Review RPG Codex Review: Dragon Age: Inquisition

[Infinitron]

Tags: BioWare; Dragon Age III: Inquisition

The years 2011-2012 weren't too hot for BioWare. The triple whammy of the rushed and poorly received Dragon Age II, The Old Republic MMO which predictably failed to "kill" World of Warcraft and quickly went free-to-play, and the Mass Effect 3 ending fiasco was a serious blow to the company's reputation. Realizing that the BioWare brand was on the verge of being tarnished beyond repair, the corporate overlords at Electronic Arts wisely decided to give the Edmonton studio extra time to finish their next game, the third installment in the Dragon Age franchise, which was formally announced in late 2012 as Dragon Age: Inquisition.

DA:I was released in November 2014 to unanimous acclaim from the mainstream gaming media. 8/10s, 9/10s and 10/10s were the rule of the day. And at the year's end, it won GOTY award after GOTY award. By all accounts, BioWare had finally achieved the holy grail of roleplaying game design, combining the open worlds of Bethesda and Ubisoft with the storytelling of BioWare to create the perfect RPG.

...well, almost all accounts. More than two months ago, we dispatched Delterius, a scarred veteran of many battles on BSN, to closely examine this new masterpiece for himself. With the help of kris and Vault Dweller, he composed a comprehensive report detailing his findings. Without further ado, it's time for...

Read the full article: RPG Codex Review: Dragon Age: Inquisition

 

[Konjad]

Why even bother reviewing it?

 

[Rivmusique]

Excellent image.

 

[Aeschylus]

Ugh, when will the Codex start reviewing RPGs again?

 

[Infinitron]

Ugh, when will the Codex start reviewing RPGs again?

As it happens, next week.

 

[Aeschylus]

Edit: Should also at least mention that the review is well-done, though it only confirms my feelings that Bioware is now a 100% risk averse company that will never create an interesting or innovative game again.

 

[Mortmal]

To bash the dead horse even more than it deserves to be . The 9/10 reviews arent fair but saying its not fun even as a mainstream game is wrong too. Its really well designed for the mainstream crowd, even if i'd get an assassin creed instead for the same price .I think if you like world of warcraft and usually bioware games you will like this console game .Those mainstream games are really repetitive now , all of them , always full of those filler quests to extend artificially the game lifespan.
Its not as bad as the review says, the quest compass doesnt point exactly at locations like in previous games .Holding position a nightmare indeed . Its not made to give tactical orders , rush in and smash buttons.Yes combat is mindless, like in wastelands 2, 3 actions to spam, rince and repeat.
Exploration bad ? come on there was quite good levell designs there, cant say the art department slacks.

 

[Absalom]

Too many "Indeed,"'s

 

[Untermensch]

Too many "Indeed,"'s

Indeed.

Nice review.

 

[Shin]

I borrowed this game from a P2P site and came to the conclusion that it really wasn't worth my time. You can't even bunnyhop in this game; probably an engine limitation.

 

[Photokoi]

AAA isn't necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Rake]

AAA isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Key word here. From a theoretical standpoint you are right.
In practice though...

 

[Zorba the Hutt]

Just reading the review is depressing, can't imagine what playing it would be like.

Anyway, for a thorough job

 

[Bubbles]

Too many "Indeed,"'s

Which of these is your favourite review?

 

[Luka-boy]

Thanks for the review. If all that is true, the game is even more inane than I expected.

 

[GarfunkeL]

Good read.

 

[Delterius]

Thanks for the review. If all that is true, the game is even more inane than I expected.

Here I was wondering if someone would see that joke.

 

[Peacefriend]

Barely topic-related, but why doesn't RPG Codex have a Skyrim review?

 

[HiddenX]

I think DA:I is not a CRPG -> it is an Action Adventure with some roleplaying game elements and a few MMO-like mechanics.

 

[Onholyservicebound]

The story of Dragon Age: The Burning Crusade

The story of Dragon Age: Reign of Chaos **

 

[Semper]

I think DA:I is not a CRPG - it is utter crap.

 

[Untermensch]

AAA isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Of course. Dark Souls is an AAA game and it's fantastic.

However, great AAA games are few and (very) far between.

 

[Delterius]

The story of Dragon Age: The Burning Crusade

The story of Dragon Age: Reign of Chaos **

So you are saying that Warcraft 3 was like an MMO?

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Good review. You are right, Dragon Age: Inquisition just isn't fun. An awful combat system, shitty roleplaying mechanics, boring quests. Some good bits in the main story and some good companion quests do not make up for everything else that is wrong with the game.

It definitely did not deserve the acclaim it got. At best, it's a 6/10 or 7/10 game.

 

[Siveon]

Well, that was refreshing. I was never going to buy this game anyway, but a little validity is always nice.

It definitely did not deserve the acclaim it got. At best, it's a 6/10 or 7/10 game.

Eh, 7/10 would still be pushing it. Unless you really like MMOs, like, get a hardon whenever you gather 5 goblin testicles.

 

[kazgar]

image should be a clickable link to the review.