Dragon’s Dogma Angry Review
Release Date: May 22nd, 2012
Platform: Xbox 360, PS3
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Genre: RPG
Players: 1 Offline Player
Angry Joe discovers the dangers of the Pawns System in his Dragons Dogma Review. Without fast travel and with tons of area to cover can this new innovative RPG from Capcom compete with the big boys? Find out!
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280 thoughts on “Dragon’s Dogma Angry Review”
it is too hard and very painful playing in the 6 try on the walk to the plase
i love the game XD
Been playing this games for a week and it’s epic it should get a more then badass badass medal that’s how good it is. i do agree it sucks to have to run everywhere. but combat is fun and the world is unique. finding quests and where to go is hard but i love that. a hard challenging game is what those fsp nuts with guns in their houses need who thinks so
Got this game 2 weeks ago,, Its actually my favorite RPG since the original Fable:TLC
Personally I Like that the Pawns talk a lot, I find it makes you feel like an actual group who talk about it, If i was a quester and I went out with a team I’d think it would be better if they didn’t walk silently the whole way. But I also think it would be nice for them to rarely come out with something general and none quest related just to add to the authenticity of it
I took your advice at the beginning of the game and turned off all the pawn chatter from blocking my screen.
After the beginning, first 3 a 4 hours the game actually became quite easy.
Maybe it’s a ‘problem’ i’m having with games now a days.
Once you’re used to the game mechanics, buy your first equipment, beat a couple of goblins it becomes easy fast.
Maybe it’s my way of playing as a fighter, maybe it’s just completing so many
side quest that I could always buy the BEST new weapons right at the start.
I don’t know, I start most games on the hardest mode at the start.
Perhaps it’s because I play games since the 80′s
Joyka
Oh, and one more thing, if the pawns annoy you that much ( which they dont to me because i like conversation) then dont hire any, and go to a knowledge chair and make it to where your oawn is shut upped most of the time and play in solitude if you’d like.
This game is pretty fun as I mention it.
Somehow I missed this video until know. It’s really great, love all the jokes. ^^
Probably won’t buy this game, but now I will keep an eye open on any sequels and if those might get my money.
“There is no bathroom!” ^^
Personally Joe was slightly harsh in this one but at the same time his gripes are legitimate for the most part. The main issue is most of this games complaints (and indeed Joe’s) are resolved in new game+, but that is maybe a bit long of a wait for those fixes to show?
Fast Travel would be “nice” earlier in the game but I can also understand the mechanics going on in the background and really you do need those encounters early on to prepare you for the game. The issue is when you get higher level and you just want to punch someone in the face cause now they are easy mode and just a time drain.
Pawn talking complaints aren’t totally legit, you can pound the idea of “shut up” into your pawn so hard that they will basically stop talking save when you walk by key landmarks or something. This doesn’t help for secondary pawns but you can always hire new ones if you find them unable to zip it. Or go without entirely, I have done large stretches of the game just me and my MP yo yo yo.
Lastly the story is there, it is just done in a too “Japanesey” way. Most western gamers will miss too many of the finer points and it won’t make a ton of sense because they are used to it all just being laid out. If you never bothered talking to random otherwise meaningless npc’s in Gran Soren and the castle for example you would probably have no idea what the F Julien and Mercedes are talking about in that one quest…
For example… show of hands now… How many of you actually know who Mason works for? I bet not many.
[...] Capcom needs to take note all of the concerns and annoyances mentioned in many reviews (mine included) and address them for the next game. I’ve always felt that Dragons Dogma has had [...]
I for one,love this game. One reason is because of the lack of fast travelling. Unlike others i despise fast travel, it ruins the game for me. I like games where i can walk and explore the entire map on foot, getting a better feel of the world. Of course this is one opinion of many, but for all if not most of the people complaining about not being able to fast travel every place on the map, grow up. Games are meant to be explored, especially RPG’s. Not to be rude but it bugs me to see everywhere i go on a forum or whatever about Dragons Dogma, theres a ton of complaints about fast travel. Another reason i enjoy this game is that the diffuculty doesnt increase on NG+ and so on. If i, or anyone else wanted the diffuculty to go up, then by all means unequip everything or get crappy gear and play through it like that. But i do NG+ mainly to finish up quests i had missed or messed up. This game in my opinion is great as is.
Yes but fast travel is and always has been OPTIONAL so if you want to explore like you said you dont have to use fast travel but if you want to use it the option should be there
amazing game lets hope for DD2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASBiMputrJk&feature=related
I think its a good thing that there’s no fast travel, cause if u fast travel u’ll miss out on vital exp from so called 20th goblin or thief to level up to make bigger badys like cyclops or troll easier 2 fight
I agree with Joe on several points, the game majors flaws are annoying like (no fast travel, talking pawns) but for some reason i cant stop playing this game.
