Dragons Dogma is a game I
had been waiting for since its announcement last year. I had been
following the videos, checking the website, essentially absorbing as
much information as I could. Now the game is out and I've had a
chance to play it, and I am certainly not disappointed by the wait.
Dragons Dogma is one of the few games to come out this year thats
really impressed me.
You are Arisen, a hero to
the people, a legend. Or, in other terms, a Dragon stole your heart
and taunts you to come get it back. Thats where the game starts, and
how the story begins. Being heartless (Arisen) is not without its
perks though. While most RPG's tend to revolve around you and a cast
of characters you come into contact with throughout the story, Arisen
have the ability to summon "Pawns" into being. Human-like
beings called from the Rift to aid the Arisen in battle.
You make one Pawn when you
first are given the ability to summon, which becomes your lifelong
partner throughout the game, while the other two are pulled from the
Rift. Whats interesting about this though, is its not a stock
character chosen and designed at random by the game. The Pawns you
can summon are characters that were created by other players. These
pawns come at whatever level the owner has played them to, and don't
level up in your game. Which means you'll be trading pawns around
every few levels to keep yourself up to snuff with whatever baddies
you come across.
Being an action-heavy RPG,
Dragons Dogma has a varied class system. At the start, you'll be
given three classes, or Vocations, to choose from; Fighter, Strider
and Mage. Each of these classes branches off into other subclasses
that range from an enhanced upgrade (Fighter to warrior) or even a
mix between classes (warrior+mage to Mystic Knight) each with its
own skills and perks. Depending on your main class, you'll want to
use Pawns to compliment or flesh out your playstyle, Rushing in with
four warriors might make for easy goblin pickings, but its going to
be a problem later when Harpies are stinging from above or no ones
around to heal that new hole in your head, so do yourself a Favour
and throw a Strider or Mage in there for good measure.
Combat is very akin to one
of Capcoms finest series, Monster Hunter. There is no lock on, and
the battles are rough. Knowing where the enemies are, and when to
strike is key to performing well. Added to that, most enemies can be
picked up and thrown, and the larger monsters can be climbed upon to
attack weak points. The most entertaining thing about the combat
though, is that you can use the terrain to your advantage. Climb
rocks for a better advantage, retreat behind trees to avoid enemy
fire. At one point I even ended up knocking a cyclops off a cliff.
Even I wasn't expecting that.
The story itself takes on
the role of a side-quest game. Which is my only real gripe. Getting
to a new town or area has you communing with the townsfolk to find
quests to do, whether it be needing to recover a stolen book, or
felling a gryphon terrorizing citizens. While theres nothing wrong
with that, Occasionally the main story will pause, and have you
wandering around completing the side-quests before the Main story
rears back up and sees you off again.
The world is a massive place
to explore and theres plenty of dungeons and areas to check out, each
with its own polish and look, some areas are connected to each other
and find you coming back around to place you didn't expect, after
finishing a quest in a cave, I noticed a door that I couldn't open
because it was looked from the other side, heading back to town I
took another quest that had me killing monster in a well, being
unable to climb back up I ended up finding an exit, which I unlocked
that opened up into the cave I had been to earlier not only that but
the cave was also quite a distance away from the starting point of
the current quest I was on. Interesting aspects like that are what
keep the game entertaining, and discovering a new area and finding
every secret nook and cranny always gives you a sense of
accomplishment after exploring.
Overall, Dragons Dogma has a
certain level of charm to it that will either attract players, or
push them away. If your a fan of exploration and hard an rewarding
combat, consider giving Dragons Dogma a whirl. While the story may
not be as epic or enthralling as other big name RPG's, Dragons Dogma
delivers a solid, entertaining experience that has you cheering
yourself on after every tough encounter and breathing a sigh of
relief when you finally make it back to town after every journey.
-Shay
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