The Dragon Age: Inquisition Thread

[SophosTheWise]

We got an Xbox code and they were saying there wouldn't be any PC codes for reviewing. Neveretheless we still got one and I'm curious as to how the game actually is. I try not to be too biased but all this talk about it being an MMO makes me uneasy.

Well, there is currently quite a big hatebox going on here, so i'd suggest to try the game without really looking at what people are saying too much.

I'd /also/ suggest waiting a couple of days so that there is a patch for the tactical camera zoom bug as it makes the combat much worse than it should be, but there is no telling when or even if that will come.

Oh, and save when it comes time to choose between the mages and the templars, as that's a pretty big C&C thing.

I am having a lot of fun playing a Dallish Elven gods worshipper insulting the maker in every dialogs, so don't hesitate to make some weirder char, there are /huge/ changes depending on races.

I'm not having huge problems with the combat system, as far as there is at least a bit of tactics involved. But ultimately I play Dragon Age for the quests. I think that's what they really nailed with Origins, I think the quest for the Urn of Sacred Ashes was extremely well done. So my main concern is the whole grocery-shopping-list / MMO-style quest system.

I liked Origins a lot, mainly because it finally felt like an adventure again, instead of a giant playground where I have to do chores fore basically everyone. I liked Origins for it's long quests and I think it's the most fun I've had with an RPG until D:OS

If you actually liked D:OS why in the fuck are you wasting any time with this fucking garbage? Seriously, there are a LOT of great cRPG's out there now. This fucking garbage isn't one of them.

Probably because I really liked Origins. I feel like I have a soft spot for DA, even though DA2 was a mess. Also, I'm simply curious. And lastly, I currently really don't have the time to absolutely dig deep into a game, that's why I still haven't played Wasteland 2 more than 3 hours, because at the moment I simply sadly can't commit.

 

[Achiman]

Obviously, game enjoyment is subjective and everyone is different on what they want from an RPG, part of the backlash against these AAA games I think is that it's been shown lately that you don't need a huge budget to produce detailed worlds with complex systems and depth. It's not enough for a true RPG and has never been, to have fancy graphics, good sound, lots of voice but a hollow world with basic (loot, combat, quest) systems and binary choices.

For me anyway, as I get more desperate for something to play and as the price of the game drops, the question becomes " I expect disappointment, but for <40 bucks, I will get some value".

 

[Arkeus]

I'm not having huge problems with the combat system, as far as there is at least a bit of tactics involved. But ultimately I play Dragon Age for the quests. I think that's what they really nailed with Origins, I think the quest for the Urn of Sacred Ashes was extremely well done. So my main concern is the whole grocery-shopping-list / MMO-style quest system.

There is quite a bit more of "quest-board" type of quests (remember the quest boards in Da:O), but those are less quest and more part of the exploration of the maps (E.G, stuff you do while exploring the maps anyway), and they are all solidly rooted in the plot, much more so than in DA:O.

As for the 'real' quests, i am finding them fairly good, but i also found the sacred ases urn rather boring, so our tastes might differ.

 

[RK47]

I need to figure out the tactical mode if I want to get some kind of enjoyment from this game.
The action combat mechanic is just terrible with melee having to use the constant pausing just to lock-on and switch target midway or risk swinging at air.
Also, these explorations are meaningless challenges. Let's put it this way: there's no reason not to spam potions. Potions are free and you can always return or quick travel to camps to replenish your stock of Red Bulls. It's just funny how much emphasis was put into limited consumables after the 99x Elfroot experience we get in DAO but then rendered meaningless with infinite restocks and easy escapes from open world encounter (stealth > walk away).

 

[DeepOcean]

I try not to be too biased but all this talk about it being an MMO makes me uneasy.

