38 réponses à ce sujet

[Alistair117]

In many ways it is difficult to rate Dragon Age Inquisition as it is a game of the sublime mixed with disappointment. While some aspects improved others went backwards, and despite its more open setting I felt that as a whole much of DAI did not live up to expectations.

 

The Pro's

 

Because I don't believe in simply panning a game, firstly this is what I felt made DAI a good game, or at least were features which deserve praise for the attempt to incorporate.

- More Open World - the lack of an open world has always been something that has held Dragon Age back from competing with games such as the Elder Scrolls, and in many ways the open world of DAI was a success. Now you could truly go off the beaten path and explore in more detail, see what lies over the next rise, and really immerse yourself within the game world. Unfortunately though more often than not what lay over the next rise was just empty barren desert, or an exceptionally boring quest to find a missing Ram. The idea however is something that I hope Bioware get's right in the next title, as it could still work, however I found the execution leaving a bit to be desired.

- The Main Story Missions - the particular highlight of the game for me was that there were many memorable moments in the main story, which is exactly what a Bioware game should be about, as it's what the corporation does best (see Mass Effects Suicide Mission, Curing of the Genophage etc.). In particular I felt the mission in the Arbor Wilds was particularly well written with a difficult choice to be made (I love difficult choices) and the Grey Warden Arc was very well written.

- A Cliffhanger - I've always loved a Bioware Cliffhanger. It's something that both the Mass Effect games and the first two Dragon Age titles have nailed superbly and this game was no exception. I look forward to seeing what the future of Thedas holds with "The Dread Wolf" undoubtedly up to nefarious acts.

- Returning Characters - Specifically Hawke and Morrigan. Seeing my character from Dragon Age 2 returning filled me with a great feeling of joy, and having him take a large role in the story as opposed to just passing through was particularly rewarding. However the best returning character was by some stretch Morrigan, who unexpectedly turned up at Empress Celene's ball. Furthermore the appearance of "The Child" caused me to actually jump up in shock as all the decisions from DAO came flooding back and that particular arc which I had left behind with the Witch Hunt DLC, reignited. I look forward to seeing if the child Keiran will have any other roles to play in future titles. Personally I hope that the Hero of Fereldan will make an appearance again... a tricky one to pull off, but one that would be totally awesome if Bioware pulled it off. Also it would be good to see more companions returning in some degree in future games, as only a few managed to put in an appearance.

Companions - As with all Bioware companions a mixed bunch, but that's part of the fun, being able to figure out which you like and which you don't. I found Iron Bull, Blackwall, Varric (obviously) Dorian (sort of) and Solus all to be interesting companions. However I found Sera annoying, Cole creepy, Vivienne snobbish, Cassandra boring (apart from her scenes with Varric).

Good Bossfight - Corypheus made a good bad guy, particularly because he was one briefly encountered before in the Legacy DLC, and because his very nature asks many questions about the higher planes of Dragon Age (i.e. regarding the Golden City, The Archdemons, The Maker, the Elven Pantheon etc). His bossfight could have been a little less repetitive at the end, but at least (unlike Mass Effect 3) there was a boss fight.

 

The Cons - some of these are cosmetic, others more in depth

 

- Unbelievably long loading screens

- Poor texturing

- Dialogue bugs (overly dramatic 2 minute long pauses in speech / garbled speech)

- The Main Character - I personally felt that the Inquisitor on the whole was a big disappointment. in no way whatsoever did he capture the badassfullness of Commander Shepard, or the wit and likeability of Hawke, heck even the Hero of Fereldan had more charm and he was essentially a mute. The problem essentially lay in the voice, you have a choice either to go for an exceptionally pompous character with an extremely annoying voice with dialogue which quite often was just bland and stale, or a voice so gruff and deep that it in no way whatsoever could have suited any human or elvish character. In short the biggest issue was that the main character was quite simply unlikeable, I felt there was no rapport really between both him and me, or him and other characters, and the dialogue felt forced whereas in previous instalments it felt more natural and spontaneous. 

