My Experience with Dragon's Dogma

When I first started playing Dragon's Dogma it was very slow. So slow in fact that I nearly stopped playing it after about an hour. Well, I decided to give it a chance. I was glad I did, at least for a little while. Upgrading my characters stats, magic, weapons & armor was awesome. The pawn system was unfamiliar and agreeable. And the big monster battles, golly gee goodness they were fantastic! Spending 20 minutes taking down a cyclops or griffin was so much fun. 

Now that I got the good stuff out of the way... Before questing you would have to make sure you sleep at an inn until morning because at night enemies become incredibly difficult to kill. When I first heard about this aspect of the game, I thought it was kind of cool. I was wrong, and the reason behind this is because travelling the map is a drag. It took forever to get anywhere, and when I finally did, it would get dark and I'd be stuck fighting overpowered wolves in the forest all night. After this process went on for awhile I got bored, I did some magic in a town and accidentally hit a civilian, ended up in jail and couldn't find a way out besides bribing the guard with way too much money. And that's when I stopped playing. I don't think it's a bad game, it's just not for me.

Demon's Souls

Score: 9/10                             

Genre: RPG / Action / Adventure

Platforms: PS3

Release Date: October 6, 2009

Developer: From Software

Publisher: Atlus Co.

From Software is known for: Enchanted Arms, Armored Core

Atlus Co. is know for: Persona 4, The King of Fighters XIII

If I had to sum this game up in one word it would be would be "difficult." But of course you can't sum up any game in one word, so here's a bunch to explain it. You've ventured into a once peaceful world where souls are used like currency and "The Old One" is using fallen souls to do his bidding. You obtain this currency by killing enemies and absorbing their souls. You can then use them to create a powerful warrior so you can take on The Old One and his demon cronies. Their are many ways to upgrade your character; the most common being melee fighters, magic users or a combination of both. Both magic and melee can be very effective if used properly.

The weapons feel very real; spears are great for stabbing at long distances but are slow, and short swords are terrific for fast slash attacks but are only effective up close. I've never played a game where weapon and spell selection are as important as they are in Demon's Souls. If you do decide to play this game remember one thing, you will die a lot and probably get very frustrated. But if you stick with it, you'll be hard pressed to find a more satisfying game than this.

This is by far one of the hardest games I've ever had the opportunity to play. And it's because of this insane difficulty that I found it very satisfying when I progressed in each level. I highly recommend doing some research online and planning your character build before playing Demon's Souls. There are some great recommendations out there, and trust me, doing your research will pay off big.

You might feel like a meager warrior at first, but towards the later levels of the game you'll feel like a massive force to be reckoned with.

If you like this game, you might also enjoy: Dark Souls (sequel), Dragon's Dogma, Shadow of the Colossus