June 23, 2014 by Ryan Ward
Dragon Age games are a dividing subject amongst gamers. While Dragon Age: Origins is almost universally rejoiced, its sequel Dragon Age 2 is similarly maligned. With the upcoming title Dragon Age: Inquisition, EA and BioWare look to bring the franchise back to its roots, but on a scale that could put even the likes of Skyrim to shame.
Dragon Age is back and looking better than ever thanks to Battlefield 4’s Frostbite 3 engine. Significantly reduced load times and seamless area transitions make gameplay engrossing and keep players constantly engaged. In the behind-closed-door demo we saw at the show, we were shown just how the engine is holding its own against the competition and were even teased with an epic dragon battle that was more exciting to watch than The Witcher 3‘s dragon at Microsoft’s Media Briefing.
Long gone are the tight constraints of the city from Dragon Age 2. Inquisition will span a large map filled with marshes, mountain ranges, giant fields, and wastelands. Even the small demo area of Crestwood is rumored to be larger than the entirety of Dragon Age 2, so be prepared for some serious adventuring.
One of the biggest complaints about Dragon Age 2 was the loss of the tactical view camera perspective. Fans of the series will be happy to note that this feature will be back for Inquisition. For those who haven’t played previous titles, the tactical camera allows the player to take an overhead view of the battlefield and choose actions for each of the party’s characters before resuming the real-time hack and slash combat. Players can even stay out of the action themselves and watch their entire party fight on their own after issuing commands. This feature will also be available on consoles for the first time.
With there being so many different skills available to the player when jumping back and forth between controlling each party member, the action can start to really turn chaotic with spells, arrows, and fire flying all around the battlefield. Add in the ability to slow down time and you have a beautiful strategic chaos that RPG fans should fall in love with when trying to pinpoint weak spots on giant epic bosses.
How you choose to play is really up to you. Character customization and freedom of choice are major components in shaping the story in Inquisition with four races to choose from and three starting classes (each with specializations of their own). Like any BioWare title your choices throughout the game will affect later gameplay with there rumored to be as many as 40 ending variations in this title based on your choices.
Dragon Age: Inquisition is set for release on October 7, 2014 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC.
