Dragon Age: Inquisition

So, this is no doubt an awesome game. The vast areas to explore, the amount of content, the characters, even the story. Yet I can't help but feel what could have been done better. And there are quite a few things.

1) Atmosphere. I wish Bioware had kept that dark fantasy setting for Dragon Age II and Inquisition. It worked so well for Origins. That was one of the main things that made Origins so memorable to me.

2) More cutscenes. The shortage of cutscenes, even in just regular conversations, was disappointing.

3) Pointless/uninteresting filler quests. Those quests that have you gather resources or kill a few soldiers. And there were so many of them. I can't help but feel they should have had less of that and invested more time and effort in letting us actually explore some of the war table quests that we only got to read about and not do ourselves. Going to Denerim, for example. Or investigating the tunnels in the Frostback Mountains. Anything with even a hint of real story to it.

4) Lack of revisiting old locations from Origins. I get they wanted to give us new areas to explore, but many fans (myself included) wanted to see another place or two from Origins and see what it's like now. That nostalgia factor. I'm glad we got Redcliffe, but they could have made it look at least a LITTLE more like it did in Origins, so it's actually recognizable. And they could've added more things to do in Redcliffe. Maybe even allow us to visit the castle outside of that one quest.

5) More things to do in a couple of areas. The Fallow Mire has it worst, I think. There's one main quest, one or two smaller quests and nothing else, outside of rifts, pretty much. They could have done so much more with, what I think is, one of the more interesting areas in the game. The Storm Coast and Forbidden Oasis are the other two I felt seriously lacked in things to do.

6) Perhaps a little more depth in the class specializations. Mages, especially. Compared to the depth of the mage class in Origins, this one is severely disappointing.

Again, awesome game, and these things I listed would've all made the game perfect. But not every game can be perfect, so I am happy with what we did get. Already look forward to the next game!

Talk about overcompensating. Fans rightly complained Dragon Age 2 was too short and small, so BioWare dishes out one of its biggest RPGs yet. Strongly inspired by Skyrim, Inquisition is overflowing with locations to visit and things to do... too much so. Quests are everywhere, sprouting from every conversation; however, many belong to the "collect 20 wolf pelts" MMO variety. One could argue those repetitive tasks are not strictly speaking mandatory, except they kind of are: you need at least SOME grinding to gain enough "power" points, which unlock the progression of the vastly more interesting main quest.

Overall, while not as good as Origins, Inquisition is a step forward from the second chapter of the series - it feels like DA2 done right, without cutting corners.

Companions are mostly well-developed, with solid voice acting. There are nine potential party members and also three advisors who can't follow you around but still get plenty of screentime and interactions. Lore is interesting, although the codex collecting it is poorly thought-out.

There are several good news in terms of gameplay. Exploration is back, so players can ride mounts, climb mountains, find secret locations. The world is fairly vast and sometimes large maps are used well, such as a fun treasure hunt in a desert. The main city in the game is a joke though; any comparison with the huge, sprawling, detailed Vizima of The Witcher 3 would be downright embarrassing for Inquisition.

The strategic elements of being a faction leader (planning quests through advisors, managing a stronghold, holding trials) are simplistic but entertaining. Combat is on the easy/chaotic side, but at least friendly fire is not tied to difficulty setting anymore, unlike in DA2. Character building isn't deep, but race selection is a welcome return. Companion approval level is wisely hidden from the player.

A special praise for the Dragon Age Keep, which allows players to import decisions from previous games: this is a simple but neat idea, something which should be done by every series where you can import old saves to see consequences of previous choices.

