Dragon's Dogma Previews

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Written by WorstUsernameEver on June 21st, 2011

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Dragon's Dogma is different. Capcom's looked to Shadow of the Colossus to see how leviathan fights should be done, and in doing so they've crafted a dynamic combat system which we're eager to try out for ourselves. Play as a melée fighter and you can sprint into battle and grab hold of your monster adversaries. Once there you can clamber and shimmy your way over and around the bucking beasts, clawing at tufts of fur and body as you angle yourself into a striking position.

Like Team Ico's numerous colossi the monsters all have weak points hidden on certain areas of the body. Half the battle is spent shuffling to these spots while the fiend's thrashing around in protest. Make it to these areas and you'll be able to circumvent armoured flanks to deal massive damage and fell legendary creatures in record time.

Taking on monsters by climbing over their exterior means combat will prove to be as much of a puzzle as it is an exercise in hacking and, for that matter, slashing. Each creature type boasts unique anatomies to ensure every battle is different, and if Capcom's smart they'll chuck in a few skyscraper-sized legendary foes to fully harness the Shadow of the Colossus vibe.

At Captivate earlier this year, I was shown the Prologue to the game, a new area made specifically for E3. It acted as the tutorial, and it was here that I developed a solid understanding of the game's basic mechanics. Generally, attacks are simple, mapped to a heavy and light attack on the control pad. The main character has to unsheathe his sword, so movement is slow when his weapons are out. By using a modifier button, he can perform attacks that are unique to the weapons, such as a shield charge or a wild flailing attack.

Even more important are the addition of pawns. At any given time, the player will have three pawns at his disposal, ranging from a traditional soldier to witch crones and female archers. Always, at least one of these characters is specific to the story, a character with his own contribution to the overarching plot. The other two are . expendable. Usually they can be picked up at stations throughout the dungeon, and at first opportunity I gained an archer and a mage. These proved very helpful in the dungeon.

We get our first taste of combat further along the path when we encounter some medium sized trolls. While the animations on the characters looks smooth, there were some strange stutters whenever my sword would actually hit an enemy. It actually reminded me a bit of how punches and kicks feel in a Street Fighter game, only here it feels a little off, assuming it was intentional. You do have a wide variety of attacks though, as both your weapon and shield come equipped with normal and heavy attacks, each of which has a special charged version as well. It can be a little overwhelming at first, but the controller layout helps ease some of the frustration.

The next big fight took place in an open-air portion of the dungeon where we met another enemy type, harpies, aka devious birds with shriveled, exposed breasts that you might remember from the God of War series. These enemies require you to use an upward swipe attack to knock them out of the sky so you can then slice and dice them on the ground. The only problem is that the birds, rather smartly but also annoyingly from a gameplay perspective, like to hover just beyond your reach, so actually hitting them can often feel like pure chance. And since you can't move and slash up at them at the same time (cough.Resident Evil.cough), you have to try and position yourself perfectly underneath them and hope they don't decide to move. Needless to say, it wasn't a highlight.

I don't trust the look in that Goat's eye! The game has 3 classes that you can choose from: Fighter, Strider, and Mage. The Fighter is a sword and shield brawler type that gets up close and personal with the creatures. I imagine the Fighter to take on the role of tank distracting the monster for everyone. The Strider uses dual daggers for close range, and a bow for long ranged attacks. The Strider is also the best at grabbing onto the enemies which gives tactical advantage for doing massive damage. The Mage uses elemental magic attacks to fight with. The Mage can also give elemental buffs to the parties weapons, and can heal or revive fallen comrades.

Dragon's Dogma will be Capcom's first open world game which I'm really excited about. Capcom has said that it will be a full open world action game. They want you to experience a real sense of adventure when you quest. You will be able to see creatures attacking villages in the distance and you can decide if you want to venture there to help or not. Where you choose to go and who you want to help can impact the story later in the game.

The controls are simple. There are heavy and light attacks, and a grab that lets you pick up allies, certain objects, and cling to massive enemies. During a boss fight against a manticore, I found myself climbing onto its back and slashing at the goat head, trying to take that out before finishing off the main body. It certainly has elements that make it feel unique, and the open world aspect Capcom has built up will only further define it as something different from what we've come to expect.

The game provides computer-controlled allies, and though their background dialogue was meaningless banter that occasionally overlapped, they proved decently useful in combat. One managed to pin down some harpies we were fighting, and another did quite well as my group's healer. When they fall, the player need simply run over to them and tap the B button to resurrect them. It's a fairly convenient setup and prevents the team-mates from being more trouble than it's worth.

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