Dragon Age: Inquisition

zoimos

Dec 10, 2014

4

Controls are awful making it really difficult to get into the game and gave up after a few hours, game was clearly made for the xbox and hardly any time or thought was put into the PC version. Tactics you can't give any conditions for use with abilities only the option to auto cast randomly.

Graphics look good on high settings and the world looks fun to explore, as the controls stoppedControls are awful making it really difficult to get into the game and gave up after a few hours, game was clearly made for the xbox and hardly any time or thought was put into the PC version. Tactics you can't give any conditions for use with abilities only the option to auto cast randomly.

Graphics look good on high settings and the world looks fun to explore, as the controls stopped me progressing far into the game I can't really comment on story or characters.

Hopefully controls will be in a future patch and it will be playable with a mouse and keyboard but I shouldn't have to wait weeks/(months?) after buying the game to be able to play it

If you like RPGs like Origins you will be disappointed as this is a game for consoles and Bioware isn't the same company that will make games like that anymore… Expand

Scoobydooby

Apr 8, 2015

4

Let me start by saying this review is coming from a hardcore gamer. I've played DA:O and DA2.. completed both games, along with many other RPG, ARPG, MMO, you name it. I play on PC, I laugh at the idea of ever playing on a console again unless its an NHL or Mortal Kombat game, and have a rig and a battlestation of a life long PC gamer.
Now that this is out of the way, the game.
ILet me start by saying this review is coming from a hardcore gamer. I've played DA:O and DA2.. completed both games, along with many other RPG, ARPG, MMO, you name it. I play on PC, I laugh at the idea of ever playing on a console again unless its an NHL or Mortal Kombat game, and have a rig and a battlestation of a life long PC gamer.
Now that this is out of the way, the game.
I preordered this game. After watching youtube videos of the PC version,I thought to myself, "Bioware are really gonna blow the doors off with this game being that its been so long since DA2 was released".

Well, the game is really a middle of the road game. Its okay. Its not terrible, its not amazing, its not really bad, and its not really great. Its average.
As I mentioned, I preordered this game, and played it for a couple weeks after it released. After that, I have not loaded it up since. Not once. That right there should say a lot coming from someone like myself who plays games and can spend hours playing a game that they like. Not once, and not only that, I can't even see myself every loading it up again.

On PC, this game was neglected for sure.. I can totally see how its been made for consoles, and honestly, as much as I have a problem with this, I still think that I could play the game happily despite of it. What grinds me though is that they (bioware/EA) blatently stated that the PC version was designed specifically for the PC gamer.

What a load of complete bull$hit. Nothing but crap to get pc gamers to open their wallets and spend $60 for a game that truly is not worth it.

The Environments and graphics are top notch. This to me is one of the only things that this game did really and truly great. The engine really works great and although the performance is not as optimized as it could be, the game really looks beautiful. Full marks to them on this part.
Animations too are done well. not incredible, but definitely good.

Some of the banter between characters and the members of your team that you meet are also humorous and keeps it light. This to me is what Dragon Age is really all about. Commanding your squad, exploring together and playing off of each member's skills to complete objectives and grow in power, influence and skill.

Once you get past the above, the grim reality of this game really punches you in the face, hard.
If you are someone who played the previous versions, its tough to gauge at first why you don't care about Inquisition the way you did for Origins and DA2.. but then over time you realize why.

Its because the game really has no soul. It may have the looks, but like finding a partner to get married to and spend your life with, looks are only a fraction of the larger, more important whole. It lacks that feeling that inspires you to explore and play more.. fight more.. proceed further into the story.

The combat is simply not fun. I don't WANT to get into another fight, because fights are tedious and repetitive. AI is stupid, so you're constantly having to worry about your squad doing dumb **** instead of what you're doing. Times that by 3 and its a mess.
Tactical Camera - I don't even know wtf they were thinking honestly. Does anyone use it? I think it would actually be better if they removed it entirely, because its almost added into the game forcefully as it doesn't really gel with the way the game plays otherwise, which is much more like skyrim than dragon age.

Add to that the fact that the skill tree and tactical menu are either noobed down immensely or removed entirely. Tactics menu? Gone. Widdled down to almost nothing. I can only imagine that featuring this was "not cost effective" and would only serve to "alienate more casual players", so they just removed it. Yes, I'm assuming this is why, but I also don't think my assumption is very far off. Skill tree? Totally uninspiring.

Then you have the big expansive world that they've provided. Only problem is that once they created the game world, they had an "oh $hit" moment when they realized that now they had to fill it with content. Oops!
Well, lets just fill it will meaningless fetch quests to gather xyz for the sole purpose of? That's right, there is no purpose. If I wanted to play an MMO, I would. What I wanted was a true successor to Dragon Age.. this game is not that.

I haven't even gotten into the story, which as cliched as it is, still shows moments of potential.. but sadly, its not long enough, nor is it immersive enough to save the rest of the game from itself.

Truly saddening this game is to me. I want to like it, but I don't want to play it. It tortures me, and yet I'd rather choose to not even think about it and just play something that actually provides enjoyment.
I gave the game 4/10 because I know that there are talented designers that have worked on it, and they deserve credit for making it look nice.
Unfortunately, this does not make a game great. :(… Expand

Sin2x

Nov 24, 2014

4

Not as good as the first one, not as bad as the second one. Just meh. Minus one point because controls on the PC suck at the moment, though patch is in the works. I'd wait before it goes on sale.

Isca

Mar 23, 2015

4

Very pretty game to look at, but not much going on under the bonnet, other than a plethora of MMO type 'fetch/carry/kill' quests, which leave the experience feeling like it is soulless.

The visual effects are gorgeous at times, and the sound effects/ambiance are adequate for the settings. The voice acting is solid, and I particularly liked the style of NPC interactions, which felt likeVery pretty game to look at, but not much going on under the bonnet, other than a plethora of MMO type 'fetch/carry/kill' quests, which leave the experience feeling like it is soulless.

The visual effects are gorgeous at times, and the sound effects/ambiance are adequate for the settings. The voice acting is solid, and I particularly liked the style of NPC interactions, which felt like an exchange had actually taken place.

I didn't experience any bugs or glitches, other than the party members sometimes taking up very odd positions (e.g. balancing on a rope, standing on a goat). My party members freaked me out too often for me to like them, always lurking a few steps behind me, and appearing to embarrassingly scatter if they ever did get in my way. It was liked I was being stalked by characters who wanted to be my friend, but didn't ever actually say anything to me.

The party AI and tactics are nothing less than appalling. Mages and rangers tend to pile in to melee positions, ruining any tactics planned, sometimes they just run about like headless chickens not knowing what to do. The equipment and provisions are so clumsy to equip that you can't make tactical decisions on the fly anyway ( e.g. easily swapping from range to melee weapons mid-combat). If you leave your character to try to rectify this by taking over one of the others, your main character then decides the best tactic is to do the opposite of what he was doing under your control, so if you flit back to him, your plans are ruined.

