Origins no doubt. Best game i played on PS3 and is the reason i still have my PS3, sure it's in the attic but still. Just not having as much fun with Inquisition. The side quests are terrible. The dialogue system is awful where the picked option isn't the same as the actual thing my character says. Really prevents me from getting into my character or even connecting with him since i'm constantly surprised when i choose a dialogue option.
Dragon Age: Origins vs Inquisition
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Zvonimir Boban
Banned
Forget Origins, Inquisition isn't even as good as Dragon Age II.
Darkstorne
Member
I prefer the combat in Origins (tactical camera in Inquisition is just... eugh), but much prefer the story in Inquisition. Seriously, Origin's story is massively over-rated. Far too reliant on coincidences, and you're tacitly asked to hand-waive so much nonsense on the basis that "it's just a game, roll with it."
When I was told to use the treaties around Ferelden to amass an army I thought "Hey, neat idea to introduce me to the world and help me get a sense of geography before the story begins in earnest!" Instead, I was treated to a series of ridiculously coincidental events, all unrelated to the Blight, all of which were completely fatal to the suffering people, yet something my rookie warden and three other party members could solve with relative ease.
Welcome to Redcliffe! Sadly, the town is overrun with an undead army! Every soldier killed is reborn as another undead combatant. Sucks, huh? Help us kill them though, and then... oh, yeah, also the guy you need to talk to is seriously ill and you'll need the ashes of J̶e̶s̶u̶s̶ ̶C̶h̶r̶i̶s̶t̶ Andraste to heal him, which lie in a location long lost to recorded history. You can find that though, right?
Welcome to the Mage's Tower! Sadly, the tower is overrun with blood mages and abominations! I know, I know. This is something our massive standing army of Templars has been specifically trained to deal with, but we figured you, brand new to any form of combat as you are, and just three other companions, might be able to achieve what our entire highly-skilled army can't? Good luck with that!
Welcome to the Brecillian Forest! Sadly, the forest is overrun with werewolves, and a curse is spreading that will soon wipe out this Elven clan completely, turning them all into beasts! I know we're renowned for our skills at hunting, but we figured you and three other companions could end this curse for us, battling through all those werewolves that our entire regiment of skilled hunters can't?
Welcome to Orzammar! Sadly, we're embroiled in civil war over here! I know the obvious solution is to throw both rival kings into the Proving that we respect so much, ensuring that not only will a single king emerge, but in a fashion that our people will absolutely respect and admire... but... we were thinking maybe you'd rather fight in the Proving instead, then head down into the Deep Roads and track down a revered Dwarven warrior believed dead she's been missing so long, and then continue on to reclaim an ancient long-lost artefact of untold power? We're pretty sure that's the best way to solve this mess. It's not like you're busy, right?
Now that all of that's out the way, where were we? Oh, right! The Blight! The Darkspawn! Remember those guys? It's only been 50+ hours since you last dealt with them back in Ostagar. Let's finish the real story now, shall we? Fairly simple,
The real threat in Origins wasn't the Blight. If it wasn't for the rookie hero, then by the time the Darkspawn finally moved out of Lothering they would have found Ferelden overrun with a marauding undead army; Blood mages and abominations partying in the Circle Tower; Werewolves frolicking in the forests; And a few remaining Dwarves mopping blood off their streets and wondering how the hell they even survived this long with their senseless political system.
Yeah, I think about this a lot. It bothers me that gamers are so quick to praise a story that any novelist would be laughed out of a publisher's office for, and told to take a children's level class in creative writing. Origins has one of the worst stories in any RPG ever made, but some fantastic characters and combat mechanics to make up for it.
When I was told to use the treaties around Ferelden to amass an army I thought "Hey, neat idea to introduce me to the world and help me get a sense of geography before the story begins in earnest!" Instead, I was treated to a series of ridiculously coincidental events, all unrelated to the Blight, all of which were completely fatal to the suffering people, yet something my rookie warden and three other party members could solve with relative ease.
