So I picked up my copy of Dragons Crown tonight along with Tales of Xillia and Dragons Crown won the coin flip for who get to ride the PS3 first. I wanted a little bit of a challenge so I chose the Amazon Worrioress who ironically no one seemed to be offended by. She is the opposite of the Sorceress instead of massive boobs she has an ass that would melt Sir Mixalots heart. Seriously its crazy big and outragious. But as I mentioned in Blakes blog just about all of these characters have rediculous and unrealist proportions. The Warrior who is the easy high defense character class had a ginormous body and a tiny little head. The dwarf is basically just arms and a chest. Anyway, I just had to mention this even though this topic has been worn out 10 kinds of ragged.

This game is a homage to side scrolling beat'um ups and action rpgs of old. Yet it does add some cool and unique features and enought depth and character classes to give it some solid replay value. First is loot. You will find loot by defeating enemies, opening chest and checking the enviroment around you for stuff hidden in the scenery ot even hidden areas. Loot comes in a series of ranks apparently based on rarety and quality. You can go through what you find and appraise it which will give you deatails on what it can do and how much it's worth. You can keep what you like and sell what you don't.

Another nice feature is that even if your playing solo you can still add some AI controlled allies to help you. Occasionally when exploring a dungeon you may come across the bones of a dead adventurer. You can take the bones to the temple where they will be resurected giving you a new ally. My first allie was an Elvin archer. I have found a second set of bones but have had a chance to see who they will become.

 As would be expected from an rpg you level up and gain skill points. You have two large trees to spend these points on. One is for skills and bonuses unique your character class, while the other is a set of general skills and bonuses that will be the same no matter who you use.

 This game is simply stunning to see in motion, the music is epic and atmosperic. And the gameplay is tight. The controls are simple yet give you a nice mix of moves and combos. Yet it requires timing and aim to get the most out if. You'll manage if your a button masher, but you will find youself taking unneccassary damage and running through your potions playing that way.

I have just scratched the surface of this lovely beast of a game, but I will be back with more spoiler free details as I find them.