DA:I has, quite probably the worst UI ever invented as far back as I remember, with virtually everything going through the start button each time you want to make a slight change, look at the map etc - this coupled with an over exuberance for useless titbits of lore information completely destroys any immersion.

I really wanted to enjoy this game, but had to call it a day after 20 hours or so, because it just felt like a chore, rather than a pleasure to play.… Expand

Yeoman

Jun 16, 2015

4

DA3 wasn't BAD. It was just run of the mill, maybe a bit below. The game play wasn't very good. It was a single player MMORPG at heart. And progress was slow, and the zoning for high level and lower level creatures was very lopsided. Like you'd be fighting wolves that no longer yield experience for your level, and then a level 9000 zombie comes flying in out of nowhere. It made no senseDA3 wasn't BAD. It was just run of the mill, maybe a bit below. The game play wasn't very good. It was a single player MMORPG at heart. And progress was slow, and the zoning for high level and lower level creatures was very lopsided. Like you'd be fighting wolves that no longer yield experience for your level, and then a level 9000 zombie comes flying in out of nowhere. It made no sense whatsoever. Fighting pointless, grey level enemies then getting clobbered by a red elite just isn't fun.

I liked it, but then all the little things started taking the fun out of it. Gameplay, the world wasn't immersive, it wasn't like DA2 enough for my tastes, cookie-cutter character builds, cookie-cutter NPC's with low-content convo, strange looking people with shiny lips and skin that looked like they were wearing baby oil, poor mob level zoning, cookie-cutter quests, long drawn out missions, slow gameplay, clunky interface, no easier difficulty setting, large low content zones that got depressing and dragged on forever.

It didn't really deliver on what it said it was, like it only made a half-hearted attempt, kind of like they half-arsed it and then said it met their criterion. I didn't really want to live in that world and couldn't get immersed in it as much as I did in DA2. I missed the snappy conversations, easy and quick quick action, and cheesy yet charming Hollywood-style convos and gameplay.

It was fun but the newness wore off. I'd say DA3 was maybe a 4. Which means it really isn't worth playing in the long run. I spent the $60 and at first I liked it, but after about a week when the newness wore off, I found the game to be depressing and disappointed. I'd say it's really a $20 dollar game. I probably won't revisit it, since there will always be something better to play, and if I need to, DA2 hits the spot for my Dragon Age fix.

For these reasons, I must reluctantly chop the game with a big red 4. It's 'almost' an average game that I could replay. But not quite.… Expand

DaedricLord

Jun 26, 2016

4

I bought DA3 GOTY when it became dirt cheap, why? Because I hate EA's guts for ruining franchises like Dragon Age and Mass Effect. DA1 was an excellent game, DA2 was console catering piece of crap, Mass Effect 3-endings/Catalyst you know how that one went. DA3 is a game that does some things great and then fails in many other places, lots of potential but the execution lacks in manyI bought DA3 GOTY when it became dirt cheap, why? Because I hate EA's guts for ruining franchises like Dragon Age and Mass Effect. DA1 was an excellent game, DA2 was console catering piece of crap, Mass Effect 3-endings/Catalyst you know how that one went. DA3 is a game that does some things great and then fails in many other places, lots of potential but the execution lacks in many departments.

Graphics are nice and most locations are well designed, there are many different armor models (a big plus), but faces of NPCs look kind of odd, cartoonish sometimes, similar art direction to DA2 which is not good at all, bald female characters in the character creation get a huge and unnatural looking top of their head. And dont get me started on the unnatural looking ears and terrible hairstyles. Qunari look like humanoid cows. Many characters from DA1 that appear in DA3 underwent a bad redesign and look much worse than in DA1, some dont even resemble the look from DA1. And the game seems pretty big if you explore everything which is a plus, but again ruined by too much grinding.

Combat-the core of any RPG and the place where DA3 spectaculary fails, party based RPG that DOESNT HAVE AUTOATTACK, automatic fail of the highest category, game was obviously designed for consoles and more arcade RPG players, was it so difficult to implement autoattack for PC version? Seems so according to EA. Lack of autoattack makes the combat nothing more than button mashing.

Also there is NO AUTOLOOT and your character does not move when you click on the container, you must literally walk up right to it, also you cannot click on a location and have your character move there like in DA1, you must use WASD all the time or extremely poorly done top view.

Reputation/power points-while it is logical you need to gather influence for your cause the way it is implemented in the game is terrible, you literally grind pointless side quests and farm for ingredients so you can gain enough Power that is necessary to unlock missions. This has two big downsides, first this artificially makes the playthrough much longer and is boring to do, second it makes replayability low because do you really want to go through all that grinding again and again? I dont. They should have scrapped this and do it like in DA1, you need to gather allies through quests. Visiting new areas serves no purpose whatsoever than gather power in usually pointless grinding quests, here and there some quests are more interesting, but that doesnt happen too often. What makes it even worse you cant even cheat on that for your new playthroughs, I didnt find any console commands to get power.

Squadmates-generally not very interesting at all, some are even outright annoying or one sided (Sera/Iron Bull). I cant believe they didnt bring back any squadmate from DA1. I felt zero connection and empathy towards my squadmates, unlike DA1 where I really enjoyed all of them, even those I didnt like because they had character and were well written.

Story and quests-they range from stupid and one sided to some pretty well written ones, most of them are stupid and one sided, also game confines you to certain decisions you cannot reject or overrule, including some pretty stupid twists, that are also lore breaking, only idiots at EA can write, but after Mass Effect 3 ending nothing should surprise us it seems.

If you loved DA1 but didnt like DA2 then dont buy this game, you will be disappointed. If you are really that keen on giving it a try, buy it when it gets dirt cheap like I did. Favorable "critic" reviews are not to be believed, game is bland and lacks depth and atmosphere, has terrible combat and your decisions are mostly cosmetic similar to DA2, while in the first game your choices actually mattered and had an impact on the world, you could choose many paths, goody two shoes, neutral or outright sadistic psychopath, hell you could even execute your whole party except for Oghren and Morrigan. Having Alistair for the whole game and then siding with Anora and letting her execute him was priceless, that amount of freedom of choice is non existent in DA3. EA basically decided everything for you and let you have a few choices that dont really make any significant difference. And by the way even if you killed Leliana in DA1 she will appear in DA3, how? Well the Maker brought her back of course.

