Dragon’s Dogma Gameplay Footage, Developer Blogs, Preview and Interview

Since last time we checked there has been quite a bit of gameplay footage released for their upcoming console-exclusive open-world action-RPG Dragon’s Dogma, including a second stream now available recorded on Youtube and a playthrough of the first 30 minutes of the game coming from GameSpot.

In addition to that a developer blog dedicated to the warrior and sorcerer classes and one dedicated to the game’s characters have been released, and I’m going to quote an excerpt from the latter:

Edmund – Originally just another soldier, one day Edmun awoke as an Arisen. Perhaps it was coincidence, perhaps fate, but just days later, a dragon attacked Gransys. Fulfilling his role as an Arisen, Edmun enlisted a number of pawns and set out to face the dragon. The epic battle that followed would be celebrated in song for generations to come, for unlike so many before him, Edmun triumphed over the wyrm. Slaying an evil dragon in all of recorded history, there was only one other who had achieved this miraculous feat: the great unifier, Godking Leonart. Yet now, Edmun too had defeated a dragon. With everyone singing his praises, plus the support of the noble Gildas who had long been his ally, Edmun was propelled into the heart of government on an overwhelming wave of support.

A number of years passed. When the former duke fell ill and passed away childless, Edmun was selected as his successor. None contested his appointment to the position of duke for he was one of only two men to ever successfully complete a Wyrm Hunt. To refute him was to refute Leonart, the very father of their nation.

Having been appointed duke, Edmun took the name “Wyrmking” for himself. This title, a reminder of his victory over the dragon, was happily accepted by the people. Under the rule of Wyrmking Edmun, Gransys has seen a long period of peace and Edmun, with seemingly inexhaustible youth, remains hale and healthy to this day.

Official Xbox Magazine offers a short preview where they praise the combat but also note that the RPG customization doesn’t seem to be particularly deep:

A typical encounter might go something like this: A flock of harpies swoop in to harry your party. Your NPC mage ally infuses your arrows with fire as you start burning the winged menaces out of the sky. Then your warrior companion called (pawns) in Dogma either stabs them through the heart or grabs hold of them, allowing you to administer the coup de grace.

Boss battles, meanwhile, have their own rhythm. When fighting the hydra a truly enormous beast with glistening scales, who could knock down buildings with a flick of its tail we watched helplessly as it devoured our pawns and actually started digesting them. At a loss, we grabbed onto its tail and started stabbing wildly. Finally, a fire barrel was tossed into its mouth, and we blew off its head with a well-timed arrow. A satisfying conclusion to a spectacular battle, even if our pal was ultimately eaten alive.

And finally, GameReactor is offering a video interview.