Oh boy, you are for a disappointment, remember Dragon Age Origins where the fights of the fucking tutorial could fuck you up and there was some minimal care on the placement of the enemies with some kinda interesting combat situations? I really hope you enjoy, go over certain place -> find three or four generic bandits, apostates, templars, whoever you call those useless mooks and spam the attack button -> WIN!, repeat this basic action on the whole map and don't forget to grab those crafting materials because otherwise those big maps have nothing interesting on them. Even fucking Kotor 1 was more difficult than this game. People give a hard time to Bethesda but Bioware is even more lazy than them with this game.

Boy, before I complained about Bioware decline when it got to the consoles, now they even declined from their previous position and now Dragon Age: Origins is a hallmark of quality they have yet to reach.

 

[Ninjerk]

Fucking lol. He obviously means bioware not monarchies

thankyou jesus christ

 

[imweasel]

It's already a semi-fail and negative word of mouth is probably going to do the rest.

We should start taking bets on when or if EA is going to purge or close down the Edmonton studio.

 

[Jaesun]

It's already a semi-fail and negative word of mouth is probably going to do the rest.

We should start taking bets on when or if EA is going to purge or close down the Edmonton studio.

It is? Do you somehow have access to EA accounting office and have actual sales numbers? Because none of these ratings mean shit. As long as people keep paying for this garbage, EA is going to keep shoveling this shit out, and laugh all the way to the bank.

 

[Multi-headed Cow]

I don't think liking Origins is a sin.

It's retroactively become one a bit. Even though it still suffers from a lot of Bioware's usual gameplay problems (Lots of garbage encounters, more combat than is needed, etc) it's definitely their best showing for quite a while. I'd say maybe since KotOR if you consider that NWN's campaign was complete trash and the only redeeming part was the toolset and how it worked mechanically (And the expansions, while better, were made by other companies). KotOR's certainly nothing amazing either but as far as Bioware games go I mostly enjoyed the combat and the NPCs were ok. DA1's writing is possibly Bioware's best (As mentioned elsewhere in here it's more morally ambiguous than anything else they've done, has tolerable C&C, and the romances were more Baldur's Gate-tier where they'd show up if your character acted more interested for a while instead of a "hey baby let's fuck" prompt) and apart from the big bad being garbage (ORCS LED BY A DRAGON, ADVENTURE HO) most of the rest was fine. Even like it more than any of the Mass Effect games though I still haven't played 3 and half-assed poked at 2.

Honestly though I occasionally think about replaying DA1. I generally don't because I then think about that bit where you're in some nobleman's mansion in the city and end up killing 200 soldiers because he apparently has a big staff, but yeah. It's about as good as you can get for non-Baldur's Gate Bioware. I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER YOU SODOMY DWARF. YOU WERE MY GREATEST BIOWARE CHARACTER.

 

[Morality Games]

It's already a semi-fail and negative word of mouth is probably going to do the rest.

Those user review scores are pretty much in line with mega hit scores in the Call of Duty or Battlefield series. It's all very polarized and political, gaming is. I mean, even the OMG BEST first-person shooter ever Halo 2 got like 8/10.

 

[DalekFlay]

I don't think liking Origins is a sin.

It's retroactively become one a bit.

Only with try-hards. Game ain't the second coming of Christ but it's pretty good. The sequels being trash doesn't change that.

 

[Volourn]

"(And the expansions, while better, were made by other companies)."

We have a fukkin' iignorant idiot here guys.

 

[imweasel]

It's already a semi-fail and negative word of mouth is probably going to do the rest.

We should start taking bets on when or if EA is going to purge or close down the Edmonton studio.

It is? Do you somehow have access to EA accounting office and have actual sales numbers? Because none of these ratings mean shit. As long as people keep paying for this garbage, EA is going to keep shoveling this shit out, and laugh all the way to the bank.

I see you're not a believer. You're just an asshole.

I was being a bit sarcastic, guess I should have made it more obvious. Anyway, we shouldn't give those numbers too much weight, but I wouldn't renounce them and all of the bitching on forums either.

 

[imweasel]

TotalBiscuit's PC port report:

Watched it.