- Really Boring Quests - aside from the main mission I found many of the side quests to be a chore, and were it not for the completionist in me I wouldn't have touched them with a barge pole.

- Really Boring Locations - aside from those in the main quest line most of the locations in the game were really boring and those that were good were limited. You are limited to an exceptionally small portion of Val Royeaux, and despite most of the game taking place within Fereldan you cannot go to barely any of the locations that made DAO a really good game to play. One of the things I liked most about the Mass Effect Series was being able to return to places i'd been before to see how they'd changed, however u can't go to Denerim, or Orzammar, or Kirkwall, or any of the memorable locations from previous instalments except Redcliffe, and even then you don't get to see the impact of your decisions there aside from some equally boring messages on the map table.

- The Map Table - a good idea in some respects, i felt that many of the storylines on the map table were interesting but would have benefited from being actual gameplay elements (e.g. the Annexation of Kirkwall) as a result the decisions seemed to feel insignificant and really could have just been skipped. 

 

Overall Review - DAI is a game that promised much but delivered far less than hoped. In some respects it was innovative, however in others it went backwards. However I am optimistic for future instalments provided Bioware return to roots and remember that their greatest strength is in the creation of great characters, specifically your own! Viewing a repetitive world like Dragon Age 2s for me was more enjoyable through the eyes of Hawke, then a more ambitious one through the eyes of the Inquisitor. Overall I'd rate DAI a 6/10. It felt pretty average to me, lacking any of the real replay value other Bioware games held.

 

But if anyone disagrees feel free to hit me with your opinions, or if i missed anything other people feel let them down, or that was a particular highlight for them 

[ORTesc]

It's a singleplayer mmo with low quality fetch quests wrapped around an unnecessarily short main story. Also included is a tacked on mp mode with microtransactions. Those are my thoughts.

[Gibsy]

I can't help but disagree with your cons;

• loading time may have been a result of your hard drive, as my loading time was rather average.
• I thought the texturing was done extremelly well! Some graphical glitches/bugs, but most textures seemed rather finely detailed.
• The "boring quests" are, thankfully, largely optional, as Power is garnered rather easily.
• The inquisitor had some of the best options available to date for allowing you to diversify your character.
• The locations were absolutely breathtaking on my PC. I agree with your point on the War Table, however.

 

Overall, I don't agree with you. I respect your opinions, regardless!

[AllThatJazz]

I have to say I disagree with most of your cons - my loading times are ridiculously short. In fact I wish they were a bit longer so I could read the screens! I do have an SSD though.

 

I think the textures are largely gorgeous (on Fade-Touched setting anyway). With the exceptions of hair and beards, I think it's a beautiful game.

 

I've never minded fetch quests that much, and in DAI they're just a reason to explore the lovely environments which is something I want to do anyway. They're hardly compulsory, I'm swimming in Power and I hardly ever do requisitions and the like. Besides, I'm pacing myself pretty well. I'll do some exploring/fetching, then a few of the bigger area/companion quests, then a bit more exploring, then a main quest. I'm not feeling burnt out or bored or anything. Honestly this is the most fun I've had with a game in years. I think the companion quests are great, the main story quests are very good, and there are some meaty side quests that aren't fetch-related that I'm also enjoying.

 

I'm finding it really easy to RP my Inquisitor. I'd already decided, pre-game, that she was a reserved, bookish sort who didn't consider herself a Chosen one, and who had been quite happy living a quiet life in the Circle away from her family who she didn't really like. I was absolutely gobsmacked when, during conversations with various companions, I was able to express all of those elements of my character. The only thing I wish in this regard is that when initiating a romance, her 'flirts' could be a bit more reserved/shy. Being so direct was out-of-character for her, but it's really the only way you can kick things off.

 

The locations are incredible! Fallow Mire, Forbidden Oasis, Emerald Graves - my god, they are gorgeous and soooo much more fun to explore than anywhere in the previous games. Best exploration Bioware has done since BG1 imo. Don't get me wrong, I'd also be interested in revisiting other places at some point, but I'm very happy for this game to have done something new in that regard. Would love a city-based dlc (or preferably expansion pack), however.

