Capcom's Tour de Force
Capcom really took the other developer's to school with a game that should become a franchise. Dragon's Dogma is a spit fire that really shines and rarely shows a lack of finish, although it does at times. I would suggest that every player worth their RPG salt invest some serious time in this title.
We will start with the quick overview of the bad. There will be odd clipping events and the camera, in the tradition of Capcom, gets a little wild and makes it hard to focus at times. The targeting system will take some time getting used to if you are not familiar with games like Lost Planet.
Now the great parts of the game. If you ever wanted a game that made Dungeons and Dragons into a virtual world, this game comes closer than DDO. Capcom really stepped up when it comes to player inversion. The elements are at times just as threatening as the enemies and you will need to really think about what your doing before you do it.
The item and crafting system is fun and exciting. This isn't so much a loot fest as it is a treasure quest. The game really captures the loot hunting feel of Final Fantasy VII. The crafting system is also well done and is in the vain of Resident Evils herb crafting system meets Monster Hunter weapon and item enhancement system. A rabbit pelt is as good as a Gransys herb in Dragon Dogma's book. You may also notice that the "vocation" system in Dragon's Dogma feels a lot like the "jobs" system of Final Fantasy V.
Enemy AI is vicious and will constantly seek out the weakest person in your party to KO first leaving you to manage your team like a captain of a ship. The larger enemies are truly breath taking and kudos to Capcom for seeing the greatness in Shadow of the Colossus' stamina based climbing system. The ability to grab on to the arm of a cyclops and scale up to his ugly mug makes the player feel epic.
Dragon's Dogma feels like a culmination of some of the greatest ideas in action/RPG history. Capcom wasn't satisfied with just that and they added one of the most relaxed and fun social systems of the many games I have played. You will not be playing with other players and worrying about your social interactions with actual people. Instead you will be creating mercenary avatars called pawns that player can borrow for their adventures. As people use your pawns your pawns will learn things and give you hints about quests or enemies they have taken on with other players. Even if you haven't chosen a player made pawn (Capcom made some novelty pawns for those lone wolfs out there,) the game will insert player made pawns as other road weary travelers or townsfolk. To further encourage you to share your wares, Capcom also added a screen shot function that allows you to take screen shots and share your adventure with the Dragon's Dogma community through Capcom's website. They even went so far as to make the game world appear in the pages of their fiction newspaper. Your avatar could land on the front page.
This is a collection game, far from the racks of the Gamefly warehouse. It surprises with its passion for single player gameplay with its delicate yet powerful inclusion of social interactivity. Imagine if you will, a world where Squaresoft joined forces with Media Molecule and made a illegitimate love child that Capcom raised. This is the world of Gransys.
Great Gaming Awaits.
