Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen (2013)

I was really surprised by how nimble you are in this game, but I love it! I'm running and jumping around as if I was playing a Platformer. Really sets it apart from other RPGs. Had this sitting in my Backlog for years, and didn't expect much before going in. And last night, on my first session with it, I played for 4 hours without a break. That happens very rarely to me!

Also, picking up things or people and then throwing them around is super funny. Especially when your characters stature is on the smaller side.

Well, just finished my third run through the original game and my first full completion of Dark Arisen. This is still an all time favorite, but trying to platinum really made some of the boneheaded design decisions shine haha. For example, the class and move balance is absolutely insane (in a less-than-ideal way) and the enemy design can be downright frustrating if you want to be a Fighter or Warrior (both of which I generally like playing!). It boggles my mind that they can make a game that's otherwise so good, then decide the ranged magic archer should increase predominantly defensive stats, or that warriors should have no real way to prevent incoming damage. Anyway, I had a great time again on the whole. Climbing up a cyclops and jamming a sword in its eye is always fun, and I unironically love the weird stilted voice acting with the characters gesturing inscrutably while the camera is rotated 45 degrees for some reason.

I still have a few achievements left, but I think I'm going to move on for the time being.

Well, 40+ hours and I am officially retiring Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen. I finished the main game, started a New Game+, and attempted Bitterblack Isle. While I loved the dungeon, I've grown a bit bored with the class offerings. I got stuck at this gigantic floating Eye boss that I can't seem to do any damage to. Furthermore, my pawns are useless as they're all melee-focused (or magic) and they keep suiciding themselves.

I found myself getting very frustrated trying to progress, and I decided it was time to retire. Dragon's Dogma was a great time, but I'm not interested in grinding up levels. Still one of my favorite games of the year!

I dislocated my toe riding mountain bikes off cliffs so needless to say I had a lot of time laying in bed yesterday. I managed to finish Everfall Chambers and complete the post-game of Dragon's Dogma! It was great fun - the exploration in this game is just unrivaled. Can't believe all the comparisons to Skyrim when DD blows that game out of the water in every aspect except scale.

Speaking of scale, I was very surprised to see just how small the in-game world actually is. Not that a size reduction wasn't welcome, of course - after all, my spare time was much more abundant in 2011 than it is now. But I finished it before I was really ready to finish it, if that makes sense.

Of course, I now have Bitterblack Isles. I started a New Game+, got my main pawn and all my gear back, grabbed some pawns and am now hacking my way through BBI, and having a great time doing it. Me and my pawn are both level 54 and we're outputting some good damage, although once in a while a random enemy (like Death itself, jesus christ that shit was scary) will immediately murder one of my pawns which is kind of a pain in the ass.

Other than that, looking forward to ripping through Bitterblack Isles! Long flight in 2 days and I'll also be starting on my next big title I've also been looking forward to: Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age!

Just hit the end credits of Dragon's Dogma! Loved this game. Now, if I understand correctly, the original game's post-game content is Everfall Chambers, and of course the Dark Arisen expansion which adds Bitterblack Isle.

Not sure how far I plan on playing, as I've got FFXII: The Zodiac Age sitting idly by that I'd like to get to, and if I understand correctly, this will require a bit of grinding to get up to a decent level (I'm only level 45 now).

I'll keep going at it for a bit, maybe experiment a little, but the usual attacks are getting a little stale. I've logged ~35 hours so far in a very short period of time (for me, anyway), so I think I'll keep going and see where I get before next week.

Got a massive 20+ hour flight across the globe to look forward to, at least in terms of having plenty of entertainment!

As a side note, this game is officially in my Favorite of All Time list. What a sick game! Really puts Skyrim's combat to shame.

I finally figured out what's going on in this game! Honestly, I haven't had this much fun in an open world game since 2011 when Skyrim first came out. 8 freaken years is a long time, but I can't get enough of this game.

