Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen Catch-All

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An action-rpg game by Capcom with shades of Kingdoms of Amalur. Color me interested.

What seems most interesting is the PAWN system which means you have up to three NPC's fighting with you. I'm guessing they are the highlighted characters in the video.

What I'm most concerned about is how it actually controls.

The demo is now out for PS3 and Xbox 360.

Release date: May 22, 2012, the 32nd anniversary of the release of Pac-Man.

EDIT: On April 23, 2013, the stand-alone expansion was released. It was the 28th anniversary of the release of New Coke.

NEW: Here is an edible spreadsheet with GWJ players. Friend them up and get a pawn!

Played briefly at PAX East. There was kind of a Demon's Souls lite feel to the combat. I'm shaky, yet oddly hopeful for it.

I also played it at PAX east, the full demo actually. Some guy asked if he could film me, I should have asked what site it was for...

It controls about as well as The Witcher 2 on 360. Not quite as silky as Amalur.

I'm looking forward to it. I have a very limited gaming budget for the time being and my last $45 in Gamestop credit may go toward Dragon's Dogma, now that I know Darksiders 2 isn't coming out until August.

Then again, it seems I can run Diablo 3 on very low settings...

The demo actually felt pretty easy. Too many kills were done by the A.I. Even so, I enjoyed how it felt, and I liked how you had to climb on the Chimera to do some real damage to it.

Too bad it won't have four player co-op, though. Still waiting for a good co-op fantasy game.

It looks pretty and it looks fun. But the number of bad impressions i've been reading from the previews last year has be worried.

Duoae wrote:

It looks pretty and it looks fun. But the number of bad impressions i've been reading from the previews last year has be worried.

I was worried too, but you hear that trend reversing somewhat on podcasts now.

ccesarano wrote:

The demo actually felt pretty easy. Too many kills were done by the A.I. Even so, I enjoyed how it felt, and I liked how you had to climb on the Chimera to do some real damage to it.

This game was developed with the intent of conveying the gameplay style of Monster Hunter to the non-Japanese audience (IIRC), so I'd really expect small enemies to be chaff and the larger ones like the Chimera to be the real challenge.

I had a giggle when I grabbed one of the harpies and took a ride around the battlefield.

Blind_Evil wrote:

I had a giggle when I grabbed one of the harpies and took a ride around the battlefield.

Now, I saw someone start grabbing their friends, I grabbed barrels, and I grabbed goblins, but I didn't know you could grab a harpy and fly around the battlefield.

That's just awesome.

Yeah, maybe. It looks a little frenzied at times, but if it handles well enough, that could work out just fine. Comparisons to Kingdoms of Amalur and Demon's Souls do nothing for me; I never played nor am interested in ever playing either of those. However, if it can deliver with the "boss" battle stuff, I may be sold.

I've thought, from the previews, this looked more like an action rpg with a very Monster-Hunter influenced combat system. Which, of course, makes me all kinds of giddy.

Farscry wrote:

I've thought, from the previews, this looked more like an action rpg with a very Monster-Hunter influenced combat system. Which, of course, makes me all kinds of giddy. ;)

Same here. Just wish they named it something better, and to be honest I think it's kind of a tragedy that they abandoned Monster Hunter's unique visual style and setting for "Yet Another European Fantasy."

So, we going X360 or PS3 for this bad boy?

LobsterMobster wrote:
Farscry wrote:

I've thought, from the previews, this looked more like an action rpg with a very Monster-Hunter influenced combat system. Which, of course, makes me all kinds of giddy. ;)

Same here. Just wish they named it something better, and to be honest I think it's kind of a tragedy that they abandoned Monster Hunter's unique visual style and setting for "Yet Another European Fantasy."

So, we going X360 or PS3 for this bad boy?

I've got it reserved for PS3.

Also, y'know, part of the reason I dig fantasy is that European aesthetic. Why's it such a bad thing? I understand you don't always want the same thing in each game, but Hell. Sometimes that's the sort of thing that drew you into fantasy in the first place.

And this sentence only exists so I can say "thing" again.

I am going 360 for my copy. Would go PC if that version existed

ccesarano wrote:

Also, y'know, part of the reason I dig fantasy is that European aesthetic. Why's it such a bad thing? I understand you don't always want the same thing in each game, but Hell. Sometimes that's the sort of thing that drew you into fantasy in the first place.

