Collector's Edition includes a 12-inch "Warrior Knight" figurine, a collectible art book, a cloth map of the game world, and the "Black Armor Edition" of the game.

Unfortunately, while this release date announcement is sure to get most Dark Souls fans excited, Namco did not reveal a PC release date for the sequel. They did say Dark Souls 2 will hit the PC "shortly thereafter," but that's all we know at this point.

Anticipation for the PC release of Dark Souls 2 has been pretty high, as developer From Software has promised they have given an equal amount of attention to all versions of the game. That came as a relief those gamers who picked up the PC version of Dark Souls and found it to be a less-than-desirable port.

There's still a bit of a wait for Dark Souls 2, but at least fans now know when they can get their hands on the game. They can also start stockpiling controllers to replace the broken ones.

Are you ready to test your mettle in Dark Souls 2? Will you be picking up the console version or are you waiting for the PC release?

Dark Souls 2 releases March 11, 2014 for the PS3 and Xbox 360.