Dragon Age fans are in for quite a treat this month, as Game Informer has an entire month of exclusive news and updates. Kicking off their coverage yesterday, the team released a teaser trailer detailing just a few noteworthy features coming to Inquisition. Most notably are the fact that multiple playable races are returning to the series, after being absent from Dragon Age 2, and the inclusion of rideable mounts. Take a look:
After seeing the trailer, many fans took to Twitter to wonder if the video, featuring a man riding a horse, would be reserved for cutscenes or was a hint of something more. To that end, series executive producer Mark Darrah confirmed players would, in fact, have access to horses at the very least.
@XGrlGamerX yes
— Mark Darrah (@BioMarkDarrah) August 6, 2013
After the lackluster critical and fan reception to Dragon Age 2, developer BioWare has been making an effort to engage with the community to better understand what they’re looking for out of the DA franchise. Making good on the promise of incorporating fan feedback into Inquisition, Game Informer reports that “large and varied environments, customizable armor, and the return of multiple player races are just a few of the ways BioWare is addressing feedback from previous titles in order to shape a new future for the franchise.”
What’s equally interesting is that the video claims the third installment in the series will test the limits of next-gen console capabilities. “I think with Dragon Age we’re pushing all five platforms as far as we can,” the team states. Time will tell just how great of a technological leap there is between the previous title and Inquisition.
Bringing back multiple playable races is certainly a step in the right direction to encourage fans left with a bitter taste in their mouths after DA2 to return to the franchise. Choice is a big component in all BioWare RPGs, and different races offer an added layer of variety to character customization that was simply lacking last time around. Rideable mounts are something fans should be really excited about for two reasons: The obvious one being that mounts are fun and make traversal easier, but the second reason is that if BioWare feels that mounts needed to be included in the game, that means the environments Inquisition is made up of are far larger than anything we’ve seen previously in the Dragon Age universe. Both Origins and its sequel we’re fairly linear in terms of level design, so the need for horses and whatever else BioWare may have in store signals a much larger world than we’ve previously explored. Oh, and I think I speak for everyone when I say that if BioWare plans on letting us ride mounts, we need at least one gameplay segment where we’re allowed to ride a dragon. I mean, that much is obvious, right?
Dragon Age: Inquisition is scheduled to release sometime in 2014 for PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
What do you folks think of this news? Are you excited for mounts and the return of multiple playable character races? What other features are you hoping BioWare includes in Inquisition? Sound off in the comments section, and don’t forget to like IGXPro on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, or give us the ‘ol +1 on Google+. If you can’t get enough of my shenanigans, (who could blame you?) you can check me out @GamingsNirvana, or add +VinnyParisi to your circles.
