Dragon’s Dogma Review

Action Type Combat
Another feature that the developer behind Dragon Dogma implemented in the game is the action-oriented gameplay. Instead of the traditional JRPG’s turn-based system, players will now enter a real-time action combat. When in battle, you can do the basic combo with the X and a Y button, where X will do the light attack while the Y button does the heavy attack (Xbox 360 version). Once your character can learn some skills, you combine those basic attacks to the skills that you set and they are all can be accessed by pressing the shoulder buttons and hitting the right button to launch the attack.

As aforementioned, both your character and two of your pawns can have their own vocations. In the game, there are three levels of vocations whereas the first one is basic; Fighter, Strider and Mage. When you master any of the three, you will then proceed to the next tier of vocation which is a Warrior, Ranger and Sorcerer. Assuming you master that as well, you will then reach the final vocation which are the Mystic Knight, Assassin and Magick Archer. The process in order to advance to the next vocation will involve discipline points, which is acquired by going through quests. It’s very imperative that players will master this as this will be necessary in order to survive the tough challenge ahead.

a Plethora of Quests & More
It wouldn’t be a westernized RPG if it weren’t for side quests. Those who are looking to spend hours in Dragon’s Dogma will be pleased to know that there are roughly a hundred quests available. As with every RPG in the West, there are quests that gives out powerful equipment to the player and in Dragon’s Dogma, expect the same thing. This game gives you hours of playtime, especially the game will continue, even after beating the main quests.

Heavy customization will be implemented in this game where you’ll spend an ample amount of time making sure that your character and pawns are well equipped. Since the game has some kind of a loot system, some of the stronger equipments in the game can be found through crafting and enchanting your weapons. Those who have played Skyrim and other westernized RPGs, these feature shouldn’t unfamiliar to you.

A Big Challenge Awaits
Even before, Dragon’s Dogma got everyone excited from seeing big bosses in the screenshots that Capcom have released. If you are looking for an easy way through Dragon’s Dogma, you will not find it here as every quest that you take will pose risks that you’ll die on your first try. Quests within the game gets harder along the way and it will require you to grind to get to one place from another. Aside from dragons, there are other big bosses lurking through Gransys and they vary from a hydra, chimera, and many more.

NOT

Bland Story
When it comes to the story, Dragon’s Dogma doesn’t have that story that keeps players interested and the gameplay I’m sure will be the reason why this game will be played for a long time. The game starts off with a Dragon attacking the town you’re residing at. When you encounter with the dragon, you will be told that you are the chosen one and your heart will be taken. It is in the tale that those who get their heart taken by the Dragon will be going on adventure to seek out the heart of the hero and defeat the dragon while carrying the title of the Arisen. As the Arisen, you will go through different parts of the world searching for clues to the dragon’s whereabouts. At first, the story starts off slow, which is pretty normal to a RPG but the premise of the story is bland and may turn people off right away.

Technical Glitches
The visuals of Dragon’s Dogma are somewhat average; the environments and locales are nicely crafted and the open world area brings lush trees and buildings into life. However, the game falls short on the technical glitches it has which is screen tearing most of the time on cutscenes, random pop-ins where an enemy will randomly appear in front of you and some texture problems. While this doesn’t really hinder as to how great the game is, it does give some little annoyance for fans of the game.

Wander Aimlessly
One of the biggest complaints that I’m having in Dragon’s Dogma is the no sense of direction that it has. Don’t expect the game to show you what quests you need to do in order to advance the story. You can expect to figure out yourself on which quests is the main one for the story and which one is just for the sidequests. While there are times that you think that’s the quest that you’ll have to pursue, you’ll be disappointed finding out upon doing that quest that you’re under leveled, thus giving you the frequent deaths that you least expect.

Hard Difficulty
If you love the challenge that Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls gave you as you played through both games, you will find Dragon’s Dogma sort of the same thing. As mentioned above, you’ll come to a point that you may think that quest will be suited for you, but eventually find out that you’re under levelled. This kind of situation will happen a lot of times and it will give you the annoyance that you should go grind for a few more levels before attempting the mission again. The difficulty of Dragon’s Dogma is tolerable but you will need a lot of patience.

VERDICT

Dragon’s Dogma is more suited for those who prefer more difficult adventures. The game is not completely perfect as it has a few shortcomings, such as the technical glitches and bland story, but those can be easily ignored as everything else makes up for it. While this game may not suit everyone, those who wants a challenging gameplay experience with a perfect execution of real time combat, should definitely pick this game up nevertheless.

[Editor’s Note: Dragon’s Dogma was reviewed on the Xbox 360 platform. The game was provided to us by the publisher for review purposes.]