I give it a 8/10 because for some reason the things the pawns say just never really annoy me, true the monsters spawn the same area but since the battle mechanics are great its fun to find a battle to pick with. I love everything expect that they have a backtracking, but even then I know there is a good reason because if you just fast travel to a inn or the city, you would just sleep until day, when its easier and there would be no reason to have a day/night cycle. The pawns for me actually go do things that id think they would do, like the ranger shoots its arrows, supporting me us, the mage too keeps a distance and shoots fire balls, enchants our weapons, while healing us, then I have my warrior who takes all the blows, and packs a strong punch, and then there’s me, I go in and stab all the enemies while they attack the warrior And yes the story is so boring, but other than the story and some annoying bugs this game is amazing.
Awesome review, I played the game recently and thought about the same pros and cons. Best. Battles. Ever.
But I think it does have some MMORPG elements, like fetch quests, and such, like killing 45 FRIGGIN’ RABITS! (Why would someone hate them so much?). So it really can’t beat the greater rpgs.
Still, great game.
I just bought this game. I hate the music, but I love everything else. I think I love it more than Skyrim. Well, almost. If I wasn’t close to beating Skyrim, I wouldn’t be so desperate for another game like it. But yeah, Dragon’s Dogma is way HeLLa kool !!! lol but I do wish it was fast travel. haha!
one does not simply beat skyrim
I can think of many games better than skyrim my friend
Joe nailed it again on this review. Seriously, even with ferrystones and port crystals (which are RARE), I spent 75% of my hours playing this game going from point A to point B back to point A to report to the quest giver that the quest is done just to reap some measely experience points and gold. Do that about 20 times and yes, this game is a friggin’ CHORE without fast travel. Yes, Joe is right, the enemies spawn at the SAME spots on the road to here and wherever. It’s a game that made me both like it at times and more often than not, it made me totally want to put my copy of the game through the shredder (like I did my copy of Risen).
This game does seem to be interesting… Might look into it when it’s price drops
hey Joe make a Minecraft PC version review (awesome game)
I have to agree with everything good you had to say about the game. The Combat is the best in the genre, large climbable boss or not. The rpg elements and choices on playstyles is amazing, and adds a great amount of strategy and depth, not just for how you fight but for how your team works together.
But I disagree with some of your issues.
After playing the game I still argue that I don’t like fast travel. I have basically sworn off fast travel on Skyrim and I don’t mind that it is absent in dragon’s dogma. Really if they took more time to randomize enemies and made more dungeons that had no quest to encourage exploration there would be no complaints.
Pawns really didn’t bother me, Maybe I am just used to things like that but I really wasn’t annoyed too much.
And the stories were not boring, just not explored. I will admit, they are not good. But each idea had a lot of possibilities to be interesting, the big failure is that they cut off everything interesting before it can really feel like it gives weight to the story. So really not a disagreement but more a argument of the words used.
7.8 from me.
i love the game i am on new game + lvl 78, should have been more content in New Game+..
This game looks fun BUT (and i put “but” in caps because this is a major issue), The flaws Joe said are just too big for me to handle. If they had say a horse carrage just to take you from place to place that would fix one thing. They don’t even need a skip option for me. So long as I don’t have to run/walk ALL THE TIME!!! I will be fine. But until that is fixed, I WILL NOT buy and or rent this game. It looks fun. But a pit bull looks nice, but under that inocent face, lies some bad news. So no… no Dragon’s Dogma for me.
that was alot of but’s . .
You know, the worst part, is that running consumes your stamina bar, so you actually have to walk for a while before running again.
joe you probably already noticed this but the portcrystal found after beating the griffin can be duplicated for 300,000 gold at the black cat in gran soren and the duplicates can be remade for 75,000. fournival’s ferrystones are cheap at 3,500. fast travel gets easier.
Any game breaking bugs? Most review I’ve seen is for Xbox, not PS3. Are reviewer keeping it silence again like Skyrim?
And game this big I would expect to have at least some amount of game crashing bugs.. I mean look at the Elder Scrolls Series..
Thanks in advance.
I’m very tempted to buy the game, however I’m considering to wait 2-3 month for patch to either shutup the Pawn or maybe capcom would add in a horse or something..
