Combat was decent enough to keep me playing for a while, but the story was so dull I just tuned everything out. I wound up taking probably a six month hiatus from it then just slogging through it skipping as much as I could.

How are you finding it?  I was looking at it as a next play option!

There's me, Smeags, the super hot Dark Elf assassin chick. *swoons*

I don't take crap from nobody!

Are you outside your first house?  I am a boring bog-standard pale male.

Really should customise my appearance!

Yeah, that's the house in the spider area. That was a fun castle to go through.

I chose to be a Dokkalfar female who specialized in pure finesse. I love the rogue/assassin character type. ^_^

My character is far more balanced - I have a tonne of magic though, and thats increasing!

I might completely retrain at least once before the end and specialise!

Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen?  I think it's great.  While I wouldn't really come to it if you're looking for an amazing story, I would highly recommend it if you're looking for a game with some incredibly fun gameplay, a wide variety of customization (both in appearance for both you and your pawn, as well as in how you can build your character), and a ton of items/loot to acquire to keep you playing for quite a bit.  In regards to the gameplay, it's sort of like an arcade-like version of Dark Souls (i.e., it's much more over-the-top and fast-paced), mixed with a bit of Shadow of the Colossus (climbing onto big monsters).

Sweet!  I have just discovered there is no PC version

Will have to grab it for PS3 or X360!

The game is much better when played the same same way I play most similar WRPGs (Elder Scrolls particularly needs player-driven limitations): don't be a completionist- not all the content is worth experiencing, and focus on developing a rather small set of skills. I typically get more creative with combat strategies and role-play.

Great game. I loved it. Too bad 38 got 36'd.