Dragon Age: Inquisition Review - Monumental

[Imre Csete]

The PC controls are so horrible, I'm just going to set it to Casual and reroll as an Archer. I used to tackle BW games on the hardest setting all the time, but the effort to micro your party with these godawful controls, bad camera and fastly respawning enemies (I don't know what triggers them, but I swear I had a group respawning in like 20 secs after I turned my back on the loot) make this even more of a chore than the endgame Act 3 of DA2. And that was as dull and frustrating as it got. BW proves yet again they have no idea how to make decent gameplay. Instead of polishing the one they had going on for two games now, they decided to turn it into baby's first Gothic? Jesus. It really shows that most of the names who made the previous games are gone.

And the not using the cinematic camera while most of the conversations are happening is just like the auto-dialogue in ME3, neutering the dialogue system again.

The huge maps are fun (although I managed to get stuck in the welcoming NPC masses in 5 mins right after the tutorial), the characters are still great, the crafting seems interesting, but I'm spending 70% of my playtime with the actual gameplay mechanics, which are subpar. They can't make the good storytelling hold up the game anymore.

Two steps back for each step taken.

Atleast I still got my Original Sin, so this year won't pass without a decent fantasy RPG.

 

[daibakuha]

2. Armor is now just a Helmet, and bodypiece. I miss that gratifying feeling of finding 5 legendary armor pieces and matching them together for an armor set bonus.

Legs and hand slots still exist, but as armor modifications made to the chest piece. It's actually really interesting, how well the pieces mesh together.

 

[daibakuha]

Lastly respawning enemies (I don't know what triggers them, but I swear I had a group respawning in like 20 secs after I turned my back on the loot) make this even more of a chore than the endgame Act 3 of DA2.

Are you talking about the mages and the templars in the Hinterlands? They won't stop respawning until you take out their camps.

And the not using the cinematic camera while most of the conversations are happening is just like the auto-dialogue in ME3, neutering the dialogue system again.

It's not even for most conversations, it's just for unimportant stuff. There's also a pretty wide range of dialogue choices all around, even more so than in previous Bioware RPGs that use the dialogue wheel.

 

[EyeReaper]

2. Armor is now just a Helmet, and bodypiece. I miss that gratifying feeling of finding 5 legendary armor pieces and matching them together for an armor set bonus.

Legs and hand slots still exist, but as armor modifications made to the chest piece. It's actually really interesting, how well the pieces mesh together.

Yeah, I know, but it still just doesn't feels right to me. It's more like I'm putting on a plated jumpsuit that I'm slapping patches over instead of a suit of armor. It's one of those changes that I just don't understand. Like the removal of the bronze and silver currencies and just making everything straight up gold pieces.

 

[Burnouts3s3]

As a Biodrone myself, I liked the game. However, I didn't love it. I want to congratulate Bioware for putting their hearts and souls into this and it shows in the environment.

However, there is that slog in order to advance the story and all these level caps (as well as a final boss that's not really that difficult but that's a discussion for another time). But, I enjoyed myself and will play it again, I'll just be aware of the length.

 

[Imre Csete]

It's not even for most conversations, it's just for unimportant stuff. There's also a pretty wide range of dialogue choices all around, even more so than in previous Bioware RPGs that use the dialogue wheel.

Well dunno, after the initial party member conversations, all further inquiries (I wouldn't consider them unimportant) used the fixed freeze on approach camera, and it's really awkward, especially with Cullen, where all the recruits are flailing their swords around him.

 

[Krantos]

and 4, probably the biggest peeve of all.... You don't create your character portrait to go above your life bar. This may seem little, and petty, and yeah. It kinda is, but there is literally no reason to not have it. None. I can see the justification for removing healing spells, or the voiced main character reducing the number of dialogue options, but there is no reason I can't have my avatar's face in the corner of the screen instead of some dumb green handprint.

Actually there is a good reason for it. Look at your companion's portraits. Instead of renders of the characters' faces, they went with a "painting-esque" look to the portraits. This would have been impossible (or at least prohibitively difficult) to do for the PC as they can look a million different ways.



I agree with your other points, but they actually do have a fairly legitimate reason for this one.

 

[Ghadente]

I am curious to know how Inquisition holds up against Origins and compared to Skyrim...

 

[DarkhoIlow]

Still waiting for my copy to arrive..I freaking hate my retailer. -.-

And because of Black Friday (at least here it's today apparently) I don't think I will get it today and will probably have to wait until Monday.

 

[daibakuha]

It's not even for most conversations, it's just for unimportant stuff. There's also a pretty wide range of dialogue choices all around, even more so than in previous Bioware RPGs that use the dialogue wheel.

