EA (incomplete) Access: trials are not "real games" but are limited like demos

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EA (incomplete) Access: trials are not “real games” but are limited like demos

November 14, 2014 Meg Pelliccio 3 comments

This week I decided to subscribe to EA Access to take advantage of the Dragon Age: Inquisition trial. Signing up entitled me to six hours of romping RPG fun in the world of Thedas, after which I wouldn’t be able to play again until release, after actually purchasing the game. The problem is the trial didn’t exactly live up to its promise. This is what the EA Access website states about pre-release trials:

When you play a trial through EA Access, you’re playing the real game for a limited time, before its release date. And if you purchase the game, you don’t need to download or install anything; you’ll just pick up where you left off and keep playing on the release date.

So you’d expect to be able to play as much as possible within those six hours, right? Wrong. After fulfilling the first few story-related quests in Inquisition, I headed back to the war room to build some watch towers only to find out that I wasn’t able to. In fact, every option visible to me at the war table said “Not available during trial“. With over two hours left to spare of my trial, you can understand that I was a bit frustrated at not being able to progress the main storyline further at that point.

Maybe EA Access explained this when announcing the trial for Inquisition? Actually, if you go to the announcement, the page states the following:

Members can download the trial through the EA Access Hub app on Xbox One, and play BioWare’s epic new RPG for six hours. Use this time to create your hero, start your story, and explore the living, open world of Thedas. Or take on missions with your friends in Inquisition’s cooperative multiplayer mode—the choice is yours.

Since you’re playing the real game—not a demo—your progress and stats will carry over if you decide to purchase the game at a later date.

So while I was impressed that my achievements were unlocking and enjoying just how great a game Inquisition is, it all turned a bit sour when I hit that invisible “trial” wall. It really is at this point that EA Access can’t call it the “real game” and “not a demo“, as surely if the game is limited then it is a demo?

Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty to do in the trial, such as exploring, crafting, and side-questing. But it was pretty disappointing to not be able to progress further, to gain more companions, to see more of the story line and all the other awesome things you expect to do.

Just to add further insult to injury, when I recorded the options being unavailable to me via the Xbox One’s Game DVR, it wouldn’t let me upload it. Or any other Dragon Age: Inquisiton video for that matter, while videos of other games I could still upload perfectly. As it turns out, although it lets you record footage of a trial, you can’t upload or share the videos.

 

 

Source: http://www.geeksdontlie.co.uk/ea-incomplete-access-trials-real-games-limited-like-demos/