Why the hell did nobody tell me Dragon's Dogma was so awesome?
 

Because it's really fucking awesome. I would be playing it right now if Xbox Live wasn't acting screwy.

I was put off by the demo, but I gave it another try the other day, and then watched a few Let's Play videos of it. And now I can't put the game down.

First off, this game is massive. I've spent over 12 hours in it already, and I've uncovered a tiny bit of the map. And I've been spending most of my time randomly exploring.

Also, the class and combat systems are both amazing. You have three basic classes (Fighter, Strider, Mage), three advanced classes that are more offense oriented versions of the basic ones (Warrior, Ranger, Sorcerer), and then three hybrid classes that combine aspects of two classes (Mystic Knight, Magick Archer, Assassin).

You can switch between classes at will (as long as you have the "Discipline" (i.e. skill) points to buy a new class, which you only have to do once and then you can switch back to any unlocked class for free), and classes have nine levels that are separate from eachother and your own level progression. Levelling up a class gives you access to new abilities and passives that you can unlock with Discipline Points.

What I just learned recently is that when you level up your stats increase depending on what your current vocation is. Fighters and Warriors get more HP and offensive power, Striders and Rangers get more stamina but are otherwise pretty balanced, and Mages and Sorcerers get more magick power and defense. And of course Hybrid classes have their own stat progressions.

Anyway enough of that, let's talk about combat. Oh boy the combat. The demo seemed kind of lackluster but now I'm blaming that on the lack of customization and the lame foe variation. Fighting weak golbins things quickly degrade into button mashing, but if you're against a group of bandits that out-level you, then things get interesting. And it gets even better when you have a group of abilities that you love and that compliment your play style.

But where the game truly shines is against large enemies, the ones you can climb on. It is by far my favorite part of the game. And once again the demo doesn't really do it justice. The chimera is one of the lamer fights, where you just cling and slash away like a mad man. Ogres are much more interesting, because they're stronger, faster, and if you climb onto their back they will jump and slam their back against the ground to get you off.

Another great fight I had was against a Golem. I stumbled onto him as the sun was starting to set, and I wanted to explore some strange looking stones sticking out of a hill before heading back to a camp. I was horribly underleveled for the fight, but I refused to run away. I grabbed onto him and started slashing away at the glowing disks that were his only weakpoint. The battle lasted until nightfall, where the only light was from my lantern, and the few remaining glowing discs on the golem, who had fallen to the ground for a few moments. Then the Golem stands up, glowing red instead of purple-blue, and kills me instantly with a single punch. I wasn't even mad. The fight and the progression from day to night with the amazing lighting effects made it all worth it.

Of course the game does have its flaws. For one, there's no fast travel, so getting places can take a while. Also, while travelling, your pawns never shut up. Sure the knowledge system is great, but there are points in the map, regardless of if you're heading towards or away from something, where your pawn will spout the same nonsense about something that he or she has said a thousand times before. Yes, I get it, this encampment is a great fucking bulwark against monsters, now shut up. And lipsyncing outside of cinematics is terrible. Yet despite all that, I still love this game.

Anyway I think that's enough rambling from me. I know there's some of you on here that have played this game (since the few recent posts about it in the Boycott Atlus and ME3 threads convinced me to give it a second look), so feel free to brag about how awesome your character is. Also if your Pawn is around level 25 and on the 360, let me know so I can send you some rotten meat.

it's really a game i'm hoping it comes out for the PC at one point cause i really want to play it. From everywhere i look the idea seems that this is a game worth support just so they can make a sequel that fixes all the problems

Hmm, it looks pretty fun, not sure if I want to pay full-price for it, though, seems a bit hack-and-slashy for me (or does it play more like Demon/Dark Souls? That would be fun)...plus I'd be buying it for PS3 so not sure how many people I'd be able to play it with (I assume it is more fun with multiplayer? Or is it not really multiplayer?). It does sound pretty fun, though.

It plays like Devil May Cry meets Shadow of Colossus. There's combos and timing and blocking and parrying and roman cancels and all kinds of crazy shit, but it's really nothing like Demon/Dark Souls other than in that it's got a very deep RPG system that doesn't really tell you what the fuck is going on and figures you can figure it out.

As for the multiplayer, it's not really multiplayer. You create an AI companion and that AI companion can be hired by other people (friends or not), and it gets knowledge on quests (which it can then help you with) knowledge on monsters (making it less dumbtarded when fighting monsters) and knowledge on areas (allowing it to give you useful hints as to how to get around some places, like how there's some places in Gran Soren you can only get to from roof tops). And sometimes players will give you presents.

You can also hire other people's.

Grimpond, Greed, and I all have it on PS3.

I have it on 360, just hit Endgame and holy shit this cranked things up to 11

Gonna consider getting it now, I am very intrigued by this sudden turn of "it sounded like crap, but it turns out it's up there on the Awesome Ladder."

The end game is the greatest thing, it's part of what I love about it so much. Soooo many games front load the content so that the best part of the game is the bit after the intro, the second 20% or so of the game. Then have things drop in quality a bit, plateau, then crash into Xen or some random jungle planet after talking to a space midget in the endgame. DD though? Nails the fucking landing, the ending and post game are the best part of a otherwise pretty great game. Games with great endings, let alone endings that stand out as the best part of the game are so rare, it's like finding a goddamned unicorn.

Also worth noting that higher level pawns than you cost the rare rift crystals. Unless they're a friends.


Edit: Also Bells forget where I saw it, but a recent Capcom shareholders thing had them confirm DD met expectations and is getting a sequel (sequels from Capcom? Who knew?)

Some Screenshots

http://i.imgur.com/ITiag.png
http://i.imgur.com/DHDPf.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ReeMh.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/pKT9g.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/RNIyy.jpg

http://i.minus.com/iPsg6vj37v3Ej.gifhttp://i.minus.com/idg26HLEkZmTw.gif

did that guy just set himself on fire and then tossed himself at a Manticore?

That's an actual move.
 

Yes.

Yes he did.