Multplayer... First response: Well, crap.
This explains almost everything I don't like about the game from a gameplay standpoint. It doesn't have to, but it does, because they went with the ME3 model of controlling individual characters in short co-op arenas. So that's the push buttony basic combat mechanics on a character level. That's the extra flashy 'combat sparkles' special move animation. That's the 8 active talent limit, to support specific mp character builds. Most important to me, that's the choice to not have synched combat animation cycles, and to not really support passive dodge/parry/block and other heavily stat influenced basic combat mechanics. That explains the unwillingness to reverse course on the weapon class restrictions and anything that generally doesn't work as well to differentiate specific mp action combat roles.
They should have gone with a multiplayer system designed around party management, or 'Origins style combat' as it's been referred. That's what's fun and unique about DA combat. That's where the tactics and management come in. (That doesn't mean slow.) This isn't Mass Effect. It shouldn't really be an action game. It should just look even better. You embrace that design philosophy, and there's no reason it shouldn't play better, allow more freedom of playstyle, and approach cutscene quality visual style all at the same time. Single player could be the best it could be, and multiplayer would be unique party vs. party or co-op parties in pve. But they went the wrong way. There's not much I expect to like with this direction honestly, and it's significantly holding the single player mechanics and visual style back imo.
I expect to love DA:I and the single player gameplay for the most part, but it's in spite of what I see as a lot of unnecessary and damaging limitations I see as a result mostly of the direction they went with multiplayer. It could be a lot better, both the sp and mp. Oh well. There's still so much positive about the game.
Ok, all that stands, but with the benefit of more information, here's what I do like about it:
Backgrounds and Personalities:
I love the actual characters you have to choose from. I hope we can interact with them in the single player game, because playing on console with no PlayStation Plus account (playing on PS4), I very well may never play DA:I mp. I'm not huge on mp games, but I still played a good few on 360 and made some online friends. I'm not against having any kind of mp in principle. I just haven't seen anything yet this generation that makes me want to go pay for it, including this.
So hopefully those characters will show up and be available to talk to and assign as agents in the sp game even if we never touch mp. Because I really want them around in my game, but I'm not paying an extra $60 for access to this. I'm going to feel a bit cheated mp's even there if I have no access to cool characters because they're bait for a game mode I don't enjoy, in a game I paid full price for like everybody else. (How would I know if I haven't played it? Because I have. It's the same as playing sp without the ability to set AI tactics or switch characters, without all the wonderful new tactical control elements in the sp game. And individually the DA2 mechanics are still in play, which I almost returned DA2 over. And I'm sure there will be plenty of people bitching if I ignore CCCs and don't approach things exactly how they spec *their* characters. I have a very reasonable idea of what I'd be missing. So no thanks, not worth it.)
Scrapable Loot:
Ok, so I played a ton of ME3 mp during the demo phase, had a lot of fun. Then the main game came out and I could practically never get another sniper rifle, or enough pistols and smgs. I got #%?! shotguns. I hate shotguns in that game, and the whole rush>power>shoot>power gameplay that went with them. I never played a Shep like that for a reason. So that + 'people suck' = 'Why bother? I quit.' So hopefully that means if I ever do play DA:I mp, it won't have the same fatal problems ME3 mp had. The same goes for characters. If I had to unlock them by rare random draw, that would also kill any interest. So doing away with that system is a big plus. Props where props due.
What I Hope to See:
I would love to be able to control my whole party against and/or alongside other players' parties. Even more, I'd love to be able to sp controlling a party of the mp characters. The characters are what I don't want to miss, but the mp gameplay is what doesn't hold any interest for me. So I'd like an mp mode that does (party control tactical rpg mechanics) and/or an sp mode that lets me play the mp content like the sp game (i.e. The Fun Way for me). If I have to pay a few bucks to unlock a sp, full party control version as dlc, hey, cool. I realise it costs to produce. I'd much rather contribute a bit to that than pay a lot more for a game I'll never much play (the current mp).
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