'There and back again' .... A Pawns Tale! Before you buy - READ THIS REVIEW !
is that its design and pacing are deliberate. In the same way that Fable made accessibilty one of its core tenets, personified by the infamous 'Bread Crumb Trail', Dragon Dogma goes the other way...
Dragon's Dogma wants you to make the journey yourself.
There and back again... Which will be an aquired taste for some.
Dragon's Dogma wants you to get lost, it wants you to forget about the fact that your journey has taken almost a day in game time, and the sun is now starting to set behind that distant mountain. Its wants you to discover for yourself that when night falls, what once seemed like a routine trip across country, and that shortcut through the woods that seemed like such a good idea has now turned into a battle for survival. It wants to teach you the hard way that this is not like other games you have played. Every excursion outside the Cities walls needs to be properly planned for -- right resources, equipment and Pawn Class mix, aswell as accounting for how long left till night fall. All essential considerations for those who want to make it back alive!
You see in Dragon Dogma Fast Travel seems at first strangely absent, and then later becoming available albeit in the form of expensive rare items known as Ferry stones and PortCrystals.
The limits placed on fast travel will baffle and infuriate some, but as you persist with the game you start to realise what a different experience is offered to the player by limiting such luxuries. Even simple quests can turn into something far more epic in DD's world. What makes true adventure so exciting is the risk that goes with it, the danger and the sense of the unknown that encompass the journey - this is where Dragon Dogma shines and other games seem pedestrian.
Its a shame then that such bold design choices are let down by some of the games repetition - enemies often respawn over time, and players will often find themselves fighting through the same pack of wolves or bandits in the same places on the map with little variety. There does seem to be some randomness to enemy placement on the map perhaps to do with time of day, but not a great deal. Some more random encounters would have been welcome here to make the world seem more unpredictable and alive. But again, Dragon Dogma picks up the slack with some superb and varied combat. There is a good variety of classes that all play very differently, with their own special abilities, counters and moves. The combat is fast, fluid and weighty. All enemies have various weaknesses and the game with the help of your pawns will encourage you find them out yourself. Wolves are braver in packs for example, and if wounded and outnumbered will often retreat, but be careful giving chase as they will sometimes deliberately lead you fowl of other nasties or another pack if you do decide to hunt them down. Goblins will often panic if you strike down their leaders, watching them running scared is always satisfying. Also enemies will react differently depending on where on their body they are attacked.
And then theres the Boss fights... Which have to be experienced to understand how epic, majestical and dynamic these encounters can truly be, creating an onscreen spectacle that surpasses Skyrims Dragon battles. Theres a plethora of options offered to you both via your class, equipment, pawn mix and the game world itself. Its fun to get creative in these moments and see what you can come up with to take down these Beasts.
Dragons Dogma is much like Crackdown, it puts gameplay front and center, and largely ignores other staples in the genre. Compelling stories are subjective but I would say in general Dragon Dogma is light in the way of plot or compelling characters. Those who rely on story to push them to see a game through to completion may find DD heavy going.
The missions are more vaired than I expected, ranging from investigations such as speaking to NPC's around town to gather information on a mysterious Cult, capturing a Thief, or escorting a Hydra's severed head to the capitial. None are particularly deep but all largely engaging thanks to DD's gameplay.
The games also understands the draw of upgrading, looting and customization which is some of the best ive seen in an RPG, and changes made to your character are rarely cosmetic. For example, women are lighter and faster, whilst men are slower but stronger.. The same is true of bulky characters which can carry more, where as skinny or smaller characters have greater stamina. The City Gran Soren has a barber shop which allows for further tinkering of looks once players have begun their game.
Alot has been said about the pawn chatter, and I will have to say I found that I was impressed with the sheer amount dialogue they have. They comment on main quests, sides quests (even the forgettable ones!) locations and enemies. You will hear them repeat themselves, but they also have alot to say which is smart with regard to new knowledge they bring to quests or monsters, and sometimes can act as a kind of Museum audio tour guide for some locations which is a nice touch.
Dragon Dogma is an ambitious game for Capcom, one that has its obvious problems but has such lofty heights for those who are prepared to stick with it, its a cracking first effort for what will hopefully turn into a popular franchise.
Heres hoping that the next installment has online co-op.