Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen was in the first place dropped in 2012. My first time playing this game appeared somehow confusing but ended up giving me an impressive satisfaction. Dragon’s Dogma is one of the cautious console games that came with many surprise successes. With an excellent combat system, Dragon’s Dogma offers a great, exciting moments but unable to give full potential satisfaction due to technical shortcomings. I think the game is this time round attractive with a reduced price when compared to others.
This version (Dark Arisen) of the game is made up of the full version of Dragon’s Dogma and some added features; this includes the mysterious black island that comes out of the sea. The starting area placement can be deceptive; you would need a high-level character from the Dragon’s Dogma version otherwise you would be badly killed several times. Even a strong character can die easily in Bitterblack Isle, occasionally the hurdle feels unjust rather than challenging. Nevertheless, difficult games are my preferences, although I once in a while feel that luck did the magic.
The Bitterblack Isle’s new dungeon makes me feel endangered and anxious. I carefully toured Rotunda of Dread and the Shrine of Futile Truths, but I am slayed in an embarrassing way. The environments are so unclear and hideous that feel as though I can almost physically smell the dead bodies and decay. In any monstrous world, to still exist means you would have to run for your life, but in this game, Bitterblack Isle takes away that flee way. The nature of the dungeon makes me feel nervous and the very best I could do is to keep saving. Taking on death in this game should be the last decision to be taken.
The game still has a good combat that is so enjoyable even if you are killed fairly. It has three classes: standard mage, ranger and warrior. Basically, you can start with any of the classes but can willingly have a combination of either of the three when you feel tired playing in any of them. Winning in this game is more satisfying due to its difficulty nature.
If you really want to have a feel of an adventurous moment, Dragon’s Dogma is an option. Since you have no one to save you once the quest begins, you would need prior knowledge about the equipment to apply before night begins to appear. You will never know what will befall you till darkness begins to unfold; then you start wandering if you are going face most dangerous creatures as well as powerful bandits.
The basic problem of Dragon’s Dogma is the stale nature of the story and boring writing surrounding its excellent action RPG gameplay.
The inhabitants and quests of the land of Gransys are amazingly boring but the land itself looks wonderful. The ending is totally insane, but in an excellent way.
The Pawns are more interesting and appealing than the other characters in the game. This made me feel emotionally attached to them. I never wanted something bad to happen to them. Pawns are a good replacement for humans who join and fight for you. Though they are AI with artificial and repetitive sounds, they make fighting great and help you explore dangerous areas together.
Basically, Dragon’s Dogma: Dark Arisen is difficult as compared to the original version. The introduction of a small extra Ferrystones makes the game a bit convenient. The Ferrystones are to help you fast-travel back to capital or to Portcrystal. At first, I worried that fast travel would ruin the explorable nature of the game, but because Ferrystones was not enough, I still spent most of my time walking. I only fast travelled when I saw myself in emergency situations.
I am a bit disappointment with the game because there are new content added but the game’s technical problems were left the same. With regards to character models and animation, the PS3 version has the same issues though it performs better in terms of framerate.
Dragon Dogma: Dark Arisen is made for fans who already love the original Dragon Dogma game, but expansions were made to the original game by designing a tight dungeon crawl rather than the open world of Gransys.
Verdict
Much cannot be said about Dragon’s Dogma as a universally accepted game. It has strong combat and explorable feature but lots of the missions you are asked to complete in Dragon’s Dogma are not particularly interesting. The writing is extremely serious and dull, and the game’s technical problems are too clear to ignore. The game has countless shortfalls, but it does the most important things extremely well. I am willing to still go ahead and overlook the problems associated with the game because of how enjoyable it is. I would recommend Dragon’s Dogma to all and sundry because of its price worth.
