JBoc924
I’ll get this out of the way first: I’m not a huge fan of open-world RPGs. I’m not really a huge fan of the RPG genre in general, nor am I fond of open world games of any sort. There are some exceptions, though, like Mass Effect and Kingdom Hearts, which are technically action RPGs. But as far as straight-up open world titles go, you’ll never really find me sinking dozens of hours into Grand Theft Auto or Skyrim (I did play the hell out of Arkham City though, because it’s the goddamn Batman!). Mind you, I don’t think those games are horrible at all, they’re just not what I would normally play. I much rather prefer more linear adventures. However, I surprisingly had quite a good time with Dragon’s Dogma.
If you’re a frequent reader of this site, then the one major reason you’d be interested in getting Dragon’s Dogma is for the early access to the Resident Evil 6 demo. It’s a very smart marketing tactic on Capcom’s part, attaching a demo for a highly anticipated entry from one of gaming’s most beloved series to a brand new IP. Smart move right there. However, that’s not the only reason you should check out Dragon’s Dogma. It may not be an amazing game, but it’s comparable to a Metapod in that it’s quite solid.
Things kick off with a pretty nice boss fight against the Chimera, pictured above. Here we get accustomed to the game’s combat mechanics. And what I love about Dragon’s Dogma is that the combat feels quicker and is much more satisfying than other open world titles I tried out previously. It’s not on a DMC-level, but it’s still pretty rewarding, especially when you’re going up against a horde of enemies or a giant boss. There’s quite a lot of huge monstrosities to face in this giant world, too. You can say it’s a bit like Shadow of the Colossus when you’re taking on these beasts, scaling them and slashing away. None of the encounters are nearly as memorable or grand as ones found in Team Ico’s masterpiece, but they’re still pretty intense. Expect to die many, many times…
I would be a brainless Slowking to not mention how intuitive and robust the game’s character creation system is. Again, bringing up my stance on RPGs from before, creating my own character in games usually bores me and I prefer to play as an already existing hero/heroine (which is why I always play as default male Shepared!), but man was it fun to create my character here, and I actually took my time with it. There’s a butt load of options and I opted to make my Arisen, which is what your hero will be referred to as, look like me as much as possible. You can also create your own ally, known as pawns which can also be obtained from other players. As you can already imagine, I decided to make my pawn look like a certain Resident Evil character that’s quite good with the ladies.
The game’s pawn system is what makes it stand out amongst other games in its genre. The pawns make up the game’s party system and these allies won’t just tag along, they’ll make themselves useful in combat as well as intel by sharing some valuable information when taking on enemies and bosses. And it’s neat because if you’re connected online, you can obtain pawns other players have created, along with all the skills and information they may have. The same goes for your own pawn, which can be shared with others. It’s a nice system that makes Gransys feel even more alive, despite feeling a bit dull at times.
I’m not a sucker for medieval settings, and maybe that’s the problem here. While roaming through the vast kingdom, I found myself bored at times, especially when you had to travel a very long distance to get to your objective. Enemies did spice things up though, making for some tense battles, that ended up in death many times. Dragon’s Dogma isn’t an easy game, and that could be another issue for some. But I’m sure all the Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls veterans out there will have no problem. The story also doesn’t really do a good job of completely engaging players either. You basically get your heart stolen by a giant dragon, leaving you to be known as the Arisen and praised by many for your powers. There’s very little to push you along from that point to the ending, but I found myself just enjoying the objectives and fighting all the enemies while roaming through the giant world, leveling up myself and my pawns along the way. The bosses are also another highlight of the game.
Dragon’s Dogma is a solid game and a bold new IP for Capcom. I’m eager to see where they go next with this new property, if they decide to follow it up with a sequel. You’ll easily sink dozens of hours into the entire experience, and while there’s some bumps along the way thanks to some dull moments, the end product is quite enjoyable thanks to its combat mechanics that are more akin that of a hack-and-slash action game than an RPG. Give it a shot, you may find yourself loving your stay in Gransys, and, yes, you’re going to love that you get early access to RE 6’s demo, too (it’s even earlier for Xbox 360 owners).
