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

[Magnum Opus]

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...

Well, yeah, it WAS hyperbole. I don't know that I could have made it more ridiculously blatant without naming names or getting outside of the scope of the game entirely.  I HAD hoped, by its o-so-obvious use, to convey just how much I dislike characters in-game peddling real-life products (ie. DLC).  Hyperbole, exaggeration... fairly common tools used to highlight a point of view.  At least, so I thought.

 

But how you then turn around say that there AREN'T any issues with this sort of practice is, quite frankly, baffling to me.  Clearly there are, given how often you see the point raised on message boards, and I for one feel about them strongly enough to go off the rails a bit just to make that point.

 

Still, if I have to be one or the other, can I be the Hipster?  They sound so much more... I dunno... "mature" than the Steam Fanboys, age-wise at least.  Just one step removed from Grognard.  I'd dearly love to be a grognard someday, but maybe hipster will have to do for now.

[Volourn]

"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."
 

Oh please. I've been called  a BIo employee./plant plenty of times. Even though I trash them lots  (including about their latest nonsense annoucned as a fake game).

 

Stop worrying about silly stuff like someone making an obvious tongue in cheek joke. HOLY MOLY!

 

 

P.S. I disagree with your assessment.  Twitcher 3 is gonna suck like the other two.  It has more in common with MMOs than DA3 does. The only think Twitcher series does right is b00bs.

[redneckdevil]

No contest. Played the hell outta DA:O and loved it but i got to sink my fangs into witcher 1 this year....yeah it blew da:o outta the water and thats saying alot because i love da:o. From the moment i opened the disk i thought i had bought the collectors edition, sweet loot and a stradegy guide and then playing the game, man it got neck to neck but in the end witcher 1 won out.

then played witcher 2 again sweet loot and an awesome awesome game. While i may not have enjoyed not using potions in battle anymore, no contest against da:2. Hell even da2 had the dwarf saying what most of us was thinking "im sick and tired of the mages and templars whining". Omfg and what they did with anders. Loved him in the expansion and then turned him into a whiny attention whore that i for one literally had to change my roleplay because he was the only healer in the game and had to please his emo whiny ass just so i could survive the game. I gladly sliced the head off the bastard they turned loveable and funny anders into. U give us reused maps, force a story down our throats that even the npcs are sick of, cant let me change my partys equipment, basically did away with all the things that made da:o great...but turning anders into that? ****ing unforgivable.

now seeing how the quality has continued to improve and that the witcher guys have given us collecters loot AND free expansions and game stuff without charging us more and DA has unlike witcher gone down in quality, im gonna go with witcher 3. For me to waste money on DA:I im gonna have to hear unanumous praise from different forums and areas (im not trusting reviewers after what they did with DA2 (praise) and FONV (condemnation) so i dont care if it gets many awards, im waiting awhile to make sure its NOTHING like da2.

Edited August 19, 2014 by redneckdevil

[BruceVC]

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.

 

That's an interesting perspective and one that carries credibility because you are one of the few people on these forums who has actually seen them both. I am looking forward to both games but from everything I have seen Witcher 3 is looking like the slightly better game

 

@ Volo

 

You keep going on and on about what a terrible series of games the Witcher  are. Why don't you just say " I will not be playing Witcher 3", stand by your convictions and save the rest of us your opinion on this matter?

[Volourn]

"FONV (condemnation)"

 

Huh? It was rated like 85 or so. L0L Condemnation.

 

 

"You keep going on and on about what a terrible series of games the Witcher  are. Why don't you just say " I will not be playing Witcher 3", stand by your convictions and save the rest of us your opinion on this matter?"

 

Take your own advice. This thread asked us a question and I gave my answer. And, I'll continue to replay since that's what message boards are for even if  Big Boss Bruce doesn't like what he reads and pouts and personally attacks people 'cause he hates differing opinions.

 

SHORT VERSION: No, sir, I won't shut up because you demand me to.

[Bryy]

TW3 - no contest here.

 

I leave DA:I to Twilight teens

You realize more than half the Obsidian userbase overlaps with BioWare, right?

 

I mean, you have 400+ posts.

[BruceVC]

"FONV (condemnation)"

 

Huh? It was rated like 85 or so. L0L Condemnation.

 

 

"You keep going on and on about what a terrible series of games the Witcher  are. Why don't you just say " I will not be playing Witcher 3", stand by your convictions and save the rest of us your opinion on this matter?"

