Peccadillo
2012
This review contains spoilers
It's been a while since I played this. I played it as soon as it came out and probably beat it in a week. After that, I played the multiplayer for a month before finally stopping. When the extended cut ending was released, I watched it on Youtube.
I had probably three or four Shepards I'd taken from Mass Effect through Mass Effect 2. I was ready to see all their stories to the end, then I saw the end.
An ending is only a small part of a game, but it's important. When the game itself is an ending to one of my favorite trilogies, there's so much more pressure on it. If you know anything about Mass Effect 3, you know it had a bad ending.
But the ending wasn't the sole thing that kept me from coming back. The lovable characters are still there, but different. Many characters I liked only get small parts and others are changed rather drastically. Garrus is still great though. Absolutely no qualms with Garrus, he excels at every moment.
But then there's The Illusive Man. He's evil. That's it, Cerberus and him are just evil. The Reapers are barely present with Harbinger getting no lines. Wrex loses his weariness and wit to become a bro. Thane shows up to die fighting a ninja. And yeah that ninja is horrible. People forget about him, but he's the worst.
There are good moments here! The ending of Conrad Verner's saga made me laugh hysterically and seeing Tali planning to build a house with Shepard was genuinely touching. But throughout that is so much nonsense with Cerberus.
Without the dark 80s action-inspired tone of the second game or the tragic eldritch story of the first game, what's left is a series of setpieces that feel incidental building up to a finding the new super-maguffin. And when you're ready to finally defeat the Reapers, the game stops you. It asks you which universe would you like to create.
That's what I hate about the ending. It shouldn't be a choice. Shepard has always fought to defeat the Reapers. Shepard and I don't want to revolutionize the universe with synthetic hybrids. We just want to save the day at last.
I had probably three or four Shepards I'd taken from Mass Effect through Mass Effect 2. I was ready to see all their stories to the end, then I saw the end.
An ending is only a small part of a game, but it's important. When the game itself is an ending to one of my favorite trilogies, there's so much more pressure on it. If you know anything about Mass Effect 3, you know it had a bad ending.
But the ending wasn't the sole thing that kept me from coming back. The lovable characters are still there, but different. Many characters I liked only get small parts and others are changed rather drastically. Garrus is still great though. Absolutely no qualms with Garrus, he excels at every moment.
But then there's The Illusive Man. He's evil. That's it, Cerberus and him are just evil. The Reapers are barely present with Harbinger getting no lines. Wrex loses his weariness and wit to become a bro. Thane shows up to die fighting a ninja. And yeah that ninja is horrible. People forget about him, but he's the worst.
There are good moments here! The ending of Conrad Verner's saga made me laugh hysterically and seeing Tali planning to build a house with Shepard was genuinely touching. But throughout that is so much nonsense with Cerberus.
Without the dark 80s action-inspired tone of the second game or the tragic eldritch story of the first game, what's left is a series of setpieces that feel incidental building up to a finding the new super-maguffin. And when you're ready to finally defeat the Reapers, the game stops you. It asks you which universe would you like to create.
That's what I hate about the ending. It shouldn't be a choice. Shepard has always fought to defeat the Reapers. Shepard and I don't want to revolutionize the universe with synthetic hybrids. We just want to save the day at last.
2010
In many ways, this game is the inverse of Mass Effect 1. Its story is its weakest point and it wrests the Mako's potential to explore dozens of worlds away from you. Instead, this game is a tight character-focused thriller about broken people teaming up to do the shit that no one else is willing to do.
What works? The gameplay is fully improved over the previous game and is actually fun. No it's not great, but charging into a pack of Vorcha as a Vanguard and filling their prone bodies with a full heatsink of shotgun ammo is thrilling. Abilities still chain together and make any level with OSHA-violating bridges and rails thrilling.
The companions have matured from drab "let me tell you about my people" vessels repeating the same animation in their dark corner of the ship to people. They have their own desires, pasts they'd rather not get into right now, and conflicts with each other that you have to settle. Beyond your companions, the supporting cast of characters have tons of standouts who excel in this dark pulpy sci-fi world.
