The Last Great Game Bioware Made
Dragon Age: Inquisition is the third game in one of my favorite franchises. Done by one of the best developers in the business when it comes to create an RPG and make you care for the world they create. The game takes place after the previous two and it has its problems, but it's still one of the best western RPGs we have out there.
It may not have the best story, sometimes it has weird pacing, but it's better then I expected after the reputation it got. But you'll not get the best experience possible by just going throught the main quests, the world is so much bigger then I expected, it has so many beautiful places filled with side quests for you to do. I didn't expected it to be so open and so exploration heavy. One of the Bioware specials are side quests that you do for your party members, to resolve their issues and improve your relantionship with them, and they're well done here.
I loved how they incorporated so well such distinct characters, as well as recognizable heroes from previous games in the series. While making the character interaction so great. It was so cool to be walking around, when suddenly Cole - which is an Spirit who pretends to be a Human Rogue, but tries to be a nice guy - starts to get into the mind of Cassandra - the hard nose Woman Warrior which is a Seeker of the Chantry and close to the Divine - and they go back and forth with some interesting information and good humor (she hates his mind reading). Two characters that are worlds apart different, having such great interaction. Then a guy like Solas, who is an Elven Mage charms in, being so serious and knowledgeable, trying to teach Cole some manners, while trying to agree with Cassandra, since they have such far apart beliefs.
Like I said, the game was more open then I expected, you can really can this an Open World game, of some sort. It's also more beautiful then I expected, with great atmosphere, you can really see the details in areas with snow, sand or fog, for example, the game has so much detail everywhere. It has alot of open areas for you to spend hours and hours exploring, walking around and doing quests. Or maybe hunting Dragons! Yes, that's easily the best part of the game. Dragon Age Inquisition presents to the player 10 High Dragons, that are completely optional, but also the toughest enemies you can face during the game. They are gigantic, amazing, beautiful. Give you a ton of experience and loot, but all of the trouble of looking for them is worth it just for the atmosphere. Walking around and seeing one of them just fly by, over your head, making a really loud sound, is by far the best moments in the game. As well as getting face to face with each of them for the first time. Do not beat the game without fighting them all, do yourself a favor.
You'll also find a ton of customization and crafting during your adventure, giving you a good arsenal of things to work with, specially if you have two mages in your party, that can use 4 different types of spell, being able to change staffs based on the enemies weakness. The gameplay is nothing crazy, the traditional Dragon Age battle system that they were going for, just like DA 2, more action heavy the Origins. I like that you don't need to pause as much on the two later games, and it's not RPG heavy to the point of you missing half of your attacks.
Another thing that surprised me is that it has its fair share of puzzles, more then I expected, and they are really good. Simple, but good. But like I said before, it's more focused on exploring and running around, don't expect to find puzzles everywhere.
The game has its small share of unpolished moments, a few little problems here and there, but not that can harm your experience. I also felt overwhelmed by the War Room by the later half of the game. The War Room is a place where you go to see the map of the world with markers on it, showing locations you can go and places you can send your agents to. You meet there with your council to decide where to go next, it's amazing, I love it. But by the end it had more then 50 markers probably, of missions for the agents or places for me to go (what speaks to how much time you can spend exploring and finding new things to do). But I was done with the side content and couldn't keep track of where I've already went or not.
I think this game has a bad rep, just like I said about DA 2, I like both better then Origins, because they are faster and have more character interaction. It's close, I love all three of them. But I think more people should give it a shot, specially those who like to explore and spend hours on their RPGs.
