Drakengard

Drakengard contains some well-executed elements but may not yet triumph over the Three Kingdoms.

Drakengard (or Drag-On Dragoon as it's known in Japan) is Square Enix's latest action/fantasy adventure, a Dynasty Warriors?style hack-n-slash that ups the ante with aerial dragon combat. As is typical with Square Enix titles, a great deal of care went into crafting characters and an epic story line. Unfortunately, the gameplay never truly takes flight.

In the story, you play Caim, an angry warrior burning with bloodlust and the desire for revenge against the Evil Empire that killed his parents. Through a pact with a red dragon, Caim acquires the power he needs to challenge the Empire's vastly superior numbers. In true RPG style, Caim receives experience points for each enemy slain and levels up after each stage. His weapons also level up according to the number of kills they've earned, granting longer combo chains. Each weapon has a unique magic attack that becomes more powerful as levels are acquired.

Levels unfold either on the ground, in the air, or in a combination of the two. The combination levels allow Caim to jump or be shot off the dragon's back, and remount in areas where there are no obstacles. While it adds an interesting new dimension to combat, it ends up feeling like too much frosting on not enough cake. Rather than do one thing well, Drakengard fuses several mediocre elements together and ends up with a system that doesn't feel fully realized.

Drakengard is fraught with contradictions. Cinematics and character animation are flawless, but environments look terrible. Enemies appear out of thin air without even a bank of volumetric fog to hide their spontaneous generation. The controls are likewise blessed/cursed. Laborious combos rely on the mash one button repeatedly method with an occasional second button thrown in for flair. The camera can't be rotated 360 degrees, making it functionally useless. But on the plus side, the L2 button, which is used for blocking and facing the enemy, is highly effective and fast becomes your best friend. Another nice touch is the ease with which you can change weapons during combat. At the beginning of a stage, you equip up to eight weapons. You then have instant access to any of these weapons by pushing R2 during battle and scrolling through your eight choices. As with most aspects of Drakengard, some elements are well executed, while others fall flat.

The dragon is another example of the game's dichotomy. It looks terrifying and has potent attacks with excellent fire effects. It even has a cool, creepy voice. Steering the dragon, however, is a nightmare, and the aerial draw-in becomes even worse than it is on the ground. Air-to-ground combat is still decent, but air-to-air fighting is torturous.

The music, sound effects, and voice acting make up for some of the problems, but they ultimately can't salvage Drakengard's problems with draw-in and slow controls. While it does have aspects that are better than Dynasty Warriors (music, story, some controls), it also leaves a lot to be desired. Square Enix bit off more than it could chew this time; perhaps the next iteration of Drakengard will bring it all together.

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