Before this game, I had never seen characters this realistic in appearance, animation, and performance whom I could interact with. Even when the story revealed itself as a filler story between games, I was still enthralled because I was fighting with my friends in dark neon alleys against aliens with four testicles.
What works? The gameplay is fully improved over the previous game and is actually fun. No it's not great, but charging into a pack of Vorcha as a Vanguard and filling their prone bodies with a full heatsink of shotgun ammo is thrilling. Abilities still chain together and make any level with OSHA-violating bridges and rails thrilling.
The companions have matured from drab "let me tell you about my people" vessels repeating the same animation in their dark corner of the ship to people. They have their own desires, pasts they'd rather not get into right now, and conflicts with each other that you have to settle. Beyond your companions, the supporting cast of characters have tons of standouts who excel in this dark pulpy sci-fi world.
Before this game, I had never seen characters this realistic in appearance, animation, and performance whom I could interact with. Even when the story revealed itself as a filler story between games, I was still enthralled because I was fighting with my friends in dark neon alleys against aliens with four testicles.
2007
Absolutely iconic setting that the game establishes through great alien design, excellent music, and a cool eldritch threat from beyond the stars. This game's story and setting are excellent and they provide an incredible foundation for the rest of the series. Even while its characters are mostly shallow tools to provide exposition, their potential is there to be explored in future games.
Yes the Mako sucks.
Yes the Mako sucks.
This is a Marvel film of a game. Dull villain, misplaced levity, huge stakes without personal attachment, uninspired action, and empty grandiosity. It's adequate. Not too good, not too bad.
THE INQUISITION
Except for the titular inquisition. This should be the game's biggest strength. It should be. Yet the War Table is busywork to earn points that you need to go on missions. Your army is just narrative fluff to show up in a few cutscenes. You can judge people, which is interesting. But the only repercussions are a bit of approval here or some Inquisition points there.
The game needed the potential for failure! You should be able to squander your power, misstep in your alliances, and confront the final boss with the sum of your forces. Instead, the Inquisition is largely aesthetic.
CHARACTERS
Except for the characters. This is where I write nice things! I like the characters of Inquisition and I think they save the game. Not every character works. I talked with Sera once then ignored her for the rest of the game. But that's fine. I could focus on any of the other better characters. The hardest choices in the game were deciding who to cut from my party of Iron Bull, Dorian, Varric, and Solas (it was usually Varric. I played a rogue so he was redundant).
Playing Wicked Grace with the gang, spying on the rabble with Bull, getting Cassandra a new chapter, and forging a future for Cole are great moments and why I kept playing.
GAMEPLAY
Ok, what can I say about the gameplay? The emphasis on Guard and Barrier means that sword-and-shield is necessary to win encounters. Battles becomes a game of defense, but that's complicated by the poor AI. When I'd need a Barrier most, Solas would've used it on himself. That's almost in-character, but also infuriating when defense abilities are the only abilities that really matter and the AI is squandering it.
I don't understand how anyone could prefer Inquisition's gameplay over Origin's. Even on Hard, I could send one character with Guard to fight a group of enemies and just watch from the distance as the enemies very slowly died. There's neither the skill needed for twitch-based reactions or chaining combos, nor the strategy for squad-based positioning and precise ability usage.
STORY
The world is divided, there's a mysterious hole in the sky, and you're the only one to solve it. Good hook! The game spends a while pointing fingers and building intrigue for who caused this event. The story's at its strongest here, as you struggle against fractured conservative orders seeking to profit from this chaos. Then there's a shift.
