With just seven days until Christmas Day it is no surprise that publishers are rolling out some great deals on some of this year’s hottest games as well as excellent releases from years past. Electronic Art’s Origin service pulls the trigger on this year’s sale ahead of competitor Valve. They’re not only offering some fantastic prices on some of our favorite games like Dragon Age: Inquisition and the entire Mass Effect trilogy but also the lowest price I’ve ever seen for Battlefront, and that game is only a month old.
The hype for The Force Awakens is very real and with that film being officially released today I’m sure Star Wars: The Old Republic will experience an influx of some fresh players. Despite the game going the dreaded free-to-play route several years ago it still provides an excellent Lvl 1 – 50 experience for free to all players. If you’re an MMO player I would heavily consider the Old Republic bundle available on Origin during the holiday sale: You gain access to all 3 paid expansions, 60 days of game time and a whole bunch of Cash Shop credits for the price of two months’ subscription time. Maybe it’s time to pick the light saber back up!
Dragon Age is another in a strong list of BioWare franchises that has a strong, loyal, and sometimes fierce following; when games in their franchises try to hit a massive audience outside of their core user base things often get kind of messy and, unfortunately, as a result, good standalone games and franchise entries get dragged through the dirt. Inquisition is one of those games and, in an effort to try and re-establish itself with that wider audience and show some loyalty to its core audience, BioWare releases a Game of the Year edition to give those who either haven’t played the game at all or haven’t engaged in any of the extra content that’s available for the game.
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Like most AAA role playing games, the first twenty minutes is almost purely exposition and introduction to the setting, the characters, and the gameplay: what you’re getting and what you’re introduced to is a blending of the previous titles in the franchise and looks to wrap everything up. Even if you’re a newcomer to the series, there’s not a noticeable detriment to coming into the franchise as you have options; you can either work with the default world state or you can experiment on Dragon Age Keep, a website that ties into your Origin account and allows you to mess around with world states, which is really cool. Due to circumstances out of my control, Dragon Age Keep allowed me to recreate the world state in saves I had used in previous titles.
Introduction to combat doesn’t happen without too much hand-holding and it’s done within the narrative so it doesn’t feel as though it creates too much of a interruption in the experience. The first bit of this game is exactly what I expected to see from a BioWare title.
In my humble opinion, they took everything that succeeded in both of the former titles in the franchise and blended them together to provide the framework that this game is built around. BioWare knows that if they have a vision they know how to bring it to life and that’s something they’ve done for as long as I’ve known them and their role playing games have been spot-on for this. Inquisition is absolutely no different in this as it provides an experience that feels just as great at being a game as it is a wonderfully presented narrative.
One of the largest things that stand out for this game is that it was made with two ideals in mind: broad appeal and taking advantage of current generation technology. It’s very clear that they’re trying to create a singular type of experience and if you’re a fan of the franchise like I am, this is exactly what you want. I came in with a certain set of expectations and I feel that Inquisition hit every one of them. I feel that one could dive in as any kind of player and feel that you could be immersed relatively quickly.
The graphical and audio presentation is extremely satisfying – on current generation consoles, the game looks, feels, and sounds marvelous. Voice acting is very well done and, surprisingly so, the lip sync is actually done pretty well, most times. There’s rarely any slowdown.
Its greatest strength, however, is also its greatest failings: I feel that the experience does not transfer over in the same way into previous generation’s systems. The appeal is so broad that, at times, it feels watered down. It’s clear to me that Inquisition was tailored for a very specific experience and everyone else that has any different demands from the game gets to suffer.
There are trivial issues that I could list off that are nothing more than just pet peeves but there are enough of them to note that I feel they should not be featured in the game the way that they have been: the worst of all is the removal of mana and healing magics. This means that, between rest stops and reload points, you’re limited to a certain number of healing potions and that is it. That’s creating a false sense of difficulty and that’s a terribly lazy design choice. In previous generation systems, there are a massive amount of pathfinding and collision detection bugs that can break the experience of traveling between locales. Story progression happens in spurts and the spots in between those spurts really only cater to those who greatly enjoy the lore of the franchise.
While this defines me, gameplay and story progression only rewards those who greatly enjoy both. If you feel that one or the two are lacking, it will taint the other experience. This game would be awesome if only it were way more refined, smooth, and immersive.Read More
There have been rumors of what’s to come in Dragon Age III: Inquisition. Here are some new details that we know for sure.
– It has been in pre-production longer than Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age 2, or Mass Effect 2.
– Cinematic designer Jon Perry states that “one level in DA3 is big as all levels in DA2.
– There is a possibility that you will be able to own/control your own tower
– It will feature character customisation “in a big way” including “follower customisation”
– “The storytelling legacy BioWare is known for, with deep RPG gameplay, all on a brand new RPG game engine underpinned by EA’s critically-acclaimed Frostbite 2 technology”
– You will play as a human as you did in the second game (which I find disappointing..but oh well)
While it did manage to bring new players to the franchise, a lot of people felt that Dragon Age 2 was a major letdown. I’m truly hoping this one will be a bit better.
Here is some of the concept art from the game, including the potential castle that you may be able to control.
Dragon Age III: Inquisition was announced last month, it is expected to launch late Fall 2013.
First off, I want to clarify that this is clearly speculation and rumor at the current moment. But, if a recent social poll is to be believed it appears that the Dragon Age franchise could see co-op implemented into Dragon Age 3. While the poll doesn’t clarify that co-op will come to Dragon Age 3, it does give the option to vote for it as a potential feature.
The potential plot for DA3 was given as well via NeoGaf:
“The great nation of Orlais, the most powerful empire in Dragon Age, tears itself apart in civil war.”
“The stout men and women of Ferelden struggle to recover and reclaim their nation from the horde of vile Darkspawn that lay waste to its lands a decade ago.”
“The Chantry, the once-unified faith of the Dragon Age world stands divided. The Templar order has broken away, claiming the church has become too lax in policing the dangerous powers o the mages. The Mage circles have rebelled, believing the Templars have become too strict, too zealous in their duties, and too quick to slaughter those who step out of line.”
“The world of Dragon Age is one on the brink of collapse, and when a desperate gathering in the name of peace becomes the epicentre of a magical blast that decimates the Chantry’s leadership, it becomes clear that someone or something is manipulating events to drive the world into chaos.”
“From the ashes of that explosion, something new rises: The Inquisition. As the Inquisitor, it falls to you to build up your power and martial your forces, uncover secrets and build connections across the world. You must explore forgotten spaces, uncover ancient mysteries and uproot those who would destroy the fabric of the world.”
If it’s true co-op, I’m all for Bioware implementing this in the game. If it’s the co-opatition that Bioware brought to Mass Effect 3, eh…I’ll pass. How about you all? Would you want to see co-op in Dragon Age 3?
Now I’ve made it very clear in the past that I love Dragon Age: Origins. I have mixed feelings on its predecessor Dragon Age 2, but that is a topic for another article. Today my dear readers we are here to discuss something far greater. Recently I was replaying Origins and I have been following this up with a speedy play through of Dragon Age 2. During this retread of familiar ground I have found myself able to reexamine some philosophical questions raised by both of these titles particularly the use of magic and mages themselves.Read More
Welcome my dearest readers to a new and hopefully regular segment The Broken Joysticks Top 5 or top 10. Today in our first edition we look at one of the most defining things a character can have, their voice. Today we will go through a list of characters whose voices just demand a place in your memory.Read More
