Dragon Age 3: Inquisition

[Sir Edward]

A video demo:

http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/11/12/dragon-age-inquisition-gameplay-footage-surfaces

The game is slated to come out later next year. I hope this one is better than DA2, which I'm part-way through, but it's not really grabbing me the way DA1 did.

[Ian]

Unless the reviews are out of the world or I'm really hurting for an rpg I'll probably skip it.  I'm much more looking forward to Witcher 3, and even Elder Scrolls Online

[Sir Nate]

Ya.
Looks like mixxy between And skyrim.
Elder scrolls online will be fun. I'm looking forward to "Deep down". Look it up there is only one trailer for it.

[Sir James A]

I'm still on DA1 and DA2

[Sir William]

DA2 was a significant departure from DA:O (or DA1 if you will) in a number of ways; some obvious, like completely scripted voice acting for the main character vs text-based speech, or the lack of different race choices - or the fact that you really only had three real choices in what you wanted to be.  Male or female, but you could only be a human, partly because of how the voice acting was done.  Still, I thoroughly enjoyed both games, but will admit DA:O was like a magnum opus and DA2 was more like a short story.  Still, the combat was more exciting in DA2 (in DA:O it played out a lot like Oblivion with no variation in movements despite location) and the story was, in some ways, more engrossing for me because it didn't require me to read a lot of text- something I have learned to dislike as my eyes slowly give way.

Plus the characters were more engaging and I enjoyed the way the story was told so I look forward to seeing how it moves on from there.

[Sir Edward]

Inquisition is supposed to take a lot of the better aspects of the previous two, and combine them with a larger, more open world (though not as large and open as Skyrim). It'll still have a somewhat streamlined skill tree, but you'll be able to equip armor on your companions again, and it re-adds the tactical view for combat. They're doing full voice acting for the main character, but allowing you to choose your race again (including Qunari). It also has a strategic system, as you capture fortifications you can designate their functions and have some control over the economic and military strengths of various regions.

So I'm intrigued. But I must say, I don't know how Bioware will ever live up to their own standards after the Mass Effect series, which set the bar incredibly high. Compared to that, the Dragon Age series is flopping around, trying to decide what it wants to be.

[Ian]

Inquisition is supposed to take a lot of the better aspects of the previous two, and combine them with a larger, more open world (though not as large and open as Skyrim). It'll still have a somewhat streamlined skill tree, but you'll be able to equip armor on your companions again, and it re-adds the tactical view for combat. They're doing full voice acting for the main character, but allowing you to choose your race again (including Qunari). It also has a strategic system, as you capture fortifications you can designate their functions and have some control over the economic and military strengths of various regions.

So I'm intrigued. But I must say, I don't know how Bioware will ever live up to their own standards after the Mass Effect series, which set the bar incredibly high. Compared to that, the Dragon Age series is flopping around, trying to decide what it wants to be.

There's no comparison between Mass Effect and Dragon Age.  The story is handled so much better in ME.  The world is also a lot more immersive and fleshed out in ME.  I liked some of the locations in DA:O, but for the most part the world is boring.  Yeah, the blight, got it... darkspawn... and more darkspawn...   There was so much more intrigue in the ME universe and more dynamics at play.  BioWare's previous fantasy RPG's (and their spinoffs that Obsidian is responsible for are also a considerably more in depth experiences than DA was (Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, Icewind Dale, Planescape: Torment, Neverwinter Nights 1 and 2 etc).  The DA world also seems very PG compared to previous BioWare offerings.  Yeah there's violence, but the moral dilemmas and ambiguity were lacking.  Somehow with ME they were able to retain a certain level of depth of experience and offer the title on consoles, but it seems with DA they went overboard in the consol-ization and in the process sucked the soul right out of the game.

BG2 enhanced is availble on steam in the next day or two btw.

[Lord Dane]

Can't wait. DA:O much better than DA:2. Skyrim is the best game so far ... and by far!!!

[Sir Nate]

Can't wait. DA:O much better than DA:2. Skyrim is the best game so far ... and by far!!!