 

Take your own advice. This thread asked us a question and I gave my answer. And, I'll continue to replay since that's what message boards are for even if  Big Boss Bruce doesn't like what he reads and pouts and personally attacks people 'cause he hates differing opinions.

 

SHORT VERSION: No, sir, I won't shut up because you demand me to.

Wow Volo, you seem  very aggressive today. My intention was merely to reduce your stress, you always go on about how much think the Witcher is a terrible game so I was just suggesting you make an unequivocal statement similar to " I won't be playing Witcher 3"....that way you can won't get so worked up.

 

But that's the last time I try to help you, all I seem to get is criticism for being concerned about your wellbeing

[Darkpriest]

 

TW3 - no contest here.

 

I leave DA:I to Twilight teens

You realize more than half the Obsidian userbase overlaps with BioWare, right?

 

I mean, you have 400+ posts.

 

 

I do realize that people played Bioware games in the past, but how much of the userbase that overlaps is still content with the direction that Bioware is taking, is a whole another question right?

 

I myself was really enjoying Bio games until ME2 happened.... that was like a warning sign, but then I still pre-ordered DA2 - got burned hard, then gave another chance as I wanted them to provide good RPGs and still had ME3 pre-order... again bad choice... so now I am not even considering buying any new Bioware game, even though I like their past creations. 

 

If pitched against each other, the DA:I looks like a material for teenagers vs a well done game for mature audience TW3. Those at Gamescon could see the difference. As a result, there is no contest between the two games if there would be a choice between one or the other.

 

The only "advantage" of the Bio game is that it will have all this LGBT stuff material to romance, and the "illusion" of choice where it comes to your race/gender/class, which in reality I assume that it will have ZERO impact on the story flow. I have no doubts that DA:I will be an improvement over DA2, (it even copies some of the solutions from the TW2 actually) but it still feels like  a mediocre game, while TW3 feels like a really good game with a potential to be a legendary game.

[Nepenthe]

Yyyyeah, twitcher, very mature.

 

Bioware makes games for teenage girls, cdprojekt for teenage boys. I'm buying both, but at least I don't pretend it makes me anything more than what I am, a 33 year old lawyer buying games for entertainment. In fact, the only way it could be more shameful were if I considered it Serious Business :D

[Malcador]

Keyrock was so off base saying this was a flamebait thread, eh ?

[Darkpriest]

Yyyyeah, twitcher, very mature.

 

Bioware makes games for teenage girls, cdprojekt for teenage boys. I'm buying both, but at least I don't pretend it makes me anything more than what I am, a 33 year old lawyer buying games for entertainment. In fact, the only way it could be more shameful were if I considered it Serious Business :D

 

well ok, TW 1 was quite **** when it comes to relationships, but in TW2 it got slightly better, lets say that relationships are the weakest point of the series still given that both series have **** "relationships" other points are in plus for the TW (yeah it's kind of silly that 30ys old people argue about maturity in games... but I bet there are older lurkers here on the forums too :D)

[Labadal]

Dragon Age: Inquisition

[Bryy]

Bioware makes games for teenage girls, cdprojekt for teenage boys. 

Headshot.

 

 

(yeah it's kind of silly that 30ys old people argue about maturity in games

No it's not.

Edited August 19, 2014 by Bryy

[Nonek]

The Wild Hunt, i've liked the last two Witcher games immensely and so will obviously purchase the next one. Just a personal preference. I'm not really the target audience for Bioware games anymore I think, not fond of the squeeing cutesy humour, the npc caricatures, the art design which is absolutely horrible or the main theme of the game. That and I found their last game to only be tolerable, not enjoyable, with several aspects that were downright degenerate.

 

The unhealthy focus on romance is also a little disturbing, one shouldn't cater to such people as enjoy these kinds of things, they should be institutionalised.

[HoonDing]

All kidding aside, Serpent in the Staglands will be best arrpeegee this year.

[Volourn]

Actually, I think you just made another joke. L0L 'Cause that would be said if there were to be true.

 

It's going to be between PE (if certain things are fixed), WL2, and DA3.

[Bartimaeus]

I don't like either series...but I tend to respect CD Project more. Also, while I didn't try the Witcher 2, (not having liked the first game), I did try both DA:O and DA2, neither of which I liked. The Witcher sequels are unknowns, comparatively. Therefore...the Witcher 3.

