Capcom’s new RPG certainly starts off with a bang. After a brief tutorial and a robust character-creation sequence, you’re thrown into the game proper, where a dragon decides to ravage your peaceful fishing village. You vainly take up arms against the beast, only to have it rip out your still-beating heart, then fly away. Somehow, you live, and you’re now called the “Arisen.” Humanoid servants (“Pawns”) follow you around and most people treat you as a savior.
The lighting and spell effects showcase the game’s technical prowess.Despite being developed in Japan, Dragon’s Dogma is very Western in style. The lavishly detailed visuals reflect medieval high-fantasy while the non-linear questing structure allows you more freedom to explore — and to potentially get in over your head. Quests are the focal point of gameplay, and completing them advances plot threads and earns you ample rewards. Unfortunately, most are hit-or-miss: for every mission with a creative objective (like helping a family deal with a demanding landlord), you’ll get a more conventional “kill these monsters” scenario. The quests that send you to new places — where you’re exploring dangerous, uncharted territory — are the most exciting. So are the tougher encounters: it’s incredibly satisfying to make it through a minefield of high-level enemies, or to beat a massive monster by the skin of your teeth.
What really separates Dogma from other RPGs of its ilk are its Pawns — custom CPU-controlled characters you hire to fill out roles in your party. You create one Pawn of your own, customizing their appearance and skills, and can obtain two more from other players via Xbox Live. Because Pawns not directly in your party don’t gain levels or skills, you’ll need to switch them constantly as need arises, keeping your party diversity strong.
There’s no “I” in TEAM, but your crew should aim for the one on ol’ cyclops here.It’s amusing to trade and play with other players’ Pawns, but the fact that they’re fully CPU-controlled can lead to a great deal of irritation: there’s no way to issue specific commands, so you just have to hope they make good choices in a given situation. Some Pawns are listed as having better “experience” against certain monster types, but this knowledge just seems to affect the advice they incessantly spout at your character.
The biggest issue that drags down Dogma, though, is the world of Gransys itself. A great RPG makes you feel like you’re in a meaningful realm that’s worth saving. Gransys, by contrast, is painfully dull. There are no interesting vistas or stunning environments — just exceptionally well-rendered but generic fantasy locales. (Forest with low visibility! Dank caves and ruins! Stonewalled capital city!) And because you can’t initially quick-travel to most places without expensive resources, you’ll be seeing the same sites often. The characters are equally bland: NPCs have little personality and your Pawns feel like soulless, interchangeable meat-shields rather than party members whose welfare you genuinely care about. Add in a paper-thin story that’s vague for much of the game (with many of the main-plot quests failing to tie together in any logical, satisfactory fashion), and you’ve got an example of how not to do world-building in a game.
Four against one: fair only if one is huge and spits fire.Dragon’s Dogma has its merits, but for every great idea there’s a design fumble that just leaves you scratching your head. Though it’s technically sound, the game lacks the spark to elevate it beyond a “sometimes fun, mostly mediocre” experience. Much like the main character’s chest cavity, this RPG ultimately feels hollow, with no real heart.
PUBLISHER: Capcom • DEVELOPER: Capcom • ESRB: Mature • MULTIPLAYER: None (other than trading Pawns via Xbox Live) • ACHIEVEMENTS: Grindy • COST: $60 • AVAILABLE: May 22, 2012
+ Big, incredibly detailed world for exploring and looting.
+ Loads of character-customization options; Pawn system is interesting.
- The A.I. frequently frustrates, with no direct-control options; some confusing quests; characters and world are just plain boring.
? Why do villains always crave your heart? Why not a lung or toenail?
