I’ve just finished the final battle of Dragon Age: Inquisition, Bioware’s latest entry in its Dragon Age franchise, and I thought I’d comment on the experience. I have now played the game from beginning to end three times at the “Hard” level of difficulty, first as a Rogue, then as a Warrior, and this last time as a Mage.
My style of play isn’t really suited for a multiplayer environment so I play solo. I probe into just about every nook and cranny, try different strategies to see how it changes gameplay, and so on.
You can play the game using the old Dungeons & Dragons character types (Rogue, Warrior, Mage), male or female, as a human, elf, dwarf, or Qunari (sort of a minotaur-type character) for a dizzying number of combinations. There are a similarly dizzying number of armor and weapon styles for you to find, buy, or make. The best armor and weapons are made not bought. I don’t think I can count the number of different ways you can customize your armor. You can customize the look of Skyhold, your stronghold. You can get lost just in the mechanics of the game. I didn’t figure some of these things out until my second time through.
I think that Bioware may expect you to play the game as a mage. There are certain options that make a lot more sense as a mage than with the other character types. Playing as a mage has better cut scenes, too.
I can’t remember where I read the review where this was said but it’s about right. Dragon Age: Inquisition is the most beautiful dull game that has ever been created. It’s engaging enough that I’ve played it more than once but it just doesn’t have the enthralling, emersive character of a really great role-playing game. Ultimately, I just don’t care about the characters or their problems that much. It plays well enough and it doesn’t crash any more frequently than is typical of PC-based games in the genre.
To date the best role-playing game I’ve ever played has been Baldur’s Gate II. It was just transporting. The technology has come a long way since then but even with the improved technology the more recent games have just not achieved that level of experience.
So, if you’d like to kill some time exploring (and fighting your way through) a world in which, unlike ours, dragons can be slain, Dragon Age: Inquisition is a pretty good choice. I’m going to try something else. I may even go back to Skyrim.
Always thought Everquest was the best, especially in its early days. The quests really mattered. The characters were well thought out and varied.
Steve
I wanted to try the game, but just haven’t had the time. The reviews were very good and the graphics looked great. RPG’s, though, require a good story – mechanics and visuals are only part of it.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I’m now playing Pillars of Eternity. The engine and playstyle is very similar to the Baldur’s Gate series. So far it’s been engaging – the voice acting is quite good and the story is, so far, interesting enough to get me to read a lot of stuff I find in game (books, dialogs, etc.). From the reviews I’ve read it’s got over 70 hours of content, which is pretty impressive in this day and age.
I just started Pillars of Eternity. So far it’s pretty primitive compared to Skyrim or DA: Inquisition.
You guys don’t dress up like knights and jesters and go to these medieval fairs too, do you?
Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk……
Thanks for the review, I’ll save my money. New Vegas is calling me back, anyway, and I’ll hope Bethesda’s current project is Fallout 4.
Drew, I’m afraid that even for us dressing up is a step too far beyond the geek barrier.
For Skyrim, I would recommend the “Interesting NPC” mod. The “Vilja”, “Mrissi”, and “Sofia” mods are good, also.
Perhaps I should try the Baldur’s Gate II Enhanced Edition, at least until there are well-developed patches, expansions and cheats for Dragon Age Inquisition. Besides the first two Dragon Ages, I think the only other RPGs I’ve played were the first five or so Might and Magics.