Dragon's Dogma Message Board
↕
As for the rest of this month's PS Plus games, they're masterworks all, you can't go wrong. Well, that's what some would say after seeing the likes of Binary Domain, Ibb & Obb, Soul Sacrifice, and Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD on the current-gen bill. Meanwhile, the PS4's opening line-up stars Housemarque's Resogun and cabaret puzzle platformer Contrast, the latter replacing the Driveclub after that game's last-minute delay.
↕
↕
↕
Dragon's Dogma vanilla and Dark Arisen players alike, take heed. A recent title update for Capcom's fantasy RPG seems to be corrupting save files for some users.
If you haven't downloaded the update yet, Capcom suggests copying your data to the cloud or an external device before patching the game. Capcom promises to have a solution "as quickly as possible."
Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen is an Xbox 360 and PS3 expansion to Capcom's 2012 outing, a retail disc release that includes additional content and a remastered version of the base Dragon's Dogma game. The remastered version of Dragon's Dogma includes a new fast-travel system on top of additional items and gear, but sadly no dancing cyclopes.
↕
↕
↕
↕
↕
↕
The $40 expansion will be available at retail in North America and Europe, and as a digitally distributed title on the PlayStation Network. Dark Arisen sounds more like a relaunch of Dragon's Dogma, as it includes the full game, with travel improvements and "a more intuitive menu system." The game provides the extra weapons and quests to those who already own Dragon's Dogma, allowing their old save data to be used with the new interface.
For the experienced quester, the game also includes further bonuses like "100,000 Rift Crystals, unlimited Ferrystones and the Gransys Armour Pack consisting of six brand new costumes for free."
↕
↕
The $40 expansion will be available at retail in North America and Europe, as well as a digitally distributed title on the PlayStation Network. Dark Arisen sounds more like a relaunch of Dragon's Dogma, as it includes the full game, with travel improvements and "a more intuitive menu system." For those who already own Dragon's Dogma, the game provides the extra weapons and quests, allowing their old save data to be used with the new interface.
For the experienced quester, the game also includes further bonuses for those who previously owned Dragon's Dogma, as they'll receive "100,000 Rift Crystals, unlimited Ferrystones and the Gransys Armour Pack consisting of six brand new costumes for free."
↕
Dark Arisen adds new content to Dragon's Dogma, including new weapons and armor and a new dungeon. The expansion allows users to transfer their original save file and also features more character customization options and an option for Japanese dialogue.
↕
Justin McElroy is the managing editor of Polygon, co-brother of advice podcast My Brother, My Brother and Me and winner of the 2008 Shorty Award for video game centric tweets.
…
Yes, OK, fine, he's also the star of the The Time Belt, an educational sci-fi adventure about the history of West Virginia.
Dragon's Dogma
I should have hated this game. It's loaded with player-hostile choices and the story is largely garbage. But I don't know, it got in there. It got in there and it crawled around and made a little house and that's where it lives now.
FTL: Faster Than Light
By boiling star combat down to its base systems, FTL reminds us of all the unexplored territory still out there in game design. It's like nothing else out there and it's completely new.
The Walking Dead
Like watching Kane Hodder in Friday the 13th and then watching Kane Hodder sell his autograph for $5 at the Mid-Ohio Comic Con, first Walking Dead is scary, and then it's sad.
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Another one I should have hated, XCOM inexplicably was able to make turn-based combat feel as thrilling as any first-person shooter.
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
I don't know, man, I just like shooting dudes sometimes. It's got lots of, you know, guns and stuff and I just really like shooting guys with them. I don't know what to tell you.
Dishonored
Saints be praised, someone finally managed to make a stealth game that doesn't make me feel like a dickhead when I get spotted and have to murder a few dudes.
Tales From Space: Mutant Blobs Attack
Surprise, the Vita's best game cost like six dollars and was made by one and a half dudes. Bad for Sony, good for you!
Super Hexagon
Milestones in Super Hexagon are the most fulfilling meaningless things you'll ever achieve.
Frog Fractions
One of the only games I can recall you can play for 45 minutes and have no idea what its about. Abstract and fantastic.
You Don't Know Jack
I'm often stunned by modern convenience, but the idea that I have a seemingly unending stream of YDKJ being pumped into Facebook is still a little much for me to handle.