EA can go **** themselves with a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire for ruining franchises with games like this.… Expand

GBN4_EAGLE

Aug 19, 2015

4

I really wanted to like this game, the first roughly 10 hours I was thoroughly enjoying it. However, 10-15 hours later that view changed. I began forcing myself to continue, I felt way too overwhelmed by the boring side quests and grind to continue. Myself personally felt like it was never going to end (the context i mean as it dragged on), I just wanted to progress through the story andI really wanted to like this game, the first roughly 10 hours I was thoroughly enjoying it. However, 10-15 hours later that view changed. I began forcing myself to continue, I felt way too overwhelmed by the boring side quests and grind to continue. Myself personally felt like it was never going to end (the context i mean as it dragged on), I just wanted to progress through the story and feel like a hero but that never came. I put the game down because it felt more like a chore than a game.

I loved DA:O and it kept me drawn in all the way to the end, I've even gone back to play it a few times but DA:I just doesn't cut it.

I tried coming back to the game several times, to see if I could get into it but each time failed.

Overall it could have been an amazing game but it sadly fell short.… Expand

Vozzlefox

Jan 3, 2015

4

First off, I have about 100+ hours of gameplay sitting into this game right now. I have given dragon age: Inquisition a fair chance because I really really wanted to like this game. I have spent an ungodly amount of time playing the first two installments of the dragon age series. Adored Origins and still uphold it as one of the best games ever made, I recognized dragon age II's many flawsFirst off, I have about 100+ hours of gameplay sitting into this game right now. I have given dragon age: Inquisition a fair chance because I really really wanted to like this game. I have spent an ungodly amount of time playing the first two installments of the dragon age series. Adored Origins and still uphold it as one of the best games ever made, I recognized dragon age II's many flaws but still thoroughly enjoyed it.

Let me start off with what in my opinion is the biggest problem that Inquisition has: The controls. In the first 15 or so minutes or playing i already felt incredibly irritated with how bad these controls are. In an rpg, it is pretty standard that holding both mouse buttons or clicking on a location on the floor causes your character to move, in this game it causes you to attack, which forces you to wait out a tediously long attack animation before you can move again. Which bring me to the second controls problem: the auto attacking. In the previous games right clicking an enemy caused you to automatically auto attack that target over and over again, in this game you only attack once, which forces you to spam your mouse button trough a majority of the game. This is most likely because for a console game this would make sense, as is with most control problems in this game. Looting the enemy corpses is incredibly tedious and much more difficult than it was in the previous installments, which only adds to the irritation. There are many more control problems to go over but since i have a 5000 character max it wont fit into 1 review. I wish i was joking.

Second problem: The gameplay. Gameplay in the first two dragon age games required planning and working out an attack plan before engaging in combat (much more so in origins than in 2) but in this game the combat seems to be completely action oriented with little to no tactics involved at all. 80% of the time you are really just mashing buttons (this counts for normal but also hard and nightmare mode) pretty much all the challenge has left the game and it seems to barely count as an RPG anymore, if it is at all. Another problem with the gameplay is that the RPG elements have been extremely dumbed down: You can no longer assign your stat points to the stats of your choice, you can only have one specialization for your character (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), the skilltrees feel incredibly limited and the skillsets endorse mindless combat. In Origins you had extreme freedom over what your characters ended up being like in terms of gameplay and skillsets, in this game you have option A or option B, which as an RPG fan is incredibly disappointing.

Third problem: Instability. This game has a lot of basic issues ranging from crashing to downright strange and annoying bugs and glitches. I've ended up being stuck in the environment many, many times. And I have had to replay certain parts of the game because of crashes more times than is acceptable. The graphics glitch often as well and some characters look downright ugly and horribly designed. I have a high end gaming PC and an excellent graphics card and even for me the hair in this game often glitched and sometimes even disappeared.

The only good thing i can say about this game is that the characters are excellently written and the environments are beautiful but it suffers form many many issues and bugs that more often than not serve to irritate the player to no end. As a former Bioware fanboy and RPG enthusiast I honestly cannot recommend that you but this game.

4/10… Expand

james2003

Dec 20, 2014

4

What they have done here is piece the some of the best aspects of great games... and created a monstrosity. It's screams like Mass Effect in the world of Skyrim, which honestly leaves me a little unsure how to feel.

Yet the worse thing about this game is the controls for the PC. Buttons all over the place, a Camera movement that was clearly designed for console D-pads only, andWhat they have done here is piece the some of the best aspects of great games... and created a monstrosity. It's screams like Mass Effect in the world of Skyrim, which honestly leaves me a little unsure how to feel.

Yet the worse thing about this game is the controls for the PC. Buttons all over the place, a Camera movement that was clearly designed for console D-pads only, and unintuitive controls. It's as if the game was developed by console elitist who have no idea what a mouse and keyboard looks like. They probably coded the whole thing through their xbox controller.

There are some good points of this game, but you really have to struggle through at least the first half to appreciate it. The story is all right with some really good characters, a good mix of humour, and a step up on the naughty level from ME. The delivery of lines is painful and has no flow to it, which is linked to just bad timing. This makes the acting a horrid affair to watch and you may seriously consider stabbing out your eyes as relief during cut scenes.

I played as an Archer and found the game practically auto aims for you stripping any challenge away. You struggle with PC controls with its hold right click to use a free aim camera and find yourself in a constant battle with overcorrection wobble.

Then there are moments when the mouse suddenly does comes into play, such as looting the body, which leaves you searching the screen for the mouse cursor so you can right click and loot. I cannot begin to tell you how extremely annoy this is, but the moment you play you'll instantly understand why Bioware must hate PC players.

NPC are actually quite proficient and end up making you look bad. Often battles range on while you quietly become the spectator and deal with any open rifts. Suddenly you realise that you are the NPC "the non-person character/unimportant character" and even though the story centres on you, you realise you're not there because you are talented you're there because you where given a gift by god. It must be what super models feel like...?

The "Mass Effect" combat system seems to be a step back for Bioware in this case. Just poorly implemented and makes you scream in frustration, yearning for ME again. The whole game revolves around holding down the fire button, dispatching enemies, and then wobbling your way to the next group of baddies.… Expand

repachillo

Feb 26, 2016

4

Большая и вонючая куча фансервиса. Тупейший сюжет, бесячие персонажи (помимо гея, Быка, Варрика и Жозефины), MMO-квесты и MMO-локации, унылая боевка, посредственная графика. Крутой редактор персонажей гораздо интереснее, чем вся последующая игра.Большая и вонючая куча фансервиса. Тупейший сюжет, бесячие персонажи (помимо гея, Быка, Варрика и Жозефины), MMO-квесты и MMO-локации, унылая боевка, посредственная графика. Крутой редактор персонажей гораздо интереснее, чем вся последующая игра.

Stevie98

Jan 1, 2015

4

I give this game a 4,that's terrible news for an AAA game...so much marketing,so much hype...for so little joy.

I have played 50 hours on PC version,i have not finished the game and i just don't want to play anymore,this game is that boring. Let's begin with the cons: - Multiple side quests...yes,this is a negative here,because mostly of them are pointless and repetitive andI give this game a 4,that's terrible news for an AAA game...so much marketing,so much hype...for so little joy.