For PS3, the more you’ll play the more you’ll see people popping up in scripted ways. I would rush in fast to an inn or something and the dude that runs the place wouldn’t appear until a couple seconds later. I wouldn’t mind but this starts to become a theme in the game now. Also this somehow happens to monsters and other things in Gransys.
what rep said is true but its not a dealbreaker the game itself wont slow down. combat quests and other stuff isnt laggy either no huge bugs
Man all those problems have simple solutions. I mean, you make the backtracking valuable and meaningful by tying it to an epic story, giving you a reason to do it, then you randomize the encounters to add variety and reward the player with something, I don’t know, some kind of points that would accumulate with experience to eventual improve the character and bring them to some new kind of level. God I haven’t enjoyed an RPG in like a decade.
Hey Joe, if you like space battles then you should definitely check out Sins of a Solar Empire,it’s an RTS game in..space.I would love to see your review on that game.Love your work
P.S I didn’t know where to put this,is there like a suggestion page?:P
Even though i’m not usually a fan of these types of Role-Playing Games (I’m still a turn-based type of guy) i may check this game out when the price comes down a little. Especially because i saw a chimera (lion/goat combo) and that snake creature that looks like it was ripped right out of Hercules, WHICH IS OKAY IN MY BOOKS.
Really good review. I would give it a 7.5 or 8 out of ten but as usual, most of Joe’s remarks are right on the money with me. I have a couple thoughts to add…
1. It looks like CAPCOM may be (finally) responding to critisim on DLC because as far as I can tell, the content isn’t anything critical to game enjoyment (so far).
2. Pawns…Yes, the chatter during battle is most annoying. Too bad the programming couldn’t keep track of how many times you have battled a given enemy and have the pawns keep quiet once your more expierenced. Also, if they could change up the comments a little when you pass by a place, it
would make it less annoying.
I do like the way they tend to pick up loot that I sometimes miss, or can’t pick up because I am carrying too much…which brings me to…
3. The inventory system sucks. I have no suggestions on how to fix this, only that it shouldn’t take me an hour to figure out what to deposit, what to combine and what to withdrawl. Add this to the fact that I just made a too long trek out to, say, the Northern Wall and can ONLY DEPOSIT ITEMS? Then I go to the trader and see he has two of the three things I need to upgrade an item but I ALREADY DEPOSITED THE THIRD IN MY UNAVAILABLE STORAGE! But I can sell my storage items to the trader? At least let me buy them back at a discounted price…
P.S. You do know you can trot by the weaker mobs spawning at the same place, right? You can even run by the stronger ones.
Best game ever, gtfo if you don’t believe it.
lolz
It´s looks like you never play the Final Fantasy RPG, that´s ws worse, this is only like a walk in the park
Still looks like a game I would really like.
This game was pure gold for me. I would have gave it an 8. It deserved much more publicity then it received. I hate how hard it is for games like this to become popular. I would love to see this game become a franchise all the problems that have been mentioned can be solved easily. The customization was amazing . The combat system was amazing. I can live without fast travel but the same monster spawning in the same spot is annoying. The story was ok I found as more of a bonus than anything to be honest. All in all a great game to me and would recommend it to everyone. I had more fun with this than skyrim.
I think the same. Dragon’s Dogma looks great despite it’s occasional flaws but if it had more fan support, it would definetly grow into something amazing.
This game brought a lot of new to the RPG genre, and I really liked it. Yes due to the fast travel issue, I haven’t played this as much and when you die and find out the last place you saved was back at the capital.
For the most part though, I was drawn in by almost every element of the game. And I mean come on, how wouldn’t a J-pop theme song draw you in? lol.
The way you do the summoning was really really funny and enjoyable. Keep up the good work. Your way of reviewing is really really interesting and informative.
Hmm, can’t get past the first 12 minutes of the video for some reason, even though the entire video’s loaded. Pity.
That aside, I’m definetly going to give this game a try, it seems just like the game I’d enjoy
Great review joe, I think 7/10 is a fair rating to be given to Dragon’s Dogma considering its major flaws did bring the game down. My own take on the major flaws:
I have to disagree with the pawns talking too much. I too initially found them to be irritating considering they don’t talk at random, instead its more of like say you passed a certain point and they would give a comment based on where you are. Passed by a tree, and they give a comment on the tree. Pass by it a second time and they give the exact same comment for the exact tree. So on my second runthrough on New Game Plus, I kicked all those pawns off the cliff once I had the chance to and continued the rest of the game, and somehow it just felt lonely. Now im not sure why but maybe the companionship system has grown on me because heck i had such feeling playing other games that requires you to traverse alone. So i will say the pawn flaw isn’t that much of a problem.