 

Kind of agree a bit about the war table I suppose, though I do like it and seem to spend a lot of time deciding who to send on missions. My only problems with it are that some missions seem a bit bugged, and yeah, most of the time there is no tangible effect on the gameworld, which would have been a nice touch. Though I did get a neat conversation with someone in Skyhold as a result of a mission, which then opened up another mission. I liked that. And I do think it's a step forward from what ME3 tried to do with War Assets. Which is a good thing, because it shows that Bio is working on the idea rather than dropping it because it wasn't perfect. I like that attitude.

 

Haha, so yeah, sorry OP, I pretty much take the opposite view of yours - though your criticism was well-put and thoughtful, which this forum could do with a bit more of

 

I wasn't expecting to like DAI quite as much as I do. I wasn't really feeling most of the characters before release (now, they're probably my favourite Bio cast with the exception of ME2) and I was concerned about the exploration because games like Skyrim tend to leave me cold, but I love it! There's enough story to keep me motivated. Honestly, if they can tweak the tactical camera to zoom out a bit more and maybe allow me to change mouse controls so I can use the mouse to move like in previous DA games, and give me a storage chest and a mirror of transformation or something, then I'm mostly out of criticisms.  

[leaguer of one]

"- Poor texturing"

 

.....

Sorry, but no. This game is too high end. It has no bad textures. It's what ever you are using to play the game.

 

"- The Main Character "

Dude, this is a roleplaying game. You are playing the role of the main character. If you find the main character boring then that means you are roleplaying them to be boring. The fault is yours.

[JaneF]

On the subject of loading times, on a console though, I actually got a 7200rpm external HDD, and transferred my game on to it and have seen a noticeable decrease in loading and transition times, not as great as an SSD I assume, but makes  the loading screens less tedious.

[ioannisdenton]

poor texturing... are you sure you are not playing skyrim?
cause last night i was playing da:I i was again amazed..

[Corto81]

I can't help but disagree with your cons;

• The inquisitor had some of the best options available to date for allowing you to diversify your character.

 

Can I ask what those are?

 

I agree with the OP, I never really connected with my guy, he's nowhere near as "my guy" as my Warden, for example.

 

It never felt like the world (or his group) was in danger, he just keeps beating on poor cartoony Corypheus without ever experiencing loss or tragedy or a threat to someone he holds dear (Heaven was like... some random town people died, stuff happens... lol, why you guys singing that religious non-sense, I fought the bad guy alone with 3 other people why all of you hid in the building...!?).

I got to choose between something that I didn't have any emotional investment in (Val Royeaux plot is to choose between 3 characters... none of which I know, or care about).

I got to be Jesus without the option to decline or steer the zealots in another direction, and most of all, I didn't get any of my status etc. based on my actions etc. (like in Origins, for example), but you were this random dude who has a green hand - and that green hand was the reason for them choosing to tag you along (which in itself was very unconvincing, seeing as how you are the main suspect in a medieval world of killing what is basically the pope - you'd get tortured and killed without a second thought... here, you get taken for a stroll with a high ranking officer).

 

I also agree on the VO, neither of the choice felt like me.

 

Hawke was much better even if the game was inferior and laughably bad (for an AAA game).

DA:I is a MUCH MUCH better game than DA2, but the main protagonist was just... Whatever... A tool for me to play the game with.

[Nerevar-as]

"- Poor texturing"

 

.....

Sorry, but no. This game is too high end. It has no bad textures. It's what ever you are using to play the game.

 

"- The Main Character "

Dude, this is a roleplaying game. You are playing the role of the main character. If you find the main character boring then that means you are roleplaying them to be boring. The fault is yours.

S/he is not speaking with my voice, so no. Personally I have no problems with the one I chose, but couldn´t stand mHawke´s pitiful attempts at sounding badass back in II, so I can understand the OP.

[DemGeth]

Eh reviews in non spoiler section....

Bad textures you playing on last gen console?