Good Controls.
Shitty tactical mode.
Good Graphics.
Minor glitches.
Doesn't talk about the (inventory) UI at all.

 

[Jaesun]

I was being a bit sarcastic, guess I should have made it more obvious. Anyway, we shouldn't give those numbers too much weight, but I wouldn't renounce them and all of the bitching on forums either.

They are just random numbers that don't mean shit. Just like VGChartz fake "sales" numbers.

Again none of these rating numbers mean shit. If this is still profitable, EA will continue to crank this shitpile out because people continue to pay for it.

 

[MicoSelva]

Doesn't talk about the (inventory) UI at all.

Yeah, I am hoping this will be covered in the gameplay impressions video (WTF is).

 

[imweasel]

They are just random numbers that don't mean shit.

I still wouldn't completely renounce them though.

If this is still profitable, EA will continue to crank this shitpile out because people continue to pay for it.

Of course they will.

 

[RK47]

TB: Good Controls..

 

[Jaesun]

They are just random numbers that don't mean shit.

I still wouldn't completely renounce them though.

Why exactly?

 

[DalekFlay]

Doesn't talk about the (inventory) UI at all.

Yeah, I am hoping this will be covered in the gameplay impressions video (WTF is).

It's pretty much your standard inventory lists and the same skill tree system as DA2. Map is pretty good.

 

[Kleptocratic debt serf]

If this is still profitable, EA will continue to crank this shitpile out because people continue to pay for it.

I don't know if it is much of an indication, but I used to be somewhat active on an overclocking forum(overclock.net), and it seems as though DA:I is considered gud shit there. Hell, some of the scene/pirate stuff I check out people were discussing where to buy the game cheapest and/or how to acquire it if you're from India(I think it's mexican origin for 40USD and you still have english lang option)... Apparently people just can't get enough of this masterpiece and, curiously enough, denuvo may actually be working because instant gratification trumps all (pirates were discussing how to use korean VPN to play DA:I as early as possible too - page 40ish of this thread).

 

[imweasel]

They are just random numbers that don't mean shit.

I still wouldn't completely renounce them though.

Why exactly?

Because when people are unhappy with a title and bitch about it on Metacritic, then it is more likely that it will fail - negative word of mouth, etc. Just like when people love a title and praise it on Metactritic, then it is more likely to be a success. It isn't a given, but more likely. Doesn't mean shit for blockbusters like Destiny or CoD of course.

It is just a tendency, therefore I wouldn't completely renounce it.

 

[Jaesun]

They are just random numbers that don't mean shit.

I still wouldn't completely renounce them though.

Why exactly?

Because when people are unhappy with a title and bitch about it on Metacritic, then it is more likely that it will fail - negative word of mouth, etc. Just like when people love a title and praise it on Metactritic, then it is more likely to be a success. It isn't a given, but more likely. Doesn't mean shit for blockbusters like Destiny or CoD of course.

It is just a tendency, therefore I wouldn't completely renounce it.

NONE of that matters. At all. Period.

If a game is profitable, they will continue to sell it. Even if it is getting -1000000000000000000000000 on metacritic, if it is selling well, that score doesn't mean shit.

EA's entire job is to answer to it's Share Holders. They don't give one fucking shit about a metacritic scores. As long as profits continue to funnel their way, they will never complain. At all.

 

[imweasel]

Even if it is getting -1000000000000000000000000 on metacritic, if it is selling well, that score doesn't mean shit.

Of course. Only money matters in the end.

 

[RK47]

What Jaesun sez is unfortunately correct.
The mainstream current is just too strong for niche commentary and critiques to shake the faith of the masses in their brand.
It baffles me why people seem to think the controls is perfectly fine when I can barely make sense of what is going on unless I constantly pause and break the flow of the game.
Tactical view is supposed to remove this frustration, but it's limited view made it impractical. I can deal with the 3rd person MMO gameplay if autoattack is in there. But it isn't. There's nothing more frustrating than holding LMB and swinging at air repeatedly.