The save system is yea, horrible. I mean even the auto save has some sort of problem considering it usually saves when you go through a door (I know, completing ambush quest also triggers autosave, but thats only if you run into one). Heres what happened to me during my first few hours of the game. I set off from Gransys to do some quest far, far away and trekked nearly half the map to get there, only to get hit from a falling boulder, fell off a cliff and died. When i press retry, godammit guess where was my last autosave? Gransys. 20-30 mins of game time wasted.
I also want to point out that the game could have gotten a better camera system, sure the camera system works okay for the most part, but when scaling the bigger monsters you sometimes have absolutely no idea what you’re doing, making the difficulty(if any) harder due to poor camera control. Yes, Ur Dragon fight im looking at you.
Now if they had the time to put in their in-game “DLC”s shouldn’t they have put that time refining the 3 flaws Joe had pointed out? But to be fair Capcom had already said that they are looking into their DLC practice so I guess won’t touch too much on that.Peace out.
First lemme say I really enjoy Angry Joe’s reviews and this one is no exception. So-called “video game journalism” is typically a netherworld of pissed off children that will trash a game over nothing (neo seeker) or corporate shills too afraid of their advertisers to give honest reviews (game informer). Joe is def neither of those things and it is very appreciated.
So I have just poured around 90 or so hours into Dragon’s Dogma, played it to new game+ and let me put this out there:
NONE of the “major” issues that some reviewers have with this game are either accurate or very fair. Most of the reviews I’ve read for this game usually include this phrase: “Its fun but” or “despite (insert nit-picky bs), its still a fun game”.
Well if its FUN, then whats the problem? Why all the hate? What, exactly, are you trying to accomplish by getting people to not buy this “fun” game? Oh because you clipped through a door a couple times, or because you cant be bothered to do your job right and really look at the game’s mechanics?
Pawns irritating you? YOU CAN RE-TRAIN THEM.
Pawns talking too much? You can literally sit them down and tell them to be quieter. Pawns running off cliffs or picking fights and getting killed? You can RE-TRAIN them to be more conservative, or healers, or even as body guards.
Also, Yes Virginia there IS a fast travel system.
Yeah no crap the game isn’t perfect but what game is? The save system kinda sucks, the story could’ve been deeper but it didn’t really ruin anything. And in fact there was a great moment where one of the more obvious bad guys has a moment where he’s all “You can call me a bad guy if you want, but I AM right.” And he really was. I dont know about you guys but I really dont need someone to have FOLLOW floating over them. The genius of this game is that it just gives you this huge open world to monster hunt and loot and boss battle your way through and the “story” is there if you want it. Hell, did any one find the merchant in the quarry selling armor and weapons from the Anime series Berserk? I remember that one fondly and the references were deeply cool. (hint: its the White Hawk and Swordsman gear)
So is a flaw really a flaw if it DOESN’T MATTER? Ask me how much of these flaws kept me from enjoying all the things I’ve loved about this experience so far. The combat, the classes, the epic bosses.
You cant tell me you “reviewed” this game if you didnt even get to the Everfall part. I thought the game was over… Hooooboy was I wrong! And I was never so glad for it. So many dragons and big evil baddies for my higher level characters to fight and climb on! EPIC SAUCE!
There are a lot of game reviewers that need to put the controller down and go sit at the beach maybe read an actual book, maybe interact with some NPCs, ahem, I mean people. But Joe, keep doing what your doing guy, cause there are a lot of idiots out there doing it wrong.
A flaw is still a flaw in something that could’ve been perfect. If you don’t care about a flaw does it mean it isn’t still a flaw? That’s like saying, If I don’t care about the tree falling over and making a sound, it doesn’t make a sound. Well, of course it does.
Whether you care or not, a reviewer is supposed to say what they found was bad or good about the game. Flaws included. It’s quite simple, the game has issue but like many games can still be quite fun. And Joe even said that if you can ignore the flaws you can have a great time. And you’re proof of that. So enjoy the game.
And thanks again Joe.
Wow thanks for taking that to the overly literal extreme. Sorry to hear about your aspergers syndrome. I heard that can be tough.
So when I was making that “flaw” statement I was referring to the fact the few bad reviews I’ve read were centered around these little things that just don’t have anything to do with how deceptively deep and genuinely fun this game really is. But some idiots think its their job to find some dumb glitch and then screech from the high heavens about how it ruins the game. When, quite clearly, they don’t.
The two specific reviews I’m thinking of were from Joystiq and Kotaku. Both reviews centered around how the reviewers didn’t enjoy the game because they clearly didn’t understand it or make much of an effort to do so (and therefore weren’t very good at the game).