[lazysuperstar]

It is your review and everyone's experiences differ but I'd never agree with textures being bad and locations being boring. Those two would be my top two 'pros'. Also not sure about mute warden's charm. But then it was probably me who missed that 

[Alistair117]

In fairness, most of my cosmetic ones are likely to be of playing it on a last gen console (Xbox 360). Perhaps if I had played it on next gen some of those niggly bugs wouldn't have been as much of an issue. Hopefully a patch will fix some, and if so i'll happily give the game another pop. Like I say I don't hate the game at all, far from it, but there are certain aspects I would have changed. But hey, i'm just one person, the game has universally been praised so Bioware must be doing something right

[lazysuperstar]

Can totally understand not having much fun and that rating on a last gen console or a 7-8 year old PC. Unfortunately, a patch is unlikely to make it better on those

[FKA_Servo]

In fairness, most of my cosmetic ones are likely to be of playing it on a last gen console (Xbox 360). Perhaps if I had played it on next gen some of those niggly bugs wouldn't have been as much of an issue. Hopefully a patch will fix some, and if so i'll happily give the game another pop. Like I say I don't hate the game at all, far from it, but there are certain aspects I would have changed. But hey, i'm just one person, the game has universally been praised so Bioware must be doing something right

 

And therein lies... the majority of your issues, at least cosmetically and performance wise. EA had no business releasing this game on the last gen consoles that didn't have a prayer of doing it justice. It sings on a decent PC (and, by extension, the current gen systems).

[Gibsy]

Can I ask what those are?

I agree with the OP, I never really connected with my guy, he's nowhere near as "my guy" as my Warden, for example.

In comparison to Biowares games, this one has the most racial choices available, the most VA's for the protagonist, the induction of the Reaction Wheel (in fact, all forms of the dialogue wheel allow for much more diversity in answers, usually) the extensive character customization (compared to previous bioware products) and fully customizable gear, I actually find it rather difficult to NOT bond with my character.

Above all else, I'd recommend trying another VA. Their inflection, and the way they approach the dialogue, has a noticable difference. If you don't like the options available, well... To each their own. But it's hard to argue that there isn't a lot more flexibility in this installment.

[Alistair117]

Yh most of my concerns were predominantly graphically based/ sound. However I still felt the main character was far less enjoyable to play as then Hawke or any other protaganists I've played as in a Bioware game. But meh sometimes u like the character sometimes u don't. Just hope the next character is a bit more interesting.

[Alistair117]

Ah c**p I thought I had posted on the Spoiler page, whoops!!! :/

[Gibsy]

/snip
Double post

[Corto81]

In comparison to Biowares games, this one has the most racial choices available, the most VA's for the protagonist, the induction of the Reaction Wheel (in fact, all forms of the dialogue wheel allow for much more diversity in answers, usually) the extensive character customization (compared to previous bioware products) and fully customizable gear, I actually find it rather difficult to NOT bond with my character.

 

 

I'm not sure why more races or more VA would make the character feel more my own.

Personally, I don't care whether my character is voiced or not - I actually prefer a silent protagonist in RPGs where I fully create my toon - I role-play my dude, what matters to me is that the other people are well-voiced.

Also, character customization was great (other than the lazy, godawful hair choices) and the gear was good... But lets be honest, there are games with many more armor choices and much more diverse in how they look.

Well, frankly, I think all the recent AAA games had MORE armor choices than DA:I, and definitely more diverse.

 

Regardless, none of that helps me to connect with my character.

 

I need motivations, reasons to care, ways to feel the world feel "real", etc etc.

I had very little of that in DA:I. 
The story itself featured a cartoony villain, very few choices that didn't feel contrived or forced (Hawke/Stroud staying to like, delay the spider thingy for like 2 seconds was particularly hilarious; you fix the whole OMG templars-mages conflict in one quest), at no point did I understand why a religious organization was necessary to fight evil - nor did I get to see anything my "army" did, my whole "lol I'm an atheist, not Jesus, you guys are silly" was just waved off by people (ok, we get you, but you must stay quiet, let the plebs believe), you got some of your companions because they sent you letters and said "yo, we'd like to join, because... Inquisition", etc.

