Dragon's Dogma Official Signature Series Strategy Guide Strategy Guides and Books

Dragon's Dogma Official Signature Series Strategy Guide Product Details

Released on May-12

• Dragon's Dogma - Review

  
  

  

  The Japanese Skyrim?

  Dragon's Dogma is a high-fantasy role-playing game from Capcom, the developer and publisher of titles such as Monster Hunter and Street Fighter. Created by the combat designer of Devil May Cry 3, the game is pitched as a Japanese take on the western RPG genre.

  At first glance it may come across as an amateurish approximation of beloved western RPGs such as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Dragon Age, but upon closer inspection it reveals itself to be one of the freshest and most interesting titles in the genre in recent memory.

  Dragon's Dogma is structured much like many other open-world RPGs; its open world setting of Gransys is filled with towns, cities, shops, dungeons, caves and forests to explore, and populated by non-playable characters happy to dole out quests for players to complete.

  

  Dangerous Times

  Perhaps the most exciting part of Dragon's Dogma is its prevailing sense of danger, something which has been lost in video games of late. Its world is absolutely huge and death lurks around every corner. The sense of danger intensifies at night, when it becomes impossible to see more than a few feet ahead of you without the aid of a lantern. If you're unlucky enough to wander off the beaten path you might find yourself faced with a pack of wolves, and in the early stages of the game when you're character isn't well developed this is likely to result in certain death.

  The game opens with a dragon laying siege to Gransys. In addition to burning and scarring the province, the mythical beast brings with it a horde of monsters to help trash the lands. Playing as the Arisen - a title given to anyone whose hearts were stolen by a dragon, and survived - it's your job to slay all the demons and eventually the dragon.

  Quests mainly revolve around fetching items for non-playable characters, escort missions and battling through dungeons. While this can become a little repetitive at times, the game's satisfying third-person combat has a realistic, weighty feel to it and helps keep things exciting throughout. You can opt to play the range game and attack from afar with a bow and arrow as a Strider, choose to get up close and personal as a Fighter, or adopt the Mage character class if you favour magic powered attacks.

  

  Helping Hands

  To complete your goals you're given access to an army of Pawns, computer controller teammates who can be hired as mercenaries to do battle alongside you. Two can be recruited at any one time to fit your specific needs, and as your character grows in strength you'll need to change up your roster of Pawns to ensure you're in the best shape for questing.

  Pawns are incredibly useful as they offer lots of battle strategies and other valuable information. Play Dragon's Dogma with an online connection enabled and you can even recruit Pawns from other real people's games. If the player in question is at a more advanced stage of the adventure than you are, their Pawn may already have a good knowledge of areas, creatures and quests you've yet to encounter, making them more useful.

  Dragon's Dogma is a quirky and challenging game. Suffering from a drab colour palette it's not the prettiest RPG, and it can also be punishingly difficult at times, but the core hacking and slashing combat alone makes it worth playing for fans of the genre, while the excellent Pawn system ensures it's something special.

  GAME's Verdict

  The Good:

  • Great Pawn system
  • Satisfyingly punchy combat
  • Exciting sense of danger

  The Bad:

  • Drab colour palette
  • Can be punishingly difficult at times
  • Direct online co-op would have been nice

  Published: 31/05/2012

• Capcom confirms Dragon's Dogma 2 is happening

  Quirky hardcore RPG Dragon's Dogma won't be a one-off, publisher Capcom has confirmed, as it announced the game has shifted over a million copies worldwide.

  While trumpeting this news to investors, the legendary Japanese publisher confirmed it intends to "develop this entirely new brand into a major franchise". The game is the most successful new title launch in Japan for over a decade.

  Dragon's Dogma, released last month, is an ambitious role-playing game from the people who made Resident Evil 4. It boasts a massive openworld environment, and uses an innovative sidekick sharing system that allows players to hire party members from other players online, as well as renting out their own characters in return for in-game bonuses. These "pawns" can also learn about quests and monsters as you play, and will suggest tactics to the player accordingly.

  Dragon's Dogma is out now for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.
  

• Dragon's Dogma Creator Wants Sequel

  Dragon's Dogma Creator Wants Sequel

  Hideaki Itsuno, creator of hit action role-playing game Dragon's Dogma, has hinted that he'd like to create a sequel.

  Speaking to Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu, Itsuno expressed his desire to create a follow-up, and that he has plenty of ideas for what the second game could include. Apparently, Dragon's Dogma only included around two-thirds of the ideas he had in mind for the game, and there's still lots he'd like to do with those ideas.

  He also said that a sequel would only be possible with support of the fans, but it's safe to say that with the critical and commercial success of the game, this shouldn't be a problem!

  Dragon's Dogma is available on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 now.

  Published: 25/07/2012

• Major expansion announced for Dragon's Dogma, plus free DLC

  Emboldened by the critical acclaim and sales success of ambitious openworld role-player Dragon's Dogma, Capcom has announced plans to support the title with a major expansion in 2013 and free enhancements.

  Dark Arisen is the name of the expansion, which will arrive next year for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. "Into the depths of an unknown darkness," proclaims a short but spooky teaser trailer, "An epitaph speaks of another's demise." There are skeletons and a bony dragon, and lots of fighting, while screenshots show gloomy caverns and an eerie moonlit fort.

  In the more immediate future, Capcom has also revealed it plans to add some freebies to the existing game. A new Hard mode will be available to download, for those whose battle-tempered resolve has grown too strong for the original difficulty settings, while a Speedrun option will provide cool perks for players who beat the game under various time limits.

  If you haven't given Dragon's Dogma a try, you're missing a treat. It's from the creator of Resident Evil 4 and mashes up the epic scope of Skyrim with the gritty tactical combat of Capcom's own Monster Hunter saga. Add in a rather clever "pawn" system that lets you train up NPC companions and then rent them to other players, and you've got one of 2012's best titles - and it sounds like it's only going to get better.

  Dragon's Dogma is out now for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

  Published: 21/09/2012

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