Criticise the game you're playing right now!

[Formalhaut]

Also I don't like how it kind of just dumps "you're in the Inquisition now! Enjoy!" on you without really telling you much about it. In the prior two games they built up why you cared (i.e. - why the Grey Wardens are important and why you needed to join them; and why you care about Hawke's family and personal quest) and that led to a stronger investment in the story IMO.

Edit: ALSO I don't like how Bioware went in and changed a bunch of weird stuff for no reason (moved the minimap to the opposite side of the screen; changed a bunch of keybinds that have been in place since Origins, etc.) At least I can fix all the keybinds

Hmm, I don't know. I rather liked the fact that you could roleplay as a character rather disinterested in the Inquisition as a concept. I remember many dialogue choices which went along the lines of "I'll join... for now". You grow into the role of Inquisitor slowly over the course of the first act which leads to that nice first scene in Skyhold where you hold the sword aloft. There wasn't so much of a prologue because events were occurring rather rapidly.

Actually, that's one thing I still miss from Origins: a proper prologue based on your character's backstory.

[Madame Adequate]

I felt like Pike, the game doesn't state what your position in the Inquisition is, and doesn't make clear who is supposed to be taking orders from who, or why. That was probably deliberate because hey, things are a real mess, but it came across more as messy writing than anything.

[Pheesh]

I lean more towards Formy's thinking. I feel the game has a pretty good natural flow to it in the beginning, at least from a storytelling perspective (I made my thoughts clear on the gameplay hangups that are present). It is a pretty big clustersmurf in the beginning of the game but I think that lends itself a) the general confusion that needs to be present for the Inquisition to begin in the first place and b) it leaves it open for your character to slot in as either a saviour who is up to the challenge or kind of a dick that has no choice (similar to what Formy mentioned).

[Pike]

I guess it just felt rushed to me compared to the other two games, which are still fresh in my memory since I'm currently marathoning the series. (Which is actually pretty impressive because the other two games didn't exactly have slow burn openers xD) I think I would have preferred if the Inquisition had been brought up more in the other two games to kind of set it up.

[Formalhaut]

Mr. Carny is playing through Dragon Age: Origins again and it hasn't aged terribly well. I mentioned the brown colouration. I still find it strange that the main character isn't voiced. He's currently on the Dwarven quest and my God I forgot how awful and long the Deep Roads section is.

I'd still say the Origin stories are the best bit of the game. As I was saying about Inquisition, I feel as if it would have benefited to have a short prologue chapter which fleshes out your character's clan/family more than they War Table missions ever did.

[Pike]

Mr. Carny is playing through Dragon Age: Origins again and it hasn't aged terribly well.

Really? Because I played this for the very first time fairly recently and I immediately fell in love with it and had an absolute blast with it. It immediately became one of my all time fave RPGs. I think it's aged wonderfully!

[Madame Adequate]

I'm not even sure a release date less than a decade ago can qualify for "Not aged well", at that point it's more "Didn't like to begin with" But I admit it's not quite as smooth as more recent CRPGs so I can see how it might bug you to go back to it.

But I'll not be so open-minded and reasonable about the Deep Roads, it's one of the best parts of any RPG ever made and that's the end of the matter

[sharkythesharkdogg]

Finally playing Bioshock Infinite, and I'm almost done.

I could see the plot twist coming from a mile away, but that's fine. I just wish the game would get there already.

Overall, it's a better game than the first, and if I hadn't played the original first I'm sure I'd like this one much better. However, since that isn't the case, it feels like a rehashed Bioshock. Everything is a little different, but also the same. That deja vu feeling makes the story feel a little stale in some areas.

Basically, I'm done with the story, it's time for closure. Not another wave of enemies. Comstock is dead, (SPOILER) I know she's actually my daughter, I know I'm crazy, alternate universe Comstock, wooOOOoooOOoo....., it's done now. It's over. Let the train come to a stop.