Well dunno, after the initial party member conversations, all further inquiries (I wouldn't consider them unimportant) used the fixed freeze on approach camera, and it's really awkward, especially with Cullen, where all the recruits are flailing their swords around him.

It does that for the stuff about the character, any plot important conversation is going to take place in a traditional bioware cutscene. Even some further conversations with companions.

 

[daibakuha]

I am curious to know how Inquisition holds up against Origins and compared to Skyrim...

Better than Skyrim on almost every front. Tactical combat isn't as good as origins, plot is better than origins, companions are better than origins. Customization is better than origins.

 

[Echopunk]

With a second character created that is less horrific to look at, I found myself getting into the game and having a good time, but also getting disappointed/ticked off a lot.

Want to know why you can only heal with potions? Because enemies re-spawn.

If you had a sustainable healing source that let you stay out of camp for more than a couple tough battles at a time, the game would be entirely too easy to abuse. Just farm enemies for experience, heal up with regenerating mana, and continue.

Warping back to a camp, then trekking back to the next area, through re-spawned enemies (sometimes) is not fun. The addition of the horse makes travel like this a little faster, but that is no excuse.

I'd rather ditch the re-spawning enemies and keep the ability to heal with magic PROPERLY.

Why do enemies re-spawn? Because they want to turn the game into an MMO, or as close as they can get.

The collect X items, claim X territories, etc... all feels very MMO, as does the pace of leveling. It feels like it takes an awful damn long time to move up a level.

I want to see a role-playing experience that isn't couched in MMO staples.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

With a second character created that is less horrific to look at, I found myself getting into the game and having a good time, but also getting disappointed/ticked off a lot.

Want to know why you can only heal with potions? Because enemies re-spawn.

If you had a sustainable healing source that let you stay out of camp for more than a couple tough battles at a time, the game would be entirely too easy to abuse. Just farm enemies for experience, heal up with regenerating mana, and continue.

Warping back to a camp, then trekking back to the next area, through re-spawned enemies (sometimes) is not fun. The addition of the horse makes travel like this a little faster, but that is no excuse.

I'd rather ditch the re-spawning enemies and keep the ability to heal with magic PROPERLY.

Why do enemies re-spawn? Because they want to turn the game into an MMO, or as close as they can get.

The collect X items, claim X territories, etc... all feels very MMO, as does the pace of leveling. It feels like it takes an awful damn long time to move up a level.

I want to see a role-playing experience that isn't couched in MMO staples.

It reminds me of Kingdom of Amalur. That game was meant to be a MMO, but they ran out of money and turned it into a single player RPG. Inquisition gives off that exact feel.

 

[Las7]

I'm not getting fooled Bioware, unless some patches are made to DA:I for PC that optimize it - I will definitely skip on this. DA 2 was the biggest disappointment in gaming for me in recent times and it doesn't appear Bioware is capable of creating an immersive PC gaming experience.
On Orgins I spend 3 campaigns learning to Rogue before finally doing most of the game with a single rogue on nightmare, DA 2 was so bad I got to the final act and deleted it off my computer.

 

[Alex1508]

Why do enemies re-spawn? Because they want to turn the game into an MMO, or as close as they can get.

The collect X items, claim X territories, etc... all feels very MMO, as does the pace of leveling. It feels like it takes an awful damn long time to move up a level.

Enemies respawn as long as they have a base of operations, take out their camps and they'll not appear as easily. Also some of the enemies will move out to different locations according to its danger levels or the interest the faction holds. For example managing to kill a giant will draw in merrcenaries that previously were afraid to wander in the territory of the giant.

Also yes there are lots of fetch quests to do just like in the first and second game though tbh i found them far more fun (i really like hunting for shards). Also claiming territory to build camps and garrisons is an interesting idea, since they not offer just a safe haven to restock up, it also helps push out enemy factions out of the maps (alongside you going and eliminating their bases), making areas safer to travel through.

 

[zinho73]

I decided to buy it and couldn't even make the game start. It crashes on startup, just after character creation. After dealing with the issue with an EA guy for a bit, I just returned the game - what a waste of time.

 

[Echopunk]

Enemies respawn as long as they have a base of operations, take out their camps and they'll not appear as easily. Also some of the enemies will move out to different locations according to its danger levels or the interest the faction holds. For example managing to kill a giant will draw in merrcenaries that previously were afraid to wander in the territory of the giant.