 I care to argue Oblivion is the best so far. Not only was it ahead of its time but it was very fantastic, and yes though skyrim filled many things were oblivion may have left, empty? I dare say skyrim was merely a stepping stone for elder scroll. Although the dragon born dlc was pretty epic.

[Edward Jeagal]

Yeesh I'm still very cautious about this game. Dragon Age 2, Mass Effect 3 and Star Wars: The Old Republic... sorry Bioware it's hard for me to think that this game will deliver. I was already crushed by the colossal disappointment that was Dragon Age 2.

Well, at least I have you CD Projekt RED.

As for the Elder Scrolls, I dunno, I completely lost interest after Skyrim. Speaking of Skyrim, does anybody think that Bethesda's handling of the Fallout universe is...let's just say far from the best? Well I do.

So please Mr Howard, let Obsidian handle the writing for Fallout 4, don't set silly deadlines that forces the game to lose great content and ideas (also, please play test) and actually update the "completely new game engine".

[Sir Edward]

Well, I figured out part of the problem with why I wasn't getting hooked into the story with DA:2. It turns out I've been doing almost nothing but side quests. I've had very sporadic times available to me to play, so I keep forgetting which quests are which and who gave them to me. Somehow I've been able to completely avoid the main plot in Act 1, until last night. Doh! At least it's getting a little better now.

Some of this is intentional, as it's often a good idea in Bioware games to do as many of the side-quests as you can before advancing the plot, since some of it may become unavailable. But yeah. I hit level 8 without doing any of the Act 1 plot.

BG2 enhanced is availble on steam in the next day or two btw.

Very cool. I really liked BG2, but unfortunately I stopped after completing about 90-95% of it. I don't remember what happened exactly. I think I got a little burned out, and then didn't have time to play for a while, and then other things came up, etc, etc, etc. I think I still have my save somewhere, but after a decade, I won't remember enough to get much out of it by just picking up where I left off, which is a shame.

[Sir Edward]

There's no comparison between Mass Effect and Dragon Age.  The story is handled so much better in ME.  The world is also a lot more immersive and fleshed out in ME.
...
Somehow with ME they were able to retain a certain level of depth of experience and offer the title on consoles, but it seems with DA they went overboard in the consol-ization and in the process sucked the soul right out of the game.

QFT. The whole ME universe is extremely well designed, and feels real. The characters are explored in more depth and are well written and acted, everything is though out and internally consistent, and it doesn't seem to gloss over anything obvious. The story is gripping, especially in ME3. It's rare that a game can pull off what they did.

[Sir William]

I enjoyed Oblivion, but was told by others that Morrowind was the superior game, so I bought that and couldn't get past how visually unattractive it was.  Sure, it had a very, very large map but it was largely lifeless, the character movement was stilted and static, looked unnatural to me- not to mention the character modeling.  This is what happens though, when you go to play a game that is already several years old and built for a more-or-less obsolete system.  I couldn't appreciate any of it.  When I got to Skyrim, same thing happened w/Oblivion, but it wasn't as dramatic.

Just to test that theory, I popped in my old GTA: San Andreas and found it equally as horrible visually...as much as I liked that game the differences between it and current-gen systems was glaringly obvious.

Personally, I'd like to see a game come out that falls directly in that Uncanny Valley that seems to put so many people off; I wonder how it would feel to kill an enemy that looked like a living, breathing human, not just a stylized version of one.  I'm still making my way through GTA V and it is the closest to realistic people that I've seen in a game of that magnitude...of course, having never played ME, they might trump it.  At least screenshots seem to bear that out.

[Sir Nate]

I enjoyed Oblivion, but was told by others that Morrowind was the superior game, so I bought that and couldn't get past how visually unattractive it was.  Sure, it had a very, very large map but it was largely lifeless, the character movement was stilted and static, looked unnatural to me- not to mention the character modeling.  This is what happens though, when you go to play a game that is already several years old and built for a more-or-less obsolete system.  I couldn't appreciate any of it.  When I got to Skyrim, same thing happened w/Oblivion, but it wasn't as dramatic.