I have played 50 hours on PC version,i have not finished the game and i just don't want to play anymore,this game is that boring.

Let's begin with the cons:

- Multiple side quests...yes,this is a negative here,because mostly of them are pointless and repetitive and accomplish absolutely nothing,i have played 50 hours making side quests and the majority of main quests...i don't want to finish this game anymore...
- No tactical combat...actually i just use the tactical camera to see the weakness of the enemies and nothing else,it's just useless,the game is an improved hack' n' slash button mashing from the previous game,the control is odd also...
- **** ugly character movements and emotions...yes the graphic has improved but the game is just...weird,the armors are ugly,the enemies look all the same and what the hell happened with the badass Darkspawn from DAO?
- **** of glitches...i mean,a lot,people poping in,bears flying,giants flying,two Cassandras in a cut scene,not beginning quests...
- What happened with those nice spells from DAO?Now it is just some explosion or circles in the ground...just meh...i liked the spells in DAO graphically speaking

Now the Pros

- Voice acting is good
- Story doesn't compromise but it's just average
- Mention on the Hero of Ferelden and cameo of the Champion
- Skyhold is nice
- The war table as a good idea,need improvement tough
- Music and sound are really good
- Companions

Unfortunately the pros doesn't even come close with the cons,i actually regret buying this game...even after the deception from DA2...i guess no more Dragon Age...unfortunately they will never deliver something close with DAO that is a masterpiece.… Expand

KingKaz

Nov 18, 2014

4

Clunky gameplay. Mediocre story. Hamfisted characters. Very big downgrade from DA2 which was considerably worse than DA:O. As a AAA title DA:I fails to deliver in a lot of areas. Any video game enthusiast would feel cheated paying full price for a mess like this.

Robert_RGN

Nov 18, 2014

4

The game is ok. Graphics are good but I have a high end PC. Regular PC users with regular systems won't get the same quality. The reason I gave it 4/10 is because of the lack of PC optimization. All the controls are Consolelike and will frustrate you a lot. I'm afraid this game is going down due to this mistake which was overlooked. One does not simply create a PC game and completelyThe game is ok. Graphics are good but I have a high end PC. Regular PC users with regular systems won't get the same quality. The reason I gave it 4/10 is because of the lack of PC optimization. All the controls are Consolelike and will frustrate you a lot. I'm afraid this game is going down due to this mistake which was overlooked. One does not simply create a PC game and completely ignores to optimize it for the PC.… Expand

Exemplis

Nov 18, 2014

4

Disappointment.

Marketing department did their job well -> I preordered this..
Developers (was it really Bioware?) ... well, they did what they were told to do.
I rated 4 because this game is a nice-looking singleplayer mmo / dating simulator hybrid.
It definitely ISN'T RPG, and only connection to DAO is the setting.

I feel sad as i'm refunding this.

RobotKitty

Nov 19, 2014

4

Four words sum up my experience so far with Dragon Age: Inquisition - This is ludicrously broken.

Negatives: - I am playing on PC, and haven't been able to make it beyond leveling up in the tutorial. After three new characters, I am still unable to level my character up. The game states, "press P to use your ability points," I rush to the screen to level up, and receive the followingFour words sum up my experience so far with Dragon Age: Inquisition - This is ludicrously broken.

Negatives:

- I am playing on PC, and haven't been able to make it beyond leveling up in the tutorial. After three new characters, I am still unable to level my character up. The game states, "press P to use your ability points," I rush to the screen to level up, and receive the following message, "Some features are currently unavailable"..Flabbergasted, I question, "I'm sorry, wasn't I just told to spend my ability points?"...and it appears as if users on Xbox One and PC are experiencing this issue, in which the "character record" (i.e. level up screen) is locked. Therefore, unless I wish to play the game as a level 1 character and experience NONE of the abilities beyond the base one or two offered, it's impossible to progress further. It's an insult to me as a fan of Dragon Age, as a Gamer, and as a customer, to have to put up with such a grievous flaw in a product. This issue is what primarily resulted in my low score; however, below are some other issues that are far less significant, but still contributors.

- There's a "resource" system in which you essentially have to run around the area mashing the "search for resource/loot" button and listening to its obnoxious "ping-ping"..I don't want to have to hit a button to find resources, it's tedious and dull, and takes me out of the experience. Make the resources/loot stand out more against the environment like in Dragon Age Origins, instead of requiring me to mash a button if I want to gather resources in the environment.

-On PC, the cutscenes tend to stutter as well, apparently, allegedly, due to a 30FPS framerate lock. I haven't bothered to look online for solutions, as it doesn't bother me that much. To those who would say, "It's your computer!!!" I can't really do anything to persuade you otherwise - please go give your, obviously superior, über rig a hug.

- Character creation is not all that in-depth. I found the menus for customizing to be clunky and counter-intuitive. For certain options there's a slider, such as for face shape (there are about 8 or so options), and for others there's a weird crosshair system in which you drag a kind of orange cross across the grid and it changes your character's eye rotation, nose bridge etc., reminiscent of the Saint's Row weight slider system, except the corners are labeled in that. I found this clunky because none of the corners are labeled. Essentially, you just drag the odd cross around until you find something you like - it's a bit haphazard. I would like to have seen more options for hair styles, tattoos et al., as well, but that's just me.

- Another negative of Character Customization; there are no "starter story" options. You can't decide your character's background, you're assigned one automatically depending on your choice of race (of which there are 4) and class (rogue, warrior, mage). Also, everyone starts in the same exact spot...so starting a new game as a dwarf, or an elf, compared to a human, lacks the unique immersive sensation of, "Wow! There are actually different races and classes in this world, and I will be treated differently based on where I come from."

- One last note on Character Customization: There are two voice options. Yes, two. "Average" female voice and "rather manly, not-sure-what-you-are" female voice. Again, perhaps a bit petty, but I'd have liked to see a few more voice options..even just one or two more.

- They still haven't recaptured the beautiful elegance of the tactical view that we had in Dragon Age Origins. Still no surprise finishers (from what I saw, and I do so miss those..) and the combat feels far less brutal than that in the rather lackluster Dragon Age II.

- Tactical view is still...rather odd. If I left click an enemy, for example, a "basic attack" icon might, or might not, appear over my selected character's portrait...so I am unsure if he/she will actually attack the target. It's also odd to move around in the tactical view with "wasd"..it feels unnatural for some inexplicable reason.
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Positive:

+ Looks and sounds great. From the crunch of your feet in the snow to the dazzling effects of spells (from the two I saw, as a result of the error mentioned above with leveling up), the game does a great job of immersing you in the action and world.

