You wouldn’t know Dragon Age: Inquisition is a cross-gen title by looking at it, and that’s because it looks spectacular. Okay, maybe some of the characters faces are a little rough and some more time needs to be spent on moustache physics, but overall the world that BioWare has created is very impressive. Huge mountain ranges littered with massive trees stretch on an on and the detail doesn’t stop there. The smoke effects are some of the best I’ve ever seen and the steam rising from the ground really brings Inquisition to life.
Inquisition feels a little like an MMO and looks to have been inspired by some of the gameplay ideas associated with the genre. In battle each class has to work together focusing on their role to get the best results. You can switch between controlling any of the characters mid battle. It’s kind of like micromanaging a small raid and makes strategy increasingly important as the battles become more difficult.
Characters in the party will chat to each other while exploring the world, helping to define each of them and focus on one of the most important elements of Inquisition: character development. The story plays a huge role in the game and will be played out in certain ways as a direct result of choices you make. A scene will be very different depending on what characters are in the party. Some have personal relationships with other NPCs or bad guys making the lead up to a boss fight totally different if they are present in the party. This will affect the relationships they have with other party member in the group and trickle down through the story as it goes on.
Everything you do has a consequence in Inquisition. If you kill a lot of bears in an area over time because you a looking for a certain drop, fewer will respawn because they are becoming rare and endangered. You can just move over to another spot to hunt down bears if you’re especially cruel because the world is massive. Making that a little easier to do, Inquisition is the first Dragon Age game to have mounts, giddy up.
The most impressive thing about Inquisition is its dragons; they’re huge and command your respect and attention. This is where all the strategy has to come together or your party will be wiped out. Ranged attacks will draw it closer and bring it down to the ground for a slightly more fair fight. You can target specific limbs to immobilize it and change its behaviour. Taking out one of its legs will cause it to limp and favour one side or take to the skies again if you’re not quick enough in damaging another limb. Speed and cooperation is key.
The best tactic is to have your mage cast haste slowing down all but the members of your party. You have ten to fifteen seconds of Matrix-esque bullet time to try and damage two limbs one after another bringing the beast down before going for the kill. You can pause and switch to tactical view at any time which comes in handy especially when taking on groups of enemies.
If you’re inside one of the beautiful castles you can use the environment to your advantage. Setting an archer at a position of high ground and placing a defender at a choke point like the top of a staircase will give much better results than just running in swords blazing. Inquisition features over 200 abilities over all classes and is very customizable allowing you to focus on a particular tactic or play style.
Dragon Age: Inquisition will be available on 7 October for Windows PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
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