It's been a rough road for dedicated Dragon Age fans. When Bioware first released Origins, it was met with a lot of praise and heralded as one of the best RPG experiences on both PC and console. Each chunk of DLC, each small expansion, released to a content hungry fanbase that grew increasingly eager for the next step in the Dragon Age storyline. It wasn't just a game, but rather an evolving story, one in which your character was front and center, making choices and breathing life into a gripping tale of war, honor, and sacrifice.
Surely the second title in this epic fantasy opera would be just as gripping as the first, with an expansive gameplay system and a beautiful, imaginative storyline. But Dragon Age II wasn't exactly what gamers had hoped for. In all reality it wasn't even close to what the Dragon Age fanbase had hoped for.
Dragon Age II 78 gutted everything that made Dragon Age: Origins 90 such a masterpiece, and hopeful players were met with a shell of a former epic. An updated combat system took center stage, but character interaction, customization, storyline, and environments took a massive hit. The remainder was much more "Fable" (not that Fable is bad, just a combat comparison) than anything even close to Bioware's entry into the series. Chalking it up as a poor decision and moving on would be the best way to handle the disaster, and Bioware is doing just that.
A while back we caught wind of the developer's next edition into the Dragon Age series, named Dragon Age: Inquisition. Artwork and screenshots flooded the web to a once again hopeful fanbase, but we were still left with the dread that this release would be more Dragon Age II than Origins. Today we are getting a better look into what we can expect with the next installment, thanks to a leaked video. This 30-minute long spectacle gives us better insight into the combat system, general gameplay, and questing. Still no glimpses at the story (which is what a lot of you fans out there are so hooked on), but hopefully that will come sometime in the near future.
You can check out the video in its entirety above. Things do appear to be a little "Fable-ish" in spots, and while it does share some resemblance with Dragon Age II, there are still some key pieces of the video that shine out, paying homage to the series original formula of success. If you progress the video to the 18:30 mark, you'll see just what I'm talking about. The tactical view is something that PC gamers came to adore, and a situational tool that console gamers never had access to (until now, as you will notice the demo is being played on an Xbox, presumably and Xbox One).