[Del Murder]

Fire Emblem Fates: Birthright - Pairing up is not as beneficial as it was in Awakening. Since you only get the extra attack when you are on adjacent tiles and not paired-up, the only benefit is the small stat increases and protection of extra attacks from adjacent tiled enemies (which is easy to avoid if you position yourself well). I get that this is meant to be a defensive formation compared to leaving your characters on adjacent tiles in a more offensive formation, but the cost of a lot of offense since you lose the ability for an dual attack as well as lose one character turn. In Awakening, there was a real choice about pairing up since it increases the chance of a dual attack but at the cost of a character turn. Not to mention the fact that unpairing also costs a turn (now on two characters).

[Formalhaut]

But I'll not be so open-minded and reasonable about the Deep Roads, it's one of the best parts of any RPG ever made and that's the end of the matter

But it's so long and monotonous though

[Vermachtnis]

FFX-2, you use everything during confusion. Megalixer, that wolf looks thirsty. Darkness, hitting myself with it sounds awesome. Also monsters seem to always get a few turns right off the bat. There are these wolves on Gagezet with Confuse and Death bite. Every encounter with them starts with someone dying. Even when I have the pre-emptive strike.

[Slothy]

I really dislike platforming in first person view. It worked in Mirror's Edge but it is not working so well in Half Life, in fact the control for climbing ladders is ridiculous and I kept screwing up a major jump because the game had a hard time detecting the ladder that I kept smacking into. In stead I just slammed into like a moron and fell to my death. Thank god for saves.

I struggled with that stuff when I first played the game actually but that was actually my first truly 3D fps I played on pc. The funny thing is, 18 years later with literally thousands of hours into it, it's expansions, mods, and sequels, I can first person platform in my sleep in just about any game. A far cry from the days when I needed to look down to time jumps. Not that that's a defence of it really. It's literally a skill I've basically spent two decades perfecting. Most people don't invest that kind of time.

[Wolf Kanno]

I really dislike platforming in first person view. It worked in Mirror's Edge but it is not working so well in Half Life, in fact the control for climbing ladders is ridiculous and I kept screwing up a major jump because the game had a hard time detecting the ladder that I kept smacking into. In stead I just slammed into like a moron and fell to my death. Thank god for saves.

I struggled with that stuff when I first played the game actually but that was actually my first truly 3D fps I played on pc. The funny thing is, 18 years later with literally thousands of hours into it, it's expansions, mods, and sequels, I can first person platform in my sleep in just about any game. A far cry from the days when I needed to look down to time jumps. Not that that's a defence of it really. It's literally a skill I've basically spent two decades perfecting. Most people don't invest that kind of time.

I get what you mean, I have a similar feeling when listening to people whine about the platforming of Xenogaers, but I've played that game so much back in the day that the Tower of Babel doesn't even register to me as being a pain.

The actually jumping from platform part isn't too bad, the issue here was that platform jumping combined with the game's really unrealistic and awkward ladder controls made this particular jump a nightmare. Thank god you respawn where you last save but it took me quite awhile to jump and actually have Gordon register that he "grabbed" the ladder. Beyond that, the game has been fun and my only issues have really been my lack of FPS skills.

[Pete for President]

Some Metal Gear Solid 3 criticism: During nighttime we make our way to the lab through a creepy jungle bit full of traps and even a dead body hanging around. Spooky stuff! But when we fight the Fear there later it is in daylight! Such a weird and awful design choice for this boss who's theme is fear. There's just no fear when it's not dark. Then again I feel like the Fear's entire design wasn't really frightening but more like a dorky kind of creep.

[Slothy]

Ladders are a bit tricky in the original half life i will admit. Best thing to do to be certain you grab them is try and get them head on, hold forward and look straight up the ladder. You'll pretty much go in the direction you're holding while being somewhat stuck to the ladder so going off to the sides too much can knock you right off. Another thing i can use in my sleep in that game now but it wasn't always like that.