 

(e: yeah, I totally respect CD Projekt so much...hence why I can't even spell their company right,  )

Edited August 20, 2014 by Bartimaeus

[ktchong]

I don't like either series...but I tend to respect CD Project more. Also, while I didn't try the Witcher 2, (not having liked the first game), I did try both DA:O and DA2, neither of which I liked. The Witcher sequels are unknowns, comparatively. Therefore...the Witcher 3.

 

In terms of technology and gameplay, the Witcher 2 was a huge leap and improvement over The Witcher 1.    Here is a big difference between CD Projekt RED and BioWare:

 

BioWare reused the same game engine for Mass Effect 1, 2 and 3, and the same engine for Dragon Age 1 and 2.  BioWare inherited the recycling habit from Interplay/Black Isle, who reused the same engine for Fallout 1 and 2, and then recycle the same engine (the famous Infinity) for Baldur's Gate 1 and 2, Icewind Dale 1 and 2, and Planescape: Torment.

 

On the other hand, CD Projekt RED (CDPR) has a different philosophy: CDPR uses a completely different, rewritten, hugely improved engine for each game.   CDPR uses BioWare's Aurora engine for its very first game, the Witcher, back when CDPR was still an underfunded new-kid-on-the-block.  So the first Witcher game was actually underwhelming and rough around the edges, due to CDPR's inexperience and the limitation of the Aurora engine (which was already outdated at the time.)  But it was a good first effort by a new company.

 

Then, for the Witcher 2, CDPR built its own game engine from the ground-up.  IMO, the REDengine was more visually and cinematically impressive than its contemporary Dragon Age engine, (i.e., Eclipse, which was built in-house by BioWare.)  IMO, at that point, CDPR had already surpassed BioWare, at least in terms of technical expertise and engineering game engines.  However, REDengine was not quite as impressive as the engine used by Mass Effect trilogy, but that was Unreal Engine 3 and was not built in-house by BioWare.

 

So, the Mass Effect customizations of Unreal Engine 3 > REDengine of The Witcher 2 > Eclipse of Dragon Age, based on what I saw on YouTube.

 

Of course, CDPR has built a  new engine for the Witcher 3, (REDengine 3).  CDPR is more like Bethesda in that respect, and reminds me of the old Origin System (who created a new engine for every Ultima game.)  They are more innovative and progressive in terms of technology.  BioWare is actually a very conservative company - just look at how BioWare has recycled the same narrative structure and formula over and over again in their games.

 

Anyway.  My point being: the Witcher 2 is a very different gaming experience from the Witcher 1.  CDPR made a huge leap in technology and gameplay between those two games.  Even the narrative structures in the Witcher 1 and 2 are drastically different.

Edited August 20, 2014 by ktchong

[ktchong]

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.)

 

 

 

According to the established lore, there are no female witcher; and the game is called "the Witcher". The mutation potions and toxins that created witchers would not work on females.  I believe the mutagens also would not work on elves, dwarves and other species.   The mutagens work on and transforms, only, human males.  The toxins would kill everyone else.  Women can still receive witcher training, (like Ciri has,) but women could never become a true witcher without the mutagens to enhance their endurance, speed, senses, regenerations and immunities, (and make men sterile.)

 

But Ciri, being a descendent of the Elder Blood, has other powers of her own; and she is being speculated to be the main character of the Witcher 4.

Edited August 20, 2014 by ktchong

[Azure79]

I'll definitely play both. I think I might enjoy W3 a little bit more, just because the art style is more aesthetically pleasing to me. 

[Bos_hybrid]

But Ciri, being a descendent of the Elder Blood, has other powers of her own; and she is being speculated to be the main character of the Witcher 4.

 

I was really hoping that CDP would just focus on their cyberpunk game after TW3.

[HoonDing]

Witcher 4 with Ciri? Could happen if Geralt dies at the end of 3, which I hope.

[Nonek]

By now one assumes that the devs are a little tired of the whole Sapkowski ouevre, i'd personally prefer their efforts be channeled into the Cyberpunk setting and the Witcher be given a little sabbatical.

Edited August 20, 2014 by Nonek

[HoonDing]

Cyberpunk is still an unknown, they will hold off killing the cashcow.

[BruceVC]

Also there are millions of fans, like me, who love the Witcher franchise and RPG world. There is still so much to explore and for CDPR to show us through future games, I want to see a Witcher 4,5, 6. and maybe even a 7