And this sentence only exists so I can say "thing" again.

It's not a bad aesthetic, which is why it's been done to death. It's like WWII in FPSs. Safe, reliable, marketable, and kind of boring. But, y'know, sometimes you want curry and sometimes you want mac-n-cheese. Nothing wrong with either. I simply prefer curry.

LobsterMobster wrote:
Farscry wrote:

I've thought, from the previews, this looked more like an action rpg with a very Monster-Hunter influenced combat system. Which, of course, makes me all kinds of giddy. ;)

Same here. Just wish they named it something better, and to be honest I think it's kind of a tragedy that they abandoned Monster Hunter's unique visual style and setting for "Yet Another European Fantasy."

So, we going X360 or PS3 for this bad boy?

Heck, I would've been fine with them just sticking it in the Monster Hunter universe and making it, like, "Monster Hunter RPG".

I lean 360 myself!

Farscry wrote:
LobsterMobster wrote:
Farscry wrote:

I've thought, from the previews, this looked more like an action rpg with a very Monster-Hunter influenced combat system. Which, of course, makes me all kinds of giddy. ;)

Same here. Just wish they named it something better, and to be honest I think it's kind of a tragedy that they abandoned Monster Hunter's unique visual style and setting for "Yet Another European Fantasy."

So, we going X360 or PS3 for this bad boy?

Heck, I would've been fine with them just sticking it in the Monster Hunter universe and making it, like, "Monster Hunter RPG".

I lean 360 myself!

I would have loved that, Fars. I think I'm going 360 myself, if only for the voice chat.

There's a demo slated to be released tomorrow. FYI. I would imagine it will be the PAX East stuff.

And again, so no one is shocked when they drop $60 on it, there is NO human coop in the game. Pure single player with AI partners. Good description of the multiplayer features here. You're basically an AI pimp. HOT.

Dragon’s Dogma has a revolutionary online mode
Off the bat, it’s important to talk about the lack of multiplayer in Dragon’s Dogma, and to be fair, Capcom’s early trailers did appear as if co-op would be a perfect fit for the game. Taking on massive mythical beats as a coordinated team online would have been superb, but no such mode exists.

Instead, you have the superb Pawn system. As you start the Dragon’s Dogma campaign, your hero must enlist the help of a ‘main Pawn’. This is an AI-controlled companion who will fight by your side for the whole game and develop as he or she earns experience.

You can fully create and customise your main Pawn from scratch, right down to the finest detail. You can even select what class you want them to be, as well as what special moves they can use. Once you’re done making your trusty companion, you both head out into the wild world.

Aside from your main Pawn, you can also hire two more Pawns from the Rift Realm, which is an ethereal plane where every single main Pawn created by Dragon’s Dogma players exist.

So when you hire Pawns from the Rift Realm, you are actually hiring characters made by other players who are currently offline. You can hire Pawns from other players then, once you are done, send them back to their creator with a thank you note, Pawn review, or even attached loot as a thank you gift for their help. But this is only a fraction of what the Pawn system is capable of.

See, I didn't know that. Thanks, Certis.

Still leaning X360, though.

Seems kind of weird that you can customize and develop your sidekick but not your main character.

This looks great. 360 for me.

Certis wrote:

There's a demo slated to be released tomorrow. FYI. I would imagine it will be the PAX East stuff.

And again, so no one is shocked when they drop $60 on it, there is NO human coop in the game. Pure single player with AI partners. Good description of the multiplayer features here. You're basically an AI pimp. HOT.

Dragon’s Dogma has a revolutionary online mode
Off the bat, it’s important to talk about the lack of multiplayer in Dragon’s Dogma, and to be fair, Capcom’s early trailers did appear as if co-op would be a perfect fit for the game. Taking on massive mythical beats as a coordinated team online would have been superb, but no such mode exists.

Instead, you have the superb Pawn system. As you start the Dragon’s Dogma campaign, your hero must enlist the help of a ‘main Pawn’. This is an AI-controlled companion who will fight by your side for the whole game and develop as he or she earns experience.

You can fully create and customise your main Pawn from scratch, right down to the finest detail. You can even select what class you want them to be, as well as what special moves they can use. Once you’re done making your trusty companion, you both head out into the wild world.

