General Gaming Dragon Age: The Veilguard (f.k.a Dreadwolf/a.k.a "Dragon Effect" | All Hallow's Eve 2024) - Information Thread, update (09/12): "Hands-On Preview" (IGN First)

[Dexterryu]

28 minutes ago, Mr.Vic20 said:

I thought DA 2 has some very good story telling and world building, just a shame it clearly carried the birthing scares of a more limited budget and scope. It would have been great as a "gaiden" style offering, but instead carried the burden of being presented to the public as a mainline entry. The game's scope flew in the face of the previous entries depth of customization and so many panned it for what it wasn't rather than what it was. I was one of those that panned it. I can now see retrospectively that it was a good game for what it was. I'm still disappointed at the direction they took the series.  

DA 2 was OK. My problem with it was that they simplified a very good foundation from DA:O. I remember being impressed with the interactions of the Dragon fights in DA:O and that was basically abandoned. They went for style over substance and it hurt the game, IMHO. Heck, even the name "Hawke" just screams trying to sound cool (which Kobra Kai effectively pokes fun at).
 

38 minutes ago, skillzdadirecta said:

Dragon Age 2, despite its flaws, had a couple of memorable characters that the Dragon Age fandom have embraced. People LOVE Isabel, Anders and Aveline. For some reason Bioware has latched on to Varrick, a character I'm not that big a fan of and never have been. Some characters from Inquisition have even resonated with fandom as well despite those characters being the most forgetable for me personally so i think it's a bit of a stretch to say they haven't made memorable characters. Go to any Dragon Age specific fansite or forum and you will see the enthuisasm for characters outside of Origins. That said Origins DOES have the best cast of companion characters. 

 

As far as the game itself, I don;t see the comparisons to Avengers or Suicide Squad at all (both games I personally enjoyed btw) If anything it looked closer to Final Fantasy XV from a gameplay standpoint, except you can actually issue commands to your companions. Watching that gameplay walkthrough, I saw a decent combination of action and tactics in using the different companions to their best ability and I think that's really going to shine on harder difficulties where resistances and vulnerabilties come into play more. Like all of Bioware's previous games. Bioware has been moving Dragon Age in a more action direction since the first game and it's just been "passable" for the most part... I enjoyed Inquisition, but never bothered to replay it like I've done the other games because I just didn't enjoy it as much. This game looks like they've at LEAST finally nailed the action game part. Could the game flop hard? Sure. Anything is possible... but I think the game is shaping up pretty well. It's the only other game I plan on buying Day One this year besides Space Marine 2 and Ass. Creed Shadows.

 

Yeah the Inquisitor was pretty fucking bland... another reason why I never bothered to replay Inquisiton. Or Andromeda for that matter. It's ironic because Andromeda has the best moment to moment shooter Gameplay of ALL of the Mass Effect games but I've never felt a reason to revisit it. I don't really recall any "Choices" in the game that I would want to resolve differently. Weird.

I honestly didn't remember a single character beyond Varrick (who I also dislike) and the only reason I remember him is that they've seemed to want to feature him in every game. I looked up the other names and sort of remember them once I saw them but I hold by my statement that they were caricatures vs characters. They're far more defined by what they are than who they are (Isobel, pirate captain and duelist/Aveline: Devout guardian). Comparative to Morigan, a mage that wanted to be freed from her fate of being a vessel to Flemeth and Liliana who's trying to atone and hiding from her old spymaster. As for Inquisition... that game was just bloated. It felt like a MMO in a single player RPGs format with a lot of collect-athon quests. The characters were a big step up from DA2, but they still weren't as fleshed out in terms of their motivations to be part of the main quest.

As for Veilgaurd... I hope I'm wrong and it's great. Regardless of that, I hope you enjoy it if you get it. I just haven't been impressed in the slightest with what I've seen so far, but to re-iterate: I hope I'm wrong.

[Bacon]

I didn't hate Varrick. But now he is been here for too long. That fact that he takes up a companion slot in 3 games is absurd.

[Dexterryu]

34 minutes ago, Bacon said:

I didn't hate Varrick. But now he is been here for too long. That fact that he takes up a companion slot in 3 games is absurd.

Same... I don't hate him, but he's low on the list of companions across the series.

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

 

Dragon Age: The Veilguard's Devs Reveal New Info About Each of the Companions (and Solas and Varric, Too) - IGN

WWW.IGN.COM

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Dragon Age: The Veilguard devs reveal new details about each major companion as part of our month-long IGN First, as well as some about Solas and Varric.

 

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Friendships, romantic relationships, and everything in between have always been an integral part of not just the Dragon Age series, but of BioWare in general. From Mass Effect’s Garrus Vakarian to Dragon Age’s Varric Tethras, the characters – and how they get along with the player – are inseparable from titles from the studio.

 

But, perhaps more than any other BioWare game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is leaning in heavily on this idea, as it’s already easy to see from the marketing material. For one, the name changed from Dragon Age: Dreadwolf back in June, with BioWare general manager Gary McKay telling us at the time that it was out of a desire to shift the focus to a “really deep and compelling group of companions.” That would be followed by a first official trailer at Summer Game Fest that put the focus squarely on seven new companions that will be tagging along with the player character, Rook, in The Veilguard.

 

With all that in mind, it’s little surprise to hear game director Corinne Busche talk about how these companions aren’t just central to the story of The Veilguard, but the gameplay and combat as well.

 

[Commissar SFLUFAN]

Dragon Age: The Veilguard – Exclusive First Hands-On Preview - IGN

WWW.IGN.COM

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As part of our month-long IGN First, we spent hours of time with Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Check out our exclusive hands-on preview right here.

 

Quote

 

It’s been ten long years since Dragon Age: Inquisition and the expectations for the next game in the series, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, seem impossible. A full decade, a bevy of behind-the-scenes changes, cuts at BioWare, and a somewhat divisive start when its unveiling began in earnest in June made me a little worried for my most highly anticipated game of the year. But one of my biggest concerns was my impression, based on early previews, that it was headed in the direction of being a linear action game rather than its more open-world predecessor. While Dragon Age is known for changing its style with each installment, I hoped dearly that it wouldn’t lose too much of the DA DNA I fell in love with.

 

After hours of hands-on time spread across two days, I’m pleased to say I walked away with excitement and curiosity, but mostly, relief to wave many of my concerns goodbye. My time with The Veilguard covered a wide smattering of things: the incredibly expansive character creator (more on that later), the introductory quests, a faction mission, and a companion quest a little deeper into the game. But I was mostly pleased with my ability to just explore Northern Thedas in all its gorgeously designed glory, experiencing a setting in Dragon Age lore that we’ve really only heard about.

To be clear, The Veilguard isn’t the open-world playground that Inquisition was – as game director Corinne Busche has previously stated, it’s more “mission-based.” But what impressed me after the first few hours was how much exploration can still be done in the various regions, as well as the impact the player character, Rook, can have on those regions. Consider it something of a mix of Dragon Age 2 and Inquisition – the more streamlined approach of the former with the rich, geographically and sociopolitically diverse world of the latter.

Of course, some of the bigger artstyle, combat, and gameplay changes will be subject to personal taste. But after my time with Dragon Age: The Veilguard, I left feeling like these ten long years just might’ve been worth the wait.

 

 

[Best]

Seems as though this turned out pretty good. I'll be getting it.