Expect to hear a lot more about Dragon Age: Inquisition in August. Additional details on the third game in BioWare's medieval fantasy RPG series will be released throughout the month, starting with today's pre-alpha gameplay video.
At the beginning of Inquisition, Thedas is in sorry shape. Demons have begun to invade the realm. Wars, corruption and other evils have weakened most of the powerful groups that could potentially respond to this onslaught. The task of defending the realm falls to the titular Inquisition, an organization led by the player.
BioWare admitted in the past that they're looking to open-ended games like Skyrim for inspiration with DA3. Players should expect more expansive environments than in previous games. The footage above shows the player traveling through a vast desert on horseback.
Freedom seems to be the guiding principle across the entire game. In a reversal from DA2, players will once again be able to choose from multiple races for their character. They can customize their equipment's appearance as well. Success in combat in DA3 will depend more on the party you've constructed and the strategy you choose than your ability to mash buttons.
BioWare is developing DA3 for PC, Xbox 360, PS3, PS4 and Xbox One. They're hoping the next-gen platforms will allow them to make a game that's head-and-shoulders above its predecessors.
"The new platforms are giving us the opportunity to tell stories in much larger worlds with more features and more things," EA Labels president Frank Gibeau said in June. "From our perspective, we didn’t want to launch a “current-gen” game in a next-gen market. We took the opportunity to add resources, add time, and we brought in new technology. Frankly, we’ve raised our expectations.”
Inquisition is featured in the cover story of Game Informer's September issue. The magazine should be landing in subscribers mailboxes in the coming weeks. However, digital subscribers can check out the issue later today on PC, Mac, iPad or Android. They plan to release features throughout the month as well on topics like character creation and combat.