And then they tried to convince everyone that it was the game’s fault. Which is huge disservice to their readers when they cant be bothered to do their jobs right.
The things that they complained about were easily remedied, but they used them as an excuse to unfairly bash the shit out of Dragons Dogma. IE:
Some complaints were about the UI. Like the pawns subtitles. Which is just ridiculous. Yes they def cluttered the screen, BUT, all you have to do is go into options and turn stuff off! So is that “flaw” still a flaw? Nope, not even a little bit. That’s just lazy and dumb.
The complaints about the pawns, equally stupid. One reviewer even said he only sat his pawn down twice to instruct it and then bitched about how dumb his pawn was. My pawn doesn’t chatter away because I changed her speech rate. She doesn’t run off and do dumb shit because I grabbed those potions at the encampment and re-trained her. Is this “flaw” really a flaw? Not really. You just have to pay attention.
The other complaint I heard a lot was how there’s no or limited fast travel.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. On your first play through you get a Port Crystal that you can drop anywhere and fast travel to with a ferrystone.
These lazy hacks obviously didn’t play the whole game because in New Game + you can buy MORE OF THEM. And then fast travel around Gransys to your hearts content.
The reasons they did things this is way is painfully obvious. The devs WANT you to haul ass all over the game world on your first play through because that’s how you level up. When your Character is strong enough to finish the game, that exploration becomes unnecessary so they give you the tools to make your own shortcuts. Does this ruin the game? No. So YES THERE IS REAL FULL ON FAST TRAVEL.
The story. Dark Souls didn’t really have a story. Skyrim’s story was just ok, no new ground broken there. But Dogma doesn’t hold your hand and shove story in your face and its called a flaw?
The other thing wrong with these reviews is how very shallow they are and that they try to convince other people to not play this game. And THATS my beef.
Terrible, lazy, misinformed reviews.
So.
Is a flaw really a flaw when it doesn’t fucking matter? I would say not.
Yes, even if it ”dosen’t matter” it is still a flaw.
And the ”But the second playthrough lets you1!!!” isn’t really an excuse.
Mostly because if the exploration was actually fun, instead of the same thing over and over, maybe nobody would care.
And a ”fun” games means it can be fun, but not without flaws.
I believe that this game has more flaws than it does benefits, including the 3 flaws Joe has noted. But yet, I still bought the game and I am currently enjoying most of what it has to offer right now. I do enjoy the Shadow of Collosus feel of fighting huge enemies, the Pawn system and the different vocations avaliable. I think Capcom could have done a way better job than this though…They should have implemented fast travel, more exciting quests,a story that we can actually follow, and a few more things. Like Joe said, this game had potential to beat Skyrim but most things weren’t implemented properly and I agree with him. This game to me, is at best a little more than average RPG game. Better than Dragon Age II but less of that adventure feel than Skyrim.
And the soundtrack of this game…I just need to say that the Title Screens music doesn’t match at all. I don’t hate the song that plays, I just don’t think it matched being in that game, especially as a Title Intro. It matches more as being a song to the ending of a movie when the credits roll. It just feels out of place being in this game.
Yeah summon your friend
Pretty cool. I´ll summon girl friend 
I have to second the comment about Freezing video. This is the second Angryjoe show video in a row that just hangs after about half way through. And you can’t skip ahead of the area it stops like some videos. You also cant restart the video to make it clear up. If it hangs its just dead and you have to watch it on blip.tv which frankly is kinda sucky.
About the game. I agree, no fast travel is a huge bummer which leads into my next problem…combat is WAY too fast. 10 minutes of running should not be rewarded with 3 seconds of combat. I absolutely hate games that present this beautiful realistic and livable world, then they make you wade through a metric shitton of bland pointless enemies. “Wow great, another band of goblins, dead in litteraly 3 seconds flat.” Now compare that to the Witcher or Witcher 2 and 3 of those creepy water guys attack you, its a freaking epic struggle for life. AND THOSE ARE TRASH MOBS!
Even the boss Battles are too short, and too fast. “Oh Shit a Hippogrif! Sweet I can finally use that super new special attack…oh wait its already dead.” How did this thing ever become a legend, I only hit it like 4 times?
The cool part with the pawns is that I was able to make it look exactly like my wife…when she was 18 so she liked watching her little pawn run around with me as I played. And I do mean run because yes, you do a lot of running in this game.
i have to disagree here with you Joe,
if I like RPGs I wouldnt look for a action rpg at all
Nice, balanced review, I think there are some really bold design decisions in this game, and fans of action rpgs will certainly find it very engaging and overall a good a experience.