-spoilers- After Corypheus attacks, you stumble into a convenient castle, become legitimized as a hero, and proceed to stop Corypheus from getting power three times before ganking him. What doesn't work is that Corypheus never feels like a potent threat. He makes connections off-screen with incredibly evil people, monologues about generic villainy, and is more often talked about as strong than shown. His lore has potential and your companions have some nice dialogue about it. That's all. -spoilers-
CONCLUSION
While Dragon Age 2 is fun to talk about for how it failed to live up to its potential, Inquisition is just baffling. This was supposed to be the return to form the series needed. Yet for all the potential that DA2 squandered, DAI neither redeems any of DA2's ideas nor offers anything novel itself.
Inquisition's biggest strengths are its characters and how its themes about religion and conservative values are explored by those characters. I liked playing someone who rejected their religious significance, but respected people's need to believe. Maybe this franchise has lost its potential, but I still hold on to the hope that it can change. I want to believe.
THE INQUISITION
Except for the titular inquisition. This should be the game's biggest strength. It should be. Yet the War Table is busywork to earn points that you need to go on missions. Your army is just narrative fluff to show up in a few cutscenes. You can judge people, which is interesting. But the only repercussions are a bit of approval here or some Inquisition points there.
The game needed the potential for failure! You should be able to squander your power, misstep in your alliances, and confront the final boss with the sum of your forces. Instead, the Inquisition is largely aesthetic.
CHARACTERS
Except for the characters. This is where I write nice things! I like the characters of Inquisition and I think they save the game. Not every character works. I talked with Sera once then ignored her for the rest of the game. But that's fine. I could focus on any of the other better characters. The hardest choices in the game were deciding who to cut from my party of Iron Bull, Dorian, Varric, and Solas (it was usually Varric. I played a rogue so he was redundant).
Playing Wicked Grace with the gang, spying on the rabble with Bull, getting Cassandra a new chapter, and forging a future for Cole are great moments and why I kept playing.
GAMEPLAY
Ok, what can I say about the gameplay? The emphasis on Guard and Barrier means that sword-and-shield is necessary to win encounters. Battles becomes a game of defense, but that's complicated by the poor AI. When I'd need a Barrier most, Solas would've used it on himself. That's almost in-character, but also infuriating when defense abilities are the only abilities that really matter and the AI is squandering it.
I don't understand how anyone could prefer Inquisition's gameplay over Origin's. Even on Hard, I could send one character with Guard to fight a group of enemies and just watch from the distance as the enemies very slowly died. There's neither the skill needed for twitch-based reactions or chaining combos, nor the strategy for squad-based positioning and precise ability usage.
STORY
The world is divided, there's a mysterious hole in the sky, and you're the only one to solve it. Good hook! The game spends a while pointing fingers and building intrigue for who caused this event. The story's at its strongest here, as you struggle against fractured conservative orders seeking to profit from this chaos. Then there's a shift.
-spoilers- After Corypheus attacks, you stumble into a convenient castle, become legitimized as a hero, and proceed to stop Corypheus from getting power three times before ganking him. What doesn't work is that Corypheus never feels like a potent threat. He makes connections off-screen with incredibly evil people, monologues about generic villainy, and is more often talked about as strong than shown. His lore has potential and your companions have some nice dialogue about it. That's all. -spoilers-
CONCLUSION
While Dragon Age 2 is fun to talk about for how it failed to live up to its potential, Inquisition is just baffling. This was supposed to be the return to form the series needed. Yet for all the potential that DA2 squandered, DAI neither redeems any of DA2's ideas nor offers anything novel itself.
Inquisition's biggest strengths are its characters and how its themes about religion and conservative values are explored by those characters. I liked playing someone who rejected their religious significance, but respected people's need to believe. Maybe this franchise has lost its potential, but I still hold on to the hope that it can change. I want to believe.
2011
This is a game with potential. It has as many great ideas as it has poorly executed missteps. The biggest problem with the game is that its legacy seems to have scared Bioware away from implementing what worked and learning from this game.
So what works?
Keeping the stakes lower and centering the conflict on a single city helps to make the setting feel lived in and the characters become more relatable as people rather than world savers.
