14 réponses à ce sujet

[Elleria]

DA:I is a beautiful game, no doubt about that, kudos to the Bioware graphic department for making such a beautiful game. Also, I wouldl ike to give props to the voice actors who have done a wonderful job making DA:I characters alive by their talented voices. I feel that the voices really match the respective character appearances and personality.

 

There are, however, some downsides, in which, some of them are so glaring that many times I struggle to continue to progress through the game:

 

Dead NPCs

I'm not referring to the dead npc bodies but those npcs that are alive feel 'dead' too - they stick to one place and do little idle gestures(they only move during specific events) and they don't respond to events such as enemy attacks. Example of this is the Inquisitor scouts standing idly by when a great bear or giant is walking towards them. Would it be better if those scouts could show their fear by shouting out and try to desperately run away from the bear/giant?

Another example is the npcs in Exalted Plains(need to complete the Undead Rampart quest) are so oblivious to the occasional attacks by wolves, undead and other threats so much that they just stand there and do whatever idle animations they are programmed with. There are many more examples that I'm sure you guys would have noticed them too throughout the game which really is immersion breaking, at least for me...

 

Mount, what?

I can't fathom the reasoning of implementing mounts in this game. I tried to utilize the mount by riding for a good 2 minutes before I completely ignore it for the rest of the game.I like to pick up herbs, mineral rocks that I find when exploring and it's too much of a hassle for me to have to dismount before I can pick them and did I mention that the mount can magically dissappear after a few seconds too?

 

The travel system in this game already making my travelling so much more convenient and with the rocky paths and slopes really make traverting through DA:I landscapes on mount that much more painful and uneccessary. No wonder we don't see npc friendly and unfriendly on mounts

 

If Bioware insists on implementing mounts in this game, give us mount such as Gorilla mount that can help me climb those rocky steppes so that I can loot shards or any other hidden items in the game

 

Spot the difference in armor design

I feel strange when I ponder over what Bioware must be thinking when they implemented armor types in this game. It's so lacklustre I feel that my Inquisitor is wearing a recycled armor design. Doesn't matter if the armor types are light, medium or heavy, many of the armor design are pretty much the same with very little varieties! Light armor is meant for mages but sadly even the Tier 3 light armor design schematics don't give that mage look appearance. Even the outfit worn by Grand Enchanter Fiona and her followers are much more fitting to what mages would wear

 

The same can be said to heavy armor design, which lacks that heavy armor factor in this game(bring on the Plate armors!!). Indeed there are some pretty nice heavy armor such as templar armor and heavy warden armor, however, those are few and far between and in a way restricting due to the crests those armors carrying(Templar and Warden crests).

 

Decision making... what decision making?

Doesn't matter if you choose to go mountain route, let Hawke or Stroud die in the fade, choose to side Gaspard or Celene or even let Celene get murdered, the different dialogs I get are just cosmetic with little or no effect to the aftermath of the event at all. I'm very hopeful that I'm wrong or at least there's glitter of hope that I'll be seeing some impactful changes that I'm missing...

 

Dragon Age Inquisition is one of the games that later outcomes can be directly related to the choices main character make(in this case is the Inquisitor). For example, having to choose to save a farmer druffalo from hungry wolves and be rewarded or let the druffalo die and face some jeering or booing from villagers would certainly make the game more alive...

 

Weapon and Armor Crafting

I feel that weapon and armor crafting in this game could be made better. The implementation of crafting a grip for a longsword for example, is great. However, dictating the attributes that I can put into my grip, in my opinion, shouldn't have been implemented. I should be able to create a strength based grip that I want to combine with my longsword but I can't under the current weapon crafting system.The same restriction also applies to armor crafting.

 

I mean, why can't Bioware open all possible stats selections for the different parts of weapons and armor? Players should be given the luxury to choose to deck all their gears with strength if they want to. I understand the restrictions if DA:I was made to be mmorpg but it is not(although there's multiplayer option).

 

Ape-like posture and animation

Not sure if this is Bioware inside jokes or one of their nasty surprise, apart from the character creation disaster I'll talk about later but, to think that Bioware could produce a Triple A title would blunder in this aspect. This is embarrasingly apparent on female characters, as if Bioware doesn't really respect female gender.  

 

And the worst part is that all these awkward postures and animations are revealed in the cinematic dialog, talk about most obvious place to reveal embarrasement. My female Inquisitor would slouch over while walking, hang both hands in front, sit with legs spread apart, thankfully I don't see her using her left hand to arc it over her head to reach the right ear just to touch it...

 

 

Character Creation... Dissapointed!!

I purposefully write character creation critics last because it's the most dissapointing aspect of the game. I wouldn't even buy this game if I knew that bald and shaved hairstyles cover half of the entire hair selection! I mean, what's with this Bioware? Also for the love of all that's good, you chose to make the same hairstyles apply to both genders!! I'm sorry but it's really shame on you Bioware for doing this and I really wonder why DA:I could get so many Game of the Year awards...

 

The character faces can be life-like I give you that, but there're even glitches in that, for example, white shades on character lips if you opt to make it glossy(this is still apparent even with Ultra setting).

