Dragon Age: Inquisition is shaping up to combine the favorite elements of the first two Dragon Age titles and bring a compelling experience to gamers when the game appears late next year on next-gen consoles. Bioware is busy working on the game, but has given fans a chance to explore some of the different environments found in the game. Gamespot has the skinny from executive producer Mark Darrah about the new openness for Inquisition. Skinner explained the open environments are designed to help immerse gamers in the game and the journey they are taking:
"At the heart of all this is the idea of making sure you're in control of everything that's happening. In Dragon Age II, the story and combat happened at you. Here, you're making things happen. Everything we've done with this game-- exploration, combat design, deeper crafting--it's about giving you the ability to act."
The game will be much bigger than Dragon Age 2, and one of the environments shown, called Crestwood, is bigger than all of Dragon Age 2 (despite not being the biggest level in the whole of Dragon Age: Inquisition). The game will have several different environments that players can travel to, much like the different areas found in Dragon Age: Origins. Players will travel through different areas of the game as head of the Inquisition, bringing the various tribes and peoples in the world together to fight the evils of the world. Mike Laidlaw, creative director for the game, explained that players will have new areas constantly opening up as they go through the story.
"Inquisition keeps sending you to new places. There are new spots that open up as the story progresses, as you explore more. You start to get more leads, more information, and that draws you to new and tougher locations," said Laidlaw.
This new setup will allow users to check out different areas in the world, some of which will feature enemies they will not be able to defeat at first. Enemies will not level scale with the player, meaning that if they come across a new area they must be weary of what they encounter. At the same time, they could come across low level enemies that will be ripe for the slaughter.
These changes to the environment also affect the combat in the game. Players can check out the environment for tactical advantages, and can spring surprise attacks on enemies to help even out the playing field. A tactical camera will help with this new system, allowing players to essentially pause the fight and direct their companions to help defeat their foes.
Dragon Age: Inquisition is one of the most intriguing games of 2014, and should be one many gamers watch lists as Bioware continues to work on the game.
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