Drag-on Dragoon 2, or Drakenguard 2 in other territories
Developer: Cavia
Genre: Roleplay-Action
Platform: PS2
Overseas release(US): Winter
Impressions based on ~12 hours play
Introduction
Cavia is started by several former Namco employees, and their products are currently published by Square-Enix. Their first product, Drag-on Dragoon met with reasonable success, considering the small size of the team and that it is not related to any established series or license. DoD2 narrates the events 18 years after DoD1.
Story
The creators admitted that DoD1 was inspired by Evangelion(which was in turn inspired by 'Space Runaway Ideon'). Hence it was suitably dark and depressing. DoD2 does not have this inspiration however, and has a more 'normal' story. To the game's credit this is still less cliche than most other game plots. There are no multiple endings this time, but additional events are available on subsequent playthroughs.
Presentation
Average visuals. Some music scores are nice, but it is still too early to judge the audio efforts.
Basic gameplay
3 modes of gameplay. On dragon-back, this is a flying 3D shooter. On dragon-back-low-flying, toast enemies on the field with dragon breathe. But projectile-launcing archers and mages are dangerous if encountered, some enemies are resistent to dragon breathe, and the dragon can't fit into dungeons and some other locations. This brings us to the third on-foot mode, where characters pummel down hordes of enemies dynasty-warriors-style.
Comrades and Weapons
Including the protagonist, only 4 characters are playable. Only one is present on the field at any time. The biggest improvement over DoD1 is that they can be switched on the field an unlimited number of times. Each character is skilled with a different weapon type and has different strengths and weaknesses. It is quite fun to switch between different characters to attack different scenarios. There is also a large variety of weapons to find or purchase. So far weapons encountered are still capped at level 4.
Various Combat Upgrades
- Dragon control improved. A 'quick reverse' action allows the beast to perform a 180 degree turn immediately.
- Dragon can now lock on multiple targets in low-flying mode.
- Dragon can hover in low-flying mode.
- Dragon can execute a 'dragon overdrive' special attack.
- Characters move faster on foot.
- Some improvement to ground camera.
- Enemies are more aggressive now, taking the initiative to rush up to characters. Sniping Archers and mages practically force characters to engage enemies quickly.
- New town levels.
Weapon Combat
Combo system changed. Different weapons have different combo techniques which are activated by pressing the correct sequence of triangle and square buttons. Examples of effects include knocking every enemy down or firing a blast in front. Each weapon has a magic attack which drains the magic gauge.
Difficulty
2 modes of difficulty at the beginning - easy and normal. The balance of difficulty is well done, as even beginners and slow action-gamers can have a good time and not feel frustrated. Those looking for more challenge can choose a higher difficulty level or elect to be more ambitious in executing combos.
Good pacing
The creators seem to have struck a very good balance with the pacing of the game. The plot and missions switch between air and ground missions with just the right frequency that both game modes feel fresh. New enemy types, treasues and weapons are introduced at a good pace to keep things interesting. Free missions and some plot missions revisit the same dungeons, but there is always a new twist to keep things interesting.
Recommendation so far
Good choice for casual gamers or gamers slow at difficult action games. Those looking for a challenge can turn up the difficulty. Players who demand extreme precision in action gaming may be disappointed though.
Developer: Cavia
Genre: Roleplay-Action
Platform: PS2
Overseas release(US): Winter
Impressions based on ~12 hours play
Introduction
Cavia is started by several former Namco employees, and their products are currently published by Square-Enix. Their first product, Drag-on Dragoon met with reasonable success, considering the small size of the team and that it is not related to any established series or license. DoD2 narrates the events 18 years after DoD1.
Story
The creators admitted that DoD1 was inspired by Evangelion(which was in turn inspired by 'Space Runaway Ideon'). Hence it was suitably dark and depressing. DoD2 does not have this inspiration however, and has a more 'normal' story. To the game's credit this is still less cliche than most other game plots. There are no multiple endings this time, but additional events are available on subsequent playthroughs.
Presentation
Average visuals. Some music scores are nice, but it is still too early to judge the audio efforts.
Basic gameplay
3 modes of gameplay. On dragon-back, this is a flying 3D shooter. On dragon-back-low-flying, toast enemies on the field with dragon breathe. But projectile-launcing archers and mages are dangerous if encountered, some enemies are resistent to dragon breathe, and the dragon can't fit into dungeons and some other locations. This brings us to the third on-foot mode, where characters pummel down hordes of enemies dynasty-warriors-style.
Comrades and Weapons
Including the protagonist, only 4 characters are playable. Only one is present on the field at any time. The biggest improvement over DoD1 is that they can be switched on the field an unlimited number of times. Each character is skilled with a different weapon type and has different strengths and weaknesses. It is quite fun to switch between different characters to attack different scenarios. There is also a large variety of weapons to find or purchase. So far weapons encountered are still capped at level 4.
Various Combat Upgrades
- Dragon control improved. A 'quick reverse' action allows the beast to perform a 180 degree turn immediately.
- Dragon can now lock on multiple targets in low-flying mode.
- Dragon can hover in low-flying mode.
- Dragon can execute a 'dragon overdrive' special attack.
- Characters move faster on foot.
- Some improvement to ground camera.
- Enemies are more aggressive now, taking the initiative to rush up to characters. Sniping Archers and mages practically force characters to engage enemies quickly.
- New town levels.
Weapon Combat
Combo system changed. Different weapons have different combo techniques which are activated by pressing the correct sequence of triangle and square buttons. Examples of effects include knocking every enemy down or firing a blast in front. Each weapon has a magic attack which drains the magic gauge.
Difficulty
2 modes of difficulty at the beginning - easy and normal. The balance of difficulty is well done, as even beginners and slow action-gamers can have a good time and not feel frustrated. Those looking for more challenge can choose a higher difficulty level or elect to be more ambitious in executing combos.
Good pacing
The creators seem to have struck a very good balance with the pacing of the game. The plot and missions switch between air and ground missions with just the right frequency that both game modes feel fresh. New enemy types, treasues and weapons are introduced at a good pace to keep things interesting. Free missions and some plot missions revisit the same dungeons, but there is always a new twist to keep things interesting.
Recommendation so far
Good choice for casual gamers or gamers slow at difficult action games. Those looking for a challenge can turn up the difficulty. Players who demand extreme precision in action gaming may be disappointed though.
