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The launch of a new generation of consoles just wouldn't be the same without a major BioWare RPG, but while the march towards the PS4 and Xbox One continues, news regarding Dragon Age: Inquisition has been hard to come by. That may be about to change, as Game Informer has revealed the third entry in the medieval-fantasy epic as the star of its September issue.
Along with new details in the magazine's coverage itself, the reveal trailer features some of the most well-known faces from within BioWare discussing their hopes for Dragon Age on next-gen, and provides some of the first looks at (pre-Alpha) gameplay. Story hints, references to Baldur's Gate and the new Frostbite engine in motion are better than still images, so have at them.
As is usually the case with RPGs as large as BioWare tends to make, the exact plot and characters of Inquisition are still a bit of a mystery; the E3 2013 teaser trailer showed some returning faces (and the usual claim that only the player can save the world from destruction), and the first batch of screenshots failed to feature the protagonist which players will embody.
That veil of secrecy has yet to be lifted (or...torn?), but the magazine's cover proves that the game will live up to its name, featuring a prehistoric-looking dragon doing battle with Dragon Age 2's Varric and Cassandra. Take a look:
If it wasn't clear before, it should be now: players will be facing some truly grueling challenges in the game's open-ended environments. While the main character's appearance may be a mystery, their task is not: by accepting the role of Inquisitor, the player must lead a new Inquisition - an investigation into the barriers between the world of the living and The Fade being torn.
Beginning as an official branch of the Chantry - the group tasked with policing all magical activities on the continent of Thedas - the video reveals that players will need to forge their own path, not march to the beat of a higher authority's drum. If that claim can truly be realized in the game, it may offer a level of choice and decision-making rarely seen in the series to date, not to mention support their claims of removing the '3' from the name to signal a brand new chapter in the franchise.
It's no surprise to see the architect of the Mass Effect series, Casey Hudon on hand in the video, since BioWare has made it clear that the foundations lain by the Dragon Age team will be shared by the next Mass Effect. But in case that raises any suspicions about the target audience of Inquisition, the development team is quick to mention Baldur's Gate - the company's most iconic RPG, and the original game to which Dragon Age was conceived as a spiritual successor.
Considering just how much that structure was abandoned with Dragon Age 2, it's less than startling to see the game name-dropped in the first in-depth video. Only time will tell of the allusions amount to anything more than clever marketing, but BioWare has been seeking input from fans for some time now. Although the brief clips of pre-Alpha gameplay seen in the video won't put those fears to rest, they do show that from a technical standpoint. Inquisition holds serious promise.
One of the main reasons so little has been revealed about the story of Inquisition thus far is the development team's focus on "the raw capabilities" of Frostbite 3, and what the new engine makes possible on Xbox One and PS4. Every in-game asset glimpsed in the footage seems highly polished, and with the Frostbite 3 engine allowing the team to focus on the art design and not the technical limitations, the only limits may be the developers' own creativity.
There is sure to be more news coming regarding Dragon Age: Inquisition as the magazine's coverage kicks off, but which part of the game are you most interested to see highlighted? The story, or the gameplay? Sound off in the comments.
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Dragon Age: Inquisition is expected to release in 2014 for the Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4 and PC.
Follow Andrew on Twitter @andrew_dyce.
Source: Game Informer