#8
Okay, after putting a hefty amount of time into this game - and starting a second play-through, I think it's time for a Jimbo Review...
Dragon Age Inquisition Review "Takes a bit of time to get into, but once you do you will be hooked". Is it everything we hoped for? Short answer: Mostly. Long answer:
The Bad The combat is still very much like number 2. It's not terrible by any means, but it's not particularly good either. The return of the tactical camera was something I was looking forward too. It is dreadful. You cannot zoom out far enough. The tactical camera is so close to the ground you can barely see 2 meters around you and are scrolling around to try and assess the situation. It's a confusing, horrible mess to plan battles this way and ends up being a waste.
The game is an "open-worlded" scenario where you are free to roam around and explore. However, what they mean by "open world" is that you have several areas you can travel to and each of them are very large individual "playgrounds". Number 3 seems to have swung in completely the opposite direction of 2. The sheer amount of areas and their sizes is amazing. It's more like Skyrim in this regard. However, where it seems to fall flat on its face is the quests. Every single area has the same dull, boring "filler" quests. Collect 20 shards. Collect 20 Elfroots... Because of this the game frequently feels like a bloated MMO with tons of boring "non-content".
I have come to the conclusion that its best to ignore the majority of the side-missions. The sheer amount of time you spend picking up plants and looting has driven me to the brink of insanity. You can greatly increase your enjoyment of the game if you simply move on with more important things.
The Good It looks great. The areas look breathtaking and characters look alive and better than ever. Facial animations are not ground breaking, but it's nothing that hurts the game too much. It's nice to see some of the old characters making a return. There seems to be a lot of dialogue and mention of the events of the 2nd game. The main story follows on from the events at Kirkwall - that all happened in the second game. There are reoccurring characters from both previous games. The main story seems reminiscent of Elder Scrolls Oblivion - where you had to wonder around closing portals. You will be doing that a lot.
Levelling up and skills are pretty much the same as before. You have different skill trees to specialise in and different classes to play. The game also leans heavily on crafting - for both making weapons, armour and potions, to upgrading as well. Unfortunately, due to the amount of junk required to make them like iron, plants etc, I cannot see me using this much, because, I had mentioned before, the way in which you acquire these items is about as fun as watching the loading screen.
The way in which your stronghold and influence works is interesting. You can send agents on missions to acquire items and scout areas for you. All of these actions require "power", which you get by completing quests and obtaining objectives. It works well enough, but unfortunately it forces you into doing many of the boring side quests. I have found myself just wanting to get on with the story only to be blocked because I do not have enough power.
This is also the first Dragon Age game to give the player mounts. Because the areas are so large, this is a welcome addition that saves some time. You can also fast travel to previously unlocked camps and no doubt "upgrade" your horsey later down the line. You can access unlocked areas via the world map and you unlock new areas at the war table, where you must delegate scouting missions and the like.
The "open-world" is large and beautiful. There is lots to do and the game will no doubt keep you occupied for a large amount of time. So, lots of value for your money there. It is just a shame it was not put to better use.
Summary So, is it a good game? Yes, if you can put up with its issues - it's a flawed gem. It improves on most of the things that went wrong with 2. The sad thing is that stuff like the useless tactical camera could easily be fixed. It is a great shame that there is so much boring "filler" content to pad out areas; my gaming logic has always been to complete that "filler" content before moving on. Not only does this game make it extremely tedious (and in most cases, pointless), but it actively prevents you from doing so in some cases. If you can put aside these issues and give it a good go, you will find this game is surprisingly good - and very addictive.
To summarise: + It looks very pretty
+ It is Dragon Age!!
+ Big open world
+ Lots to do and see
+ It is an improvement over number 2
+ Decent VO, sound and music
+ Deeper than you may think at first glance
+ Some really interesting story quests
+ Morrigan, Hawke, Varric, Cassandra and more familiar faces are back...!
+ Dragon Age Keep is a great tool for "importing" your previous world states from previous games.
- Feels a bit like a grindy single player MMO sometimes
- Areas are populated with lots of boring "filler content" that you should learn to avoid
- Tactical camera was a wasted opportunity
- Fuck Elfroots, Ore... and Shards
- Forces you to do some of the boring fetch-quests to get "power" so you can continue with the story
- "Consoley" UI, control and menus
Jimbo Rating: 7/10 "Dragon Age: Plant-picking simulator" P.S. If the tactical camera actually zoomed out, menu and UI (and looting) were more intuitive and I wasn't forced to pick up a stone and plant every 10 seconds, my rating would jump from 7/10 to 9/10 instantly.
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