Dragon Age: Inquisition - RPG Codex Review

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SasqWatch
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RPG Codex has reviewed this game. Here's a quote about the plot in the game:

Much like Dragon Age: Origins, Inquisition has various plotlines that culminate in a far-reaching "global" decision. To favor one faction out of two, to pick the ruler of a kingdom, and so on. However, what the game lacks is a climax which redeems all of these choices in a satisfying manner...........Inquisition has something of an equivalent to the Battle of Denerim, but it does not feel as satisfying. The problem sometimes boils down to the choices themselves, where every nuanced option you are given has consequences which can be and are portrayed in the same manner. Choosing one sovereign or faction out of many hardly feels significant when the actual impact on the game, or on the realm, is made up of the same actors wearing the same clothes no matter what you choose.
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I think you all know the combat in DA: Inquisition. Here's RPG Codex's take on it:

For example, Baldur's Gate 2 had those elaborate magical battles everyone talks about. In Dragon Age: Inquisition, the best thing I can come up with is that one time when I had to manage three cool downs simultaneously.How does one explain all of this? Well, Inquisition's combat is the result of something BioWare has been trying to do for years: to offer a compromise between two imagined audiences. The "hardcore" lover of party-based RPGs, and a casual buyer who's supposedly only interested in action games. It does so by delivering both experiences in one, which is why each camera mode has a different set of controls. And the result is exactly like flicking Arcanum's turn-based and real-time combat switch: terrible.
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A quote from the Delterius's conclusion:

Delterius: What more can be said? Combat is mindless, exploration is tedious and what could otherwise be an enjoyable story is gated behind them...... But the truth is that Inquisition is nothing more than an exercise in treating players with a great deal of condescension. I can sympathize with the notion of simplifying a series in order to attract a wider audience but by God, I can't in good faith recommend Dragon Age: Inquisition even as a casual experience. It just isn't fun.
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More information.
 
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Pretty good review. It's too long winded for my taste. And there's a few inaccuracies and exaggerations, as expected. I doubt the reviewer actually completed the game. But mostly spot on.
 
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I agree that DA:I is not a good CRPG. I disagree that it is "no fun" at all.
IMHO it is an entertaining action adventure with some roleplaying elements and a few MMO-like mechanics. Story, world design and exploration is very well done. Combat is too easy, bad and repetitive and character-development is dumbed down.
I'm 100 hours into the game, level 17, playing on the hard difficulty setting and I have some fun.
The game would be better for me if combat were made tactical like Divinity:OS and character development (stats, skills freely chooseable) would be actually existent.
 
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I play with the tactical camera on for most combat, and manually pause and issue orders almost every round, unless I've got a weak trash mob to handle. Then I let the AI do it all.

I choose all the skills for my party. Do you have auto-level up turned on?
 
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I actually thought this was a pretty well-written review, although I am of the bias that I think the game isn't exactly a 'hardcore' RPG (which, before you get on me about that, is just my opinion, and I don't think it's a bad game necessarily for not being one, and I also haven't played it fully, only read previews, reviews and general thoughts on the game!).

So, as an RPG in comparison to Baldur's Gate or NWN, it's probably lacking in some ways, but as an action-adventure, fun, RPG-hybrid type game, it delivers. :)
 
Thrasher said:
I play with the tactical camera on for most combat, and manually pause and issue orders almost every round, unless I've got a weak trash mob to handle. Then I let the AI do it all.

I choose all the skills for my party. Do you have auto-level up turned on?
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Of course not, but you can only choose skills from silly skill trees, but you can't change stats(=attributes) manually. They are always auto-leveled. A No-go for a real CRPG.
 
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Skills are like feats in DnD3.5 in that some are prerequisites of others. I don't find that a bad thing. A total open skill set is hard to balance, and retain focus, but I can appreciate them nonetheless. However, skill trees don't make a game less of an RPG, I think. Unless the tree is a degenerate linear list. That would be a bummer. :)
 
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Well it's the RPGCodex so the review is what I excepted from them, and frankly I have read everything I need to about this game in the other twenty threads.

I think I will start my fourth play-through this weekend.;)
 
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Thrasher said:
Skills are like feats in DnD3.5n in that some are prerequisites of others. I don't find that a bad thing. A total open skill set is hard to balance, and retain focus, but I can appreciate them nonetheless. However, skill trees don't make a game less of an RPG, I think. Unless the tree is a degenerate linear list. That would be a bummer. :)
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I remember feeling disappointed by the skill trees in DA2; it felt like a reduction in player choice. (Even compared to the bare bones skills system in DA:O.) The lack of control over companion armor was similarly inhibiting. From my perspective, the less choice a player has in building his characters and companions, the less the game remains an RPG and the more it turns into an action-adventure game.
 
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I agree with your last sentence. But skill trees are a minor constraint, I feel. As are constraints imposed by class archetypes and dedicated skills, etc. No control over stats is quite another. A totally open system like skyrim, is fun, but I somehow less enjoy building a PC without some constraints to make it more of a puzzle. Also it adds to replayability.
 
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JDR13 said:
Yeah ok ;)
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I'm not lying I think I will play as a dwarf or Qunari this time. One thing I can say is I got my money's worth with the game, and I can't say the same of other RPGs.

Maybe I'll play skyrim again also as I rarely finish that game because of new mods. It's also a game I got my money's worth, and always gets new content every month.

I'm waiting for the bug replies again so don't disappoint me guys.:biggrin:
 
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I couldn't agree more with their take on the combat. It's baffling to me how they messed that up considering it was a strength in the first 2 games, minus the 3 wave thing in DA2. The mechanics were still solid though.
 
I played the game since it launched in November. In-case all of you forgot I had surgery two months ago so I had plenty of time to play as I recovered afterward.

It's amazing how many games you can finish when you don't have to work, or do anything else. I will miss this freedom next month when I return to work again.
 
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spot on, dislike everything about this game in the first 2h.
amd there is no sign of a good story coming. had absolutely no reason to continue playing it .. which is good. spent time watching anime
 
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So far I am enjoying DAI but I do find combat and character building to be bit boring.
 
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Thrasher said:
Sounds like you're nearly recovered? So Couch, what's the rationale for the playthroughs? Trying to get the "romance all PCs" achievement? ;)
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I am also curious by this as well. I don't think I will replay DAI at all even though I am enjoying it a quite a bit now on my first play through.
 
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