Dragons Dogma: Screenies and Video released

[Repline]

Capcom has released a new trailer and screenshots for Dragon's Dogma, which it has confidently called it's new 'hit franchise' in the past.

The last time Capcom was singing its praises it said Dragon's Dogma is set in a "huge" open world and offers an "exhilarating and fulfilling action combat" experience with "the freedom to explore and interact in a rich, living and breathing world".

Are they waffling? Decide for yourself.

~ C&VG

[-Bouncer-]

I wasn't really impressed after the first trailer I saw but I'm getting more interested as they release more details. Will be keeping a close eye on this one.

[Repline]

Gameplay doesnt look very "fluid" yet. When i looked at the trailer it felt as if there were a couple of "frame skips" every few seconds. That will totally digust me.

Lets hope its just because it's still in the begin-stage. The game does show some "potential".

[Nferno]

So that's what a harpy looks like...

I'm going to keep an eye on this. Open world in a fantasy setting. Magic, harpies and a liongoatsnake? Yes, I'll keep an eye on this.

[Repline]

Just when we thought The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Dark Souls had tied up our next twelve months of fantasy RPGing with a neat little bow, Capcom had to go and announce a project that has clouded our crystal ball somewhat.

Not that we're complaining - the Japanese studio has been busy farming out almost every major IP it owns to external studios, so it's encouraging to see an all-new project as ambitious as Dragon's Dogma seems to be emerging from the company's inner folds.

The game's positively bursting with promise. It's a pure blend of Capcom's Monster Hunter and Lost Planet, and sees one nameless hero on a crusade across vast ancient lands to hunt down a malevolent dragon. So far, so brain-shrinkingly obvious. But on the other hand, while most RPGs would be content with throwing you up against goblins, orcs and the odd towering troll along the way, Dragon's Dogma has far greater ambitions...



DRAGON'S DEN

Yes, there will be packs of small beasties to slay, but Dogma's most exciting can-we-pre-order-yet feature involves scrapping with towering monsters such as giant griffins and mountainous hydrae. In similar titles you would usually run around these creatures' feet, stabbing toothpick swords into their ankles to slowly ebb away at their humongous health bars.

And in all those games there would be a massive disconnect between the supposedly awesome battle and your actual, feeble actions onscreen.

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 mel?e 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.


A 360 Monster Hunter is something we've been after for a long while (our lucky Japanese counterparts have had Monster Hunter Frontier for over a year now) and Dragon's Dogma could well satisfy that craving. Rolling hills teeming with lusus naturae (that's Latin for... er, hang on, let us Google it) feel like modern day takes on Hyrule Field - only this time around there are countless things to keep you occupied while you navigate the world.

You don't always have to grab the crampons and start climbing on your enemies either: if hanging back and firing off spells and flaming arrows is more your style, Dragon's Dogma will oblige. There will of course be plenty of side-quests to seek out along the way. Towns and cities are home to dozens - hundreds, even - of NPCs and you can bet your bag of rupees that many of them will beg you to undertake slaying and fetch 'em quests for small rewards.


DRAGON RISING

Venturing out into this hostile world isn't advisable without backup. Fortunately you needn't go it alone. In a very Monster Hunter-esque move you fight the good fight alongside three other characters. So far all the official talk regarding your party has been limited to AI partners - Japanese mag Famitsu claims one of your companions will be an NPC you encounter in your own world, while two more will be NPCs 'borrowed' from other players connected to Capcom's servers.

But as almost every other Capcom game now boasts co-op campaigns we'd be stunned if you couldn't ditch AI fighters for real players. Given that Monster Hunter and Lost Planet are built for co-op it'd be barmy for Capcom to limit Dogma's online interactions to simply pilfering NPC allies from friends' games.

Regardless of whether you play with friends or AI companions, the mix of immediately gratifying combat and dense questing is likely to please fans of both action-adventure and traditional RPG genres. It's no wonder the Japanese giant has been tasking external studios with furthering their Resident Evil, Dead Rising and Devil May Cry brands: Dragon's Dogma's impressive reveal hints at a franchise with the potential to rise to somewhere near the top of the Capcom IP pile.


Throwing all available bodies at a project this bold makes perfect sense. A successful console-lite World of Warcraft-meets-Shadow of the Colossus hybrid could well result in one of the richest pay-offs in Capcom's lengthy history. We'll be following this one... dogmatically...

C&VG

Didnt add the screenies as they are already posted in the first post. :P

This might be a hit if they can pull it off. 2012/2013 gaming is starting to look bright with many possibilities.... and hours of fun.

[Toxxyc]

I'm enough of a dragon fan to buy this game, regardless of the quality of gameplay. If they manage to copy Dragon Age with a new name, I'd be ecstatic.

[-Bouncer-]

So instead of creating a new thread, I thought that I would just add to this one. It is set for release on May 22 2012 and when you buy the game, you also get early access to the Resident Evil 6 Beta. At first, I was not excited about this game but the more I've seen of it, the more I am liking this game.

New video with interesting non-co-op um co-op. Almost like Demon's Souls and Dark Souls handled co-op. Just watched the video:

[DarkPrince]

Was skeptical of this at first but as I saw more footage it has started to turn me around and I am actually looking forward to this especially since they delayed it to a quieter time during the year.

[Sinner-PWA]

With Skyrim, Kingdoms of Amalur, the impending release of GW2, & now this.. I need 50hr days to get in all the RPG goodness.

