Dragon Age: Inquisition vs. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

[Volourn]

"Dragon Age! One, I'm a semi biodrone, and two.. I won't play a new (anything from '08 onward) game that does not allow me the ability to be female. (and I'm not saying all games need female leads, and I WANT to try witcher or GTA, but I will support the companies or play their games while the gap between male and female leads is so large.)"

 

Why so sexist?

 

 

"Can you say the same for a console game?"

 

Yes.People still play Atari games and the like. 

 

 

"Anyway.  Xbox is not an option for me."

 

XBOX is not the only option. There's also PS.

 

You sure have a lot of companies who you feud with. L0L Perhaps, it's not them but you. MS had no problem giving me a new xbox when i suffered RROD even w/o a receit. Hmm..

 

 

And, xbox live account bans are easy to bypass. And, why use a credit card. Easier way to get MS points than giving credit card info out. Win-win.

[ktchong]

"Can you say the same for a console game?"

 

Yes.People still play Atari games and the like. 

 

Assuming the console and media storage (cartridges/diskettes/discs) still work.  I doubt any hardware built by Microsoft will still work twenty-five years from now.

 

 

 

"Anyway.  Xbox is not an option for me."

 

XBOX is not the only option. There's also PS.

 

You sure have a lot of companies who you feud with. L0L Perhaps, it's not them but you. MS had no problem giving me a new xbox when i suffered RROD even w/o a receit. Hmm..

 

 

And, xbox live account bans are easy to bypass. And, why use a credit card. Easier way to get MS points than giving credit card info out. Win-win.

 

I prefer gaming on PC, especially for Western RPG.

 

I do not have a feud with BioWare.  I am actually on BioWare forums. I do not buy their games anymore because I refuse to be exploited by their current business model.  It is not like I got into a big fight with someone at BioWare and then decided I would never buy their games ever again.  If BioWare abandons their current business model, then I will maybe start buying from BioWare again. (If BioWare changes to an even worse business model, then obviously I won't.)

 

Obviously we had very different customer service experience with Microsoft.  My experience was extremely negative, so I would never buy another Xbox again.  There is no reason for me to bypass the Xbox Live ban if I intend to never be a Xbox customer again. "Screw me once, shame on Xbox.  Screw me twice, shame on me."

Edited August 18, 2014 by ktchong

[Bryy]

Anyhow, if you are okay with BioWare's business model, then go ahead and buy Dragon Age: Inquisition.  Please stop pester me over my decision to not buy Dragon Age: Inquisition or any more BioWare game.  You are not going to change my mind, and I am not going to change yours; and I know I am not alone in my decision to not support BioWare due to its exploitative business model.  I am not going to dissuade you from buying from BioWare.  It is your money.  I was just replying to Leferd who asked me which RPG I would chose and why.

 

I'm not saying you can't use your own money for whatever you want.

 

I'm saying that condemning a specific company for a practice everyone else does, especially if you admit to being a victim of it, is ridiculous.

[ktchong]

I'm saying that condemning a specific company for a practice everyone else does, especially if you admit to being a victim of it, is ridiculous.

 

 

Not "everyone else" does what BioWare is doing right now with DLCs, Origin, and BioWare Points.  Anyway, I think you are too in love in with BioWare to see the differences, so I will not waste any more of my time.

Edited August 18, 2014 by ktchong

[BruceVC]

"Dragon Age! One, I'm a semi biodrone, and two.. I won't play a new (anything from '08 onward) game that does not allow me the ability to be female. (and I'm not saying all games need female leads, and I WANT to try witcher or GTA, but I will support the companies or play their games while the gap between male and female leads is so large.)"

 

Why so sexist?

 

 

"

 

There is nothing sexist about a person asking a development company to be concerned about  gender representation for the protagonist in there games?

 

This is a reasonable request and expectation

[Volourn]

"There is nothing sexist about a person asking a development company to be concerned about  gender representation for the protagonist in there games?"
 

It is sexist when you refuse to play a certain game simply because it doesn't have a preferred gender.

 

 I doubt  you'd be approving if some rapist scumbag male refused to play Tomb Raider because it has an icky female as the protagonist right with no option to play male? Hmm...

Edited August 18, 2014 by Volourn

[Bester]

Let's see...

 

Bioware has been corrupted by their gay/lesbian issues and their attempts to sell their products to the largest video games consumer group in America, which they found in the face of Generation Y/Generation Me: the almost-pubescent 14 year olds with an attention deficiency disorder, and their older counterparts with an especially low IQ and a pronounced distaste for serious video games, "cause games are for nerds brah!"