↕
"Dark Arisen" will allow you to transfer your save file from Dragon's Dogma vanilla and takes adventurers to a new dungeon located in the Bitterblack Isle, Capcom-Unity says. It may not be the safest travel destination, but we hear Bitterblack's shopping district is a real must-see.
↕
Dragon's Dogma will receive Hard and Speedrun modes next month, if the Japanese release date of December 4 applies worldwide. Back in September Capcom told us the free DLC was due this year. We've reached out to Capcom for more details.
The Hard mode unsurprisingly increases the difficulty, while the Speedrun mode (in an equally unsurprising move) sets players a goal time to beat the game in. Completion of each mode rewards players with special equipment.
The update offered no further word on the Dark Arisen expansion due next year.
↕
Okay, so I was wrong about the Bears beating the Packers. Really wrong. Shut up. Just shut up.
Flip side, I’m pleased at a Dragon’s Dogma expansion for next year, and hope it spurs at least a few people to give that game another shot. So many focused on me giving that game three stars and ignored the amount of praise that was heaped upon the parts of the game that did work. Dragon’s Dogma’s combat is unbelievably good, and kept me playing dozens of hours until it was over, even if the world and the story didn’t do much for me until the very end.
That brings me to a suggestion, though. If you’ll never play Dragon’s Dogma, at least look up what happens in the endgame. It’s totally insane, and I wish Capcom had pulled that trigger way earlier.
Dragon's Dogma is a franchise that can and should be huge for Capcom here in the West. Whether the company is able to capitalize on the opportunity in front of them, however, I'm not really sure. Outside of Monster Hunter, Capcom seems awfuly confused.
Hey, You Should Play This
- SHEXAGON by Casey Griggs (Browser, Free)
Look, Super Hexagon is a super hard game. Like, super hard. There’s a reason super is in the title, and you shouldn’t feel bad for not being any good at it. I’m certainly not, unless you count surviving just over 30 seconds to be braggable. Actually, I do. I totally think that being able to survive 30 seconds in Super Hexagon is something worth bragging about, even if it’s nothing compared to what freaks like Jason Killingworth are able to pull off. Thankfully, designer Casey Griggs has come up with a reasonable solution: turn Super Hexagon into a text adventure.
And You Should Read This, Too
- 'Medal of Honor Warfighter enters dangerous territory' by Alex Pham for the LA Times
So much of how Electronic Arts has handled Medal of Honor: Warfighter has been perplexing, and will prove tragic if the game, ultimately, turns out to be pretty good. I’m not expecting much more than a competent riff on Call of Duty with a tiny nod towards authenticity, but this is coming from someone who genuinely enjoyed the last Medal of Honor, flaws ‘n all. With the last one, at least there was a genuine attempt to try something different. Anyway, this LA Times report about how a former Navy SEAL may have consulted on the game without approval from the government is just the latest in a series of PR snafus painting a dark picture for a game that probably doesn’t deserve such scorn.
If You Click It, This Will Play
I Don’t Know About This Kickstarter Thing, But These Projects Seem Pretty Cool
- Earthbound? Metroid? Zelda? Mega Man? Okay, you've got my attention, Oozengard. Step up.
- Everything about Sealark looks like the absolute best. You are pushing all of my buttons.
- Project Eternity is really taking off, and it's now got a Mac version. How far will it go?
Valve Just Launched Greenlight, So Here’s Some Games That Don’t Look Terrible
- Haunted Investigations is one of the scary games from the live show, and it has serious promise.
- I'm digging the selection of atmospheric first-person games on Greenlight, such as The Light.
- Ever since trying out the demo for The Asylum, I've had this one my "please come out soon" list.
Oh, And This Other Stuff
- This has less to do with games, but it seems like we're making progress on our terrible patent system.
- If you want a look at some of the tools I use as a reporter, check out The Journalist's Toolbox.
- I really wish these awful Sherlock Holmes FMV games were playable on an original iPad.
- If you dug Super Time Force, make note that Capy's Critter Crunch just came out on Steam.
- It's not much of a surprise that so much was cut from Fez.
- This NeoGAF thread helpfully sifts through the many Adventure Time games from a recent game jam.
