Anyone else optimistic about Dragon Age Inquisition?

When Bioware annouced Dragon Age Inquisition I was sceptical to say the least. While I loved Origins, DA2 just did far too much wrong that even the few good points just simply didn't matter, and I was expecting more of the same from this 3rd installment. But with all this news coming from PAX I'm starting to regain my faith for this series, it really sounds like they are doing everything they can to turn the series around and make it great again. What do you guys think? Is it too little to late or are you looking forward to Inquisition?

we'll see. i mean, i like that they're slowing down the combat a bit and doing more with the camera angles. at least, bioware calls this slowing down the combat but i think it's actually going to make it more fluid in that allowing the player to see everything and giving them a moment to process the information is going to mean you won't have to pause the game every other second and flip between party member view points.

there's still a bunch of other stuff that i want to see in action though. allowing the player to approach the enemies rather than having waves jump out at them is going to allow for more specialization in party setups, but i think that backfired a bit in origins. too many characters were basically mandatory and "tough sh*t" if you didn't like them or preferred somebody else. i still think it's possible to balance right but that hasn't ever been a bioware strength.

the open world sounds enticing, but it's a different method of storytelling when done right and bioware has been telling stories through hallways since at least knight of the old republic. it's one thing to have line of bottlenecks you know the player will pass through and another thing altogether to encourage the player to go out and learn something.

Not really. Biowares quality has noticeably gone downhill ever since they were bought by EA.

After learning that Inquisition will have the tactical isometric view as in the PC version of the first game, yes. It just seems that all round Inquisition will be Dragon Age once again and not Mass Effect, unlike Dragon Age II.

The changes I've read about seem like massive improvements over Dragon Age 2, but then again, that game was a disaster so saying it's massively improved may mean it's only reached mediocrity. With that said, I do remain hopeful that Bioware can turn this franchise around, and I have liked what I've seen of Inquisition thus far. 

When the inevitable comparisons to The Witcher 3 are made I fully expect TW3 will be widely accepted as the better game, but Inquisition could be good in it's own right. 

Not really. Biowares quality has noticeably gone downhill ever since they were bought by EA.

Gargus

"Since they were bought by EA"?

They peaked in 2000, with Baldurs Gate 2, long before EA entered the picture. :P

Pretty pessimistic / uninterested in that franchise.  If Bioware somehow manages to make a good game with EA forcing online multiplayer on it, I'll be surprised.  Then there's the usual guy standing in your camp trying to sell you DLC and Bioware can never be bothered to add controller support for the PC versions of any of their games.  I can't be bothered to buy them until they hit the bargain bin.

I wasn't too impressed wtih the first two games - DA:O ran at 14 fps on the PS3 and had tons of balance issues and I remember spending 5 minutes planting a bunch of traps in front of a door - waiting for the traps to "recharge" before I could take another one out of inventory (WTF?) and then doing exactly the same thing when I got to the next identical room full of enemies.  Or saving up a ton of exp to buy a spell that turned out to be useless.  The story and characters were definitely good, but never really made me feel involved or immersed like other RPG's.

Pretty pessimistic / uninterested in that franchise.  If Bioware somehow manages to make a good game with EA forcing online multiplayer on it, I'll be surprised. 

Jackc8

Of all the complaints to make against Bioware's games, this is one of the ones I really don't get.

The majority of their pre-EA RPGs had great multiplayer modes, and multiplayer is something that absolutely works in a team-based tactical combat-heavy RPG.

Dragon Age was originally supposed to be a multiplayer-focussed title to begin with - it was intended to be the spiritual successor to Neverwinter Nights as much as it was the successor to Baldurs Gate. Multiplayer (and other online functionality, like the adventure-building toolset) would have probably made it a better game.

So...I don't really see why everyone pays out Bioware and multiplayer. Sure, maybe EA would make it worse (even though they probably turned Dragon Age into a singleplayer title to begin with), just like ME3...although maybe it was a decent idea for ME3 anyway, since that franchise was steadily jumping into shooter territory and shooters need multiplayer. And okay, TOR sucked. But still...

It's about 4 years after the fact but I'm about to start my first playthrough of DA: Origins. A lot of catching up to do :P

[QUOTE="Gargus"]

Not really. Biowares quality has noticeably gone downhill ever since they were bought by EA.

Planeforger

"Since they were bought by EA"?

They peaked in 2000, with Baldurs Gate 2, long before EA entered the picture. :P

KOTOR, Jade Empire, Mass Effect, DA:O, Neverwinter Nights LOL, nope

super excited for it but i just have one gripe. still wont stop me from purchasing the game

At first no. But as of right now, yes.

[QUOTE="Planeforger"]

[QUOTE="Gargus"]

Not really. Biowares quality has noticeably gone downhill ever since they were bought by EA.

Flubbbs

"Since they were bought by EA"?

They peaked in 2000, with Baldurs Gate 2, long before EA entered the picture. :P

KOTOR, Jade Empire, Mass Effect, DA:O, Neverwinter Nights LOL, nope

Neverwinter Nights had a bland campaign, but was a technical marvel at the time. It was a step down from BG2.