+ Abilities feel like they have "punch" to them. When a spell impacts, or a greatsword hits, you can see the enemy flinch and it actually feels to a point, as if your actions impacts the target. However, as mentioned earlier in the negatives, the combat doesn't feel brutal, despite that feeling of impact. I'm not sure why this is, perhaps it's because the enemies in this game, as far as I have gotten, have been shades and wraiths.

+ Characters interact more than they did in 2.

+/- It has some form of class-based multiplayer, but I haven't tried it out yet.

Conclusion: I suggest waiting for patches.… Expand

KarStar

Nov 20, 2014

4

I'm a new metacritic user for the simple sake of sharing my disappointment with the game. I really like DA 2 because it felt more like an interactive movie with some decent action scenes. Yes, the on-rails gameplay and zone reuse was horrible, but it was still a fun game. I saw how my decisions changed the environment and each time I had to make a choice I felt the weight of it. It wasI'm a new metacritic user for the simple sake of sharing my disappointment with the game. I really like DA 2 because it felt more like an interactive movie with some decent action scenes. Yes, the on-rails gameplay and zone reuse was horrible, but it was still a fun game. I saw how my decisions changed the environment and each time I had to make a choice I felt the weight of it. It was also my introduction to the DA series. I tried DA: O but just couldn't get into it. I've played through ME 3 and part of ME 2. I really enjoyed SWToR, with it's fully voiced dialog and good class stories.

It is true that the reuse problem in DA 2 is gone with this game. But "open environment" is really not. It's some very large zones that you can load into--if you've unlocked them. This is not the complete open, wander where you wish, land of an ES or Fallout game. What Bioware has done right is to sprinkle treasure chests around to encourage exploration. And there are plenty of interesting things to see and do. But I'm already less interested in crawling over every inch--since, in many cases, invisible walls prevent it.

Many seem to think the dialog is disappointing. It's certainly not up to my expectations nor to the level of other Bioware creations I've played. DA 2's group banter was so entertaining. Event the characters in Mass Effect were worth talking to. It was one of Bioware's big selling points with me. What happened?

But arguably the biggest problem I have with this game is the character textures and complete lack of facial expression. It's the uncanny Valley of Plastic Skinned Robots with every dialog cutscene. The graphics and animations just don't feel like they are up to standards for a single player game. Is this a result of having MP in the game? Is the engine just not able to handle better?

As far as controls go and combat. I started playing as a dual wielding rogue, but find that in combat, I spend more time using Varric. I just don't understand how the devs missed this so badly. Melee is a pain. Tactical camera? Yeah, don't use it so much as I haven't found it to be very useable. I must blame consoles. If a game is designed for consoles, the PC interface fails. With DA 2 and ME 2 & 3, I was constantly jumping into the tactical mode to manage a fight. It just seems easier to stand back with range and let the NPCs run around. The statement from the game's producer that said PC user experience won't suffer was complete and utter BS. Menus and character control very much favor a console controller. Why do I still believe what these people say?

I'll keep playing just to finish it, but unless some fixes are incoming, I don't recommend this game. And I'll take a wait and see attitude with any new Bioware game.… Expand

wisery

Nov 20, 2014

4

Nice story, nice characters, but combat system is just awful. I set difficulty on 'Easy' just to skip battles faster. Exploration is nice, but navigation on storm coast or desert map is horrible. I don't want to jump on cliffs, I want to do quests. Mostly disappointed for now.

AB50

Nov 21, 2014

4

I've read every single review here (good, neutral & bad), and it's interesting that many of the low-medium rated scores go into great detail of why DAI is bad, whereas +75% of the 9-10/10 scores are often just one paragraph in length, and seem to do nothing but whine "Don't listen to anyone else's opinion except mine", "I'm giving this 10 purely because someone else gave it a 2" or yellI've read every single review here (good, neutral & bad), and it's interesting that many of the low-medium rated scores go into great detail of why DAI is bad, whereas +75% of the 9-10/10 scores are often just one paragraph in length, and seem to do nothing but whine "Don't listen to anyone else's opinion except mine", "I'm giving this 10 purely because someone else gave it a 2" or yell "troll" or "hater" against anyone who disagrees over the game's genuinely iffy mechanics (broken keyb + mouse controls, broken tactical camera, unscaled 'designed for TV' 10ft HUD on the 2ft PC version, no click to move, dumbed down MMO-style button mashing combat that genuinely feels out of place in a "heavy tactical RPG" franchise, etc).

There are indeed some people who may unfairly down-vote good games on the back of who the publisher is, but in DAI's case the low scores have it right regarding the shockingly bad PC version's / tactical camera controls for DAI and very obvious consolization / "bad port" on the HUD & controller vs keyb+mouse inputs. The REAL trolls are those openly admitting their 10/10 scores aren't a reflection of the actual game but rather a childish fake "revenge score" against anyone who "dares" to give it more than 2-3 points lower than they did. And hating / attacking other people for "daring" to vote a game lower than your own score is just chronic "fanboy" insecurity.

I love this site, and am well aware of some "hate reviews" spoiling some good games - but that cuts both ways and also includes high voting trolls trying to pretend that buggy games are somehow perfect works of art. Metacritic needs a huge "user review" overhaul starting with automatic review deletions for anyone who admits "I gave a false score of x purely because someone else said something I didn't like" as that isn't a serious "review" at all, it's exactly the same "score trolling" they falsely accuse the "haters" of. Another thing that needs bans are the sleazy personal attacks on the lines of "Anyone who downvotes Bioware games must hate gay people" false-flag 'hate speech' accusations, of which I've read by at least two childish 10/10 trolls here. Finally, there also needs to be automatic review deletions / flagging for those who vote up the same game multiple times for multiple platforms (have you REALLY gone and spent $300 buying the same $60 game 5x over for separate PC, PS4, XB1, XBOX360 & PS3 versions of the same game? No - so at least 4 out of those 5x 10* reviews are fake then...

Some people are just going to have to "get over themselves" that not every game you personally like deserves a 10 if it has iffy game mechanics that are serious enough to cause a widespread backlash / complaint on multiple gaming forums - and that's DAI in a nutshell - a very pretty game with a good soundtrack that's completely spoiled by some messed up "console first" input design decisions that have rendered keyboard & mouse input controls highly annoying. Same goes for stupid 10/10 reviews with simultaneous "but I'm just waiting for a patch". A perfect 10 should be just that - an infallibly perfect game in ALL aspects, and DAI is far, far from that with even Bioware themselves admitting some aspects of the PC version need urgently patching.… Expand

ROSSONERI108

Dec 6, 2014

4

average game and really shows haw bioware stranderd has fallen..... the game has over 100 hours of stuff to do tho every bit of i is boring there is not one side mission worth doing every single area is the same as the last and the gameplay is a outrage i will never get exited for a dragon age game again...this is a sequel to dragon age 2 and it shows

