The game be at it be best when fighting 'n climbing beasts.
ye have t' admire Capcom’s ambitions with Dragon’s Dogma. Monster Hunter, a series that’s single-handedly kept the PSP alive in Japan, just hasn’t caught fire anywhere else. Dragon’s Dogma feels like Capcom taking the most outwardly appealing part a Monster Hunter--big, meaty fights against monstrous beasts with a team a mateys--'n putting that into a sprawling world that goes on 'n on for miles.
The bummer: Capcom built this vast place t' run around in but didn’t fill it with anything interesting. The saving grace: Capcom’s expertise in building robust, customizable, 'n super fun combat systems pays off.
The game opens with a promising enough premise. A dragon has suddenly appeared in the land a Gransys, 'n attacks yer quiet, idyllic waterfront town. Pretty stupidly, ye pick up a sword 'n “attack” the dragon, who responds in kind by tearing yer heart out keeping it for himself. ye’re still alive, though, 'n be now one a the Arisen, which means ye're special 'n technically alive but not quite whole. The dragon says yer heart can be reclaimed if ye defeat the sea dog, 'n so yer journey begins.
ye gain some pretty sweet powers by becoming the Arisen, including access t' Pawns, a human-like race a beings charged with following the Arisen. Pawns be AI support characters, 'n their roles be crucial in dealing with the game's endless supply a mobs. It’s probably possible t' solo Dragon’s Dogma, but I wouldn’t recommend it--ye need these lads 'n girls. ye have one main Pawn, who ye design early in the game. The other two be (largely) created by other Dragon’s Dogma players, which makes for some goofy allies (I had a high level mage named Ladypants with me for most a me 37 hours) but makes the experience enjoyably personable. For me, me daggers-n-arrows focused archer be balanced out with two support mages--one attacking, another buffing--'n a fighter who largely focused on drawing aggro. All a the Pawns can be customized with equipment, but since all but the Pawn ye created does not level, it’s not worth it--it’s better t' just recruit new Pawns every few hours.
The system be perfectly set up for other human beings, but Dragon’s Dogma doesn’t feature multiplayer. It’s an unfortunate omission, especially since ye have very little influence over the Pawns themselves. This leads t' more than a few frustrating scenarios where, say, healing spells be badly needed but everyone be focused on casting lots a fireballs. There be some built-in solutions t' help address this, such as potions that temporarily change the attack patterns a yer Pawns 'n the ability t' set some generic action recommendations ahead a battle, but there’s nothing as simple 'n elegant as pulling up a menu 'n asking Ladypants t' cast a holy spell on yer daggers t' help in crippling the undead.
The real core a Dragon’s Dogma be combat. Thirty-seven hours later, a pile a bodies the size a a mountain in me wake, I be still having fun slicing up goblins 'n direwolves. The game has a terrifically fun 'n dynamic combat system that constantly encourages players t' experiment. Tapping shoulder buttons brings up adjustable modifiers that give ye plenty a options in battle. ye gain experience 'n level, but rather than worrying about assigning points t' strength 'n other attributes, that’s in the background, with the focus on earning 'n assigning new skills. Like Monster Hunter or Dark Souls, many a the skills lock players into animations (though there be a skill for some classes that can actually break the animation), so combat becomes a shifting risk/reward proposition. Do ye enable yer supremely powerful dagger attack but chance missing 'n being stuck flailing in the wind for a few seconds?
Dragon's Dogma's world be certainly big, but big isn't enough.
'n though ye choose a class upfront, it’s only a few hours before ye can swap t' something else. There be even advanced 'n hybrid classes, such as the magic archer I ended up playing, that aren’t available upfront. It’s easy t' switch classes, 'n if ye come t' regret the change, it’s a simple matter t' go back or try another one. Some skills be even compatible across classes, which means ye can begin t' craft yer own super hybrid that brings the best a several classes under one roof. By the end a me 37 hours, I’d maxed out two classes for both myself 'n me Pawn, opening up a robust set a skills. Combined with the other Pawns that have their own powers 'n magic 'n combat options be vast.
The big payoff be when Dragon’s Dogma introduces it be slew a screen-filling creatures--dragons, hydras, griffins, ogres, etc. It looks a little goofy, but the key t' defeating them be climbing on their backs 'n stabbing them in the face/neck/eye. It’s a brutal, bloody Shadow a the Colossus, 'n it’s intensely satisfying. There’s nothing quite like hitting a griffin mid-air with fire-infused arrows, watching it crash t' the ground, straddling it be neck just before it manages t' take off, being lifted thousands a feet into the air 'n stabbing the hell out a it, as it maniacally tries t' shake ye off. It’s these moments, with ye 'n yer Pawns working in tandem t' take down these towering enemies, that Dragon’s Dogma shines. It never gets old, 'n the ability t' perpetually switch around yer set a combat skills means fighting the same enemies manages t' feel fresh, since yer approach t' it changes.
It’s a good thing the combat holds up, too, because that’s the biggest thing Dragon’s Dogma has going for it. Dragon’s Dogma doesn’t do much with it be premise until the very, every end, at which point the game unloads an hour a completely unexpected, totally batshit crazy exposition. It almost makes the entire story better in retrospect, but such feelings only come after the insane revelations the ending brings, 'n not a moment sooner. Prior t' crazytown, the story be utterly banal. None a the quests have captivating stories behind them, 'n add zero color t' the world at large. Characters be introduced but never given any substance. Bizarre plot twists be wedged in 'n then completely forgotten, as if they never happened. At one point, ye’re jailed for witnessing something very bad, but moments after escaping, the world forgets ye be ever jailed. Even when ye talk t' the character that put ye in the brigs--no response. The utter lack a consequence be littered throughout, 'n applies directly t' the game world, too. Nothing has permanence. The same set a goblins 'n bandits just outside the main capital be there every time ye sail away. Every. Single. Time. There be no variation. No matter how often ye kill them, they all come right back. Building a world that feels as alive 'n random as Bethesda Game Studios did with Skyrim certainly isn’t easy, 'n while it’s easy t' respect Capcom’s ambition in what it tried t' create with Dragon’s Dogma, the bar has been set so high, 'n Dragon’s Dogma isn’t close.
The most imposing enemies can take ye out in a single swipe.
Compounding the issue be how often Dragon’s Dogma asks players t' experience the same locations over 'n over again. There be fast travel in the game but it’s not very useful. Players can purchase magic stones that enable teleporting back t' the main capital, though it’s not until halfway through the game that it becomes possible t' transport out a the capital. Even then, ye can’t choose a location 'n be whisked away--ye have t' physically go t' a location 'n lay down a “portcrystal.” It’s especially infuriating when the game asks ye t' spend 20 minutes running t' a quest location, then come back t' the capital, 'n immediately asks ye t' head t' that location again. It’s one thing if the game had dropped a “hey, maybe ye best drop the portcrystal here--wink!” hint but it never does.
There’s so much t' like about what Capcom gets right with Dragon’s Dogma that it makes the missteps utterly heartbreaking. The combat has enough depth 'n variety t' keep ye interested for the duration a the story 'n beyond, but in terms a what might have been, what best have been, Dragon’s Dogma falls gut-wrenchingly short.