 

It felt like... Companions were great, and much less stereotyped than in DA2, and some had good background and quests, even "realgud".

But it was wasted, it's hard to care for them, when I don't care for my character nor do I feel the world is "real" or believable.

 

(these aren't facts, this is how I saw it in two playthroughs, I fully understand someone else seeing it differently... but the stuff you're talking about, which is basically race/voice/CC/armor... has very little - or nothing - to do with how much I connect to my toon in an RPG).

[Solo Rogue One]

I have to disagree as well with your cons. I liked just about everything in the game. I really felt connected to my Inquisitor and loved his voice. I basically overall have no complaints about the game except for the weakling female body type and run but that is almost always the case in games so I can't say that is this particular game I find fault with. I certainly did not find Cassandra boring at all. The romance with her was surprising, romantic, and very cute in some scenes. I have to say tho that I didn't like Bull talking smack to her tho...I sat his ass in camp after he talked sex to her and took a rogue with me instead from then on.

[NugHugs]

Overall I'm still enjoying the game on my 4th playthrough. You can either hate it for what it lacks or love it for what it is..Sure it has faults but it's crammed with lore for lore junkies and open world environments for adventurers. It's definitely worth playing at least once. It feels like BioWare are trying to appeal to a lot of different types of players, so I suppose it's no surprise that aspects of the game are spread too thin.

 

 

Open world - I have no problem with the way they designed the world. If people had no problem with Origins isolated areas, what's the issue with DA:I open world isolated areas. It's an upgrade.

 

Main Story - It was decent enough. It didn't give me the goose bumps like Mass Effect 3 did or make my eyes leak. I love elven lore . . or any DA lore that covers the old gods topic, so I found the main story interesting.

 

Side quests - Most of them I found interesting enough to pursue. If you don't like reading quest text then you probably won't enjoy it as much. Shard hunting is left to the end of the game, it does get tedious.

 

Herbs and Minerals - No. It's not nice. After my first playthrough, I now use a cheat engine to duplicate my current herbs and minerals so I'm not spending half my time picking up resources.

 

Cliffhanger - I didn't find Solas that interesting or likable, so I was kinda meh about his little revelation.

 

Returning characters - As much as I like Alistair in Origins, he kinda seemed like a whiny ****** this time around. Though, Morrigan and Leliana made up for that. Their part in the story was satisfying.

 

Graphics - I had my pc settings on max so everything looked gorgeous, aside from hair.

 

Locations - Each has it's own main story to explore, which I still find satisfying to do. Every area has it's own unique look and soundtrack. Unless you're running it on a toaster, there's no denying the environments look beautiful. I'm still loving re-exploring each location with different companions.

 

Cons

- The animations and facial expressions were surprisingly bad . . not outright bad, just surprising for all the "next gen" hype that came with the game.

 

- There was barely any interaction between Alistair, Morrigan and Leliana which was disappointing. Though a modder digging around in the game's files found cut dialogue between Alistair and Morrigan regarding their son. Why would they cut that??

 

- Can't have a pet nug.

 

- Side missions could have benefited from more cutscenes and npc interactions . .with cutscenes, not the simple camera angle that they seem to have adopted for majority of conversations. It lacks immersion.

[katzenkrimis]

Overall I'd rate DAI a 6/10. It felt pretty average to me...

Although I disagree with some of your pros and cons, and can't imagine how you left some of the bigger cons out, I do like your rating. That's a good tough rating. Just tough enough to tick people off.

I'd be willing to bet that a lot of people would disagree with a 6/10. Considering console players have huge armies. Legions of them. And they'll be drooling all over this game.

As a PC player, I'd take it one step further. I see your six out of ten, and raise you one Dorian bobblehead, and a five out of ten.

Bioware needs to patch this. And start making PC games again.

[Draining Dragon]

My thought is that Bioware should stick with what they're good it. And no, exploration is not one of them

[dekarserverbot]

see guys THIS is a Review not a "Dragon Age Inquisition [INSERT STUPID NUMBER THAT TELLS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HERE]/10", overall i find most of the points you posted contradictory to my POV but still...

