Dragon's Dogma Previews
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It has a great sense of humour too. For all its Western stylings, there's still plenty of the quirk and insanity that defines Japanese games. You can pick up any NPC, including your own pawns, and toss them. A specific type of enemy goes into a wild frenzy whenever it sees a female character. In one mission you have to dress your male pawns (and yourself if you're a guy) in ladies' clothes to infiltrate a camp of all-lady bandits.
But it's the challenge that makes Dragon's Dogma special. It's an incredibly ruthless game, and never tells you if an area, enemy, or quest, is too tough for you: you have to find out for yourself, which usually ends in an unceremonious death. There's a great satisfaction in getting utterly trounced by a boss, only to return when you're a few levels stronger and totally destroy it.
And secondly, NZGamer:
That intensity and sense of place permeates every pixel of Dragon's Dogma. It's present in the wind that rustles the trees, grass, and canvas of tents nearby; it's evident in every rocky outcrop or human construction, which each seem to exist as if the game is a simulation of some outrageous reality. The entire experience is, well, tangible. Like this place actually is. All of which is backed up by outstanding sound design, that really hammers your location (whether it be the depths of a wet cave or the windy side of a massive hill) home.
Even your magical attacks are integrated into the experience, with spells blocked by bits of scenery or generating striking visuals that seem to grow from the ground itself - rather than the tired, simplistic effects you might see in other games.
Non-player characters are also embedded in the world, impacting it (breaking or avoiding things, for example) or being impacted by it. They catch fire when you hurl balls of flame at them, they become bloody when you stab at their hides with blades, and they visible tire and become frantic as your repeated attacks wear them down.