Just to test that theory, I popped in my old GTA: San Andreas and found it equally as horrible visually...as much as I liked that game the differences between it and current-gen systems was glaringly obvious.

Personally, I'd like to see a game come out that falls directly in that Uncanny Valley that seems to put so many people off; I wonder how it would feel to kill an enemy that looked like a living, breathing human, not just a stylized version of one.  I'm still making my way through GTA V and it is the closest to realistic people that I've seen in a game of that magnitude...of course, having never played ME, they might trump it.  At least screenshots seem to bear that out.

Well that is why the dlc Dragon born for skyrim was so great because it was an island off the coast of morrowind, that you could go to if you have the dlc for it in morrowind.
Morrowind is highly unattractive. Yet it still is enjoyable- It wasnt oblivion

Oblivion was ahead of its time in graphics for 2 or 3 years. skyrim wasnt, And I still think for 360 oblivion had better textrues than skyrim for 360. but I hear pc is amazing.

As for mass effect- I never played it- but it was a fun game to watch, my brother jeremy(who is not associated with olden days like me and Sir Aiden) played it. another game I found very fun was dead space and when I watch gameplay of fallout 3- it feels very oblivion.

[Sir Douglas]

I enjoyed Oblivion, but was told by others that Morrowind was the superior game, so I bought that and couldn't get past how visually unattractive it was.  Sure, it had a very, very large map but it was largely lifeless, the character movement was stilted and static, looked unnatural to me- not to mention the character modeling.  This is what happens though, when you go to play a game that is already several years old and built for a more-or-less obsolete system.  I couldn't appreciate any of it.  When I got to Skyrim, same thing happened w/Oblivion, but it wasn't as dramatic.

I'm weird when it comes to this. When I was younger, I used to be all about nice-looking games and had a hard time playing older games. Like even if a sequel to a series didn't have as nice gameplay as the first, I'd still only play the sequel if it looked nicer. But I've since developed a huge appreciation for retro games. I don't know if it's just because I have a hard time keeping up with technology anymore, because I'm old enough now to experience "nostalgia-itis" and like playing games I grew up with, or because a lot of newer, non-indie games just seem like money-grubbing rehashes of old ideas (not all, of course. But a few). It's probably a mix. Heck, I even bought a collection of Sega Genesis games for my PS3, and still break out my N64 on occasion.

I also got Morrowind because so many people said it was better than Oblivion. I had a very hard time getting into it for the same reasons, plus the combat is just so clunky. It started to grow on me after I installed a mod that improved the character modeling and a few other mods, but I haven't spent nearly as much time in it as I have in either Oblivion or Skyrim. As far as which one of those I prefer, it's a mixed bag. There are things I like about both that the other doesn't have. Skyrim's environment is definitely more aesthetically pleasing to me, but I think I actually prefer Oblivion's armor design. Well..mostly. Don't know what was up with the Neon Rave Party Glass Armor.
I also miss being able to enchant pants that will burst into flames when I wear them....

As for the Elder Scrolls, I dunno, I completely lost interest after Skyrim. Speaking of Skyrim, does anybody think that Bethesda's handling of the Fallout universe is...let's just say far from the best? Well I do.

So please Mr Howard, let Obsidian handle the writing for Fallout 4, don't set silly deadlines that forces the game to lose great content and ideas (also, please play test) and actually update the "completely new game engine".

Never played any of the Fallout games, but I agree that I'm a little bit leery of Bethesda after the whole Skyrim debacle...especially as someone who plays most newer games on a console.... Specifically PlayStation.... We know how well that went for PS3 players. Though it was cool that we did eventually get all the DLC. I won't throw a tantrum, stomp my feet and say that I'll never give Beth another dime, but I'm a little more cautious.

And don't even mention SW:TOR. Poor Star Wars: Galaxies.... At least there are a few emulators out there.