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i'm really glad i finally got around to it
what makes it amazing is that it brings the bombast, physicality, and technicality of Devil May Cry/Bayonetta/Ninja Gaiden combat to a massive open world with myriad enemy types to do battle with. the move sets for characters are full of attack dodges, dash attacks, launchers, jugglers, ripostes, etc. i always knew that elder scrolls combat was bad but dragon's dogma puts it in a whole new light. it is simply fun to get into combat situations in this game
exploration is vital, well-rewarded, and extremely dangerous. on more than one occasion i've been just bit too far from the safe haven of a city or a fortress and had my party absolutely destroyed by: phantasmal wisps that i couldn't even hit because i didn't have enchanted weapons; a pack of wolves that was much larger than any packs i had encountered before (note: i had previously been leveling up by fighting and making short work of these same wolves. these 'night version' wolves completely tore through my entire party. it was awesome); a band of summoners that were calling forth skeletons and zombies faster than i could kill them; etc., etc. it's a nice change of pace to be severely punished for being stupid/arrogant. even venturing too far from your base can result in fighting monsters you cannot in any way handle. still, that urge is there. more often than not, i push just a little further than my party's abilities dictate. i usually end up running away (the game constantly reminds you that it's ok to run away) but sometimes i'm able to finesse my way through a fight that i shouldn't be able to win and that feels really good
this is to say nothing of the graphics (gorgeous with many flaws), the item/weapon/crafting/character development systems (all very robust and flexible), and the huge monster encounters (nothing to say about these that hasn't already been said; they are very fun and challenging). this could be my game of the year. i plan on playing dishonored and borderlands 2 before the year is over but i don't see them usurping this
it's going for about $45-$50 these days. i expect another price drop before the end of the year, but even $45 is kind of a steal. there is supposedly new dlc coming next year that adds a hard mode, a speed run mode with leaderboards, and some new quest/item/character skill content, and that should give it a longer tail. this game seems designed to be played to completion multiple times (new game+) while the player to learns and masters the systems
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