We’re surprised at the omission of real-time fighting – especially when it’s plain to see from the wealth of animations and the visceral nature of scraps that Dragon Age would actually make a helluva hack ‘n’ slasher. Instead, it’s all very much strategic – meaning you’ll have to look after spellcasters by keeping them well away from the nitty gritty, make sure your elven archer types are peppering foes from afar, while your tanks are topped up with health potions and melee boosting spells. A ring-based system for weapon and biotic selections has been neatly implemented when it comes to managing your wealth of spells, tonics and armaments.

It might sound complex, but within minutes we were swapping loadouts on the fly, sending streaks of electricity at the Ogre while casting a spell of Haste on some other chap all the way across the room. Flicking between party members is a cinch too, accomplished in a flash with a tap of a button. Still, we’re not exactly putting our necks on the line when we predict this hands-off approach to combat is going to put off a great many more potential buyers than it attracts – and it’s all the more puzzling when you recall how well recent genre-mashing games like Fallout 3 have done in terms of sales.