Title: Drakengard 3
Format: PS3
Release Date: May 20, 2014
Publisher: Square Enix
Developer: Access Games
Price: $49.99
ESRB Rating: M
Drakengard is the long-awaited sequel in the Drakengard series, a franchise that has amassed a cult following over the past decade. Unfortunately, the third game in the series suffers from a number of technical issues that take away from your experience.
Story and Presentation:The Drakengard games have always been known for great narratives and strong characters, and Drakengard 3 comes through yet again with a strong story. The game is set 100 years before the first game, and the world is at peace thanks to the intoners. Five sisters who settled wars and brought peace thanks to their unique power. You play as Zero, the lone sister who wants to control the world by executing each sister, becoming the lone intoner. Zero is accompanied by her well-spoken Dragon, Michael, who will aid you during aerial and naval battles. Along the way, other characters will accompany you along your bloody journey of vengeance. The narrative is very interesting and unique, it's one of the cooler experiences I've played through. Zero's dialog between her and various other characters you come across is all well written with the right amount of humor thrown in to help lighten the overall dark tone of the game. The visual style is something to marvel at as well, Zero wears an all white outfit that by the end of every level, gets completely covered with blood stains. It's a small visual detail that I love about the game. There's some interesting character designs as well, but the game's numerous environments are more bland than anything. The soundtrack is great, but this is where the presentation begins to take many steps back. The overall visual fidelity is a little shaky, and that's in large part to the game's framerate. The framerate is an absolute mess, with most of the game being played at a framerate lower than 30. During some of the boss battles and when you riding your dragon during aerial combat, the framerate can get down to single digits. It's a real shame, because if the game was stable during these moments, it could have made for some epic set pieces.
Core Gameplay:The game plays similarly to a Dynasty Warriors game, you take on dozens of enemies, mowing each one of them down with ease. Sadly, the game isn't as fast paced and smooth as Dynasty Warriors. Even with that said, the game is still fun to play. You have your standard attacks, or your more powerful attacks that take up your stamina. You can lock on to enemies, but I found the lock on to be too constricting, so I never really used it unless I was fighting a boss. The ground combat is solid, and is where the most fun is experienced. As you rack up the combos, Zero can enter her Intoner mode, which grants her invulnerability and boosts her attack for a short period of time. When you take flight on your dragon, the controls begin to suffer a bit. You control your dragon with the left analog, while controlling the camera with the right analog. Flapping your wings and firing fireballs are controlled with the face buttons. The combat early in the game can get a bit repetitive as you're using the same weapons for each mission, but as you progress you can purchase new weapons. Each weapon has it's own set of attacks that become more powerful as Zero levels up. You can easily cycle through your weapons with a push of a button, which gives you a sense of strategy depending on your encounter. You gain experience with each kill, as well as earn gold with each completed level. The RPG elements are light, but they are definitely welcome to help break up action.
Final Thoughts:Drakengard 3 is good game that's plagued with too many technical issues that will ultimately hurt your experience. The visual style and narrative are both strong, but the rocky framerate will turn a lot of people off.+Grotesque Visuals
+Interesting and Engaging Story
-Awful Framerate
-Clunky Aerial Combat
S&S Rating: 6.5/10 @whatsPlay