Welcome to Redcliffe! Sadly, the town is overrun with an undead army! Every soldier killed is reborn as another undead combatant. Sucks, huh? Help us kill them though, and then... oh, yeah, also the guy you need to talk to is seriously ill and you'll need the ashes of J̶e̶s̶u̶s̶ ̶C̶h̶r̶i̶s̶t̶ Andraste to heal him, which lie in a location long lost to recorded history. You can find that though, right?
Welcome to the Mage's Tower! Sadly, the tower is overrun with blood mages and abominations! I know, I know. This is something our massive standing army of Templars has been specifically trained to deal with, but we figured you, brand new to any form of combat as you are, and just three other companions, might be able to achieve what our entire highly-skilled army can't? Good luck with that!
Welcome to the Brecillian Forest! Sadly, the forest is overrun with werewolves, and a curse is spreading that will soon wipe out this Elven clan completely, turning them all into beasts! I know we're renowned for our skills at hunting, but we figured you and three other companions could end this curse for us, battling through all those werewolves that our entire regiment of skilled hunters can't?
Welcome to Orzammar! Sadly, we're embroiled in civil war over here! I know the obvious solution is to throw both rival kings into the Proving that we respect so much, ensuring that not only will a single king emerge, but in a fashion that our people will absolutely respect and admire... but... we were thinking maybe you'd rather fight in the Proving instead, then head down into the Deep Roads and track down a revered Dwarven warrior believed dead she's been missing so long, and then continue on to reclaim an ancient long-lost artefact of untold power? We're pretty sure that's the best way to solve this mess. It's not like you're busy, right?
Now that all of that's out the way, where were we? Oh, right! The Blight! The Darkspawn! Remember those guys? It's only been 50+ hours since you last dealt with them back in Ostagar. Let's finish the real story now, shall we? Fairly simple,
just one big battle in Denerim where you kill the arch demon, then that's the end. You see why we had to pad this game out with all those unrelated and completely coincidental short stories now? The main story is about as straightforward and unimaginative as it gets... The game would have been over in about 10 hours otherwise...
The real threat in Origins wasn't the Blight. If it wasn't for the rookie hero, then by the time the Darkspawn finally moved out of Lothering they would have found Ferelden overrun with a marauding undead army; Blood mages and abominations partying in the Circle Tower; Werewolves frolicking in the forests; And a few remaining Dwarves mopping blood off their streets and wondering how the hell they even survived this long with their senseless political system.
Yeah, I think about this a lot. It bothers me that gamers are so quick to praise a story that any novelist would be laughed out of a publisher's office for, and told to take a children's level class in creative writing. Origins has one of the worst stories in any RPG ever made, but some fantastic characters and combat mechanics to make up for it.
Lux R7
Member
From time to time. However, that's not an honest description of all the quests in the game and, i think, "fetch quest" can't really describe a quest, 'cause in the act of retrieving something from somewhere, u can just have some fun doing other things.
I really don't mind the collectathons, i usually just collect the items when i pass near. In the meantime i just do other things. That's really not a problem to me.
Honestly, I don't think the story was ever praised that much. It was more the quality of character interaction and dialogue that people (rightly) appreciated.
Both games have pretty terrible stories.
I understand that to a point. When exploring the world I did collect a lot of the items for the fetch quests and collectathons without thinking. However, when the interesting quests dry up you're left with the rest and it become apparent just how l;azy they were slapping on as much of this stuff as possible to bloat the game out.
One are in particular stands out, the desert area (i forget the name) is literally a box full of MMO fetch quests and nothing at all interesting to do. Open world design might make a game appear more interesting on paper, but the reality is often very different.
Some of the areas struck a good balance but overall there was too much MMO filler. It didn't help that the combat was so mindless and made up such a huge part of your playtime...
I played DAO again in the lead-up to the release of DAI and will say that I enjoyed my time with Origins more. That said, I really like Inquisition but apart from the variety in locations I'd say that I would rate Inquisition below Origins and Dragon Age II. Origins wins out over all of them due to the superior combat and rpg mechanics, I'd say.
Regarding Dragon Age II, I think that game succeeded the most when it came to party interaction and banter which contributed immensely to me caring about those characters.
Regarding Dragon Age II, I think that game succeeded the most when it came to party interaction and banter which contributed immensely to me caring about those characters.
toddhunter
Member
The whole premise of Inquisition is that a dude wakes up with a green hand and everybody just kind of shrugs and accepts that you are the guy who can sort this mess out.
