Title: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Developer: BioWare
Publisher: EA
Release Date: November 18th, 2014
Game Engine: Frostbite 3
Number of Players: AI team-based Single Player
Genre: 3rd Person Action RPG
Youtube Game Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tcav76ab_tw
This is a game I saw on Walmart, and heard lots and lots of good reviews from. Yet as I said for all RPGs, I don’t like them on console (as I can’t use a trainer. :P). So that’s why I never bought it for the PS4.
There’s also another reason why I never even bought it for the PC. If you read my ‘ancient’ Dragon Age PC playthrough reviews(January 2011..reason for the title), I felt no matter what I did, I was doing the wrong thing. My party members always questioned my skills… it’s like they knew I was using a trainer.
But now I get to play it for the first time.. on a console. Well, let’s get to it. My initial reaction when I put the CD in, was “I hope this is playable”. It was, but I had a few updates from previous reviewed games (plus a 4GB one for this game). I was actually able to say “fuck that!” (seriously.. why force a patch when I can’t keep the game?!)
Anyway, the reason they force the patch is it would not allow me to ‘use network features’. I’m not here to test the network features.. I’m here to review your game.
I proceeded to set everything up with a new game. You’re greeted by the four races in the game: Human, Elf, Dwarf, and Quanari. All four, if I remember, were also available in Origins and Awakening.
Then you’re greeted by the classes. I found the ‘Rogue: Archer’ class a bit odd as I never seen that type of class in my life. The other options are a dual-weld Rogue, a dual-weld Warrior, a sword/shield Warrior, and a Mage.
The 3rd screen, you can pick your difficulty. Self-explanatory here.
Then after this, it sets your char’s lore based on what you picked in the three screens. I’ll admit, this is pretty cool. One thing I liked about Dragon Age, was it really could tell a story. The bad part, and which I feared.. it’s going to be more story than action. Thankfully they really fixed this since the original game.
When you actually load the game up, you see yourself standing up. Here is where you can customize your character. Yet… there’s no customization! It’s all fake! I tried every key on my controller to move the settings around, yet they just wouldn’t do anything This is why there’s no Randomize button either. Just.. wow. I feel like I’m playing a demo.
At least I was able to customize my character’s name, and then play the prologue. There is no “origin story”, nor should there be.
The story basically goes (after the opening sequence), you’re being accused of killing a bunch of people and causing ‘The Breach’, a huge power source that has opened up a tear and is sending demons in. The “proof”, is the mark on your left hand that glows occasionally. You’re the only survivor in this explosion that happened, so the blame instantly falls to you.
This same mark is also what is slowly killing you, as you soon learn. You have little choice(help or die), so you decide to help. You eventually acquire a weapon (based on the class you picked..only difference is a dual-weld Warrior gets a 2H Sword).
You meet another group of people, with one showing you that you can use your glowing hand to close the green rifts that are spawning the monsters. You use this new power to close rifts left and right, including the big one (after dealing with a boss).
Now your new friends have decided to start under a new name. With you as the commander, they form the “Inquisition” *cue game title here*; a group of people known to get answers out of other people by any means necessary (includes torture).
With the prologue done, you’re on your own. You can explore the game world(which I may add has very little borders compared to Origins), talk to people, do side quests, buy and sell stuff, craft stuff. Whatever you wish to do.
To do a quest, you can go as yourself or bring your party members. Yes, you’re allowed to “solo” quests if you wish. You don’t have to be stuck with your party members, though the extra DPS always helps.
But there is one ‘little’ thing I don’t like, and that’s the War Table. After some dialog of meeting new people(your War Council), you’re shown a Command Table. It looks sort of similar… to WoD’s Garrison Command Table. There’s quests that can only be done by party members, and have a time until the mission is completed… JUST like the Garrison Command Table.
I’m not 100% sure if this is JUST like what Blizzard did, but if it is, I think the game just died to me. 😛
And I think it’s time for my review;
Good;
-Combat has a new twist from previous Dragon Age games. By pressing the big button on the top of your controller, you can select party members to attack specific targets.
-Very few level loading screens. The levels are huge; much bigger than Origins.
-The prologue wasn’t mainly boring “twin sister of her step brother” forced ingame lore, compared to the original game.
-No more facepalm “Quickly, we must fight!!” human male combat voiceover.
Bad;
-Cutscenes are capped at 30FPS, leading to noticeable studdering. Don’t get this.
-The backstory of your character doesn’t matter. It’s the same story.
-Unpausable/Unskippable cutscenes(made recording the video very difficult).
-Combat tends to feel boring and repetitive. Plus upgrading your abilities isn’t really explained clearly (to me, anyway).
-There is hardly any customization options when creating your character. You can’t even move the customize bars. The hell is this shit?
-Long loading times (heard it’s bad even on the PC).
-A Garrison Command Table-like interface (War Table) after completing the prologue… UGH!! D:
Neutral;
-Has a find loot option that’s similar to The Witcher’s “Witcher Senses”. But you don’t have to hold the button down. Yet.. where did you get such power to find loot?
-Similar to Dragon Age Origins and Awakening, you’re forced to upgrade your party members’ gear as well as your own (this is why I used a trainer back then…).
.
Final Verdict: As much dislike as I have for the WoD Garrison-like Command Table after completing the Prologue, it isn’t that bad. Unlike WoD’s, you actually have areas that the player can join their party members. The War Table even feels.. optional.
But a lot of dislike goes to the severe lack/trickery of player customization. When I cannot move the bars around, there is a serious problem.
Overall, the game isn’t bad. But I really don’t give it the high praise that some would. 7/10.
.
PS.. just a bit of “this is weird, I need to explain it” here.
So, the plot. You’re the lone survivor of this explosion. The blame instantly goes to you. I get this. Yet… this woman seems to also know a lot about your mark. Where did she learn this? She never tells you.
She seems quick to forget when the lives of others are on the line, yet she orders me to put my weapon down when I attempted to defend myself against enemies.
And then she turns from “take off his fucking head!” to “we need to help him!” in the blink of an eye, during the boss fight. Maybe she has trust issues, or something.