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So, I've logged around 25 hours in the game so far, and I've to balance between doing the side quests and advancing the main plot, with varying success (the completionist inside me screams for finished areas even when my character level isn't adequate). When I started playing the game, I was slightly concerned about how much it looked like Skyrim - keep in mind that I hadn't really followed the news much - but it turns out that I needn't have worried. Once you get out of the Hinterlands (I don't think naming the first major area is that big of a spoiler, so bear with me here), you can definitely see the difference. I think the best advice given to those who share my concern was this piece on Reddit by jmarFTL:
But seriously. LEAVE. THE FUCKING. HINTERLANDS.
Graphically Inquisition is a beast, and I can clearly see that my rig built around an aging Core i5 2500K (@ 4.2 GHz) and a Radeon HD 6950 (@ 870/5200 MHz) isn't meant to run this game on ultra settings at 1920x1200. It's definitely playable on high settings with the latest AMD beta drivers, so I didn't end up upgrading my setup just yet. There are some nagging technical issues as well, like the dialog scenes being locked at 30 fps because of sync issues (is what BioWare said), but apparently many of these issues are being worked on and there will be a patch soon enough. In the meantime, feel free to try this unofficial fix for the dialog cap. I tested it but got some mouse camera turn choppiness in regular play, so I don't currently use the fix. Other than the nagging issues though, the game looks very good if you have the hardware for it.
The characters and dialog have held up well so far compared to my expectations, but like said, I need to get further in the game to be able to judge that accurately for myself. Having played a lot CRPGs, the quest system in Inquisition feels intuitive for me - even if the quest log UI is a bit annoying. To be honest, I think the entire game UI is a bit too console-influenced (scrolling, scrolling, scrolling down some more - grid inventory anyone?). If there are to be mods, the UI should be one of the first things to be tackled by modders IMHO.
As for the game as a whole, I've actually liked it a lot so far. BioWare needed something big here for the DA franchise, and frankly, I think they hit the nail on the head with Inquisition. Sure, there are some issues and the game isn't perfect by any means, but it's well beyond just solid in my opinion... I'd go as far as to call it excellent - so far. I don't think the level of quality is going to drop later in the game, but I'll certainly have to play more to find out what my final grade for the game will eventually be. It's been a good run so far though.