A mess, mind you, that 99% of the people in the world are completely ignoring.
Origins story isn't overrated, nobody ever said it was particularly good but it got the job done. The story in Inquisition is the kind of crap that a teenager would write in their first attempt at a fantasy novel... if they slacked off and decided to not put much thought or effort into it. But even though it was bad, their mum paid them $0.50 per page so they just kept churning it out so it goes forever, with each chapter more tedious and juvenile than the last.
You know, like a slightly less interesting Dragon Age 2.
Baldurs Gate shits all over Origins from a great height, but it gives it a towel after to wipe itself off out of respect.
Origins shits all over Dragon Age 2 from a great height without even looking down.
Dragon Age 2 does a little wee over Inquisition, but it mostly misses. Still, Inquisition is stuck down at the bottom of the toilet swimming around with Dead Space 3 where it belongs.
At this point they should give the series to Konami to produce a better game... on mobile... on a nokia 6210.
AgentLampshade
Member
Thought Inquisition was baws, yet played theough Origins with all races. Inquisition never really grabbed me from the get-go (almost certainly because I never played DA2), so I had to relearn things and try to get up to speed on what I missed. Too bad the codex is ridiculously cryptic about these sorts of things, it's all written in-universe by characters I've never met and never will meet. Combined with the annoying "gather everything" quests and I have to admit I was losing interest about the time you meet
Origins was much better for me to follow since it was still establishing it's universe, and kept the hub area small (a camp instead of a fortress).
Small disclaimer: I still haven't finished Inquisition, so take my points with a lick of salt. Could be everything wraps up nicely, but as I said, I've lost almost all interst in it.
Hawke.
Small disclaimer: I still haven't finished Inquisition, so take my points with a lick of salt. Could be everything wraps up nicely, but as I said, I've lost almost all interst in it.
Im just about coming to the end of my playthrogh with Inquisition (over 100 hours) and im just about half way through the game.
I prefer the world in Inquisition but the battle system and story is better in Origins.
But i have to say both games are ok-ish RPGs with Origins being the better one. Both have massive problems with pacing and i gave up on Origins too as i found it to be boring and i never really felt the enormity of what i was fighting for. The dwarf main quest killed Origins for me.
BioWare blew me away with the Mass Effect games, these feel like side projects.
I prefer the world in Inquisition but the battle system and story is better in Origins.
But i have to say both games are ok-ish RPGs with Origins being the better one. Both have massive problems with pacing and i gave up on Origins too as i found it to be boring and i never really felt the enormity of what i was fighting for. The dwarf main quest killed Origins for me.
BioWare blew me away with the Mass Effect games, these feel like side projects.
Darkstorne
Member
I hear a lot of people praising the story, but I'm pretty sure they're really thinking about how great the character writing was.
And I agree, Inquisition still had a bad story, I'm just convinced Origins is one of the worst Bioware has ever written. Mass Effect 2 is the only one that might be worse (We don't know what to do with the Reapers yet, so here are some new guys called the Collectors - spend 80% of the game putting a crew together then go kill them, and we'll hopefully know what to do with the story in the next game).
KOTOR's story was fairly good, especially after the twist, but the driving reason for visiting the different planets felt a bit too video-gamey (different maps scattered across the galaxy, go collect them). Mass 1 was probably the best story, since it constantly evolved and pushed forward with an evolving mystery, and provided solid investigative reasons for visiting all the different key locations. Each planet pushed the story forward in a meaningful way.
I think it's just a glaring Bioware issue. They are fantastic at writing characters, but terrible at writing a strong over-arching narrative.
Proposed Law
Member
Origins by a mile. Better characters and story.
Tekomandor
Member
Bioware make RPGs. They don't make isometric tactical combat simulators though, which is what half the internet seems to think RPGs are. So if your conception of an RPG ends at Chainmail's fantasy supplement, then sure Bioware doesn't make RPGs. Otherwise statements like yours are just more Codex-level dribble.
Inquisition has better character writing than Origins, tbh. Storywise I'd peg it as around Origins, with DA2's main story being the best of the three.