- Seems like Keiji Inafune is more positive these days about the future of Japan.
- If you need some Torchlight II outside of Torchlight II, the soundtrack is available for free.
- I love you, Justin McElroy.
- What happens when Pac-Man is interpreted through the lens of H.P. Lovecraft.
- Kickstarter is tweaking some of it policies, and it's all for the better.
- Pro-tip: don't get EA's logo tattooed on your back.
- We haven't seen the last of Slender, and I'm scared shitless.
↕
↕
↕
↕
Capcom is bringing a "major expansion" to Dragon's Dogma in 2013. The company divulged little else about the expansion, called 'Dark Arisen,' beyond the above teaser. We also have a few appropriately dark screenshots below.
Capcom also tells us that two free modes are being patched into the RPG later this year. Following the 'Easy' mode released last month, the 'Hard' mode cranks things up the other way but with the promise of extra loot. Meanwhile, 'Speedun' rewards players who beat the game in an allotted time.
As for the expansion, Capcom promises to spill the beans soon. Until then, strength in numbers, Arisen.
↕
↕
The patch will be released in Japan on August 6. Capcom has not announced plans for the rest of the world yet.
[Image: Capcom-Unity]
↕
It's not official official, but it's looking pretty likely Capcom is going to push forward with Dragon's Dogma as a headline franchise.
Capcom announced today Dragon's Dogma has shipped 1.05 million copies worldwide, "setting the stage for creating a series of titles."
It's not the first time Capcom has recently alluded to more Dragon's Dogma games, either. Just recently, Famitsu polled a series of Japanese game designers about what they're looking forward to creating in the future, and there was a telling comment from director Hideaki Itsuno, as translated by Andriasang.
Capcom's Hideaki Itsuno says that he really wants to make a sequel to Dragon's Dogma. The current world is just two-thirds of the idea he had in mind, and there are things he'd still like to do.That said, despite some critical acclaim from writers like yours truly, Dragon's Dogma has its work cut out for itself in the West. Capcom admitted the game "struggled" out here.
It's still my opinion that Dragon's Dogma represents Capcom's best chance to help make Monster Hunter (or Monster Hunter-like games) a hit out here. You've already got me on board for a sequel.
↕
The company highlighted Dragon's Dogma as being part of the success. Despite having "struggled abroad," according to Capcom, the game's "popularity in the more profitable domestic market exceeded expectations by selling more than one million copies."
The publisher also mentioned the continued strength of social games The Smurfs' Village and Snoopy's Street Fair, which have "brought Capcom steady fees." Minna to Monhan Card Master, Sengoku BASARA: Card Heroes and Resident Evil: Outbreak Survive were also mentioned as gaining Capcom 2 million new social network site users. Those new friends are sure to make all the rest of the companies jealous.
↕
Before Dragon's Dogma became a surprise success, the common refrain was that it was Monster Hunter for westerners. The developers expressed surprise, but given the presence of large, roaming beasts and Capcom's role as a publisher, the comparison was perhaps inevitable.
Now though, the shoe is very much on the other foot. Over the weekend, Capcom released a new trailer for Monster Hunter 4, and the whiff of Dragon's Dogma was unmistakable. It's not just the fact that you can grapple with monsters, but the overall feel of the whole presentation. All it's missing is B'z and his beautiful, completely nonsensical lyrics.
On the whole, Monster Hunter seems to be going for the faster, punchier feel of Dragon's Dogma, home of castle-destroying snake monsters and other beasts. In both the new trailer and last year's trailer, the main character can be seen hopscotching across chasms and swinging across ceilings. He clings to a wall while a dragon-like Tigrex tries to torch him from below. He scales a sheer cliff in pursuit of a beast that looks like a cross between an orangutan and Stitch from Lilo & Stitch fame. And, of course, he is clearly seen hanging for dear life on the back of a dragon while stabbing for all he's worth.
↕
↕
Because of this success - and because it's Capcom, who will give almost anything at least one sequel - it's no surprise Capcom is continuing with its plan to make Dragon's Dogma into one of its major franchises. "This game was developed with the goal of creating another pillar of earnings for Capcom alongside Monster Hunter and Sengoku Basara," Capcom noted. "To further increase the value of brands used for its content, Capcom will continue to utilize a variety of initiatives that include the continuous distribution of downloadable content."