"Ok, let's play. I'm going to do this quest now." :starts traveling to destination: "Hey look, a cave. Maybe I'll check it out" :2 hours later, leaves cave, barely alive: "What the hell, what time is it!?"

Haven't been able to get lost in a game in so long, and Dragon's Dogma is scratching that itch I haven't had for close to a decade.

Also, the whole online pawn system is terrific. I hired a battle mage named Zelda (take one guess who she's modeled after), and I love how other players' pawns just wander around your in-game world. Very unique and fun addition to the open-world game experience.

Back from vacay - spent about ~7 hours total in Dragon's Dogma during flights and what-not. Holy crap this game kicked my ass for the first few hours. I think playing it like Skyrim has been the biggest mistake - it definitely scales differently (in terms of enemies) and wandering into the wrong cave or the wrong mob definitely requires running away.

Also, playing in portable mode has not been a good way to learn the game. The screen is simply too small to get enough detail out of it - it's most definitely optimized for the big screen. I couldn't even find the blacksmith for hours and was using my starting weapons many hours into the game! Resulted in tons of deaths and lots of lost time which was extremely frustrating.

Add to that the fact that my flight was 2 hours delayed on-tarmac and it made for a very frustrating situation.

Was super happy to play it for the first time on the big screen this morning and I'm happy to report Dragon's Dogma is back in my good graces. Had a lot of fun murdering some hobgoblins after slaughtering my way through a cave.

Breaking the Skyrim habit of raiding everything and coming out victorious 99% of the time will be tough, but I am determined!

Spent about 30 minutes customizing my sidekick (or "Pawn" as they're called in-game) in Dragon's Dogma! It feels amazing playing an open world game on a portable console - something I've wanted for years! I got big into the 3DS and Vita for the past couple years or so, and Monster Hunter was probably the closest to a "big open world" - despite not actually being so.

It simply feels amazing and smooth running around swinging daggers at shit. Plus, speaking of Monster Hunter, I love the strategy to take down the big fellas. Can't wait to get deeper into this game. I haven't spent more than 30-40 hours in a game in a while - this will undoubtedly be the first time I get immersed in an open-world game in 8 years!

Pre-ordered Dragon's Dogma (Switch) for in-store pickup. Can't wait to check this game out. Have been wanting to get into a more role-playing game, specifically a open-world one. Haven't played OW games in probably ~8 years due to the sheer size, but this seems far more manageable than the depth of an Elder Scrolls game.

Really excited to check this out!

Capsule thoughts here, full review conversation at the link following this text.

I was not prepared. Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen had a - to put it charitably - rough look to it like a particularly ambitious Playstation 2-era developer wanted to stretch the platform beyond its limits.

The rough look turned out to be crucial for Dark Arisen as this is a meat and potatoes hack 'n slasher where everything is just a touch corrupt. Simple environmental details like a bit of mud may be your downfall when trying to leap out of the way of a phalanx of lizard soldiers only to find your movement stuck. A monarch of questionable integrity keeps the shadiest folks around him while locking the mischievous in his towers. The battles, even as I'm a stone's throw away from level 200, always keep me on my toes with different magics, traps, and swarms of baddies try to knock me and my companions down for the count.

Dark Arisen is a rare bird, trying to tie mass scale combat with a Forgotten Realms-esque setting while simultaneously grounding the events to your character. It's filled with exciting and unpredictable combat scenarios that your companions are learning through just as you are and - in the most amusing kicker - if you've hired help that's already faced the situation they may grow impatient with instructions and just take over the blasted fight themselves.

I've been desperate to find another game as sure of its ugly self as Dark Arisen is where epic multi-part combat sequences with a griffon are right at come with confronting small cultist sects or accidentally romancing the weapons dealer (or on purpose, do what you feel!) From my first dash forward as a Strider to my careful positioning as a Magick Archer Dark Arisen hooked me deep, even as I go through Bitterblack Isle again and again and again.

http://www.cantstopthemovies.com/2016/05/video-games-allure-campfire-tales-dragons-dogma-dark-arisen/