 

And on the other hand we have CD Projekt, that isn't even a video game studio, since it's primarily made up of Poles. This group of highly exceptional plumbers have been making "video game" products based on low-fantasy books, and when I saw low-fantasy, I actually mean so low that it's standing one foot in a kids' fairy tale and another foot in a drugstore paperback. When Witcher (as a "book") came out, fantasy was mainly reserved for younger audiences. Combine it with the fact that Conan was already getting old and there was no Martin yet, Witcher found a warm place in the hearts of 16 year old geeks who've never been with a girl, but their hero Witcher was constantly dipping his 5th member into women left and right. It was literary fantasy porn in the world where internet didn't exist yet. Now, the question is - can you make a good rpg based on a setting from an erotica dime novel? Seems not.

 

So here we are at a crossroads, which one would I choose if I had to choose one?. Tough question, indeed. I think I'd flip a coin. Then I'd wait for actual RPGs like W2 and PoE.

Edited August 18, 2014 by Bester

[BruceVC]

"There is nothing sexist about a person asking a development company to be concerned about  gender representation for the protagonist in there games?"

 

It is sexist when you refuse to play a certain game simply because it doesn't have a preferred gender.

 

 I doubt  you'd be approving if some rapist scumbag male refused to play Tomb Raider because it has an icky female as the protagonist right with no option to play male? Hmm...

 

Its your personal choice if you choose to play a certain game, there are many reasons  that people don't play games.

 

Lillyhime is not saying " no one  should play this game because there isn't a female protagonist".  She is simply saying she won't play the game. This does not make her a sexist in any way. In life if you are unhappy with the decisions a certain development makes around a game then vote with your wallet by not buying the game.

 

Once again this is her personal view that  she is entitled to it without being accused of being a sexist

[Katphood]

Both are interesting, but if I had to pick one I would go with The Witcher series because of the unique setting.

[Darkpriest]

TW3 - no contest here.

 

I leave DA:I to Twilight teens

[Bester]

 Twilight teens

 

Is that a euphemism for fat women of all age and race?

[Magnum Opus]

The Witcher 3, for me.  For a few reasons.

 

1. CDPR has a far better handle on storytelling, for my dollar.  Their games offer rich characters without turning them all into caricatures of one vice/virtue or another, the choices often have real consequences (not to mention the "set piece" choices, which are excellent), but most importantly, CDPR understands that there's more to a world than battle arenas and plot-point cutscenes, strung together by corridors.  Their worlds are, and have been since TW1, far more reactive and alive than anything I've ever seen from Bioware.   CDPR has always given me the impression that they realize the world they create has just as much character as any NPC, but that this same world is the one which ties the entire experience together.  The player never "leaves dialogue" with the world, so there are always sights to see, nooks and crannies to explore, people to bump into and/or shove out of the way, storms to send the locals scurrying for cover, etc etc. 

 

It's that sort of attention to detail which sets The Witcher series apart, IMO.  Bioware writes good/sometimes great characters and comes up with wonderful Moments of Drama, things taken straight out a hollywood blockbuster at times, it seems, but those highlights have virtually nothing to bind them together.  There is Game, and there is Story, and sometimes the two work in direct opposition to each other. There is no consistency to game rules if they get in the way of a Moment of Drama, so basic gameplay suffers.  CDPR manages to give me both and far more often, with there being only one single moment of Drama-induced silliness that I can recall (looking at you, Letho-in-the-ruins)

 

2. Business model.  Origins was the game that, for me, really took Bioware down a notch when it came to my opinion of their business model regarding DLC.  The non-enchanced game was littered with in-game, in-character hooks that, every time I passed them by, would scream (sometimes even in the dialogue screen itself) "BUY THIS DLC!!"  Too blatant. 

 

Where Bioware seems to nickle-and-dime me or content, CDPR has (to date, anyway) offered content for free.  Upgrades, expansions, new story modules... none of them trivial, but all of them for free.  Even the base product has "value added" written all over it with soundtracks and maps included from the get-go.  More for the collector's editions, naturally, but with the basic game, you still end up getting more for you money. 

 

3. I enjoy having a little "male-time" now and again, without having to worry about LGBT issues, or whether women are being given equal screen time.  Those are definitely worthy issues and addressing the wider issues is all well and good, and yes the battle should be fought, but sometimes it's just plain nice to put it away for a moment and enjoy a singularly "male" experience.  Women need their girl-time, men need a night out with the boys.  That's what this game represents for me, relative to modern Bioware's social justice sandbox.

 

So there you go.  Vote explained.

[Nepenthe]

While I'll be the first to agree that the guy shilling DLC was a low point for DLC (of course, I got said DLC for free with my version of the game, so I never saw him myself), I'm aware of just the one guy - calling the game "littered with in-game, in-character hooks that, every time I passed them by, would scream (sometimes even in the dialogue screen itself) "BUY THIS DLC!!"" strikes me as the kind of hyperbolic BS that convinces me that there are, in fact, no real issues with Bioware's "business model" and it's just Steam fanboys who've found a common cause with gaming hipsters...

[Bos_hybrid]

Dragon Age: Inquisition.