[DarkPrince]

wow, OK this game looks amazing:

[Flangenimblick]

Wow. Looks awesome! Yeah, getting that.

[DarkPrince]

[DarkPrince]

[DarkPrince]

Game releases tomorrow, can't wait to pick it up.

Gametrailers review:

8.7/10

http://www.gametrailers.com/video/re...s-dogma/730328

[Cleric]

Watched the GT review earlier. This looks like it will scratch the Dark Souls itch pretty well, without being quite so intense.

[echo]

Played the demo, and while it gets the world and the atmosphere right, there is still too much Capcom for me. Probably wait and rent.

[DarkPrince]

Watched the GT review earlier. This looks like it will scratch the Dark Souls itch pretty well, without being quite so intense.

Most of the feedback I've seen seem to say it's on par with Dark Souls difficulty. Especially since enemies do not scale with you so some are practically impossible to beat early on in the game. Also fighting Drakes can be pretty touch as your pawns can be controlled by a Drake if you are not strong enough and so they will turn on you during the fight.

Seems like a lot of tough battles will be in store for players with a great combat system as well.

[DarkPrince]

First impressions:

Game is amazing and don't want to stop playing :) Combat is responsive and on point, similar to how Dark Souls feels in terms of responsiveness and the satisfaction you get.

Movement is fluid and easy to get around. Your character has a stamina bar that drains during combat or when you are climbing or running. One good thing is that stamina does not seem to drain when you are in a town, which is great because the towns are huge and getting around it quickly isn't frustrating since you don't have to stop every 10 seconds or so to catch your breathe.

You can interact with pretty much everything you see, by either climbing on it, breaking it, picking it up etc. There is loot hidden everywhere in the world, from rotten food to weapons and armor. Break whatever you can as there is a big chance you will find something hidden in the item. With regards to items there is a ton of stuff to find, use and combine to make better materials. You continuously pick up items through your journey, Pawns help you with this as well, anything you might of missed they pick up for you.

The scale of the game is huge, pretty much anything you see you can go towards. The first town you start in is right by the ocean so take a stroll around the beach :)

So far the most satisfying thing about the game is the combat system, I chose to go with a Strider and wow it's awesome, you learn different attacks which get enhanced by your pawns as well infusing your weapons with fire, lighting etc. The Strider just looks to damn cool messing **** up :) With the Strider you get daggers and a bow, switching between weapons is easy and quick. Firing 3 flaming arrows and knocking out 3 Orcs at once is just amazing to watch and perform.

The game also completely changes at night, stay out in the roads for too long and you most likely will die, enemies continuously come at you from trolls to orcs to wolf packs, you continuously get swarmed by enemies at night so sneaking past them is key to getting away to safety. Taking them head on could be a bit dangerous but it also gives you the opportunity to pick up some great stuff. Different flowers and items can be found during the Day and Night so it does feel as if the game completely changes.

What I have found useful is empty bottles, so never discard these and buy a couple from the stores as you can fill these with water for recovering you and your pawns health or filling them with oil to keep your lantern burning throughout the night.

Speaking of Pawns, the AI for the Pawns in this game is great, they never get in your way, they always help out during battle by either enhancing your abilities or getting into the battle and taking out whatever they can. They notify you of sneak attacks when you aren't looking and overall just makes the game so much more fun. Very well done with regards to the Pawn system, can't wait to try other peoples pawns that they have created.

Just from the short time I've played the game it's easily the best I've played this year and I can see many many hours being wasted in the game :)

Off to play some more :)

[DarkPrince]

Took a couple more screenshots as I wondered around the world.

[DukeOFprunes]

The last Arisen to use my pawn's sword & shield must've been well-pleased, because she came back dressed in some serious, near-godlike equipment, nearly all of it dragonforged. Gone was her trusty sword, replaced by the Dragon's Dogma blade, for example.

Thought I'd take her new gifts for a test run.

A chimera leapt at me from the shadows. Jerella strolled past, doing some sort of wavy-pointy motion with her sword and sheathed it again. A giant snake head hit the floor. The chimera's leap concluded with it lying in a ragged pile several feet away and turned fertilizer for the trees, while my other pawns gleefully looted its mane, teeth and other bits that scattered about the place.
I didn't even pull my sword out.

I'm considering downgrading her equipment back to what she was wearing before, just so she's not so much of a scary crazy-eyed killa.

Also, in a separate incident, my magick archer upgraded himself to have True Seeker bolts. Somewhere in the forest, a drake attacked my party. There was a fair scuffle and my pawns kept getting knocked out, its movements were easy enough to observe & predict so reviving my party wasn't too hard.
The great monster was finally ready to fall, waiting for a killing blow that pawns are unable to administer, yet happily slaughtering them senselessly.
I had to act quick since I didn't bring any heals (was on my way to mine and went in light for weight) but found myself a long way behind the monster at this point, his weak spot facing the opposite direction and fully out of my view, and his tail was thrashing enough that I'd simply be knocked aside.

I had those new True Seeker bolts now though, so I figured I'd get a lock and hope for the best.

The lock-on appeared and the bolt flew. The seeker bolt travelled through the air, skimmed across the grass, dodged past the monster's legs, dipped below the curve of its chest, and shot up into its throat, striking it dead.
That's when I wished pawns could stop what they were doing to do a dramatic Hollywood-style slow clap.