Do you like magic? Do you like demons? Do you like swords? And finally, do you like killing demons with magic and swords? If your answer is yes then you need this game in your life.
Starting off the game you are thrown into a world of magic and demons from a breach that formed from the ending of Dragon Age 2. This breach has caused mayhem, and has caused smaller rifts to tear open. These rifts are scattered across the sky above the now chaotic world. You and your character have no idea what's going on, and you are left to communicate with other characters to reveal and determine your destiny. Your entry into the game leaves you with a glowing green scar on you hand which looks a lot like a rift, and soon it is discovered that the scar can close rifts... So, the big question is, are you the chosen one sent to save the world?
The story can go many ways, and in each conversation there's always several questions or responses you can choose. Each one directing you down different paths. Will you be a loveable hero? Or a shady underdog who just gets the job done whether people like it or not? Either way, you need to close those rifts. Rifts and demons aside, there is also a war going on which you soon become a huge part of. You very quickly climb near top of the authority ladder, (because of your ability to close rifts) and your opinions can decide the fate of the villagers.
There's a massive story line to this game providing hours upon hours of gameplay. After spending a week immersed in this game I still feel like I've only scratched the surface of the epic storyline, and feel like there is a lot more to come. Initially I was impressed with the size of the open world I started in called The Hinterlands, but then discovered the Hinterlands was actually just a small part of the rest of the open world! It really is massive! You can travel freely anywhere in this world, collecting materials to craft weapons, armour, potions etc. whilst either following the main storyline or completing some of the many side missions that you stumble across.
The graphics are very impressive, but I felt like the Xbox 360 was clinging on for dear life in some parts. The images were jumpy and it seemed like there just wasn't enough processing power to render them in time. Although this did not take anything away from the deep storyline and impressive graphics, it just slowed it down a bit. Of course the Xbox One would have no problems in that department.
Everywhere you go you find bad guys waiting to beat you down, these come in several forms from bandits, to demons, and of course Dragons. Battle scenes are plentiful and it's not always just a case of jumping in and swinging your sword about. You are in an army of 4 warriors, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. You can toggle between each character to make use of their powers. Something I really liked was the ability to pause time and command each character to attack or move to specific areas then forward time slightly to plan the next move. This adds some strategy into what would just be a case of sword swinging and magic throwing. Some enemies are extremely difficult and you will need to to fight them strategically if you want to defeat them. This is especially true with rifts... you need your army to protect you whilst you try to close it.
As mentioned earlier the open world is vast and impressive, some of the scenery is just beautiful. Amongst this vast open world there's hundreds of side missions which you can complete to improve your characters strengths and abilities, and to gain loot. Talking of loot, it's everywhere. Most of this is just gold and objects that can be sold for gold, but every now and then you find a magic weapon or magic accessory which can boost your characters stats significantly. I'm the type of player that loves a bit of loot and doesn't like to leave things behind, so I found the inventory did full up rather quickly. There are opportunities to sell your loot and increase the inventory size so you need to keep an eye out for these if you love your loot.
To summarise, this game is epic. It's a deep storyline based in a vast open world of magic, demons and politics. If you're a lover of dragons, magic and battles then this is for you.
Thanks to Xbox for the opportunity to review this game.
