I know some people love the game, but the general attitude on here has been very mixed. If I'm being honest I've see a lot more who are disappointed than people who are pleased. It seems as if Bioware was aiming very high with this game, but fell completely short to a lot of you. So many people on here have been voicing their displeasure, and those who bother to give their own personal score of the game have been giving 6 and 7s. Seemingly low for a game of this budget and scale.
For those reasons, despite my personal feelings on the game, I feel like I have to acknowledge that it's critical and commercial success aside, Dragon Age: Inquisition seems to have been another disappointment to the fans. Some thought that this would end up being Bioware's big comeback. The game that would be measured up against the quality of games like DA:O or ME2, and most would agree it's as good as those titles. But as of right now it doesn't seem so.
So many questions have flooded my mind from this, I have to get them out there:
1. 6-12 months down the line will DA:I be viewed in a more positive or negative light? Will those who were harsh on the game gain more of an appreciation for it, or vise versa?
2. For those who don't like the game or were really disappointed, what's your attitude towards Bioware and the Dragon Age series at this point in time? Are you no longer a fan? Are you giving up on it? Do you have low expectations for it's future?
3. Are a lot of fans really disappointed with the game, or is this the voices of a few being really loud? When the dust settles, will there be a lot more positivity towards this game a few weeks from now?
I don't think DA:Inquisition will ever be recognized as one of the true great games, like BG2, Morrowind, DA:O, FO:3.
Because - I guess mainly because it's not - it lacks a soul, and it lacks some kind of cohesiveness. It doesn't know what kind of game it is. The latter fact is paradoxically a source of its qualities, because it mixes what turns out to be very good gameplay values with some bad gameplay values, and the gamer has some freedom in focusing on what is enjoyable.
I believe the major problem for DA:I is that it didn't turn out to be anything like the game "the fans" wanted. It's not a lack of qualities in DA:I itself, rather that it's the wrong game. The fault of all this is DA:2 and the 'new direction' adopted with it. The new direction was just the usual insane, retarded and insulting EA-marketing workover. I'll leave it at that. Unfortunately, the developer leadership was and is fully on-board, fully invested in that. Those who weren't, left.
This meant that during the turmoil following in the wake of DA2, Bioware made up a collection of reasons to not listen to the important criticism against DA2. I'd say the important criticism was coming from those who hated DA2. Wouldn't you? People, former fans of DA, hating DA2 was after all the reason it failed. But instead, Bioware only listened to the criticism coming from - or being shared by - those who liked DA2. Contrary to the lip-service, DA:I is not a mix of the best features from DA:O and DA2. It's fully DA2, none of DA:O. But an improved DA2. And because of the insecurity following the deep gut-knowledge of being wrong but still obstinately wanting to prove to be right, and a terrible need to succeed this time, they also threw everything but the kitchen sink at it. In particular they were impressed by Skyrim's market success. And since EA's marketing hugely believes in making soulless&clueless imitations of other's successes, this solved much of getting the DA:I efforts budgeted.
1: I think it will go both ways. Those who can look past their DA:O grudges will discover that DA:I is an enjoyable game. Quite worth the investment in money and time to play. There is also the thing that DA:I can be played in several ways, with different focus.
On the other hand, I also think that those who thought that it was one of the all time brilliant games and marked a return of Bioware to old form, will moderate those sentiments somewhat. Still a good, massive game. But maybe a bit soulless and not quite the way we want either DA or Bioware to go.
2: Personally, I like DA:I. I really do. But yes, I'm still disappointed. It's maybe the wrong word, since I didn't expect much from DA:I. In fact, DA:I exceeds my expectations. Considerably even. It's more that I have given up on Bioware. They'll probably make games I'll buy, and they'll make good games. But I have this feeling they have lost the magic. They have been thoroughly EA'ed and like all their predecessors they will never be a truly great developer again.
No, I do no longer consider myself a fan of DA, and I do not consider myself a fan of Bioware. That's done.
But no, I haven't given up on DA. I don't know I'll buy DA4 (I did knew I'd buy DA3/DA:I), but it's at least very likely. I have given up on the "DA" of DA:O though.
3: It's the voices of the "few" (I don't really think they're so few though), those in different camps (both the 'cinematic'-addicts and the DA:O bitterenders) who feel DA:I has changed its character too much. But those voices do unfortunately affect sales unproportionally much. This is why you should never change the character of a franchise. Look at FO3, for example. Such a brilliant game! And so much time passed since FO2. And still the FO-FO2 fans spread their poison. In the case of FO3, enough time had passed, it was so obviously brilliant in its own, and Bethesda had built a following of its own, so in the end they didn't do so much damage. But you can count on that they did some damage, and still do. And few games have that sort of strength...
... - Oh my G! This is a necro'd thread. Okay, but since I made the effort to write it, you can have it.
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