BioWare, a studio that has been in the gaming industry for over almost 30 years has had their ups and downs but nevertheless maintained their presence and were for a number of years delivering iconic titles to players around the world.
They are also the creators of the original Baldur’s Gate which became a really successful game and motivated them to explore the genre further. They soon were acquired by Electronic Arts around the 2000s and thus delivered to us the Mass Effect and Dragon Age franchises.
The Success Of Dragon Age 1 And 2
The first of the series was released in 2009, called Dragon Age: Origins, where after choosing from any of the 6 predetermined origin stories for the player’s character he or she is eventually tasked with joining the Greywardens, an elite class of warriors whose sole purpose is to defeat the archdemons and prevent an apocalypse or the “Blight”.
The game had reached critical acclaim quite quickly, reviewers and journals alike praised its in-depth, highly detailed world, diverse cast of characters each with their own interests at play and a compelling story that effortlessly kept the player engaged.
Around 2011 was the release of Dragon Age 2, the story is a sequel to Origins and follows the life of Hawke and soon we find out why an all out war between the mages and the Templars are taking place.
Although the game was received well, its story being told in a manner of recollection was somewhat disorientating and at times felt unclear and suffered some lack of cohesion. Dragon Age 2 while it was good, it didn’t stay in the mind long after the credits rolled.
The Woes Of Dragon Age: Inquisition
Dragon Age: Inquisition came out around 2014 and they brought back the tactical mode which was absent from Dragon Age 2 along with returning characters Hawke and Morrigan as allies to our protagonist for this game.
The game also had suffered many development woes, mainly due to pressure from EA as they feared Mobile Gaming was going takeover the triple A space, they had also forced BioWare to use the FrostBite Engine which they had no experience with, coupled with the engine’s limitations ultimately resulted in a game that had many systems that feel “unfinished”.
The game did receive high 80s and 90s from various outlets but they had stated while the return of the tactical system is appreciated, the absence of any fights that require it, is ultimately a huge miss of opportunity.
The Hope For Dragon Age: The Veilguard
Initial impressions were dwindled for fans when the cinematic trailer released, this disappointment and doubt was due to the nature of the trailer being directed as if it’s a trailer for a kids movie. This coupled with the fact that Electronic Arts (EA) have permanently lost the trust of everyone in the last decade due to the horrible practices that came to light.
A recent closed beta was given to a select few players and outlets and they have since showcased footage from the gameplay and their general likes and dislikes of the beta.
So far people have stated that the combat system has been done well this time around, it had a clear vision of maintaining the style of play you’d expect from the 3rd person shooter from any other modern game, they have still managed to maintain the feel of the original combat system.
Your protagonist has light attacks, dodges and parries which players have been asking for since Dragon Age 2 and this is a more than welcome change to reintroduce Dragon Age to the modern audience.
Of course this doesn’t mean the beloved tactical system is gone, it has been changed to used inline with the new system in place, players can pause at any moment and select whatever spell or ability they want and also direct it towards their desired enemy, eliminating the situation of missing your special attack or ability. This pause menu also shows detailed stats such as the damage of the ability, if it has a high chance of stagger or not etc.
The story hasn’t been discussed much as is the standard but what we do know is that Solas, an important character from inquisition is at the heart of the story and his actions are about to release powerful beings into the world while we have to stop that from happening.