BTW
Why cant anyone distinguish between an RPG and an Action-RPG anymore? That makes me really sad
Everytime someone talks about this great new RPG I get all happy and giggly just to realize that its another action game
I mean, it really should be easy… Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect, now Dragon’s Dogma, those are all fine games, but they are all -Action- games ^^
(Ok, there are games which would be really hard to put in one of thjose two categories, like everything resembling Dungeon Master or Eye of the Beholder)
Please bring back the term Action-RPG Joe! If i had one wish to you it would be that, dont tease me with an RPG when its actually an Action-RPG ^^
If you think Elder Scrolls and Mass Effect are “action RPGs” please explain what you think a regular RPG is?
Does it have to be turn based? Do you have to directly translate from pen and paper?
To me if I get to customise the main character, choose the form and manner of his skill progression and development, and have some form of meaningful choices about the quest I am on, it qualifies as an RPG.
It doesn’t matter to me if the combat is real time or phased. Does it matter if you have to weave between a bunch of menus beforehand or hit the Y key in combat? Its all just an input scheme.
I personally think a lot of Japanese “RPGs” are not really RPGs at all, rather interactive stories. When is the last time you played a Final Fantasy and really felt like YOU were the main character. Pretty much never in my book.
yeah i’m with you on this, mass effect started out in my opinion with rpg potential, but as it dropped customization and tactical gameplay where, you felt you where actually fighting to win. that wa great times but it way to quick turned into action rpg/ chest high wall cover shooter
The reason that the term action RPG is not really valid anymore is because the vast majority of RPG’s have switched to an action style gameplay vs turn based combat. The fact is in the 80′s and 90′s Turn based style RPG’s were all the rage, but it had become stale and predictible with less and less gamers returning to those style of games, less gamers means less money and less money means lower quality in future game development (usually). So more RPG developers switched to action style gameplay to the point it has become a staple of RPG’s with good reason and thus now “action” RPG’s are the standard and turn based RPG’s are the rarities.
Along with the level of customization in most of those games, the action style fits the idea of an RPG more since it makes you feel more involved in the actual combat and thus gives a better sense of immersion in the game’s world. Which is the essence of the RPG genre, you’re in the game to ROLE PLAY, the more involved you are in the world the more you immerse into the role.
Actually the term RPG is not valid anymore because it’s being used very loosely. If you look at the NAME it means “Role Playing Game”. Nowhere says that it’s turn based or real time. It’s a game that you have a role you have to fulfil in other to get the game progressed. Today, being an RPG means that you level up, customize your skills or atributes and maybe your character. So because of that, Fallout 3 is no less RPG than Fallout 1 or 2 because you can control your character in real time.
Well, i referred to the turn based system because of the OP comment. The OP seems to be under the impression only games that have that system qualify as a “true” RPG. But i kind of see your point, the things you mention that characterize an RPG are no longer specific to the genre as well. I mean Call of Duty incorporated an XP and attribute system. Also from a semantics point of view every game is more or less an RPG as you are playing a role in the game. Because of these changes in the system i personally don’t pick a game because of it’s genre anymore, but rather by if it is good or not, whether it’s RPG, fighting, action, etc.
I feel i should state this though, the characteristics i mentioned in my other post are my personal interpretation of what defines an actual RPG, but that term for me in these times means any game where you build a character from the ground up, strengthen them to your style and get a sense of immersion in the world.
Wow, didnt realize how many follow comments I had, sorry I did not come back earlier to this. (and I hope some of you read my responses)
First, thanks to all of you for your comments, I am so jaded that I expected to be flamed, but *respect* to all of you
@Strider I agree, that the reason is that there are practically no turn based RPGs anymore, and that its porbably also due to how they implemented turn based combat.
And HSnake, thats a very good argument, if you think about this, sometimes the RPG Element of custumization and skill learning/improvement is even handled better, and is deeper, then in straight RPGs. (You can customize your car in racing games much more than your characters in many RPGs)
To me the difference is this:
In an RPG I create a Character, develop him/her, live a story through his/her eyes, and make use of the abilities of the Character. If my character is a great warrior, it doesnt matter how good I can fight (or how good my reflexes are, how good I can aim etc).
Its a more distant relationship, are more meta realtionship between me and my character (to me naturally).
A Action RPG has a more immediate relationship between me and the Avatar I am playing. His skills influence my gameplay but still I am the one aiming, pushing the trigger, jumping etc.
To me, these are two completly different type of games, both have their pro and cons.
(Funny enough I enjoyed Mass Effect 1-3, including the ending to 3 ^^;, far more than I did Dragon Age, which I found to be designed pretty cheap and shallow, not a bad game but average to me, clearly helped by having pretty much 0 opposition)
Would you guys really say, that all that God of War is missing to be a RPG, for instance, is some more stats?