KOTOR was really good. It was a simplistic RPG, but the presentation helped it a lot. Still didn't top BG2 though, especially given its fairly weak roleplaying (the game punished you for doing anything other than picking the blue or red option every time!).

Jade Empire...well, that was when they started making these console exclusive, action-heavy, stat-lite RPGs. I enjoyed it for its unique setting, but the combat was kind of crap and it wasn't much of an RPG.

Mass Effect...again, great presentation, simplistic roleplaying, very action-heavy.

Dragon Age Origins...attempted to recapture BG2's greatness, but the underlying mechanics were shallow, the setting was exceptionally bland/traditional/generic, the dungeons were awfully designed, and the game was about 40 hours of crap longer than it needed to be.

Anyway, it's not quite a smooth curve downhill, but all of their games since BG2 have either had depth or been entertaining titles - but not both at the same time.
And just in case I'm giving people the wrong impression: no, I'm not a huge BG2 fanboy. It's one of the most 'complete' fantasy RPGs out there, and a great game in its own right, but it's not a personal favourite of mine. I just think that it's 'objectively' a better game than anything else Bioware has done since then, by a long shot.

skeptical about anything bioware does at this point, will wait for reviews after preordering da 2.

It's about 4 years after the fact but I'm about to start my first playthrough of DA: Origins. A lot of catching up to do :P

Business_Fun

I am a little, but I prefer to no have my hopes too high.

yes i am if just for the story even. i love the story system in the bioware games so I'm definately looking forward to how its gonna be in next gen. i just hope they improve the combat somehow. ive always felt the combat was lacking in dragon age games, most of the time i was just playing for the story. Also i hope they don't slack on the graphics either, that goes for every next gen game though. i dont remember dragon age being a particularily amazing looking game. i expected it to look a lot better since the graphics in mass effect are top notch imo.

[QUOTE="Flubbbs"]

[QUOTE="Planeforger"]

"Since they were bought by EA"?

They peaked in 2000, with Baldurs Gate 2, long before EA entered the picture. :P

Planeforger

KOTOR, Jade Empire, Mass Effect, DA:O, Neverwinter Nights LOL, nope

Neverwinter Nights had a bland campaign, but was a technical marvel at the time. It was a step down from BG2.

KOTOR was really good. It was a simplistic RPG, but the presentation helped it a lot. Still didn't top BG2 though, especially given its fairly weak roleplaying (the game punished you for doing anything other than picking the blue or red option every time!).

Jade Empire...well, that was when they started making these console exclusive, action-heavy, stat-lite RPGs. I enjoyed it for its unique setting, but the combat was kind of crap and it wasn't much of an RPG.

Mass Effect...again, great presentation, simplistic roleplaying, very action-heavy.

Dragon Age Origins...attempted to recapture BG2's greatness, but the underlying mechanics were shallow, the setting was exceptionally bland/traditional/generic, the dungeons were awfully designed, and the game was about 40 hours of crap longer than it needed to be.

Anyway, it's not quite a smooth curve downhill, but all of their games since BG2 have either had depth or been entertaining titles - but not both at the same time.
And just in case I'm giving people the wrong impression: no, I'm not a huge BG2 fanboy. It's one of the most 'complete' fantasy RPGs out there, and a great game in its own right, but it's not a personal favourite of mine. I just think that it's 'objectively' a better game than anything else Bioware has done since then, by a long shot.

I can see where you are coming from. I am one of the few that do not like how Bioware is removing role playing and replacing it with system so the player can pretend to be the character. No, pretending to be the character is not role playing in a RPG.

The only reason that I got ME3 day one was because I enjoy DA2. I have my eye on it.

No.  Bioware is responsible for some of my all time favorite games. But with the unplayable garbage they put out in DA2 and ME3(game itself, not the ending), I have absolutely no confidence in any project they have a hand in. I would love to be mistaken, but at this point I'm highly skeptical.

[QUOTE="Gargus"]

Not really. Biowares quality has noticeably gone downhill ever since they were bought by EA.

Planeforger

"Since they were bought by EA"?

They peaked in 2000, with Baldurs Gate 2, long before EA entered the picture. :P

[QUOTE="Planeforger"]

[QUOTE="Gargus"]

Not really. Biowares quality has noticeably gone downhill ever since they were bought by EA.

padaporra

"Since they were bought by EA"?

They peaked in 2000, with Baldurs Gate 2, long before EA entered the picture. :P

I found that Mass Effect 2 is one of their worse game. It made me not want Mass Effect 3. The story suck. The characters suck. The RPG elements within the game suck. The game play was alright.

[QUOTE="Business_Fun"]

It's about 4 years after the fact but I'm about to start my first playthrough of DA: Origins. A lot of catching up to do :P

The_Last_Ride

Thank you :)

Yeah, sure I am. Bioware's been having some issues with keeping the high standards the first entry in a series sets (Mass Effect, Dragon Age), but they're still behind many of the best cRPGs. 

I loved Origins, but hated the second game. Can't say I've really looked into the new game, but I'm certainly not optimistic at the moment.