Fantastapotamus
Wrong about commas, wrong about everything
Funnily enough I always felt Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age had a pretty similar story.
In both games most of your time is spent going from place to place just to find allies and not dealing with the main threat in any way.
I liked the moment-to-moment interactions in Origins, the story as a whole was pretty "meh".
I also always dislike it if games just present you with an evil force and then go "They are evil cause they look ugly, what you need more? Fuck you, they are monsters. Just trust us, those guys are evil. Have you seen them?"
I always hoped there would be something more to the Darkspawn. How about they just don't want to live in the dark tunnels miles below the light but "we" won't let them out so they fight us? Nope, they are just a bunch of monsters. To give credit were credit is due, I was really pleased about Legion in Mass Effect 2.
Im not fond of that kind of RPG, so thank god they dont!
I lost you at Diablo :/
toddhunter
Member
How about my conception (? lets just roll with "conception" for laughs) is based on Dragon Age Origins, a game in the same series?
That is also what the thread is about.
If Origins is a RPG, and I think we can all agree that it is, then Inquisition is intentionally some hybrid action/f2p/psuedo rpg nonsense designed to appeal to as broad of an audience as possible, which are the people who wouldn't buy a real rpg game. They also did exactly the same thing with Mass Effect 3, so I don't know what Bioware games you have played recently.
It fails on all fronts. This is what Bioware does now.
Darkstorne
Member
Yep, I think that's just a constant Bioware problem, in almost all of their games. That's a large part of why I found Inquisition a little more refreshing, in that the story at least went through evolutions, rather than having an awesome introduction, then having you spend 80% of the time recruiting and team-bonding while the story went nowhere, before getting back to the story right at the end. It's still far from a good story, just better than their usual attempt.
And you're about Legion in Mass 2. That's a perfect example of how Bioware have amazing character development, despite having failings in their over arching plots. The Tali/Legion development in Mass 3 was also absolutely amazing.
Origins is very good game and Inquisition is a very bad and boring game. Origins got better and focused story, missions and side quest, better cast, better and more enjoyable combat while Inquisition have really bad story and forgettable bland cast and really boring combat and MMO like quests.
Phat Michael
Banned
Origins was really great. Inquisition was just made so they could write "over 100+ hours of gameplay!" on the box. There was no thought put into the side quests and collecting elfroot is not fun in any way at all. I cant believe how well the game scored as it was decidedly average.
CecilRousso
Member
Origins, no doubt. Inquisition held together for one playthrough, because of the characters and the story. Now that I'm done with that, I can't bring myself to go back to the shitty quests you have do to actually play it.
grandwizard
Member
I think it's pretty clear Origins was made for an existing (PC centric) RPG audience who like that style of games, which led to it's tactical combat that actually required thinking and planning. Inquisition was made for a more mass audience to try and get Dragon Age to Skyrim levels of popularity and that's why it's combat is button mashing and watching pretty things explode, while you wander around enormous areas picking flowers and rocks.. It's loaded with content, but it has no depth at all.
This makes me sad..
It's not even that I don't like more tactical based combat. Origins in particular just felt off to me. Just didn't feel very responsive to me.
jim-jam bongs
Member
I haven't played Inquisition, but holy shit; bravo and lol for this assessment of Origins.
Markitron
Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
I'm probably in the minority, but I think Inquisition is the better game. I think it just felt like it was on a larger scale and my character felt more empowered to me. I also think it had the better story.
jim-jam bongs
Member
Opinions are cool. I enjoyed it a lot, but I wouldn't even put it in the top 20.
Origins was a game of the year for me. Inquisition is disappointment of the year even with managed expectations thanks to Dragon Age 2. Even DA2 is superior to Inquisition because despite all the flaws including enemies spawning out of thin air, at least I still enjoyed the combat unlike the Inquisition combat.
Inquisition isn't a terrible game, but it is designed so that most of the game(play) simply isn't enjoyable. It felt more like work to accomplish goals than playing a game for enjoyment.
Inquisition isn't a terrible game, but it is designed so that most of the game(play) simply isn't enjoyable. It felt more like work to accomplish goals than playing a game for enjoyment.
