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You're joined in these endeavors by three helpers-pawns, as they're called-that express unreserved wonder at their surroundings when not setting goblins on fire. Whichever path you follow, these battles are a constant thrill, with monsters rearing up and flailing about as you might imagine they should, presuming you have ever imagined what the progeny of a wolf and a jumbo chicken would look like. Or you might summon an icy eruption and fling your foe toward the heavens, if magic is more your style.
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If you choose a melee-combat class, you can leap onto these roaring beasts and climb all over them if you desire, stabbing them in the head until they throw you to the ground in a fit of disgust. Most of the standout moments come by way of astounding encounters with cyclopes, griffons, chimeras, and the like, with many such monstrosities looking like various creature parts were grafted together to create fearsome, never-before-seen breeds. Of course there are dragons! It's right there in the name.Īs described in the original review, Dragon's Dogma comes with its fair share of frustrations, though the wonders overshadow the weaknesses.
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An additional disc allows you to install higher-resolution textures to your hard drive (as well as an optional Japanese voice track), which makes Gransys look sharper than before, though not dramatically so.
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Dragon's Dogma looks initially bland, but the soft consistent hues allow ornate towers to cut a powerful silhouette against the swaying trees. The setting is the fantasy land of Gransys, which is flush with soft greens, browns, and grays it's a weary place, burdened by the colossal creatures that roam its plains. The core game is a flawed beauty, an almost-classic that merges the open-air qualities of Western role-playing games with the harsh delights and frustrations of Capcom's own Monster Hunter series. If you're new to Dragon's Dogma, however, be prepared for a journey unlike any other. What a pity, then, that much of the new content gets in its own way, sometimes making it difficult to enjoy the story's hushed mystery and the undeniable thrills of felling a gargantuan winged cockatrice. In any case, if you're a Dragon's Dogma veteran, seeing this new content means buying a new version of the game for $40, though the extensive dungeon is no small morsel, which makes it an intriguing proposition for returning adventurers. Strangely, Bitterblack Isle isn't available to you any other way, though it would seem to be a prime candidate for release as a downloadable add-on. This island dungeon harbors many fears, and is the main new attraction in Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen, a rerelease of one of 2012's best role-playing games, with new content added to tempt the faithful back to the city of Gran Soren and beyond. Now Playing: Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen - Video Review By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's
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