Also yes there are lots of fetch quests to do just like in the first and second game though tbh i found them far more fun (i really like hunting for shards). Also claiming territory to build camps and garrisons is an interesting idea, since they not offer just a safe haven to restock up, it also helps push out enemy factions out of the maps (alongside you going and eliminating their bases), making areas safer to travel through.

Ocularums are one of the things I dislike the most. It feels like Planet Scanning 2.0

I didn't get as strong of a MMO vibe from the fetch quests in the first two games as I get here.

Also, while interesting, the stronghold mechanic feels borrowed from Assassin's Creed.

I REALLY don't like the way they neutered the tactical scripts. The AI sets up combos on its own every now and again, but it really ticks me off to see the character with bonuses to attacking sleeping targets just stand there next to a sleeping enemy. I need a little more autonomy here, guys, and a little less decorum.

It forces me to completely micromanage difficult battles, which isn't particularly fun for me. If I'm not playing a turn based game, I want to focus on the character I built, not his retinue of recently brain damaged followers. After I had to take the wheel of one of my warriors during a difficult fight, I spent maybe the next two hours driving her around instead of my main character - because I could actually block, build guard, taunt enemies to come after me and almost idiot proof the encounters for the AI.

It feels like a game that should be played with other people controlling your non main character. You could berate them over the headset for not getting the barrier up, or ripping the enemy's in time. A "Leeroy Warden" meme could germinate. It could be a load of fun for people who are into the multiplayer approach.

Multiplayer games aren't really my flagon of earl grey though, so seeing this franchise (to say nothing of the company behind it) listing so completely to MMO port gives me concern for future projects. When this game WORKS, it can be very fun and makes me excited about possibilities for a new Mass Effect/other properties, but when you balance that out with all the things it does wrong or poorly, I worry that Bioware's heyday as story tellers might be behind them and everything will be fluff and gimmicks wrapped around a common skeleton of MMO mechanics.

Although, I will say that riding a horse around in the desert themed areas really makes me wish Bioware would acquire/generate an Old West license.

 

[SlumlordThanatos]

Better than Skyrim on almost every front. Tactical combat isn't as good as origins, plot is better than origins, companions are better than origins. Customization is better than origins.

Ehhhh....

The thing about Skyrim is that I never felt overwhelmed by the amount of things I could do. In Inquisition, you get something like 20 quests in the first thirty minutes of the game. There's a lot to do, yeah, but I quickly got to the point where I didn't know what to do next.

As for the combat, they ruined mages. Plain and simple. Mana behaves almost exactly the same as warrior/rogue stamina, and you can't spam-cast your spells anymore. That wouldn't be such a big deal, but your spells don't ever feel like they have any real impact. Whatever happened to lobbing a fireball into a crowded melee and blowing up the whole world? Now all you really have is a dinky little "poof" of flame instead of a big boom. Mages in Origins and DA II actually felt powerful. Not so here; they place too much emphasis on combos with your party members...which means you MUST micromanage. Unfortunately, I was one of those who thought DA II's combat system was a step in the right direction.

Don't have a judgment on the plot yet, although it seems to drag on too long and requires far too much effort to unlock. One should be able to simply run through the campaign without stopping, but you simply do not have that option.

Companions are a mixed bag. There aren't a lot of good romance options, for starters. Some characters also fall flat on their face; Sera was probably intended to be the lovable, cute, endearing character...but she is none of these things. She just comes across as immature. I mean, why couldn't we just have Merill back, instead of having this...thing inflicted upon us? Hell, even having Tallis would've been better than fucking Sera.

They're not all bad, though. I thought I would hate Dorian, but he turned out to be surprisingly entertaining. Iron Bull doesn't get enough screen time, either. Most of the others don't get enough characterization. Nine party members is too much.

Still, the war room is a nice touch, and the game is gorgeous. Just remind me to play through the campaign on Casual next time. so I can just experience the story without having to slog through the combat.

 

[svenjl]

You're fucking with us, right? After the infamous review of DA2, you give DA3 a 5/5 too? Should I take that as a sign that you're wildly off the mark again?

No, just that Greg had a different opinion about DA2 than you. Simple enough?

 

[Las7]

No, just that Greg had a different opinion about DA2 than you. Simple enough?

Get over it dude - twas a bad review. Greg must have been too excited about the awesome button and didn't see the reused areas, teleporting enemies, wave enemy combat, awful 3rd act, bad art, poor environment, lack of party customization, no origin/race prologue, combat being consolecentric, every mage is a bloodmage, removed any need for tactics.

Too call this the pinnacle of RPGs - makes most people wonder what type of substances he was on while playing.

It's not a big deal, I'm sure if he revisits DA 2 right now there is no way he would agree with his review.