As you may know, Dragon's Dogma was a pretty risky venture for Capcom, with unprecedented scope and production costs, not to mention the fact that it was a brand new IP. Machinima's Billy Shibley sums it up pretty well in his video review - "Dragon's Dogma is the ballsiest, most ambitious thing Capcom has attempted in years."
It would seem, however, that the risk has yielded reward, as evidenced by Shibley's 8.5 score and generally positive appraisal of the game.
The game has in fact received quite a number of highly positive reviews accompanied by impressively high scores. Hit the jump for some highlights. Meanwhile, if you've got some praise of your own for the game, why not let us know in a comment?
“…there’s an immensely engrossing adventure to be found.”
“The best parts of Dragon’s Dogma don’t come earning XP and gear by successfully making it from point A to point B but rather from experiencing everything in between.”
“…Dragon’s Dogma is the ballsiest, most ambitious thing Capcom has attempted in years.”
“…an amazing realization of one of the best new ideas to come from Capcom, let alone Japanese developers, in an excruciatingly long time.”
“Every dungeon and castle in Dragon's Dogma is original, rarely using any level pieces more than once, while incorporating curved pathways, heightened steps, and plenty of nooks and crannies.”
“Gransys feels more like a gorgeous combat arena rather than a living, breathing world.”
“…the lasting value of Dragon's Dogma is almost limitless with the level cap well past 100, an end-game that continues after the final boss, and plenty of loot and equipment to acquire.”
“There’s a lot to love in this beast-slaying romp…”
“Dragon's Dogma's combat is, simply put, a joy to behold.”
“The ambition and scale of these fights, not to mention the wealth of options and equal dangers, is astounding, and worthy of the highest praise.”
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@GAMER Magazine Score: 4/5 Quotes:
“…I never had as much fun following the main questline.”
“…beautiful, with bucolic landscapes, detailed interiors, a meaningful day/night cycle, and fantastic real-time lighting effects that really enhance the feeling of adventure.”
“The best battles feel truly epic.”
“The character creation is excellent, allowing for lots of cool-looking possibilities.”
If you're a PS3 owner whostill doesn't own any version of Street Fighter IV, let this be your day to jump aboard. The definitive version, Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition,is now available complete as a digital download on PSN for $29.99.
We've got a bevy of digital downloads available for those of you now deeply immersed in the lush and mysterious world of Gransys.
First, there's a set of ten PSN avatars - one for each Vocation, plus a gnarly flaming dragon insignia for those with an aversion to subtlety. As per usual, these avatars are $0.49 each, or you can get the whole set for $0.99 if you're a PS+ subscriber. Hit the jump to see the lot of them.
Additionally, the first DLC for the game has dropped on both PSN and Xbox Live, and is as follows:
"A Coiffure You Can't Refuse" - $1.99/160 MP - Keep up with the latest fashions with these eight new hairstyles, plus a bonus armor set. Just don't sell or discard that armor or you won't get it back!!
"From a Different Sky - Part 1" - $0.99/80 MP - The first ten in a series of new quests. Check the notice board in the Pawn Guild to begin.
::Update:: FYI, we're taking pre-orders for this sweet collection right now on the Capcom Store!
Back in January we teased the fact we had some big plans in store for Street Fighter's impending 25th anniversary. Today we can finally reveal the the two biggest pieces of that celebration: a massive collector's set packed with a heaping helping of the Street Fighter legacy; and further details on the worldwide tournament series that we're backing with half a million bucks of prizing and amenities.
COLLECTOR'S SET
This Zangief-sized offering contains games, music, art, video... just about every medium you can think of, all dedicated to this classic series and its devoted fans. For $149.99 (on either Xbox 360 or PS3), you get:
Games
-Street Fighter X Tekken (including all character and Swap Costume DLC)
-Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition (with all costume DLC)
-Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix
-Street Fighter III: Third Strike Online Edition
Video
-New documentary Blu-ray that highlights the lifelong love affair fans have had with Street Fighter, and how their dedication has affected the game.
-Street Fighter IV, Super SFIV anime movies
-All episodes of the Street Fighter animated series (DELICIOUS!)
-Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie
Light-up Ryu statue
-Brand new statue with light up base. Eight inches tall and frozen in mid Shoryuken.
11 disc soundtrack
-Game music from the past 25 years, including remixes and fan-created music.
64 page hardcover art book
-Containing pieces from fans all over the world.
Ryu's belt
-Full size martial arts black belt for the aspiring World Warrior. Includes Ryu's "Furinkazan" in kanji.
Certificate of Authenticity
-Like any good collector's set, this comes with a lovely piece of paper telling you how limited and special it is. They're all individually numbered, so get one before they disappear! Arrives on September 18.
TOURNAMENT SERIES
Our Capcom-sanctioned series of tournaments begins in July and runs until December. Games included are Street Fighter X Tekken, Super SFIV AE, SF III Online Edition and HD Remix. (Dates and locations subject to change):
July 28-29 in Austin, TX
August 11-12 in the NY area (location pending)
August 26 in Taipei, Taiwan (location pending)
Mid-September in the Tokyo Region, Japan (date and location pending)
September 27-30 in London, England (in conjunction with Eurogamer Expo)
October 13-14 in Sao Paulo, Brazil (in conjunction with Brazil Game Show)
October 27-28 in Los Angeles, CA
October 31 – November 4 in Paris, France (in conjunction with Paris Games Week)
December 8 Finals in San Francisco, CA (including players who qualify in the prelim tourneys)
To further sweeten the pot, the first place SFxT player gets a custom Scion FR-S Sports Coupe! It includes a custom video entertainment system from SCEA, modified exterior from Five Axis and other components from other aftermarket companies.