 

Summary

While I do enjoy DA:I thanks to the great story and voice acting, I feel that overall it lacks the quality of a Triple A game. It would be less forgiving if this game is well supported with player mods and I sincerely hope that Bioware will support it. However, until then, I would rate this game 7/10 with most credits go to the story and the music that goes with it(can never forget the goose bump I had when my Inquisitor led Haven to Skyhold) with graphic comes to close second.

 

Rgds
Inquisitor Elleria

[Terodil]

Very good review, Elleria, that mirrors my own thoughts on DA:I. I'd personally go a bit further than you do when you speak about 'dead' NPCs -- to me, the characters close to the Inquisitor, too, and even the Inquisitor herself feel pretty much dead, or at least tranquil, with the notable exception of Sera and, to a lesser extent, Cullen. But Varric! Seriously, what has BW done to my beloved rogue? He is but a shadow of his former self. Cassandra, Vivienne, Solas... none of them come close to feeling as alive as the companions in previous games -- say: DA2, MEn, for example -- did.

[Elleria]

Very good review, Elleria, that mirrors my own thoughts on DA:I. I'd personally go a bit further than you do when you speak about 'dead' NPCs -- to me, the characters close to the Inquisitor, too, and even the Inquisitor herself feel pretty much dead, or at least tranquil, with the notable exception of Sera and, to a lesser extent, Cullen. But Varric! Seriously, what has BW done to my beloved rogue? He is but a shadow of his former self. Cassandra, Vivienne, Solas... none of them come close to feeling as alive as the companions in previous games -- say: DA2, MEn, for example -- did.

Thanks Terodil.

 

I should mention that I've not played the previous Dragon Age installment, however, it's good to know more info on the background of the companions. I may include the companion critics had I played and come to know the companions who have appeared in the previous installment

[DaemionMoadrin]

This review mirrors my experiences, although I went even further in my critique of the game. I hope you still had at least some fun playing it.

[MaxQuartiroli]

Very good review, Elleria, that mirrors my own thoughts on DA:I. I'd personally go a bit further than you do when you speak about 'dead' NPCs -- to me, the characters close to the Inquisitor, too, and even the Inquisitor herself feel pretty much dead, or at least tranquil, with the notable exception of Sera and, to a lesser extent, Cullen. But Varric! Seriously, what has BW done to my beloved rogue? He is but a shadow of his former self. Cassandra, Vivienne, Solas... none of them come close to feeling as alive as the companions in previous games -- say: DA2, MEn, for example -- did.

 

I don't agree about Varric. He's just disheartened because he feels completely guilty. I mean, he was the one who brought to the surface the red lyrium and he was also the one who brought Hawke to Corypheus, so even if he didn't anything on purpose he knows to be indirectly at fault for all the **** that happened. No wonder that his character was darkened. He saw is brother going nuts, he saw the city where he lived totally wrecked and then, to top it all, he helped in freeing an evil ancient magister who is going to destroy the world. I think that he would sound a total jerk if he remained the same easy-minded optimistic Varric that we met at the beginning of DA2. 

 

Dead NPCs

I'm not referring to the dead npc bodies but those npcs that are alive feel 'dead' too - they stick to one place and do little idle gestures(they only move during specific events) and they don't respond to events such as enemy attacks. Example of this is the Inquisitor scouts standing idly by when a great bear or giant is walking towards them. Would it be better if those scouts could show their fear by shouting out and try to desperately run away from the bear/giant?

Another example is the npcs in Exalted Plains(need to complete the Undead Rampart quest) are so oblivious to the occasional attacks by wolves, undead and other threats so much that they just stand there and do whatever idle animations they are programmed with. There are many more examples that I'm sure you guys would have noticed them too throughout the game which really is immersion breaking, at least for me...

 

I find this one of the most bothering things of this game. I mean, we don't need the help of those scouts but it's so unrealistic when we fight mobs and they are in the middle of the fight without doing anything (and enemies ignore them). NPCs should react to whatever is happening near them. 

[nici2412]

Agree with most, except that  I don't see how this game has a "great" story. It's another "chosen hero saves the world from the big bad evil" power fantasy story with barely any surprises or plot twists.

[Terodil]

I don't agree about Varric. He's just disheartened because he feels completely guilty. I mean, he was the one who brought to the surface the red lyrium and he was also the one who brought Hawke to Corypheus, so even if he didn't anything on purpose he knows to be indirectly at fault for all the **** that happened. No wonder that his character was darkened. He saw is brother going nuts, he saw the city where he lived totally wrecked and then, to top it all, he helped in freeing an evil ancient magister who is going to destroy the world. I think that he would sound a total jerk if he remained the same easy-minded optimistic Varric that we met at the beginning of DA2.

I agree with you, Max, about the interpretation of Varric's character development; he pretty much mimics what Leliana has gone through, too. What I find sad is that for all the light-heartedness and humour he was the chief provider of in DA:KW, and that Isabela/Merrill contributed, or the simple mirth Leliana brought to bear in DA:O, we ended up with... almost nothing. I am fine with the world ending and doom and gloom and stuff, but I miss the occasional delights such as Morrigan's + Barkspawn's convo, or Alistair and pretty much anybody, etc. The one pub evening in DA:I was a singular highlight.

