Parent's Guide: Dragon's Crown - Age rating, mature content and difficulty

Dragon's Crown is a hack-and-slash role-playing game where a group of adventurers set off in search of the king of Hydeland, who never returned from his search for the mythical Dragon's Crown, a legendary artefact that grants the wearer the power to control dragons. The story isn't what's important here though, as it's really just a convenient excuse for players to team up and bash, smash and cast their way through the game's dungeons, forests and caves, accumulating as much treasure, gold and trinkets as their pockets can hold.

Along the same lines as games like Diablo, your time here will mostly be spent venturing into the game's many dungeons and fighting the bad guys - orcs, giant insects and demon-like creatures - with your chosen character. There's six different classes to choose from, each with their own unique play style, abilities and attacks, meaning that everyone should be able to find themselves a character to suit their needs. Some may prefer the close-quarters melee combat of the resilient sword-wielding Knight, the bearded Dwarf who fights with a weapon in each hand, or the deadly Amazon who dispatches her enemies with a combination of her heavy bludgeoning axe and her vicious kicks. Those who like to pick their enemies off from a distance may find themselves more at home with the arrow-shooting Elf, the damage-dealing spell-slinging Wizard or the more support-focused Sorceress, who can summon food to heal her allies, put up an icy shield or raise an army of skeletons to fight in her place. You also have the option of upgrading and expanding your chosen character's moves and abilities as you get more powerful, perhaps learning a spell to turn your enemies into frogs as the Sorceress, or increasing the health of your already rather sturdy Knight to make him into an unkillable killing machine.

Combat is a fairly simple matter of pressing a directional button and one of two attack buttons to get different moves - but where newer players may trip up is on each characters little idiosyncrasies. For example, the Elf attacks primarily with her bow and arrows, but only has a finite supply of the latter before she needs to dive head first into the action and pick up all her spent ones. The Sorceress meanwhile has to hold a button to recharge her magic supply once depleted, and the Dwarf has a tendency to drop his hammers after a particularly powerful strike, needing to pick them up again before he can bash people some more. It's more than just a mindless button masher, with a fair amount of strategy and thinking required - something that newer players may find tricky to do when the screen gets crowded in the heat of the moment, making losing track of their character a real possibility. Playing in multiplayer with up to three other people is perhaps the best strategy for tackling Dragon's Crown - after all, having a mix of characters in your party ensures you've got most eventualities covered. While the co-op may be slightly more awkward than it should be, as each character has to individually head into the Guild to accept quests, claim rewards and the like, it's easy enough to get to grips with.

With an emphasis on beating up enemies and taking their loot, there's a fair amount of violence in Dragon's Crown - enemies give off a cloud of red mist when attacked, before fading away when defeated. During your adventure you'll also come across piles of bones belonging to various dead adventurers, who can then be brought back to life in the church or reanimated as skeletal warriors by the Sorceress. Some still artwork depicts dismembered heads dripping with blood, or a ghostly knight impaled on a sword too, so while it's not quite as graphic as some games, it's still probably one for the older, less squeamish child.

Parents may also want to be aware of the sexually suggestive character designs - both men and women are rather amply proportioned, with the Sorceress having such a ludicrously large and bouncing chest, we're surprised she can stand up straight. The Amazon is a similar biological freak, with some seriously muscular thighs - and her chainmail thong bikini offers her little in the way of protection against the bad guys' attacks too, while men are similar muscle clad hunks with bare, rippling chests. Playable characters aren't the only questionable designs either, as one particular quest has you running into a female monk sprawled on the floor, legs spread wide and moaning softly to herself as a wolf gnaws on her calf.

Age Ratings

Format Reviewed: Playstation 3