 

Not a fan of TW or more to the point Geralt and Triss.

[Keyrock]

Oh for the love of god, do we really need an obvious flamebait thread like this?  Haven't we had enough Witcher vs. Dragon Age pissing matches in various threads already?

[HoonDing]

this gonna be gud

[BruceVC]

Oh for the love of god, do we really need an obvious flamebait thread like this?  Haven't we had enough Witcher vs. Dragon Age pissing matches in various threads already?

 

Wowzers Keyrock, did you get out of the wrong side of bed this morning....I'm not use to you being dismissive of gaming topics

 

If you don't like the topic just don't comment, obviously people are interested in this type of poll as we can see from the  amount of interest it has gathered. Also I would argue this post is unique because the OP is asking you to choose one and give your reasons why you choose only one. So for me its been relatively informative

[Malcador]

I think people are right when they say this isn't a binary choice. I'll eventually play DA2, or at least I keep saying that, so DA:I is out of the question right this instant versus Witcher 3 where I've played the series to date so far, so Witcher 3 for now.

[Achilles]

 

 

This is true of every product, and unless they are, say, killing babies or something, should not be an issue.

 

 

When I said BioWare products are integrated/tied into their business models, I meant that if a customer wanted to fully utilize a recent BioWare product, he would have to download and install EA Origin to activate the product, buy more BioWare Points than he would need, and then use those Points to buy DLCs at full prices.   BioWare products are tied to EA Origin, BioWare Points, and DLCs, which are very specific to EA-BioWare.

While I understand and sorta respect not wating to download hundreds of clients, what DLC do you need that is essential to the main game?

 

At the risk of butting in, I think parts of ME3 were made obvious by content provided in From Ashes. I bought the collector's edition, so I got it for free, but a lot of people didn't. I suspect that a lot of the "ME3 was too confusing" came from people who missed this content, because they didn't buy the Day One DLC.

[Zoraptor]

There's also, er, Arrival for ME2, as without that you don't know why you're in the brig at the start of ME3. Witch Hunt could have been- still might, at a stretch- for DA as well.

 

DLC is easy to hate on in any case. Have it be essential to the story and you're chopping critical stuff out to sell separately and confusing people who don't have it; have it be extraneous or trivial and your're trying to sell irrelevant stuff unconnected to the story or Horse Armour. There's a very fine line between the two.

[token2k8]

I will personally be getting both the Witcher 3 and Dragon Age. As long as both are better than their part 2 counterparts (I feel both were lacking in some areas in comparison to originals) then I will be happy.

[Nepenthe]

There's also, er, Arrival for ME2, as without that you don't know why you're in the brig at the start of ME3. Witch Hunt could have been- still might, at a stretch- for DA as well.

 

DLC is easy to hate on in any case. Have it be essential to the story and you're chopping critical stuff out to sell separately and confusing people who don't have it; have it be extraneous or trivial and your're trying to sell irrelevant stuff unconnected to the story or Horse Armour. There's a very fine line between the two.

Fully agree with the latter part, but have to point out that the reason for you being in the brig varies based on whether your pc did arrival or not...

[Rance]

I have now seen both games on Gamescom and I can honestly say that there's no contest, the witcher 3 is the superior game by far. I prefer when I get to make my own character in a game but there are exceptions and the witcher series is one of them. At Gamescom they showed me a 45 min long demo of the Witcher 3 and it's one of the most impressive games I have ever seen. The world is huge and it feel alive. The combat is fun and the setting is original and immersive. The moral choices are tough and the consequences of your decisons are huge. 

 

Dragon Age: Inquisition just felt boring in comparison, the combat felt like something from an MMO and everything I saw just confirmed my sucpicion that DICE is the only developer that can use the frostbite engine properly. While the witcher 3 had extremely well done characters with realistic facial expressions and body language the characters in DA:I looked like dolls. I don't think that Dragon Age: Inquisition will be as terrible as Dragon Age 2, I think it will be a massive improvement and probably a fun game, but is it the same quality as The Witcher 3? not even close. All the DLC that will probably come with the game doesn't really excite me and the almost sickening focus on romance(#ridethebull, really BioWare?!?!) makes it feel more like a japanese visual novel than a fantasy rpg. If I want to play a game where the main focus is to sleep with the different party members I'll just play one of the Rance games.

 

This is just my opinion so take it as you will, but after Gamescom I'm sure that Witcher 3 will be one of the best RPGs, if not the best game of 2015.

Edited August 18, 2014 by Rance

[HoonDing]

^A wild CDPR employee appears!

[Rance]

^A wild CDPR employee appears!

So because I don't have the same opinion as you I'm a CD Projekt employee. Nice way to dismiss my post, quite dissrespectful too. If you are joking and you're not serious I'm sorry for the agressive reply but I've had several people on other forums accusing people of being employees or marketers for a specific company just because they happen to prefer a game over another, and those guys have been serious.