It is ok not to expect the Spanish Inquisition

For the longest time, people have criticized video games for deriving too much from Hollywood. It's true. We know Solid Snake's design from the original Metal Gear is a copy-pasted Kyle Reese from Terminator. We also know Solid Snake's look from MGS 2 is Snake Plissken from Escape From New York. Still, the tides are changing.

Recent years have provided a library of instances of Hollywood taking a lot of inspiration from video games �even when it makes zero sense. Twitter user @DesFleurBleues discovered a scene in the new Russell Crowe film The Pope's Exorcist that attempts to make a Spanish Inquisition reference. Brave effort, but the film ends up accidentally showing the symbol of a different, absolutely made-up Inquisition from the Dragon Age series.

//twitt??er.com/Kelgrid/status/16568101218785?56672?s=20

Maybe this is the work of the actual Devil, but we should consider other possibilities. Is this what you get when you put AI in charge? of things? Is this what you get when the entire research department is just one guy googling the word "Inquisition"? How come a party of heroes from a highly succ??essful video game garnered more search engine love than an old-timey, torture-happy group? Unless the producers have forged a tie-in that EA definitely doesn't know about, someone has messed up big time.

This is what they were looking for, in case an?yone is wondering:

[caption id="attachment_378900" align="alignnone" width="242"] image from Wikipedia[/caption]

The film premiered in early April, so it's a surprise it has taken so long for anyone to notice this. Maybe FleurBleues is the only video game fan who went to see The Pope's Exorcist. Maybe the thousands of memes ended up Psyop-ing us into not suspecting anything regarding the S?panish Inquisition, but the truth is out there now.

This is a victory for players everywhere, though not for the devs of Dragon Age Inquisition. Yeah, you're not off the hook f?or naming the heroes after one of the worst institutions in human history.

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Even some Steam key deals too!

Black Friday for PC Gamers has begun with Origin launching the first salvo of discounts. Now through November 30 (Cyber Monday), get up to 75% off hundreds of titles and DLC packs.

For the most part, Origin has discounts on EA games, but surprisingly there are a few Steam titles in the mix like Tomb Raider and Hitman: Absolution.

The best deals in the sale are a few new historic lows on select Origin titles. Dragon Age Inquisition is only $14.99, which is cheapest ever by $5. Also at historic lows are The Sims 4, FIFA 16, and Battlefield Hardline. Click here for a full list or see our top picks below.

New Lows

• Dragon Age: Inquisition (Origin) — $14.99  (list price $40)
• Battlefield: Hardline (Origin) — $11.99  (list price $30)
• Battlefield: Hardline Deluxe Edition (Origin) — $13.99  (list price $35)
• FIFA 15 (Origin) — $14.99  (list price $30)
• Dragon Age: Inquisition Digital Deluxe (Origin) — $18.74  (list price $50)
• The Sims 4: Get To Work (Origin) — $19.99  (list price $40)
• The Sims 4 (Origin) — $24.99  (list price $60)
• FIFA 16 (Origin) — $35.99  (list price $60)

Other Notable Deals

• Battlefield 4 + Premium (Origin) — $19.99  (list price $50)
• SimCity: Complete Edition (Origin) — $14.99  (list price $30)
• Mass Effect Trilogy (Origin) — $14.99  (list price $30)
• The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 (Steam) — $8.74  (list price $35)
• Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare (Origin) — $7.99  (list price $20)
• Tomb Raider Survival Edition (Steam) — $6.24  (list price $25)
• The Walking Dead: Season 1 — $6.24  (list price $25)
• Hitman: Absolution (Steam) — $4.99  (list price $20)
• Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning (Origin) — $4.99  (list price $20)
• Mass Effect (Origin) — $3.74  (list price $15)

Game deals from Dealzon. Sales help support Destructoid.

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But Fallout 4 is coming out soon...

Well, if you have all the time in the world to play large RPGs this winter, Dragon Age: Inquisition is now at a new low price on Origin (the PC physical DVD version was $20 a fe??w months ago). That is, if a certain other RPG isn't getting in your way early November...

This week, Origin is running a Halloween "Zomboss Invasion Sale" where Inquisition, along with other EA-published titles such as Battlefield Hardline and Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare, hit new low prices. While I'm not a big PvZ fan, you really can't argue against a ??$5 price point.

Top Origin Sale Deals

• Dragon Age: Inquisition — $19.99  (list price $40)
• Battlefield: Hardline — $19.99  (list price $30)
• Mass Effect Trilogy — $14.99  (list price $30)
• Battlefield 4 — $9.99  (list price $20)
• Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare — $4.99  (list price $20)

It's actually rare to see an Origin game's Digital Deluxe Edition go on sale since Origin is an excl??usive seller of all Digital Deluxe editions.

More Deals

• Battlefield 4 + Premium — $29.99  (list $50)
• The Sims 4: Get To Work — $29.99  (list $40)
• Crysis Trilogy — $24.99  (list $50)
• SimCity: Complete Edition — $19.99  (list $30)
• Dead Space 3 — $9.99  (list $20)

The sale will run through Tuesday, November 3.

Starting tomorrow, Origin will also discount The Sims 4 by 40%, dro??pping the price from $60 to $36. Not bad,?? although from what we're looking at, percentage-wise, all the good deals are already live -- and we doubt things will drop any further as the sale continues.