 

Anyways my thoughts are that is slighty underwelming and still a good redemption from the crappy pseudo game that was DA2, DAI was a good sequel for saints rows 2 but not enough to be one for Dragon age Origins/awakening. Yes Thedas is beautyfull (I'm not affected by graphic issues, i play with everything in ultra except terrain, pc user here) and yes, it made my faith in this company to return but it's not as tacticaly as DAO, maybe both normal and normal in these two games are simillar but when i switched to nightmare i find out that it was very like normal with a flipcoin system on how your stupid party acts instead of relying on tactics. I want to micromanage my characters instead of leaving 3  back there doing whatever they want while i go hunting that nefarious archer, in DAO i could tell Alistair to go hunt the mage and Oghren/sten/Zevran/Warden to dismiss those sissy archers while the rest of my party concentrate in the extra mobs, plus in nightmare enemies used different tactics than  in normal or casual. In DAI otherwise we encounter lazy difficult settings where your characters deal less damage and enemies deal more, but still is idiot vs idiot when watching the AI working, since i also do software developing i understand this due it's a new engine and they must get to know it, plus Programming is a martial skill, not a scientific one, that's why i'm not dissapointed at all with this issue.

I actually hated that Hawke appeared in the game, she was just a fanservice meal and, for those who go Sera with DA2 excuses and still hate the game (AKA: me and my gang) it was the worst fan disservice ever. I expected more of that useless yamcha like character than just being there... i expected him to be either a main Venatori or Red Templar boss since he had absolutely no say and had to bring his useless support to any faction, like it or not. The good thing was that it brought me the easiest decition in any BW game: leave hawke in the fade... really it was extremely easy: Saving the only order that can end blights vs saving one USELESS character that achieve absolutely nothing and will probably be death in the next incomming blight... survival matters. I really believe that the promise they made by not doing DAA Oghren again was entirely political, they keep doing it all the time: Anders and Flemmeth in DA2 for example, and now Hawke and Alistair, they keep returning characters that don't fit in the story just to bring fanservice and not bring them back for storywise purposes.

[Gibsy]

I'm not sure why more races or more VA would make the character feel more my own.
Personally, I don't care whether my character is voiced or not - I actually prefer a silent protagonist in RPGs where I fully create my toon - I role-play my dude, what matters to me is that the other people are well-voiced.
Also, character customization was great (other than the lazy, godawful hair choices) and the gear was good... But lets be honest, there are games with many more armor choices and much more diverse in how they look.
Well, frankly, I think all the recent AAA games had MORE armor choices than DA:I, and definitely more diverse.

Regardless, none of that helps me to connect with my character.

I need motivations, reasons to care, ways to feel the world feel "real", etc etc.
I had very little of that in DA:I.
/snip *spoilerz!*

It felt like... Companions were great, and much less stereotyped than in DA2, and some had good background and quests, even "realgud".
But it was wasted, it's hard to care for them, when I don't care for my character nor do I feel the world is "real" or believable.

(these aren't facts, this is how I saw it in two playthroughs, I fully understand someone else seeing it differently... but the stuff you're talking about, which is basically race/voice/CC/armor... has very little - or nothing - to do with how much I connect to my toon in an RPG).

I can certainly appreciate your opinions on character bonding.

For me, however, as long as I'm allowed to customize him/her how I please, make them respond in a way that I'd like them to, and they have an open-ended background that i can head-canon the reasons why they react a certain way, I'm golden. To me, the plot can be absolutely bat-**** crazy/stupid, and it wouldn't effect my bonding with the character, or even my companions.

Take ME 2, for example. Was the game cool because you got to kill a human-reaper fetus? Def not. That game was cool because of the companions stories that you witnessed, which were very well written, even though shepard had the personality of a baked potato. This game allows for much more characterization, which was a much needed improvement, imo. All in all, I feel that the journey is more important than the destination, anyway.
And Cory is a pretty badass antagonist, at least from a lore perspective