ElseWorth

Dec 3, 2014

4

If this is the future of RPG games, then I need to lose some braincells. More and more it becomes a MMO. They didn't have enough story telling. so they added a load of Kill X of Y and Fetch quest. It seems like grinding is the new way to go in games, as if we don't have enough of those games.
This is your typical console button smashing fest with a bit of story.
I guess this is a newIf this is the future of RPG games, then I need to lose some braincells. More and more it becomes a MMO. They didn't have enough story telling. so they added a load of Kill X of Y and Fetch quest. It seems like grinding is the new way to go in games, as if we don't have enough of those games.
This is your typical console button smashing fest with a bit of story.
I guess this is a new market for Consoles because the RPG market is relative new on console. But on PC it go's WAY back, and most of us PC gamers expect more then just button smashing and Kill X of Y quests. Otherwise your better of playing WoW.… Expand

Sibroc

Nov 23, 2014

4

*This review is for the PC version.*

I cannot talk about story, quests, characters etc because I never got to experience them. I never got to see what this game is about (which probably is a shame because it seems that there is some quality content there). After the first couple of hours I got so frustrated and angry with the mouse & keyboard controls that I had to quit. I asked a*This review is for the PC version.*

I cannot talk about story, quests, characters etc because I never got to experience them. I never got to see what this game is about (which probably is a shame because it seems that there is some quality content there). After the first couple of hours I got so frustrated and angry with the mouse & keyboard controls that I had to quit.

I asked a refund immediately after.

(For the record, DAO was one of my favorite games, I actually liked DA2 and I LOVED the Mass Effect series, ending and all, so no BIOWARE grunge here. Also no EA grunge either, they were polite and quick to refund).

Positives: The game looks beautiful (if a little plasticy), when it doesn't crash... As I wrote the refund was issued immediately so kudos to EA/Origin for that I guess...

As a side note it's incredible that all "professional" reviewers who supposedly played DO:I on PC, seem to be so blasé about the Kb&mouse controls. In my 20 years of gaming I do not remember ever having to quit a game because of frustration (and I have played Gothic 2). Yet it seems that every "critic" simply feels that the controls and UI are not something worth mentioning or have any impact on the rating...

So let me me help some poor souls, if you plan to buy on PC and don't own a controller (or don't like using one) you had better wait for a patch...… Expand

Avalonica

Nov 21, 2014

4

Software Engine:
Generally speaking, the story writing/momentum in Dragon Age: Inquisition is of poor quality compared to Dragon Age: Origins because the "frostbite engine" took up far to much resources/focus/time. While the "intentions/ideas" behind Dragon Age: Inquisition is fantastic, it never "rise" above the standards of an "expansion pack" on it's own. As a side-note: Dragon Age 2Software Engine:
Generally speaking, the story writing/momentum in Dragon Age: Inquisition is of poor quality compared to Dragon Age: Origins because the "frostbite engine" took up far to much resources/focus/time. While the "intentions/ideas" behind Dragon Age: Inquisition is fantastic, it never "rise" above the standards of an "expansion pack" on it's own. As a side-note: Dragon Age 2 was actually developed from the start as an "expansion pack" for Dragon Age: Origins.

Dragon Age: Origins did run on the "Eclipse Engine" and Dragon Age 2 on the "Lycium Engine", while lot of bad things can be said about the "character designs" in Dragon Age 2 and lack of fluff features found in Dragin Age: Origins the "Lycium Engine" did a really good job, and here we have the core of the problem: Dragon Age: Inquisition is using the "frostbite engine" that has been butchered into something it's not meant to do, and it really shows.

For the sake of discussion; - If BioWare had tweaked the "Lycium Engine" and put all content/resources/time there we would have had a "true" successor to Dragon Age: Origins that most players would have had a "connection with", but as of now jumping into a First person shooter/car driving engine was a terrible bad call!

Design flaws:
To re-invent a "working concept" is a dangerous thing, and how Electronic Art's could allow BioWare to mess with their best IP like this is for me a riddle since each years FIFA only has some new logos/text and still sell good...

Really, if BioWare and Electronic Arts (with respect said) had swallowed their "inflated pride" and contacted Bethesda Softworks and told them about Dragon Age: Inquisition and if they could get a license to use Bethesda's own "Creation Engine" we would have had a fantastic game. Skyrim (running on the Creation Engine) with player-made mods has support for serveral companions and amazing features. So I am not the least exaggerating when I say: Bethesda's "Creation Engine" can do anything Frostbite does right now much better excluding multiplayer.

But oh no, it had to be Frostbite, and here we are just like with Dragon Age 2, a lackluster story that somehow fails to play out as "intended". The best thing that could happen with Dragon Age: Inquisition is that somehow a dedicated player-base convert it all to a mod for Dragon Age: Origins or Skyrim.

While the PR department did a really good job in sending out copies for "early reviews", everything got over-hyped just like a glass of water in a dry desert, and "design flaws" (aka design-compromises) with a "lackluster story" more or less (as usual) was ignored by the major reviewers.

Why all the dual-core hate:
While most people acknowledge that "dual cores" are in the twilight years by now, it was a strike under the belt to "code in" a software non-start routine for the owners of such computers, even if the minimum restrictions is listed as quad-core to run the game. It might even be so that the "Denuvo DRM" demands so much resources on PC so that is the main reason why dual-cores can't play the game (food for thought)...

Multiplayer co-op:
I found a quite alarming newsflash on the internet "EA to "retire" online support for select games" - and my logical question now is what will happen with the co-op multiplayer and "the keep" when EA decide to retire Dragon Age: Inquisition?
Source: http://www.pcgamer.com/ea-to-retire-online-support-for-select-games

When looking on the "EA Online Service Updates" (their own official list with all titles they terminated support for) I see that the Dragon Age franchise already got hit "Dragon Age Legends for Facebook and Google+".
Source: http://www.ea.com/1/service-updates

With a future like this in store for Dragon Age: Inquisition I would think it really would benefit the game with the following changes (mentioned for the sake of discussion).

a. include a offline co-op mode
b. include co-op LAN support
c. include co-op Direct IP support
d. include "The Keep" as a DLC (for "future compatibility") since something similar was done for Mass Effect 2 when a port was done for Playstation 3.

People who buy DA:I should not have a "critical parts" of the game "die on them" just because they don't have internet access or EA shut down support for their game (remember what happened when Gamespy shut down multiplayer support?)

Final words: Dragon Age: Inquisition does not play well in a semi-open corridor environment. The Frostbite Engine is a fiasco and the Lycium Engine, Unreal Engine or Bethesda's "Creation Engine" had done much more justice to Dragon Age: Inquisition.

Final Score: Buyer beware!… Expand

Tulsar

Nov 24, 2014

4

Hard to follow the story as you're lost in large areas for hours doing tedious quests in order to level up.