Will some of that downloadable content be a Snoop Dogg-themed level called "Dragon's Doggma?" Namco Bandai would say that's a good idea.
↕
The company notes that Dark Souls, to which Dragon's Dogma has been compared, sold a combined total of 280,000 during its launch week.
↕
There are a couple of reasons I decided to review Dragon’s Dogma. One, the game showed up, Brad threw it on my desk and said “you should review this.” So, well, there’s that--that’s definitely important.
But when my stack of need-to-play games begins to run dry, I (try to) fill that with a game I wouldn’t necessarily play, or a franchise I missed. It’s important to have personal experiences to confirm or disprove your expectations, and Dragon’s Dogma fit that well.
Hitman: Blood Money and The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings were the same way, too. Since I’ve played both of those games, I’m now super excited for the next games from IO Interactive and CD Projekt Red. I couldn’t have said that with any confidence before--my options for future playing are now much wider.
Dragon’s Dogma has not turned me into a Monster Hunter fanatic, but it provided a window into what makes zealots out of those who do love Monster Hunter. Maybe Capcom has now tricked me into trying the next one? Hmm.
Hey, You Should Play This:
- Reprisal by Jon Caplin
Despite being a big ol’ fan of Peter Molyneux, I’ve never played Populous. Or Syndicate, really. This isn't about me, though. Stop it! That hasn’t changed since writing this sentence, but I’m one step closer, since I’ve played a game that doesn’t seem far off. Reprisal is a pixel-tinted Populous-style game from graphic designer Jon Caplin that is, if nothing else, really stylish. The game’s tutorial doesn’t do the greatest job of explaining what the hell is going on by the time the tutorial disappears, but click around enough and it’ll all start to make sense. Plus, it sounds so good!
- Amnesia: The Dark Descent by Frictional Games
I’m finally going to play Amnesia: The Dark Descent this weekend. Or so I've told myself. Pray for me.
You Should Read These, Too:
- Respawn's West And Zampella Sound Off On Upcoming Activision Lawsuit by Andy MacNamara for Game Informer
No, I will not be attending the trial between Activision and former Infinity Ward employees. Plans were discussed, but the logistics of hanging out in Los Angeles for a month didn’t make sense for a great many reasons, and while I’d been lead to believe there might be a stream for media to watch, that doesn’t appear to be the case. Ah well. There will be plenty of reporters at the trial, however, and if you’re looking for how former IW leaders Jason West and Vince Zampella will be handling themselves, read Game Informer’s interview with them that’s...mostly with their lawyer.
- Editorial: 38 Studios and the Dunkin Delusions by Alexander Sliwinski for Joystiq
It’s weird to be the reporter at the center of a big story. That was the case for me with the implosion at Infinity Ward, and it seems Joystiq reporter Alexander Sliwinski found himself in a similar position with 38 Studios. He’s written a heartfelt story about his time hanging out in a Dunkin’ Donuts near the 38 Studios offices, providing the emotional perspective of the reporter that’s often left unsaid. Sliwinski may assume a little too much about the psychological state of the 38 Studios employees he’s observing, but what he witnessed is fascinating. A sad tale from all angles.
And Some Other Stuff:
- Someone has presented their ultimate theory on LOST. I haven't read it yet, but LOST!
- Microsoft's former director of policy and enforcement for Xbox Live, Stephen Toulouse, criticizes Blizzard's public statements regarding "hacking" of Battle.net and Diablo III.
- Our friends at 8-4 are working on the Japanese version of Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP.
- There is a working calculator in Minecraft, and it's totally insane.
- The Masters Voice is a wonderful short film. Can't wait to see how it's turned into a feature.
- Folks have asked about my blue shirt with the purple skeleton--it's made by a guy named Max Capacity. You should buy his stuff. All of it is rad, and his Tumblr is really entertaining.
- There's a growing number of in-game photographers, and they're producing beautiful material.
- Hideo Kojima is giving interviews again, and The Guardian has released some excerpts.
- Nobody thinks this Shadow of the Colossos movie is actually going to get made, right?
Chat