Hope that clarifies my position a bit.
Problem with Turn Based Combat in RPGs is that its
either handled very shallow (Any Bioware Turn Based Game, Baldurs Gate, Dragon Age, yes i realize the combat runs in realtime, but its more turn based then it appears)
or, very deep, but somewhat unspectacular, and actually so deep thats its more of a strategy game than a RPG. (Think Final Fantasy Tactics)
I dont see why you cant have a deep, tactical and very enjoyable Turn Based System, that is still entertaining to watch and a lot of fun and a challenge to the player. ( In fact if everything goes as planned, you might see one in a couple of years ^^)
Also, my post, was somewhat meant to sound whiny and being a little ironic. In the end, HOW the gametype is called doesnt matter to me, its all about the type of gameplay.
And i wish that developers realize how many possibilities they actually have today, to make a simultanious turn based combat system very enjoyable to play and to watch.
In general it seems that creative conservatism is way to prevalent. Remember when 2D platformers dissapeared for years, because “players dont want these games anymore”, and how now there are quite a few coming out on a regular basis, once they realized players never stopped playing them, they just didnt buy them because none were released.
I will be a happy little gamer again once a deep, 6 character (you all create) party based RPG with a fun TBCS, and actually is not stuck to gameplay conventions of the last decade. Just imagine the replayability ^^
Damn Joe a 7/10 score? A little harsh. Because of the positive remarks you made I went out and got the game easily a 9/10 but I can understand that you were obligated to beat it up on its numerous flaws. But hell you making me aware of them before I bought the game is much appreciated since it let me know what to expect and hense let me forgive the game ahead of time. Buy this game if you can dig what Joe is cooking. Since he is gradeing it lower than he wants to due to its technical issues.
Joe rocking out to jpop made me shoot coke out my nose!
Damn you Joe. DAMN YOOOOUUUUUUU!
Shame the game doesn’t look to be coming to PC i would like to give it a try.
Wow Joe, of all people I didn’t expect to be so disapointed in YOUR review.
Granted, I did know you weren’t going to rate this game very high, I personaly wouldn’t too, but to even put on your Badass Seal of Approval? That’s a big big shame, Joe.
It kinda looked you like you didn’t play this game for more than 12 hours, when it’s a over 40 hours long game. Despite what EVERYBODY says, there IS a story in Dragon’s Dogma, but it’s not so much about the Arisen, but about the world and the people that live in it. Of course, the focus of the game is not the story, but it sure is a much better story than most games that are coming out lately. And to say that an excelent story is to be expected out of an RPG, I call bullshit because Demon’s Souls and Dark Souls didn’t have a remarkable story either. They weren’t terrible, but they were also just there, Like in Dragon’s Dogma, and so many people seem to be so keen to ignore that. Besides, there’s a point in the game where you learn that a Pawn is not so much as a job, but a race. They are devoided of emotions, initiative and maybe even the will to live if they are not serving under a master. And when you find one previous Arisen, she will say that a recurring character that you just saved used to be her pawn and that it has took her physical and psychological form through some kind of Spiritual Bonding between she and her pawn. There is some deep stuff in here, but you will only get it as much as you want to.
Another thing you missed to mention was the Dungeon Crawling experience, which so many people adore but not that many are aware that it exists in Dragon’s Dogma. Where you can crawl your way through a difficult dungeon, gathering a ton of loot for you to use to enhance your equipment, combine into new items and, of course, sell for money. Not only that, but references of other games and medias, such as Berserk, Devil May Cry and not surprinsingly Monster Hunter. And that takes form in attacks and items.
One thing I’ll give you though, is the annoying long travel distances you have to make in the game. But I do strongly disagree with you on the “There should be fast travel” solution. Sure, Ferrystones are not that useful, but they are not that rare and at 20+ hours 10k becomes almost change (for most people). What they SHOULD have done is to make the Ferrystone teleport you to a City or Stronghold of your choosing, instead of just the capital.
Just one more thing. You seemed to have missed the mistrust that Capcom put in this project. I can actually see some corners being cut for the lack of investment. Did you know that the initial marketing for this game was “Oh boy, it comes with Resident Evil 6 demo!”. That’s kinda sad. So reason why I am so disapointed in your lack of recomendation for this game, it’s because I can see this selling not so well, and later a possible sequel being discontinued because of the lack of profit income. So, purchasing this game would actually signal to Capcom that we ARE insterested in new projects, that we ARE interested in new IPs, and that they should take more risks every now and then.
