..Dragon's Dogma..

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Dragon's Dogma is an upcoming third-person fantasy, open-world action-adventure game.  Being the latest project from Capcom's Devil May Cry team, it looks like a Japanese take on the traditional Western RPG with elements of Monster Hunter thrown in for good measure. Capcom has been secretly working on this title for 3 years, and its unique features are the result of that time put into its systems.

Players take control of a character with a grand destiny (gender and appearance can be customized) who one day is told that they are the "Chosen One" by a dragon who then rips their heart out and leaves them for dead.  However, due to a miracle, the hero is saved from death and becomes the "Enlightened One" and sets out to kill the dragon that ripped out their heart.

- Depth of story isn't a Capcom hallmark, but Dragon's Dogma may change all that -

To do this, players travel the world in parties of four, consisting of the player and three NPCs called Pawns from another universe titled the Rift. Out of these three NPCs the player is able customize one to their liking, and must pick the other two companions from those seen wondering around this area.  It is at this point that Dragon's Dogma's unique form of co-op comes into play.  The two Pawns that are chosen from those walking around are actually other player's creations, and their creators have the ability to summon them back with all of the money, experience, and knowledge gained from their travels with another player.  This sounds similar to the multiplayer in Demon's Souls (a primarily single-player game that allowed co-op) but without the huge consequences found i that game when a character dies. 

When the Enlightened One gets to that Dragon, he will have plenty of combat options to make sure he gets his heart back.  After choosing character appearance and gender, players will select a class for their player: Fighter, Mage, or Strider (speedy).  These same classes can be chosen for the custom Pawn each player creates also, allowing players to create a companion that makes up for the flaws in their class. One unique feature of Dragon's Dogma Capcom has shown is the ability to grab onto large enemies and scale their bodies to find weak spots.  This is in the same vein as the battles in Shadow of the Colossus or Castlevania: Lords of Shadow and it's exciting to think about four characters fighting one beast like that at the same time.

- Influences from Western RPGs and Monster Hunter are plain to see -

Using Capcom's own MT Framework engine (Resident Evil 5 and Lost Planet 2), Dragon's Dogma has a lot of promise and will be a breath of fresh air with its unique take on multiplayer open-world games when it comes out next year.

Akil Henry   Followakilshohen Akil is a big fan of video games and music, specifically fighting games and R&B. Other interests include game design, and comedy. His background in game design combined with his unique worldview and sense of humor makes him someone to follow.

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