Even with this summation of Origins' contrivances (which it was criticized for), it still blows Inquisition out of orbit in nearly every way.
toddhunter
Member
Bravo.
Everyone has their own opinion, but that's a pretty big claim. If you don't mind me asking, what have you played that you're putting it ahead of?
Markitron
Is currently staging a hunger strike outside Gearbox HQ while trying to hate them to death
Fantastic contribution, thanks.
TouchMyBox
Member
Origins was a decent game with some awful segments. Inquisition is a very pretty game that was awful throughout.
toddhunter
Member
Just wait until you see a galaxy map of Mass Effect 4 and realise that they are not millions of stars, but just fetch quest markers.
RedAssedApe
Banned
Making alistair
morrigan. Lol
Origins.
do it with
Origins.
With people claiming Origins to be the GREATEST WRPG ever made I felt I needed to balance things in the universe.
Spiritwalker
Member
Inquisition is just another mediocre game with pretty graphics.
Inquisition had the superior art style (obviously), open world design and mechanics.
Origins had the better plot. Although it was cliche as hell, Inquisition had a villain that had the potential to be Irenicus/Saren level, but Bioware ended up giving him a one note role. Totally forgettable plot.
In terms of companions I think Origin edges this out, Inquisition still had some amazing members especially Bull, Dorian, Varric and Cassandra.
The themes present in Dragon Age have great potential, but they never get fleshed out the way for example Witcher or Pillars of Eternity manages to do it. Still, it's a series I'll continue to follow.
Origins had the better plot. Although it was cliche as hell, Inquisition had a villain that had the potential to be Irenicus/Saren level, but Bioware ended up giving him a one note role. Totally forgettable plot.
In terms of companions I think Origin edges this out, Inquisition still had some amazing members especially Bull, Dorian, Varric and Cassandra.
The themes present in Dragon Age have great potential, but they never get fleshed out the way for example Witcher or Pillars of Eternity manages to do it. Still, it's a series I'll continue to follow.
Yes this is what scares me, on the other hand the core combat of ME3 was great. So If they can make the encounters varied, it might not be that bad even if they go that route. Hell I might even enjoy myself if the campaign is co-op. Boring ass quest somehow become fun with a friend. That said I hope they just go for the more focused experience ME is known for.
OmegaTreeFish
Banned
Origins was a game I played twice back to back and immensly enjoyed
Inquisition I found utterly dull in every way except visuals.
Inquisition I found utterly dull in every way except visuals.
Eh, characters, world building, side quests, lore, main quests were consistently excellent in all the ME games, another level to DA games, but yes, mining minerals and mako levels where horrible. Not sure if these mechanics are needed this day and age. Would like them to revisit mako levels but flesh it out, showed promise.
Jawmuncher
Member
Origins easily. Why Inquistion didn't take more from that game while it was being made was beyond me.
I agree with this as well. I actually enjoyed DA2 more so than Inquisition. Sure it was quite the change up from Origins, but it kept the same ideas somewhat in terms of the campaign.
Still think it's biggest sin is reusing assets way too much.
I agree with this as well. I actually enjoyed DA2 more so than Inquisition. Sure it was quite the change up from Origins, but it kept the same ideas somewhat in terms of the campaign.
Still think it's biggest sin is reusing assets way too much.
Xilium
Member
Origins. This shouldn't even be up for debate. Outside of visuals, Origins is better than Inquisition in every regard.
Also, and this is a controversial opinion, Inquisition actually gave me a greater appreciation of DA2. While the repetitive maps and wave-based combat where really dumb in that game, the story, characters, and character interactions where the best in the series. I managed to get through DA2 twice whereas I didn't care enough to finish the final 1/5 of Inquisition I have left to play so I would go as far as to say that I think DA2 is a better game than Inquisition.
Also, and this is a controversial opinion, Inquisition actually gave me a greater appreciation of DA2. While the repetitive maps and wave-based combat where really dumb in that game, the story, characters, and character interactions where the best in the series. I managed to get through DA2 twice whereas I didn't care enough to finish the final 1/5 of Inquisition I have left to play so I would go as far as to say that I think DA2 is a better game than Inquisition.