Aside from your main Pawn, you can also hire two more Pawns from the Rift Realm, which is an ethereal plane where every single main Pawn created by Dragon’s Dogma players exist.

So when you hire Pawns from the Rift Realm, you are actually hiring characters made by other players who are currently offline. You can hire Pawns from other players then, once you are done, send them back to their creator with a thank you note, Pawn review, or even attached loot as a thank you gift for their help. But this is only a fraction of what the Pawn system is capable of.

See, I've mostly been on media black out for this game. Is this optional or mandatory?

I had no idea about the Pawn system, but it sounds pretty nifty. I would prefer true multiplayer, but that looks like a fun thing to play around with too. Hopefully there's an easy way to filter and find Pawns of Friends.

Certis wrote:

Good description of the multiplayer features here. You're basically an AI pimp. HOT.

I saw that link on your Twitter feed and I've finally accepted that my attempts to ignore this game are in vain. Between an unexpected vacation, Diablo 3, and the Forza 4 Porche update late May was already looking crowded so I wanted to pretend this one wouldn't be competing for my time as well, but now I'm not so sure.

Anyway, we'll see what happens once I've tried out this demo tomorrow.

Been mildly interested since the first bits of video were released a while ago. Will definitely wait for demo and reviews, but I am hopeful.

Looks cool...I welcome AI that's a step above the window dressing like GoW or Skyrim

It would be PS3 for me. I wonder if the Pawn system is universal for both versions. In other words, if you pimp out your pawn on Facebook, do you need to specify PS3 only?

360 here. I'd been curious about this game for a few weeks based on some grabs I'd seen. The asynchronous cooperative element via the Pawn system kinda clinches it - yes, that's a risky statement, but it sounds like a potentially huge addition to what already looks like a fun game.

Also, I need a fantasy game fix that isn't a butt-number like Skyrim and that doesn't make me shout in terror when I'm tired/surprised like Dark Souls...and unfortunately I don't like Kingdoms of Amalur's visiual style.

Dragon's Dogma it is!

So the demo isn't the same as the PAX East demo?

Demo is up on XBLA. I remember someone saying you couldn't customize your character, but I think that's just for the prologue quest (where you fight the chimera). The character creator had me customize both the player character and one pawn.

I hadn't played the countryside quest, where you play as a scout with a full party against a griffin. It was less involving than the prologue but still fun. Nice to see a pretty wide variety of skills across both the bow and daggers. There was some unfortunate screen-tearing, though.

I'm pretty sure this game won't be for everyone, but I'm into it.

ccesarano wrote:

So the demo isn't the same as the PAX East demo?

I only played the part leading up to and including the fight with the Chimera at PAX. If the second quest was included, I didn't play it. It's in an open field, you slay some goblins and then a griffin shows up and you take it down. Or, it takes you up.

Edit: now that I'm into the prologue quest, I don't remember it either. Maybe it's new? Let me play a little further and I'll report back.

Okay, you still fight the Chimera in the first quest. I don't remember having 3 companions though, just the one guy. I have a healer and another lady with me this time.

This game is better if you think of it as the sequel to The Last Guardian.

Blind_Evil wrote:
ccesarano wrote:

So the demo isn't the same as the PAX East demo?

I only played the part leading up to and including the fight with the Chimera at PAX. If the second quest was included, I didn't play it. It's in an open field, you slay some goblins and then a griffin shows up and you take it down. Or, it takes you up.

Edit: now that I'm into the prologue quest, I don't remember it either. Maybe it's new? Let me play a little further and I'll report back.

Okay, you still fight the Chimera in the first quest. I don't remember having 3 companions though, just the one guy. I have a healer and another lady with me this time.

PAX was up to the Chimera. I think you could easily skip over the additional two companions, because I and the guys before me all had a full four-party line-up.

I just had to clear space off my hard drive in order to make room for this demo because PSN doesn't seem to have it up yet. I really, REALLY hate the 20GB limitation, but also really, REALLY don't want to drop $100 for a new, slightly bigger, hard drive.

ccesarano wrote:

I just had to clear space off my hard drive in order to make room for this demo because PSN doesn't seem to have it up yet. I really, REALLY hate the 20GB limitation, but also really, REALLY don't want to drop $100 for a new, slightly bigger, hard drive.

You could get a 16GB (or 32) flash drive for pretty cheap, that works for 360 now.

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