Gathering enough crafting materials to make just a few items takes forever, causing you to stop every 30 seconds to pick a flower, or "mine" an ore node. PC controls are very clunky. I repeat, very clunky. Targeting is bad, Camera angles are hard to control. YouHard to follow the story as you're lost in large areas for hours doing tedious quests in order to level up.

Gathering enough crafting materials to make just a few items takes forever, causing you to stop every 30 seconds to pick a flower, or "mine" an ore node.

PC controls are very clunky. I repeat, very clunky. Targeting is bad, Camera angles are hard to control. You basically become the tag-along in your party, as opposed to being the hero, because every AI controlled character is leaps and bounds ahead of what you can do stuck fumbling with controls and camera angles.

Alot of spells share timers, so even if you want to use them, you're suck auto attacking most of the time. I don't care how cool an attack animation looks, after you've seen it for the 1000th time, it gets old.

Undefined leveling areas. I'm constantly running into enemies that are 6 levels above me and then being lost on where to go next.

I'm about 15 hours in and really don't feel like playing it anymore… Expand

McMudd

Nov 24, 2014

4

As the game is on PC it is almost unplayable. Not so much for any crashing issues, but because of the controls and in particular the camera. I never review games but because of how badly the PC port has been made, I thought I should add my voice to the hundreds of others out there.

Until the tactical camera is made more useful and I don't have to constantly mash a button to attack, IAs the game is on PC it is almost unplayable. Not so much for any crashing issues, but because of the controls and in particular the camera. I never review games but because of how badly the PC port has been made, I thought I should add my voice to the hundreds of others out there.

Until the tactical camera is made more useful and I don't have to constantly mash a button to attack, I don't think I could play this game again nor would I ever recommend it to anyone. In fact, I have already convinced others to not get the game yet or possibly at all until many of the issues mentioned all over the net have been rectified. Hopefully this review will help me do the same.

I did get some fun out of exploring and the the companion interactions, so basically none of the actual 'game-play' aspects of this game are any good, but the rest is amazing.… Expand

Hyrokin

Nov 27, 2014

4

This is my first metacritric comment, and sorry for my english since i´m german speaking!
I have played tons of RPG´s since late 80´s and nearly all of Biowares RPG´s including Jade Empire, Dragon Age, Baldurs Gate, KOTOR, Mass Effect,.....
I bought DO:I on Origin and returned the game after 5 hours because of the tactical view. This is the worst mouse/keyboard/tacticalview ever seen onThis is my first metacritric comment, and sorry for my english since i´m german speaking!
I have played tons of RPG´s since late 80´s and nearly all of Biowares RPG´s including Jade Empire, Dragon Age, Baldurs Gate, KOTOR, Mass Effect,.....
I bought DO:I on Origin and returned the game after 5 hours because of the tactical view. This is the worst mouse/keyboard/tacticalview ever seen on PC.
After spending 170 hours in Divine Divinity Original Sin this was a real disappointment !!
This may be a great game for consols and action RPG players but I am playing Wasteland 2 now.
PC seems to be dead for Bioware...… Expand

kenny187

Nov 25, 2014

4

This poor PC port compelled me to write my first review. First off I have to say the game isn't terrible, it's not great, but not terrible. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get that far into the game due to game breaking bugs. I'm on my fourth character now due to said bugs. My first character, a Qunari, wasn't able to level up because the Character Record was locked forever afterThis poor PC port compelled me to write my first review. First off I have to say the game isn't terrible, it's not great, but not terrible. Unfortunately I haven't been able to get that far into the game due to game breaking bugs. I'm on my fourth character now due to said bugs. My first character, a Qunari, wasn't able to level up because the Character Record was locked forever after leveling in the prologue. My second attempt, a Dwarf, was stuck inside the area of the first cut scene with the spiders and the glowing lady after the cut scene was done playing, unable to do anything. I tried another Dwarf and it did the exact same thing.

Bugs aside though unfortunately you can tell this is a poorly done console to PC port, the "tactical camera", if you could even call it that, is clunky and weird and obviously made for console controllers and not keyboard and mouse. The tactical aspect of this game, and a big selling point for most PC gamers that bought the previous DA games, is completely swept aside and irrelevant in this game due to poor AI programming and lack of tactic scripting the player was able to due in the previous entries. Bioware has obviously catered to the console and casual players with this entry by getting rid of the need to use your brain and instead just running into groups of enemies and slashing away at them instead of giving every engagement thought and planning. And that's fine for console gamers, but PC gamers 9 times out of 10 are not 12 and want to use our brains to gain the advantage in battle and make the experience of every enemy fulfilling and not seem like your just slashing away at a mindless drone.

The graphics are decent if your rig can handle, if not be prepared for hair that looks like it's wrapped in saran wrap. Also, the cutscenes are locked at 30 fps in-game rendering, why? If they were pre rendered cutscenes it would be a different story, but when your normally getting well above 30 fps and a cutscene kicks in and your all of a sudden shot down to 30 fps it's very noticeable and creates stuttering effects. Why was this decision made? I guess it'll just go down as another corporate mystery that we plebes will never know, just like why Destiny was cut and hacked like a Jeffrey Dahmer victim. Also the UI is not that great, giant buttons overtake the bottom of your screen, and a simplistic mini map that shows no detail at all except for icons and your pointer. And good luck seeing any loot unless your standing right next to it.

But in the end the game has a bunch of shiny things, and unfortunately in todays gaming industry that's all it needs to make money.… Expand

Dawid1600

Nov 25, 2014

4

This review will contain some spoilers, i will not go into detail on those spoilers though.

I would like to start the review with the pro's of the game; -It has amazing graphics, I played it on PC, maxed it out and I thought it looked amazing. -The characters are pretty interesting, personally I only like Blackwall, Dorian and Varric, the rest just weren't my sort of companions ifThis review will contain some spoilers, i will not go into detail on those spoilers though.

I would like to start the review with the pro's of the game;
-It has amazing graphics, I played it on PC, maxed it out and I thought it looked amazing.
-The characters are pretty interesting, personally I only like Blackwall, Dorian and Varric, the rest just weren't my sort of companions if that makes any sense.
-A large amount of the story is rather interesting. (Expanded in cons section)
-The soundtrack is completely amazing, the tavern songs are really well done.

And now to list some of the cons, keep in mind that some of this relates to PC and may not be a problem on console versions of the game;
-The tactical camera controls are completely and utterly terrible. End Of. There's nothing to say about this, you have to hold both mouse buttons to move the camera.
-Your decisions do not impact the outcome of the game AT ALL, I decided to put this in here as a big point of marketing for this game was 'Your decisions matter', to elaborate on this, no matter what decisions you make your ending will pretty much be the same, the only thing that will change is some extra or less quests and the epilogue narrative.
-Horses are rather terrible, they do not feel very fast and they're more like skyrim horses (going up near vertical cliff sides).
-A lot of the side quests are rather terrible (Note: I am NOT talking about companion quests, I thought those were rather well done), eg. the monotonous gathering of random things (Such as 30-90 different plants to upgrade a part of skyhold)
-The port is rather terribly optimized, it does not do well with SLI set-ups (flickering textures, stuttering cutscenes, which were also locked at 30 fps, otherwise I only managed to get 40-50fps on near max settings with a GTX690).
-The story feels really rushed near the ending, the first half of the story really intrigued me and felt very interesting, but after a certain point (3/4 of the way in~) I felt like the story just lost all meaning and just wanted me to finish playing.

