Dragon’s Dogma preview [Xbox 360/PS3]Preview: DRAGON’S DOGMA is Capcom’s first attempt at an open-world RPG. But will this epic fantasy do enough to stand out in a roleplaying-saturated Spring? Current signs lead to cautious optimism… It’s an unusual game for Capcom. An open-world RPG, complete with rolling hills and sturdy castles, Dragon’s Dogma is the company’s first attempt at an epic, Western-styled adventure whose world you can explore at your leisure. It’s a bit like a scaled-down Oblivion with the combat of Monster Hunter. In a trope-laden fantasy world, you’ll take down giant beasts in multi-participant battles that see you clambering up your enemy’s skin to find a better position for attack. These beasties don’t lurk around every corner and, a lot of the time, you’ll be able to choose whether to fight or leave them be. But if you do choose to fight those battles are extraordinary, impressive encounters that see your giant foes respond convincingly to your blows. There’s a surprising amount of strategy to be found, too, which separates Dragon’s Dogma from its most immediate competition. You’ll work together with AI-controlled pals, employing brute force and magic, some of you sprinting to higher ground for a better vantage point or access to a stationed weapon while other fighters stay at close-range. These epic fights impress the most, but even on a smaller-scale things are interesting. Standard enemies can be fought in a standard fashion, but they can also be lured into your traps by striking your shield, or thrown off cliffs if you manage to grab them. It’s this combat system that will have to work very hard to ensure Dragon’s Dogma feels fresh, in what is an increasingly crowded marketplace of open-world fantasy roleplaying. It’s hard to escape the familiarity. After a linear opening section, which sees you learn the intricacies of combat, the systems of the world and the story that’s placed you there, you find yourself overlooking a huge walled city, the centrepiece of Dragon’s Dogma’s universe. Mountains spot the distance, a beach sits far away to your right. But for all the space (of which there’s a lot, although nothing like Skyrim’s expanse of land), there’s little in the way of a real identity. Where the story will take us remains to be seen, but what we’ve seen of the world itself often appears disappointingly plain, struggling to make itself stand out. Online offline What could help Dragon’s Dogma stand out is its smart online functionality that sees other players dropped into your singleplayer game, in a system that takes cues from the likes of Dark Souls. In Dragon’s Dogma, you work together with ‘pawns’ who assist you in combat. To begin with you’ll simply be given one, but after a while you can create your own, customising their character in exactly the same intricately detailed manner in which you made yourself. And once you’ve created these pawns, they don’t just get to assist you. You can also send them off into what is essentially a big pawn auction, where other players can spend money to hire the services of a pawn you’ve made. While they’re off helping another player, they’re earning you money and gaining experience, which will benefit you in your own quest. It’s a clever idea that should force us to think carefully as we create our characters, as better builds will command greater appeal in the pawn marketplace. The higher the level disparity between you and a pawn, the more it costs to hire them, but the more they’ll be able to help you out. Dragon’s Dogma does seem like a hodgepodge of ideas, though – a big melting pot of games Capcom have always admired, but never managed to actually make. While it borrows from some revered sources, it’s often clear that you’re playing a game whose influences are worn proudly on its sleeve. When the story synopsis also fails to ignite some excitement (a dragon has stolen your heart, oh no), there’s a worry that the generic police will be knocking on Dragon’s Dogma’s door come its May release. It’s also released in extremely close proximity to two other eagerly awaited RPGs: the Xbox 360 version of The Witcher 2, and Risen 2, the follow-up to a flawed but fiercely defended open-world game. Capcom have made some worthwhile additions to an oversaturated formula. Whether that’ll be enough is another matter. Dragon’s Dogma, from Capcom, will release on May 25th in the UK for Xbox 360 and PS3.