Game details

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/20/more-dragon-age-3-details-surface/

and Concept Art

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/10/21/heres-some-pretty-dragon-age-3-concept-art/

I am so glad that this game is being made in spite of DA2's poor reception, and I don't care if I'm the only one. Not actually a whole lot of detail being given, though, and their boast that "one level in Dragon Age 3 is as big as all of Dragon Age 2's levels" doesn't fill me with excitement, because I didn't actually like the Deep Roads megadungeon in DAO. Bigger isn't always better.

... lets just all agree to play infinity engine games until Project Eternity comes out, ok ?

I'm going to stick to my position that if it's build from the ground-up to be a multi-platform game, it will be poo-poo. DAO was different because it was made a PC game with little to no console considerations, and then later ported over to PS3 (which rooted the gameplay anyway).

What you can't have without mouse control is a good icon-based grid inventory system, you are stuck with these horrible list-based inventories which work on a stacking principle. Call it evolution, LOL, if you think Ultima 6's inventory system was 'evolution' sure.

It applies to everything else too, good tactical combat requires point-and-click mouse control, and precise movement commands and well as quick mechanics for switching between control of party characters and clicking for spell/abilities and potions, especially in the clusterfuck that is real-time-with-pause combat.

The only way to translate this to gamepad control is either hack-and-slash combat, which is what happened to DAO in it's port to PS3, or simplistic JRPG style systems. Dragon Age 2 was mechanically speaking a real-time JRPG, just with a Western visual setting.

There's a reason Skyrim has that list-based inventory too, and also why it got rid of skills and replaced them with a perk system and pointless action-button combat, consolization.

So yeah, PC-exclusive or death.

I'm a little Leery of this one, even if I enjoyed DA2 despite it's flaws. Bioware lost their leadership and seems to be on the obvious path of just being a brand for EA to wave around.

While DA2 definitely had flaws, I still had fun with it. I'd have purchased an expansion, but I do understand why they decided to move on to DA3. If they can balance the things that "worked" from each game, they'll have something good.

Nothing worked in DA2, it started development as an expansion for DAO and then got kicked out the door for release as a multi-platform sequel by EA.

The combat took the worst elements of JRPG combat, hack/slash combat, and MMO combat, and then threw them into a mixing bowl to see what would happen.

The story is so bad that you could honestly mistake the whole mess as some kind of ironic subtle parody . The dialogue feels like it was written by a 14-year old female high-school drop-out who just finished reading Twilight and developed a fetish for writing fan-fiction with gay elf sex.

Also, not to mention that the world environments consisted of artists copying and pasting everything. Truly, that game deserves to be in the eternal bargain bin alongside Daikatana and Big Rigs.

you can do good Tactical gameplay with a controller if it's turn based. I would rather have a hack and slash game than a real time tactical RPG, I know they won't do turn based, Real time/pause systems just really promote wonky tactics that would never work in real life, I really loved how the best tactic to fight an ogre in DA 1 was to have the tank grab agro and lead them on a merry chase while being pelted by the others with ranged attacks, that was also a great strategy in the Balder's Gate and Icewind Dale series as well.

If they want tactical gameplay, they should go Turn based, the new X-com shows that it's still valid from a marketplace point of view. I'm just tired of the worship that real time/pause compromise is getting, The Infinity engine games were great leap forwards in storytelling but they really dumbed gameplay down.

This made me laugh, so true :)

I won't touch your point about the IE games for now, for me the most annoying part was the pathfinding.

But regarding the new X-COM, that's kinda my point. X-COM completely removed the inventory grid system from the original game, not even an inventory LIST, just completely removed, you give your soldiers a gun each and that's essentially it, and much of the base-building elements were also removed. So there's dumbing down for console 101 for you.

Also action-point management in the new X-COM was removed, replaced by a more simple "one action per turn" system similar to JRPG's. In the original Ufo Defense you had to ration how you used each of your soldier's action points each turn, a little bit of movement meant less of shooting, etc. In the new game you have no choice, you either "move" or you "shoot" and that's it. And I KNOW why they did that, it's so they could have those console-centric cinematic looking cuts when the camera zooms in and the soldier runs forward or turns the corner and fires.

Again, I stand by my point (and X-COM isn't even an RPG) for non-action-based games you need mouse control.

But I doubt Bioware will do this, they are too locked into the multi-platform release/ cycle, if they had to choose between profit and the complexity of their games, they would always choose profit (or rather EA would).

My prediction is that I'll enjoy it a lot just as I did with the previous two games. Nobody needs an oracle to know that there will be tons of whines and moans from people with comments like "IT'S BEEN DUMBED DOWN FOR THE LESSER GAMERS!!!!!!!!1111one1" or "BIOWARE BETRAYED US TO THE CONSOLESSSS!!!!!1111onethousandonehundredandeleven1"

"Dumbed down" is one of those phrases that makes me automatically roll my eyes and stop listening to whoever's talking. And my prediction is pretty much the same as yours.

This.

I looking forward to it. DA 2 was one of the most interesting RPGs I played in recent times. I hope they keep the uniqueness of DA 2 and don't dumb it down to yet another Baldurs Gate clone in 3d.

Unique? DA2 was just Mass Effect with swords thats how it was for me.

No surprise there ...
Actually, the phrase can be fitting (and I just used it :-P). But something being dumbed down simply because it is a console game is ridiculous. Also, "dumbing down" doesn't always mean worse. I'm fairly certain that Victory II is dumbed down from Victoria I and yet the superior game.