Now that i listed pros and cons I'll try to explain my reasoning behind some of them. Also keep in mind that these are my opinions, although I will try to give a summary at the end without mentioning my personal feelings towards the game. Firstly, Bioware has done something completely new, or at least that is how it feels, DA:I does not feel like DA:O and DA2 did. It is open-world so that is a large part of it but also the huge numbers of pointless quests, none of the companions drew me in like in the other games (Morrigan, Oghren, Leliana, Alistair in DA:O and Isabela, Merill and Varric in DA2). There are some people that are saying this isn't a valid complaint as 'Oh this isn't supposed to be DA:O2, it's DA:I', and while I agree to some extent, this isn't a new IP, this is a sequel to the Dragon Age series, it's supposed to feel like a Dragon Age game. Also, a few of the characters' personalities changed a huge amount from DAO and DA2 to this game. Cassandra suddenly becomes really sensitive to your cause and doesn't seem like the strong 'seeker/commander' (Idk) that she was presented as in DA2, Morrigan becomes all attached (If you romaned her in DA:O) and says things I definitely wouldn't think her saying. And Leliana becomes the heartless spy who 'does all the things noone else will do', coming from her 'religious' and caring personality of DA:O. The choices!, while they do feel important (I couldn't decide what to do when leaving the Fade) and some are heartbreaking, do not matter, no matter what you choose, you still go and kill Corypheus without the help of your army, just your part vs him, it doesn't matter who you rescued or helped in order for them to join the Inquisition, they won't be there to join you in battle. That part really made me feel like all my decisions in the game were pointless, since the only thing they change is the epilogue narrative. MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD: If you decide for Hawke to leave the fade with you, he simply leaves to go somewhere for the rest of the game, after trying to decide for 10-15mins on who should stay behind, they leave anyway. Lastly the controls are really weird, the complete removal of auto attacking (you have to hold a button in order to attack, if the enemy runs away, tough luck as you're going to be standing in one spot unless you're holding the forward key) and the terrible tac cam, but after a little while I got used to some of the controls it felt a little better. Lastly I want to mentioned the inability to be a sarcastic **** all the time, there are 'humorous' chat options, but they are nowhere as good as DA2, which made me love Hawke even though I disliked the setting/repetitiveness.

TL;DR I think the game is rather good IF you want to play another skyrim-eque game, it does not have a lot of the elements that made DA:O and DA2 stand out. It has much more issues than good things about… Expand

shamarama

Nov 28, 2014

4

Extremely disappointed in this game. The PC mouse-and-keyboard controls are horrendous, really really bad. How could a "PC-First" developer get it so wrong. The visuals are beautiful and the story is intriguing, but those controls just constantly get in the way.

Combat is shallow, non-tactical, and borrows its mechanics from action-games rather than RPGs. If you were expecting DragonExtremely disappointed in this game. The PC mouse-and-keyboard controls are horrendous, really really bad. How could a "PC-First" developer get it so wrong. The visuals are beautiful and the story is intriguing, but those controls just constantly get in the way.

Combat is shallow, non-tactical, and borrows its mechanics from action-games rather than RPGs. If you were expecting Dragon Age: Origins style tactical combat then you are in for a rude awakening. The 'tactical camera' is no use at all for tactical play, and the orders issued to your party members are soon forgotten. You have to constantly fight against the tactical camera to achieve anything, so you soon forget about it and just play the button-mashing game.

Inventory/skill management is straight out of a console game UI, which is ok if you are using a game-pad but extremely tedious if you use a mouse and keyboard. The basics of what you'd expect to do with a PC RPG are missing, or dumbed down.

Movement of the character during general game-play will give you RSI if you expect to use the mouse, as you have to constantly hold the right mouse button to direct them. Just using WASD is better, but not the usual control for a PC RPG. You cannot left-click to select things, such as an enemy, as that will instead take a swing at them (or loose an arrow/fireball). You cannot right-click to activate a remote object, such as loot/door/enemy if it is out of range. There is no helpful 'move to this and activate it' functionality at all.

Your quick-action bar is limited to just 8 abilities, despite the fact that as you level you can gain much more than 8 abilities. This is a limitation directly from the console version, which only allows for 8 mappable actions.

Unlike other reviewers I have had no technical problems (apart from my male character being referred to as 'she' or 'her' on occasion).

The game looks beautiful, but the game-play is exceptionally shallow - not what you'd expect from a developer that used to be the leading developer for PC RPGs. If you play this on a console, or with a game-pad you will probably enjoy it as a shallow action-rpg'ish experience. As the latest chapter in a highly rated PC RPG franchise it is seriously lacking and hugely disappointing.… Expand

boniek

Nov 29, 2014

4

It's nothing like Origins - the best game in the series. I don't know how it compares to DA2 because I couldn't stand playing this POS for more than 30 minutes (basically I don't consider DA2 to be DA game at all). Pretty good graphics (but definetly not amazing) with ridiculous requirements (OCed 970 has problems running this 1440p@60 fps on High/Medium) and uncountable amount of bugs andIt's nothing like Origins - the best game in the series. I don't know how it compares to DA2 because I couldn't stand playing this POS for more than 30 minutes (basically I don't consider DA2 to be DA game at all). Pretty good graphics (but definetly not amazing) with ridiculous requirements (OCed 970 has problems running this 1440p@60 fps on High/Medium) and uncountable amount of bugs and glitches (it's basically a beta at this point). DA:I is designed to be single player, hack and slash (or in another words - action rpg), MMO with consoles as primary target (whole UI is basically designed with controller in mind, tactical view is an insulting joke) . SJW stuff is blatant and in your face but I don't really care about it. No amount of patches will change fundamental problem of this game - it is not DA game, hell even world doesn't feel like DA at all - you meet some persons from previous games but the mood just is not there. If you want good classic RPG in the spirit of Baldur's Gate and DA:O look else where. Very dissapointed.… Expand

Tebe87

Nov 30, 2014

4

After 5 hour of playing, I finally gave up and dropped it. It feels like a big theme park MMORPG. Even Bioware admitted this game was originally meant as an MMORPG, then they changed their mind and developed it a single player game. But for what I have seen, this game can be called a single player only because you are alone in the game, but it keeps definitely a MMORPG structure.

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1	#1 Most Discussed PC Game of 2014
1	#1 Most Shared PC Game of 2014

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