For me,
nothing quite beats the feeling of getting truly immersed into a dense and
beautiful fantasy RPG. A love that started with Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and
continued through various incarnations, peaking with Skyrim, as I impatiently
wait for the Witcher 3 to come out and since the gaming gods have chosen to
delay Witcher until May, I have to get my fix another way.
Introducing
Dragon Age: Inquisition, a game that had the misfortune to be released at the
end of a ridiculously busy autumn schedule, falling by the way side with the
likes of Assassins Creed and Far Cry eating up my November. I have always been
a big fan of Dragon Age from it’s tactical combat to it’s richly detailed
companions that you interact with – I was extremely excited to step back into
the world of Thedas.
Once I
played through the prologue and was set loose upon the world, the first thing
that struck me was the astonishing freedom that had been gifted to me. Dragon
Age games of the past had been closely linked linear paths so imagine my
surprise when I started wandering through the Hinterlands, a huge expansive
piece of land, as I collected plants, rocks and battled those pesky Templars.
It is a welcome entry for the franchise but also means that any chance of
getting this game finished soon went out the window, I spend WAY too much time
picking flowers.
So, when I
finally managed to drag myself from chasing butterflies, I had a bit of a
natter with my fellow companions. And when I say natter, I mean flirt with as
much as possible. The life of a prophet is a lonely one as I threw pick up
lines at anyone who would listen, not really getting anything but a few
slightly disapproving looks from Cassandra. My quest for love had led me to
Dragon Age Inquisition’s minefield of a conversation tree.
A
conversation tree that is no longer conveniently labeled, leaving me unguided
and on my own as I offended Varic for the 10th time when I was
desperately trying to bro out. It is a fantastic system that brings a depth to
talking to your companions (subordinates?), you have to treat every chat like a
battle as you strategically traverse the conversation attempting to get what
you want. Just like real life! Except in real like I’m not a badass mage revered
by thousands. *Sigh*
The combat
doesn’t deter too far from Dragon Age 2 except from the introduction of the Tactical
Camera that lets you pause combat and assess the situation, allowing you to
take down your enemies with precision and teamwork. I would LOVE to tell you I
was using this new feature and intelligently taking down enemy groups without
much fuss. I would LOVE to tell you that. However, my tactics were much more of
the ‘charge in screaming, throwing spells at everyone, runaway and chug health
potions’ sort. Each to their own, I suppose.
In my first
8 hours with Dragon Age: Inquisition, my only problem is that I don’t have more
time to play and get totally immersed in this phenomenally detailed world that
Bioware have created. I want to flesh out Cassandra’s back-story and tell Varic
that his bare chest is making the other companions uncomfortable. In short, I
can’t wait to explore every nook and cranny of Inquisition.
Alex A.
No comments:
Post a Comment