Finally, there will soon be a new site where you can share your own SF fandom. Head to streetfighter.com/sf25 for more - it's not fully operational just yet, but will be soon. More on that to come!
::Update:: Stream over! Check out the recorded version here.
With Dragon's Dogma out, a celebratory livestream is in order! We'll be showing more gameplay at 3pm PST (very soon!) and giving out some copies of the game, along with some special goodies we received from Viz, publishers of Berserk. If you haven't heard, this game contains some equipment inspired by the gritty Berserk anime, and today we'll be looking at how that is obtained.
Join us over at Twitch TVfor a chance to win something cool and chat it up with other Dogma fans.
Well, Capcom Unity, Dragon's Dogma is out! Go get it!
If you do go get it, let me just take this moment to suggest you explore some of the game's unique community features. As you may have heard by now, the game lets you take screenshots practically any time you want. These can then be shared via the Pawn Community website(which can be done in-game on the PS3 version thanks to the console browser), and also uploaded to your own personal Twitter or Facebook account.
Uploading to the Pawn Community website will let you submit your photos and Pawn information to the Gran Soren Times, a daily-updated periodical featuring the best photos and Pawns in a number of categories, including "Amusing Shots," "Noteable Battles," and "Most Stylish." Site visitors can also vote photos up with a "Good!" button and see the highest-ranked pawns in each daily issue.
The first issue goes up on May 26, and can be accessed via the Pawn Community menu option on the PS3 version, or via the website on your PC or mobile device. Check it out and maximize your Dogma experience.
As you might suspect, Dragon's Dogma (out today!) features a dragon or two. But one stands above the rest as not just a menacing foe, but also as a cool gameplay hook that spices up your travels. That'd be the Ur Dragon, detailed in this earlier Unity post.
GamesRadar (in celebration of Dogma, I like to think) posted a "Top 7... Most awesome dragons" list this week and rightfully included ol' Urry in the lineup.
The tl;dr version of the Ur Dragon is that he swoops into your game, bashes you around for a bit and then leaves to invade someone else's campaign. However, any damage you dealt stays with the dragon into the next player's game, until he's eventually felled by some lucky warrior. And then boom, phat loot.
Today we enjoy a wealth of video game merchandise. From soundtracks to toys to movies and beyond, there's more game-related stuff out there than anyone could ever consume. But back in the NES days, game goods were a rare treat - so rare that I (and everyone I knew) devoured the "Worlds of Power" series of books that took NES titles and re-imagined them as novelizations.
Naturally, some of them are super weird. Mega Man 2 certainly has its fair share of "...Huh?" moments, but now, instead of merely reading the book like some 15th century scholar, you can watch it unfold in a series of YouTube clips.
Here's part one, with the additional 11 episodes available on YouTube. Hats off to Protoman85 for piecing these together over the course of a year (May 2010 to April 2011), especially for making all the custom images and reading the whole thing out loud!
Fun fact about the Mega Man 2 book - the cover uses the classic/awful/amazing Mega Man 2 NES box as its own, but removes the gun in Megs' hand. Similar edits grace the cover of the Ninja Gaiden and Metal Gear books (which I still somehow own), and even the limited violence that took place in those games is subdued in the text.
1up posted a thorough look at these books a while ago - if you missed the article, take a look for a truly unique and bizarre moment of game history. I mean, the Mega Man 2 book claims he's a human who uses a special gun, not a robot who steals the powers of other robots, and the Castlevania II book is about a kid obsessed with chocolate. Super. Weird.
Well, Dragon's Dogma releases officially in just a few more hours. Are you ready for the reign of the Dragon?!
I, for one, am.
To celebrate the game's auspicious release, Tristan (of previous Dragon's Dogma streams, not to mention the latest podcast) and I will be streaming more gameplay, featuring the Mystic Knight, the elusive Berserk armor, the dreadful Ur-Dragon, and the Maker only knows what else.
Tune in at 3pm PSTtomorrow (Tuesday) via our Twitch TV channel. As usual, we'll also be giving away some great stuff, including copies of the game and some special gifts from our friends over at Viz (publisher of Berserk).
Speaking of Berserk, if you're a fan, you should check out the official Facebook page for the new animated feature film!
Okay Unity, let's talk DmC. We've got two big announcements regarding Ninja Theory's unique take on the Devil May Cry brand.
First, we've got an update on the release timing. The game is now set to release on Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 on January 15th, 2013 in both North America and Europe. While I wish it was coming out tomorrow, this does contribute further evidence to the theory that January is a great month for Capcom. In the past, January has seen the release of such titles as Resident Evil 4, Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition, Lost Planet: Extreme Condition, and Resident Evil Revelations (well, in Europe, anyway ^^;;)
Second is that a PC version of the game is also coming later in 2013, and that its development is already well underway.
Additionally, we've got some new info and assets on the game's supporting character, Kat. I've seen a lot of speculation and inquiry about this character, who has appeared in a number of previous video assets, so hit the jump for some text and images on this new addition to the Devil May Cry lore compendium (lorependium).
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Kat
Kat is a former runaway that joined The Order very early in her life. She is a medium and a gifted psychic who can see into Limbo, the demon realm, but not directly interact with it in the way that Dante does. She is the right hand girl of the Leader of The Order and devotes her very life to him, often putting herself in grave danger to gather intelligence from Limbo.
There is a sweet innocence about Kat’s world view and logic, but when it comes to her specialist subject, the demon realm, she is an undoubted expert. Kat is The Order’s ‘eyes and ears’ and is tasked with guiding Dante on his mission through Limbo.