And about that DLC popup, I actually thought that you’d be pleased to see that, because if you read that, you’d have seen that they plan to keep supporting the game after realease, with weekly or so DLC. Didn’t you say in your Red Dead Redemption review that you loved that Rockstar promised to keep making content for the game? (As in, DLC)
But…it seems that so many places (like Kotaku) have been tearing a new asshole in this game that Capcom will probably take a while to green light an original project. And sadly, I don’t think we’ll be seeing a Dragon’s Dogma 2 in the future.
Dude… Thank you.
You raise some great points about the story being there if you want it, and the strange amount of hate this game seems to be getting. Kotaku’s review is like everything that’s wrong with video game journalism.
This game took some great risks that really payed off and I would be quite sad if there wasn’t an even more epic sequel in the works. I cant effing stand reviewers that don’t do their jobs.
I am sick to death of hearing Non-Criticisms like “Oh my pawns are dumb this game suxxx” (train them!) or “Wahhh there’s no fast travel, worst game evahrrrr” (yes there is but you have to -gasp- earn it)
But everyone lined right to gargle Bethesda’s nuts and throw 10s at Skyrim. 10s? For what? I just dont get it. Skyrim was a dreary bleak drudge of an rpg, playing it felt like a chore. And also… loading screens. For everything. And hey Dragonborn did you get to actually RIDE a dragon? Nope. That was pretty much just a loading screen.
In DD you get have a pawn effing LAUNCH you at the dragon so you can climb onto it and stab it in its stupid legendary face.
DD works for me. And I pray that all the ridiculous misplaced hate doesnt keep Capcom from making another one.
I can honestly say that I disagree with you both. The review was just a little too kind.
I liked it enough though. I give it a solid 6, and have recommended to friends to buy it later when the price drops.
Too Kind? How so?
Joe did a typically great job of poking fun at the flaws but most “flaws” are really stuff you can change or work with ie: the pawns
Crappy save system, running every where can be tiring but there IS a fast travel system.
The graphics are fine, the pop in can me a bit much but not a deal breaker because I’m really here for the monster fights, the loot, and the combat. All 3 of those major things are wicked fun. In fact, I have sadly been neglecting Ghost Recon for the last two weeks because I am so pleasantly surprised by this game and now totally hooked on it. How about the Ur-Dragon mechanic, borrowing your friends pawn? That stuff is really well done.
Yesterday, just for shits and giggles, my bro and I deliberately recruited some random low level pawns and gave them (and their creators) some high level weapons that we didnt need anymore. Then we laughed ourselves silly thinking about their faces when that lucky gamer realizes he just got some epic weapons like it was his bday. Good times.
Bottom line: none of this shit really matters, the combat and bosses are EPIC. And if you want a perfectly decent but imperfect action rpg, you found one.
I can make a point that the save system can be countered by creating multiple profiles but whatever. Besides that, I agree with you completely. For its not so subtle flaws it has, it is well worth playing it and it is why I am so disapointed in Joe. Because he failed to clear that out for everybody, that even despite theses flaws, it is at least a must rental.
Totally agree with you both. Skyrim is about waving your sword in a dragon’s face with no impact whatsoever while DD has you actually FIGHTING an “effing” dragon! In Dragon Age, you stand there and your opponents look at you while they swing their arms around for example. It feels emty. Also, I agree that Joe was a bit harsh on this game (I’m not asking him to treat it like a baby) but I think he could have pointed out that this game is fighting the current situation in the gaming industry by bringing something original for once.
Are we noticed of replies to our comments in this site?
i think i can handle this…after all i’ve played worst games… the DLC pop-up screen disturbed me a little tho…why capcom…why
The first minute of this review was absolutely priceless. Great job, Joe. Overall, I kind of like what I hear about this game, though PS3 titles are expensive as shit in my country. Might give it a try when the price goes down.
Where are you from man? Brazil? Because that’s my situation over here. XD
Serious people, 150 bucks is as cheap as it go for a launch game here, and that’s a lot.
Not anymore, it’s about 100 dollars after that law passed on. Still, it should be cheaper.
It did? Well, it’s still expensive. XD
100 dollars? O.o for a video game? How’s the economy over there?
We pay 60 euros for a solid, new game over here in Portugal and 40 for the cheap ones…
Actually it’s not about the economy, it’s about the high taxes imposed over games. =/
I think I’ll pass on this one, it’s bad enough with all the flaws in it and capcom but I still have Dragon Age (The first one of course) which just does the story better..
i give dragon’s dogma a 7.7
for some reason this video freezes at 1:18