Breathtaking Sword And Sorcery

Dragon’s Crown is a great action role-playing game | Photo courtesy Atlus

Dragon’s Crown is a great action role-playing game | Photo courtesy Atlus

Dragon’s Crown is one of the games that stood out for me at the recent Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), or maybe it’s just because representatives were handing out crowns with the game’s logo (that my daughter now wears around the house to pretend she’s a princess). On the surface, the game appears to be a typical beat ’em up-type of game, but once you to delve into the character customization, equipment and side quests, you see what a great action role-playing game it is.

It kicks off with the story of the Dragon’s Crown, the lost artifact rumored to give the possessor power over ancient dragons. When the king of the Hydeland Kingdom fails to return from his search for the crown, you’re sought out to find him. Your mission is to dive into the underworld and uncover treasure as you unlock the secret behind the ancient dragon threatening the world.

Dragon Crown’s simple, easy-to-learn controls allow anyone to dive into the fray and enjoy the breathtaking sword-and-sorcery action. This title offers long-lasting gameplay and features a vast array of character customization with six vastly different classes to play as. It also features an immersive skills system to customize individual play styles, a rich quest system that unlocks pieces of in-game art, and an expansive loot system that increases rewards with difficulty. The game is cross-save compatible and can be played with any combination of local/ad hoc, online and AI players. The game is no quick adventure, with more than 100 hours of gameplay to fully clear it.

Additional downloadable content (DLC) will be free for the first month, and the DLC comes in the form of a voice pack that replaces the narrator’s voice with any of the six playable character classes. This voice pack is a $1.99 value and will revert back to this price in early September. Dragon’s Crown is rated T for Teen and retails for $49.99 for the PlayStation 3 and $39.99 for the PS Vita. Visit atlus.com/dragonscrown for more information or to see artwork and videos.