Dragon’s Dogma, Capcom’s first fantasy action RPG, in moments rises to mythical grandeur and in equal parts crashes down to frustration and disappointment. It’s a roller coaster ride worth hopping onto if you love Capcom and RPGs, but if you don’t give it a try you aren’t missing an epic.
Unfortunately, something’s just off in the game with regards to how it displays characters. You pick a class (warrior, ranger or mage) and start the game – character levelling is extensive as you spend experience points gained through the game on skills and powers.
A cut-scene follows to give purpose to your character’s quest, which is to defeat and rescue your heart from an ugly old dragon that attacks your fishing village. As someone without a physical heart, your character is thereby dubbed the Arisen.
As you rightly guessed, your character is special and commands servitude from human-like creatures called Pawns – the game lets you attach one permanent Pawn and two temporary ones to form a team to take on enemies and monsters. You can switch Pawns depending on their skills and power by accessing the Rift, a mysterious shadow world (some of the good parts of the game are highlighted outdoors).
Dragon’s Dogma is an open-world fantasy (much like The Elder Scrolls) and the in-game world is huge. There’s a lot to explore and plenty of items to forage and it’s easy to get sidetracked from your main quest. As mesmerizing as the in-game world gets, some finer details end up being disappointing. Upon meeting NPCs, you realize that dialogues are short, repetitive and unimaginative, and the quaint English just nags you to no end.
Graphics, overall, look unpolished and game physics, in few instances, seem dated. Fighting enemies or animals is quick and easy, but the real sparks of brilliance erupt once you corner a monster. Fighting cunning monsters who are difficult to kill requires you to have the right skills and team members (Pawns).
Battles are either really short or long and drawn out. In terms of audio, the game opens with a blast of Japanese rock that flatters to deceive as the game’s background score and in-game sounds are faintly engaging, nowhere close to fantastic. However, things do get exciting as you reach Dragon’s Dogma’s conclusion.
Verdict
Capcom’s first fantasy action RPG, Dragon’s Dogma, in moments rises to mythical grandeur and in equal parts crashes down to frustration and disappointment. It’s a roller coaster ride worth hopping onto if you love Capcom and RPGs, but if you don’t give it a try you aren’t missing an epic.
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platforms: PS3, Xbox 360
Genre: Fantasy RPG