So, I have been waiting so impatiently for Dragon Age: Inquisition to be launched. I even blew through Dragon Age 2 in 3 days to prepare for it. I’ve loved the entire series. Origins is still one of my favorite games of all time. I can’t wait to play through them all again, in order!
I have to admit that I was vastly disappointed when I realized my saved games didn’t matter. I didn’t have to plow through DA2 in 3 days. I didn’t even have to play the game. Now, that doesn’t bother me (all in all, I appreciate a game that you can pick up and play, having never played the originals); however, I’m pretty pissed that it didn’t use my previous save files like its predecessors. Of course, there is one main reason I’m upset about that and I will get into that a bit later.
When I bought the game, I only had an Xbox 360. The 360 version appears to be the most glitchy version of the game out there. Please don’t get me wrong, I loved DA:I, but this game was frustrating as hell simply because of the glitches. Even after numerous patches, they didn’t stop. I fell through terrain several times; the textures would take up to a minute to load; and, sometimes, the whole environment wouldn’t load properly. Going through equipment, the faces of my companions would bug and they would look awful. If you accidently jump before speaking, you do this weird floating dance the whole chat. My favorite glitch requires you to have the subtitles turned on because the sound files will sound corrupted and, if you don’t have those subtitles on, you have just missed an entire conversation. I wish to holy hell those were the only problems, but that is just the tip of the iceberg. I’ve been playing video games since Nintendo came out and this is in the top five of the most glitched games I’ve ever played. It felt rushed, which is a shame because this would have been a polished masterpiece if it were shown the proper love it deserved.
On the plus side, however, the game has amazing landscapes, fantastic storyline, interesting consequences and memorable characters. I enjoyed seeing the return of characters like Verric, Liliana and Cullen. Their character development was impressive, to say the very least. The relationships are interesting, plus you end up having a love/hate thing with each companion. You get the choice of several straight, bi and gay relationships, which makes me very happy and shows that they are putting their proper foot forward. And I haven’t even mentioned the introduction to their first Trans character. Well done, creators! Well done!
When it comes to storylines, the Dragon Age franchise has never disappointed. DA:I felt a bit rushed in some areas and, of course, there were completely unnecessary scenes that honestly felt like nothing more than filler or distractions. Unfortunately, they continued the story based on some DLC for Dragon Age 2. DLC that I neither purchased nor played (yes, I know! I’m a horrible fan. A horrible, broke fan), which means they referenced a lot of things I knew nothing about. But I rolled with the punches as best as I could, only feeling mildly lost in a few places.
Don’t worry, though! I won’t forget one of the biggest parts of all the Dragon Age games: the romances. I understand this part isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t an important option in the game. They put a lot of hard work into these story lines, which makes us love these characters even more than we thought possible.
I have only been through one romance with Cullen, but I’ve watched Cassandra’s scenes and I am currently on my second playthrough with The Iron Bull. I find all the romance stories to be satisfying. Of course, I researched and picked my ‘mates’ and what felt best fit my game play style and personality. As it is, I will never choose Solace (which hurts my heart because I loved Ianto in Torchwood and Gareth David-Lloyd brings Solace to life) because his storyline does not interest me.
I would love to hear your stories about who you romanced and why!
Interestingly enough, when I began writing this review, I had my crew (the group of companions I took with me ALL the time because I adored them), and I had the companions I didn’t like. On that list was the ever-popular person to dislike, Sera. I couldn’t stand having her or Vivianne in my party, but, on this playthrough, I took Cassandra, Iron Bull and Sera (pr
eviously I had Blackwall, Verric and Dorian). I figured that I would replace Sera with Cole as the rogue in my party since, this time, I am playing a mage (previously, I played a two handed warrior). However, as we went on, Sera began to grow on me. Her dialogue is entertaining and I feel that spending time with her like this helps me get to know the character. Before, I only spoke with her when I needed to and found her vastly annoying, but now I’m starting to get it. Liking Vivianne, though, will take another playthrough and a lot of hope.
Of the many amazing things the game has to offer – wonderful companions, a great storyline, beautiful maps – there are also a lot of things I feel they missed the mark on:
Tactical Camera: Didn’t use it this time around. I loved it in Origins, but this one made no sense. They wouldn’t stay where I wanted them to. I couldn’t queue what I wanted them to do. On top of them having a ridiculous AI, the tactical camera just provided further frustration for me.
AI Tactics: I remember spending an abundance of time selecting what I wanted the AI to do, specifically. If your mana dropped below this percentage, then drink a lyrium potion. Stay at range; do this; don’t do that. I loved it. You had 20 slots of unlimited possibilities! In Inquisition, you have four… FOUR! Four that are preprogrammed to do silly things. You can’t even make them use the regeneration potions you have. You have to tab to that character mid fight and make them drink it, but only if they are not currently performing an action determined by the AI. Did you catch all that? This made my heart sink. I shake my head at the designers for such a big flaw.
Skyhold: If you haven’t gotten there yet, don’t read this. If you haven’t finished repairing it, don’t read this. I am very disappointed that Skyhold is never completely fixed. (Unless it gets better in DLC and I don’t see that happening). I did note something today as I was playing. I have a lot more logging stands and mining camps as needed for upgrades. I do hope this comes up in future DLC.
Banter: Even after they sent out several patches to ‘fix’ this problem, my party banter is next to nothing. Actually it seems to have gotten ‘less’ with the newer patches.This is vastly disappointing.
Multiplayer: I would have loved to have seen the multiplayer mission to reflect the actual quests from the War Table within the game. I am aware that not all of them are possible to do, but a good portion were very possible. Now I know that this is the feel you are supposed to be getting from the Multiplayer Missions, but it just feels like a dungeon crawl you have to grind out and grind out. Oh wait, because that’s what it is. Even if they are given voice-overs in the beginning of the missions to make you feel that you are contributing to the game, the Multiplayer feels like an after-thought that was just thrown on later in the game’s development.
I could go on and on about the good and the bad. There are lots of pros and cons in this game, as there are in so many games. As much as I talk about the dislikes, I did, in fact, finish the game and immediately start a new game, which is something I rarely do. I am flying through my second playthrough and loving it almost as much as the first.
Play Inquisition for yourselves and tell me what you think of the game, your decisions and your love interests!
~Crymson Pleasure~
P.S Where the hell is my Mabari?
Real Women of Gaming 