This game is a LOT of fun. Let me just be up front about that. It beats out Destiny by far. I know they aren't exactly in the same genre, but if you have to pick only one game to get on your shiny new PS4 or XBone or pc, get this game. So for the good: Most of the voice-acting in this game is superb. I mean it doesn't sound like your typical vanilla washed-out dialogue. Your companions interact with each other in the background as you are questing, and some of their banter is hilarious. It kind of really is like co-workers speaking to each other, because that is basically what they are. There is so much to do. I am chomping at the bit to keep pushing through the main story line, but I have to force myself to cool my jets and level up before I try to take on things like, say, dragons. The dragons are beautiful and scary. My last session I accidentally went too far into an zone I wasn't prepared for, and well...hilarity ensued. Your butt will be kicked gloriously in this game. Its not always apparent what monsters are stronger than you are and what aren't. It keeps you on your toes, but it doesn't make you anxiety-ridden either. Which brings me to another big plus: I get excited when I play this game, but it doesn't make me have anxiety attacks like other games do. Another nice thing is the characters in the story and your own character look like real people for the most part. I loved Mass Effect and the play-style is similar to that. Now for the cons: I won't complain about the glitches, because they have been very minor. What I don't like is the fact that there isn't a stash you can use in your home base, so you are constantly having to do inventory management. There is no way to know what quality drops you can get, or how often they may happen, so you kind of don't want to part with a whole lot until you play more of the game. There are areas and bosses that require specific types of damage like fire, ice, spirit, etc, and you have to have gear that protects you from what they dish out. Plus, you are not only putting gear and weapons on your own character- you're also doing it for your companions. Its not that easy to keep up with what you have and don't have. Another thing I don't like, which a previous reviewer mentioned, is that the hair styles that you can choose from are the same for both male and female characters...as far as the female hairstyles go, there are maybe 3 or 4 that are not hideous, the rest are men's avante garde asymmetrical cuts, flat tops, small 'fros, or you could go bald. There isn't even a decent mohawk (that can usually work for anyone.) Maybe you can tell that I'm a chick because I'm going on about the hair, but come on guys...you have to look at your character for 150 hours...you want to look fierce and awesome- you need options in order to not get sick of looking at your character's grape- shaped head. Have the ability to respec the hair style/color in exchange for gold or something. Having said all that, those issues are relatively minor. I'd rather have a fun game to play versus a game that is gorgeous but not fun to play (like Rift). This game won GOTY, and it absolutely deserves it, imperfections and all. Its worth the money.

Did I play this game 7 times? Yes I did. Will that stop me from playing it again? Most definitely not.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is a true masterpiece in the world of role-playing games, and it successfully continues the famous franchise. After the somewhat disappointing second part, the developers at Bioware clearly learned their lessons and made every effort to ensure that the third installment impresses players with its scale, story, and quality.

One of the main attractions of the game is its vast and meticulously crafted world. It is divided into several regions, each with its unique landscape, atmosphere, and history. Players have the opportunity to explore expansive locations, complete various quests, uncover secrets, and engage in battles with enemies. The developers clearly aimed to make the world feel alive, and they succeeded. However, some activities may seem a bit repetitive - for example, resource gathering or completing minor quests. But overall, the world is vast and impressive.

The game's storyline is another aspect that deserves attention. It continues and develops the events established in previous installments. The main character becomes the leader of the Inquisition, an organization tasked with saving the world from chaos and destruction. The story is full of intrigue, political decisions, and moral dilemmas, making it incredibly engaging. The player's choices once again play a key role in how events unfold, and every decision can have significant consequences for the plot. Some moments make you question the correctness of your actions, adding depth to the narrative.

The return of the ability to choose your race, as in the first part, is a huge plus for many fans. Players can create characters from different races, including humans, elves, dwarves, and qunari. The introduction of qunari as a playable race (finally!) was a long-awaited move that many welcomed with enthusiasm. This choice not only adds diversity to the game but also affects interactions with other characters and the development of the story.

The visual aspect of the game deserves special praise. The graphics are stunning, with detailed textures, realistic lighting effects, and breathtaking landscapes. All the locations are crafted with great attention to detail, and the character and enemy designs look impressive. The game simply shines with its visuals, and even years after its release, it remains one of the most beautiful RPGs on the market.

The combat system in Inquisition also received significant improvements. The game has become more action-oriented, but the tactical component, which was an important part of the previous games, is still present. The player can switch between tactical planning mode and real-time combat. This allows for different strategies in each battle, adding depth to the gameplay.

When the game was first released, there were complaints about grinding - some players noted that the need to gather resources and complete many side quests to progress the story felt a bit overwhelming. However, I didn't experience this issue. While there are some additional tasks, they're not too burdensome and, in fact, add variety to the gameplay. Thanks to the scale of the world and the amount of content, the game never gets boring.

However, there is one aspect that disappointed me slightly - the game's ending. While the entire story develops in an interesting and captivating way, the finale wasn't as epic as I had hoped. The events leading up to the end didn't have the scale I was expecting, leaving a feeling of incompleteness. Perhaps this was done intentionally to leave room for future sequels, but I still wanted a bit more drama.

Overall, Dragon Age: Inquisition is an impressive game that skillfully combines elements of classic RPGs with modern innovations. Despite some flaws, it's a great example of how to create an immersive game universe with a rich story, interesting characters, and a vast world to explore.