[MaxQuartiroli]

I agree with you, Max, about the interpretation of Varric's character development; he pretty much mimics what Leliana has gone through, too. What I find sad is that for all the light-heartedness and humour he was the chief provider of in DA:KW, and that Isabela/Merrill contributed, or the simple mirth Leliana brought to bear in DA:O, we ended up with... almost nothing. I am fine with the world ending and doom and gloom and stuff, but I miss the occasional delights such as Morrigan's + Barkspawn's convo, or Alistair and pretty much anybody, etc. The one pub evening in DA:I was a singular highlight.

 

I also agree with that, but in this case we could say that this is a problem of the whole game which became too serious and gloomy and that this isn't only Varric-related. If we exclude companions banters, where you can still find many humorous interactions, I would say that we have little funny moments. Aside from the pub evening I would include Cassandra's book (where Varric is still involved), a couple of judgments (the Avvar Chief, a box with a dead body inside) and perhaps some line from Dorian. And amongst all this seriousness I find that Varric is the one who have still most sense of humor. Maybe dry, a little bitter, especially if compared to DA2, but still present. i.e. when he says that he feels like home because of blood mages and crazy templars everywhere or when he says that red lyrium could cause you to become a statue overnight (a snarky reference to Meredith's fate).

[dsl08002]

To make a long story short about DAI in my opinion, Starts good but finishing poorly on a short distance.

[mjb203]

Great review! And I've really got to agree about the mounts. I was excited for them at first, but outside of the races in the Hinterlands, I don't think I used them once. They definitely could use a major overhaul!

[Morroian]

Spot the difference in armor design

I feel strange when I ponder over what Bioware must be thinking when they implemented armor types in this game. It's so lacklustre I feel that my Inquisitor is wearing a recycled armor design. Doesn't matter if the armor types are light, medium or heavy, many of the armor design are pretty much the same with very little varieties! Light armor is meant for mages but sadly even the Tier 3 light armor design schematics don't give that mage look appearance. Even the outfit worn by Grand Enchanter Fiona and her followers are much more fitting to what mages would wear

 

The same can be said to heavy armor design, which lacks that heavy armor factor in this game(bring on the Plate armors!!). Indeed there are some pretty nice heavy armor such as templar armor and heavy warden armor, however, those are few and far between and in a way restricting due to the crests those armors carrying(Templar and Warden crests).

 

Its ridiculous how they jump over hoops to re-introduce crafting into the franchise only to end up with  far less different cosmetic options than the previous 2 games.

[Terodil]

True, but at least my mage was over the moon she didn't have to wear those god-awful skirts again. Though a little more variance would definitely be welcome!

[thats1evildude]

Maybe my posture is bad in RL, but I've never noticed any problems with the posture in DAI.

 

And despite the fact that I never asked or wanted bloody mounts, I ended up using them a lot in the game.

[AWTEW]

There was a story?

[Elleria]

This review mirrors my experiences, although I went even further in my critique of the game. I hope you still had at least some fun playing it.

I'm re-playing DA:I as mage Inquisitor right now and I can see some difference in terms of dialogs and such but I sincerely believe that Bioware could have done much more in this game. It's as if we players only got half of the full boon that Bioware intended us to have...

 

 

Agree with most, except that  I don't see how this game has a "great" story. It's another "chosen hero saves the world from the big bad evil" power fantasy story with barely any surprises or plot twists.

Well, if you go by that logic then it's just another hero-saves-the-day story in which, I agree with you completely

 

My interpretation of great story in DA:I is as such that it is immersive and pretty well thought of, although I must admit that I may have some disagreement with the way I portray DA:I story is had I played DA:O and 2.

 

 

To make a long story short about DAI in my opinion, Starts good but finishing poorly on a short distance.

Very good sum up which I agree after having completed the game. To me when I look at this game as whole package is that there are a good chunks of creativity that were meant to be implemented into the game but got thrown out of the window due to some unknown reasons by Bioware. I hate to say this but I don't think DA:I is a tripleA game judging the fact that Bioware, a reputable gaming company that has made not only excellent RPGs but also unique and inspiring made this game...

 

 

True, but at least my mage was over the moon she didn't have to wear those god-awful skirts again. Though a little more variance would definitely be welcome!

There are countless ways to design outfit and skirts for mages that will look fitting for the era as well as fashionable Vivienne(Lady De Fer) enchanter outfit is a good start to say that 'that's a good mage outfit' however, sadly, Bioware decided to recycle same design for Light, Medium and Heavy armor types which is really a shame.

 

 

Maybe my posture is bad in RL, but I've never noticed any problems with the posture in DAI.

 

And despite the fact that I never asked or wanted bloody mounts, I ended up using them a lot in the game.

The awkward postures I'm talking about appear during cinematic scenes and dialogs. Also, maybe it's not that visible for male Inquisitor but it's to female Inquisitor and it's really painful to watch it