The framing device opens up such a wide myriad of possibilities for embellishments, dramatic irony, mysteries Varric won't disclose, and chapter breaks.
Companions have HOUSES. Imagine that, actual homes for your companions instead of just a plot of dirt they stand on or a terminal they boop every few seconds.
Having a story take place over ten years allows for conflicts to evolve and characters to grow familiar.
The Arishok.
As for what doesn't work? The third act is a choice between good and evil where good has to suddenly become evil to make things morally gray. The game is ugly. Not just graphically, but its art direction is consistently awful. Gameplay is boring, repetitive, and weirdly difficult in one boss fight. The side quests are generally pretty dull.
This is an easy game to talk about. It's such a blunder, but damn could it have been more. All it would take is a company willing to learn from its mistakes, embrace what worked in this and Origins, and push forward stronger and smarter.
So what works?
Keeping the stakes lower and centering the conflict on a single city helps to make the setting feel lived in and the characters become more relatable as people rather than world savers.
The framing device opens up such a wide myriad of possibilities for embellishments, dramatic irony, mysteries Varric won't disclose, and chapter breaks.
Companions have HOUSES. Imagine that, actual homes for your companions instead of just a plot of dirt they stand on or a terminal they boop every few seconds.
Having a story take place over ten years allows for conflicts to evolve and characters to grow familiar.
The Arishok.
As for what doesn't work? The third act is a choice between good and evil where good has to suddenly become evil to make things morally gray. The game is ugly. Not just graphically, but its art direction is consistently awful. Gameplay is boring, repetitive, and weirdly difficult in one boss fight. The side quests are generally pretty dull.
This is an easy game to talk about. It's such a blunder, but damn could it have been more. All it would take is a company willing to learn from its mistakes, embrace what worked in this and Origins, and push forward stronger and smarter.
2009
What can I say about one of my favorite games of all time? It's honestly hard to express why I like this so much. For me, the pieces just fit. The tone, world, story, characters, pacing, and gameplay all work in perfect tandem.
Some parts drag and some characters are Oghren, but otherwise it all feels right. The later games lean more into fantasy and sillier tones, while shifting the gameplay away from tactics to action button-mashing. Yet even while it drags the other games down by comparison, it elevates them by association.
There won't ever be another game like this. That's a shame. But I'm so grateful this game exists.
Some parts drag and some characters are Oghren, but otherwise it all feels right. The later games lean more into fantasy and sillier tones, while shifting the gameplay away from tactics to action button-mashing. Yet even while it drags the other games down by comparison, it elevates them by association.
There won't ever be another game like this. That's a shame. But I'm so grateful this game exists.
2020
This really should've been better than Doom 2016, but it has one of the worst stories I've ever seen that actively made me feel less cool and pumped whenever I had to endure it
Perhaps this is a higher rating than I should give to a game with dull gameplay, the awful huddle-up mechanic, and all those awkward moments when young Starlord wanders around commenting "grandma always loved that" about every piece of furniture. But... I really liked this game! The characters and the story won me over.
Despite going into this feeling like these were knockoff versions of the film characters, I now feel like the movie characters are the shallow knock-offs. There's so much life and warmth to this crew. The worlds are gorgeous. The story is engaging and has some legitimately moving moments.
Give it a chance if you like character/story-based games! Also, the combat becomes 100x better whenever "I Need A Hero" comes on.
Despite going into this feeling like these were knockoff versions of the film characters, I now feel like the movie characters are the shallow knock-offs. There's so much life and warmth to this crew. The worlds are gorgeous. The story is engaging and has some legitimately moving moments.
Give it a chance if you like character/story-based games! Also, the combat becomes 100x better whenever "I Need A Hero" comes on.
2020
If I spent money on this game, I'd be a lot harsher. As it is, a free game that's easy to play with friends and offers a varied series of maps and challenges per week is pretty great. I'm impressed by how the game manages to eke so much out of very few mechanics.
Still hate the volleyball level with a fury though.
Still hate the volleyball level with a fury though.