For the most part, Dragon Age: Inquisition is yet another romping good BioWare offering that features the same sort of iconic RPG action we all already adore. Yes, the good folks who brought us the revolutionary Mass Effect series have this new installation from their “other” successful franchise to be proud of, well, for a number of reasons. First of all, it continues the epic feel established by its predecessors, adding new gameplay features in a collective fashion. Of course there’s also been an attempt to add new, more “open” elements as well, which greatly increases the overall scope of the game itself and what you can do.

Most people that have played the game will agree – it’s big. This is one of those “spend 100+ hours doing different stuff” –type games, only it has a very distinct layout or design. Whereas many other IP’s might approach the open world model by creating large overworld “sandbox” maps, we find a more “semi-open world” structure here, but don’t let that fool you, it’s still awesome. In fact, one could even say that by obscuring the various paths and directions with slightly more limiting (or even “complex”) level design you are forced to respond a different way. You can’t simply “pick a direction” and head off, as is the case with so many other RPG’s. You are more or less forced to focus on areas like story progress and character building. Consider also that picking up where you left off each time is very stream-lined; this is again, due to the layout of various areas.

Gamers who are not particularly veterans with RPG’s will also find everything to be particularly well-balanced and fun. It basically seems to split the difference between what many might consider to be RTC Final Fantasy-style combat evocative of JRPG’s and that of more traditional Western models. In other words, it offers the best of both worlds. You’ll spend hours upgrading, exploring and otherwise twisting through the world of Dragon Age: Inquisition and even then you might not see it all.

Visually the game looks quite fantastic, especially on the PlayStation 4.   Aside from the incredible detail, the lighting, shadows, and frame rate are all well up to par and never break rank, disturbing the overall immersive effect generated. Likewise, sound is a distinctive focus in Inquisition and both sound effects and music are terrific as well as the voice acting. If you often play RPG’s and find the stories and presentation to be lacking, perhaps this game will satisfy you in that respect…

The bottom line is that Dragon Age: Inquisition is a really solid role-playing game that doesn’t really break the mold so much are refine and ornament it. This third installment pretty much includes all the little mechanical upgrades from previous entries and adds its own updates, to great effect. Obviously, any fan of the franchise should definitely play this, but it’s also great for newcomers too, even if they’re completely unfamiliar with the first two games.

Rating – 9