Reviewed
12.17.2014
Publisher
Electronic
Arts
Developer
BioWare
Format
1x
BD
Available
11.18.2014
(USA)
Platforms
XB1,
PS4, PC
Difficulty
Adjustable
Dimensions
3D
View
3rd
Person
Genre
Action
/ RPG
Player(s)
1
1-4
(XBL)
Options
Content
DL
Xbox
Live
Requires
n/a
ESRB
M
- Mature |
| Introduction |
|
> I've been a long time fan of BioWare's exceptional series
of fantasy role playing games titled Dragon Age. This is
the first installment on Microsoft's Xbox One, and the third
in the series. Dragon Age Inquisition (DA3) is loaded
with magic, cold steel, stealth and dragons! BioWare
even added an online 1-4 player co-op version (which has no impact on your
single player game). That's too bad, Sega did it right
with Phantasy
Star Online being online or offline throughout your career
in the game. |
| Graphics |
|
> DA3 features nothing but gorgeous locales, environments
and lighting effects. You'll never notice loading while traversing the
huge areas of free-roaming quest heaven. The player and creature
animation is smooth, even when the screen is full of mayhem and magic.
Speaking of magic, that's the only graphical feature that's somewhat underwhelming
compared to the first two games. |
| Control |
|
> I thought Dragon
Age Origins (first of the series) had the best in-game control.
However, DA3 is really only lacking in the practical ease
of targeting AoE magic. Basically, you run around (warp or ride a
horse) while visiting NPCs, buy/sell at shops, plan missions in a war room,
manage inventory/crafting, and enjoying third person action/tactical battles.
Everything else, from creating a character to searching for treasure, works
real well. I'll mention some other gameplay tidbits in the Fun section.
> For Online, you concurrently develop multiple jobs with 1-4 people in
co-op missions. It's not exactly what I hoped for, but I guess it's
better than nothing. |
| Sound |
|
> The music is wonderful because it's mood-setting and never grating on
your nerves. The sound effects work well as expected. |
| Fun |
> Quality RPGs are hard to come buy on the fledgeling Xbox One.
DA3 won "Game of the Year 2014" in some part because of that.
That being said, this game does so much right that I'd call it the best
Dragon Age so far. I'm going to list some Pros and
Cons that hopefully the "powers that be" would hear:
::
Pros ::
-Third
person view (that works great) -- YES!
-Great
environments and scenery.
-Great
action/tactical battles.
-Thanks
for letting me reverse X and/or Y axis!
-Crafting
is done right.
-Tons
of quests that never get overwhelming in the menus.
-Excellent
music and sound effects.
-Interesting
storyline with few mandatory time-filler quests.
-No
unfair battles.
-Mastering
locked doors is a matter of earning a perk and having a Roque. Nice.
::
Cons ::
-You
can't change weapons during battle.
-You
can't use skills that aren't equipped.
-There's
some skilled jumping required to access certain areas.
-Item
descriptions are lacking when deciphering their level and usage.
-The
magic and skill trees are somewhat underwhelming compared to prior versions.
-Morrigan
and Lilliana aren't playable!
-You
can't change your job and some of the jobs have taken a step back. |
| Bottom
Line |
|
> Dragon Age Inquisition is the go-to RPG for next-gen consoles.
Fans of the Xbox 360 games will feel right at home.
Every RPG fan would have to look far and wide for reasons not to be happy
they bought/played this game. I gladly spent over 130 hours completing
the single player game. Buy it. Love it. |
| Ratings |
| Overall:
8.6 | Graphics: 8.5 | Control: 8.5 | Sound: 8.5 | Fun: 9.0 |
|
