Dragon Age: Inquisition December Review

My game rating - 10 / 10...

 "Bioware has created another masterpiece to the games industry, outstanding performance and attention to detail through-out"

Images from Game-informer.

For those of you who are new to Dragon Age games, allow me to give you the simplified version of events. You are a customisable character situated in Thedas, a country where blights and mage/templar conflicts occur. In the first game, you were a Grey Warden whose purpose was to protect the world and innocent people from the evils in the world while defeating dark spawn and avenging the fallen king of Ferelden. Wardens are unique; when they drink the blood of the dark-spawn, this allows them to see the movements and visions from the dark-spawn, revealing who was responsible for creating the blight while making them immune from becoming something bizarre all together - these Wardens however are instruments of sacrifice and the visions they have, become steadily worse while they are alive. Mages are greatly feared and restricted in their movements (due to their connection to the fade, the place where good and evil spirits and demons roam) as many people believe they were the cause of the first blight. Their corruption led to the loss of many lives and the corruption soon spread, those desperate enough used blood magic - eventually turning themselves into abominations. From then on, Templars were assigned to police the mages behaviour and confined them to "the circle of magi" where they were heavily supervised and could practice their abilities in relative safety.

Dragon Age 2 events occurred in the city of kirkwall; where the situation between the Templars and the Mages become progressively worse and precarious. It is the end of the fifth blight. Instead, the Qunari are the quiet threat to the city, while dealing with conflicts within the Chantry.

The Current game places the player into a situation where they are a prisoner that rises through the ranks. Your objective is to seal the breaches/rifts in the sky that have allowed demons to pass through, attacking the population while uncovering who is responsible for these events. Here is where I shall not speak more about Inquisition's main storyline as I know there are those of you out there who have yet to play it.

One of the areas I wish to address is the graphic content on the consoles. This is game is out currently on: PC, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3 and Playstation 4. As an experiment, I played the beginning of the game on the Xbox 360 and the PS4: by far the graphics are in favour of the next generation of consoles. It's no surprise considering what affects are used i.e. environments, glacial ice, smoke, snow. Older consoles offer a more... let's say a disappointing basic colour which give next to no overlay. Character appearance is also affected - a more blocky and less well defined of features. As much as it would be expensive, I would highly reccommend that if you love graphics and believe they contribute towards story; buy the game for either the PS4 or the Xbox One.

(Dailymotion.com - image reference)

Through-out the game, you are given the choice to select either: Viviene (first enchanter and a member of the imperial court), Dorian (A mage seeking to right the mistakes of his people,) Solas (a knowledgable elven mage with experiences that dwell into the fade and spirits,) Iron Bull (a Qunari leader of a mercenary group and spy,) Cole (a spirit who wishes to help people,) Sera (a cheeky elven girl who embodies the values of Robin Hood) previous favourite Varric, Blackwall (a Grey Warden, haunted by the past,) and Cassandra (a brash warrior and member of the seekers.) Each one of these companions has their own area of expertise and skills. The approval system has also been improved to offer much better feedback to the player. The voice-acting provided extra feel, atmosphere, performance and story to the game swell - so much so that it feels ... real to some degree. Interaction among NPC'S and your character flow beautifully.

Players are also given the opportunity to pursue romances (mine was Cullen: advisor and leader of the Inquisition forces XD) You can romance all of your companions with the exception of Varric, Cole, Viviene, Morrigan and Leliana. Each romance has it's own special diversity and requirements. For example, take Cassandra: who is a traditional romantic - poetry, flowers, books and spontaneousness. Whereas; Iron Bull is attracted by braveness in combat and Blackwall... well - he's too modest!

Another important aspect of the game was the weather systems and size of the maps - to see my character's armour covered in rain and blowing in the wind in deserts was breath taking. It may seem simple, but these simple factors offer story to story as well as feel, reality and demonstrate to us; the customers that small details such as these should have prominent place in the world. It's actions speak louder than words. The environments themselves were breathtaking! Sound effects complimented visuals very well, adding need overlay and an extra layer of intrigue and storytelling through seeing and sound.

Selecting a certain style of throne and judging prisoners of war was also a special feature where the player can exert their power and make use out of the prisoners. There were certain number of rooms that in appearance didn't seem to serve much use i.e. the old library near the kitchens, a gallery - I felt that these rooms could have had more practical use; such as housing the heads of defeated dragons, collecting certain objects/ books and displaying them in cases as well as works of art, offering information and cinematics to impressed lovers, visitors or companions. It would also have been nice if the player could have chosen the use of each room - particularly the Inquisitor's quarters i.e. you could convert the gallery into a private ballroom, dining room, display gallery and update the library so that people are seen to be using it and the player can gather continuous information, manage a diary of sorts and write letters or an area of reflection. So much potential for such a vast space!

Combat has been given a much needed make over; DA2's combat was criticised for being too hack and slash whereas in Origins's; combat was more strategic yet the animations were more slower and didn't meet the statures of genders. Alternatively; current combat is a lot more smoother, flowing, with the appropriate animations and body language to match. Inventory systems are much more easier to use - allowing the player to create special armours and weapons either for themselves or companions. Customisations have also played a huge enjoyable part in Inquisition - there are a few occasions where the player can customise the base (choosing either an infirmary or practise area or choosing from a templar tower to building your own circle of magi). For future improvements; I would love to see more customisable building features as well as quest options after the player chooses a specific upgrade. For example, if the player chooses to build a mage tower at Skyhold, the player could receive the opportunity to manage the guild itself while completing quests to rebuild the reputation of that specific group etc.

As I have adored the accomplishments of Dragon Age: Inquisition; there was very little if not, none that they could have been done to improve. My only criticism is that I wanted to learn and see more!

Architecture, lighting and composition firmly co-exists with many elements in Inquisition. It takes true master's of their craft to understand this and apply it to another format such as this. What we see is a work of art on our screens - with Inquisition features new areas of potential, and I hope Bioware continue to show their love and skill in future DragonAge games. Please get in touch if I have missed any areas in my review, or would simply like to share your opinions about the game, I would love to hear it!


All the best and Happy new year to you all!