Dragon Age: Inquisition Preview

EA and BioWare’s Dragon Age franchise seemed to come out of nowhere when Dragon Age: Origins released in 2009. The title sold well enough for both companies to come together for a sequel, Dragon Age II, which debuted two years later. The next chapter in the Dragon Age franchise, Dragon Age: Inquisition, will appear later this fall, and is expected to excite RPG fans through its new features, characters and storyline, but also with DICE’s Frostbite 3 engine, which Battlefield 4 players are familiar with.

A more open-world Dragon Age experience

Previously released Dragon Age titles give the player the ability to adventure through its open world to complete quests, but Dragon Age: Inquisition will also reward players who wander to find something of interest. Skyrim players know this experience too well, and it’s one we’re glad to see Inquisition include, as there’s nothing better than spending a rainy day indoors wandering an open world to find hidden gems.

With a world as massive as Inquisition’s, BioWare decided to include mounts for the first time in franchise history, including a creature known as the Bog Unicorn. As you’d expect, players will be able to ride various horses, but they’ll also be able to ride a number of beasts across the game’s world.

Players will take hold of certain regions across Thedas by conquering key points, such as forts or keeps. As your domination of Thedas increases, your army will continue to grow, allowing players to have entire armies under their control instead of just controlling a few characters in their immediate party. Players will then use their army to improve a region, such as stationing more troops to better defend the area from attack.

Old features make a return while introducing new ones

Dragon Age purists were up in arms when BioWare changed the combat style introduced in Dragon Age: Origins for the more physical combat system introduced in Dragon Age II. It seems they heard the cries of their fans and will include the turn-based-like combat system from Origins in Inquisition. Once again, players will pause the action to issue commands to their party, such as attacks, spells and movement orders, as well as give them assigned behaviours that will have the game’s A.I. take control so you have one less thing to worry about in the heat of battle.

Another feature BioWare will introduce is a new dialogue wheel. This time around, when deciding to choose which response is ideal for the current situation, a small pop-up text will become available when players highlight one of the selections. This pop-up text will provide a description of what will happen if the player chooses a particular response, which will certainly help make the right decision during a crucial moment. Conversely, Dragon Age purists will have the option of turning off this feature, leaving the results of your decision up to the gods.

Dragon Age: Origins allowed players to assume the role of one of several races. This feature was absent from the title’s sequel, but will make a return in Inquisition. In addition to previously featured races, players will be able to play as the qunari, which were first introduced in Dragon Age II. That’s not all, as you can also play as a female qunari, which will mark the first time players will actually see a female qunari in the Dragon Age games.

Frostbite 3 engine breathes new life into Dragon Age

As we mentioned earlier, Inquisition will use the Frostbite 3 engine, which is expected to make this title one of the best looking yet, especially on next-gen consoles. Don’t simply expect Inquisition to look good, as the Frostbite 3 engine brings with it some realistic physics that will help give the title a more genuine feel. Expect to see debris kicking up as a dragon lifts off from the ground, bridges collapse when destroyed and structures made of wood burn when they become ignited.

Dragon Age: Inquisition is set to be exactly what fans want

Fans of Dragon Age: Origins enjoyed its sequel, but ultimately, they felt it lacked much of what they enjoyed from the original. Inquisition was shaped around feedback BioWare received after they released Dragon Age II, which means it’ll hopefully be the game fans of the series crave. We’ll find out later this fall if the feedback makes Inquisition a worthy Dragon Age sequel.