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All DLC, not all of the platforms

Trespasser, the final DLC for Dragon Age: Inquisition, has been out for just over a month now. Fans have played through it, and are left in the limbo of no??t knowing what to do without Varric’s tender embrace.

So I’m sure you’ll understand that I’m ??shocked we hadn’t heard about the inevitable Game of the Year Editi??on before now.

EA has released a rather boastful trailer announcing the game’s rerelease, which will include every bit of content released for the game. It points out in poss?ibly too much detail about how the game was well-received and won many sites’ Game of the Year awards back in 2014.

It’s due for release on October 6 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. Previous-gen consoles unfortunately will be missing out o?n it, as the development of those versions was halted long before all the DLC was released.

But I can let that slide, as finally we will have a full and complete edition of Nestle Yourself Betwixt Iron Bull’s Meaty Pecs: Inquisition. That’s? all any of us ??actually play that game for anyways, right?

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Plus, Golden Nugs for all!

Dragon Age: Inquisition isn't even a year old yet, but for some reason it feels like it's been forever since it came out. I played it, had a gay old time with my slender elven Knight-Enchanter, finished the story, then settled down to wait until BioWare saw fit to answer some of the more teaser-y questions raised by the end of the story. It looks like that time is coming soon-ish, as they've announced Trespasser, the third and final DLC expansion for the game.

Unlike the previous two expansions, The Jaws of Hakkon and The Descent, Trespasser will be a full-on epilogue to the main story, set two years after its conclusion. In fact, it'll require a character that has actually beaten the main storyline to start, though the narrative payoffs purport to determine the fate the Inquisitor, and "explore what it's like to be a world-saving organization when the world no longer needs saving." Lead Designer Mike Laidlaw even teased that Trespasser might contain hints as to "the future of Thedas" - and presumably future installments of Dragon Age.

Aside from that, another major patch for the game is also upcoming. It'll include more free content, such as a Golden Nug statue that syncs collectibles and unlocked schematics across multiple saves (essentially turni?ng any game into a "New Game Plus"), and a wardrobe that finally allows Inquisitors to change out of their default beige castle pajamas when hanging out in Skyhold. Mods have allowed that kind of thing for a while, granted, but I'm sure everyone will welcome "about a dozen outfits of varying colors, each carefully selected to minimize instances of plunging a spiked pauldron into your love interest's face when you kiss him or her."

Trespasser is dated for September 8th.

New Dragon Age: Inquisition DLC and more c?oming soon [Bioware Blog]

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Still only on Xbox One

EA Access continues to be a surprisingly good value for Xbox One owners.

The service has added Dragon Age: Inquisition to its lineup as promised. If you're a subscriber ($4.99 per month, $29.99 per year), you can download and play through BioWare's RPG and other titles in the Vault lineup including Titanfall, Garden Warfare, and a slew of sports games.

I'd like to play Inquisition, eventually, but not before The Witcher III. That's next on the list.

Also n??ext on my list? Seeing what Freddi?e Prinze Jr. is up to these days.

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Did you ride the bull?

Fellow bearded brethren and radio personality Andy Borkowski interviewed David Gaider, the lead writer of Dragon Age: Inquisition on the topic of diversity in the series. David states that an argument could be made that includin??g diverse characters and sexuality options potentially had an impact on the sales of the series, but doesn't believe it made much of a difference. &n?bsp;

Do you believe enough people were turned off of the series by the diversity to negatively impact Dragon Age sales, or was it the exact opposite? Personally I've never been huge into the series, but everyone I know praises the game for the romance options. If my roommates are anything to go by, it is the only reason they bought the game; I've heard more than enough talk about their Dragon Age sex lives.

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After a PC and Xbox One timed deal

Dragon Age: Inquisition was a return to form for BioWare, but sadly the Jaws of Hakkon DLC was initially limited to the PC and  Xbox One platforms for a limited time. Thankfully, it will now be availa??ble on the PS3, PS4, and Xbox 360 later this mon??th, come May 26.

The DLC contains a new zone, story quests, four achievements/trophies, and additional items. What I've played of Hakkon isn't mind-blowing, but it's simply more Inquisition, which will be good enough for most people.

Dragon Age [Twitter]

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It's currently in the warm embrace of Xbox One and PC

Jaws of Hakkon, the new $15 Dragon Age: Inquisition story DLC that released last week for Xbox One and PC, won't be available to download on PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Xbox 360 until May, BioWare has confirmed. Obligato??ry: ??timed exclusivity like this is annoying.

While the studio hasn't yet announced a precise release date for Jaws of Hakkon on these other platforms, it'd be smart to push it out before The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt debuts on May 19.

The thought of wanting even more content out of this massive game -- unless it's super engaging, top-notch stuff -- seems baffling to me. (Says the guy who's afraid to get hooked on Inquisition.)

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Sorry, Sony fans

Dragon Age: Inquisition was a pretty fantastic game, exceeding my expectations coming off of the disappointing Dragon Age II. BioWare is keeping the good times rolling this week with a new $15 DLC pack called Jaws of Hakkon, which you can pick up ??now on Xbox ??platforms and on PC.

Wait, Inquisition was also released for PlayStation platforms too, right? Well, yes, but apparently there seems to be a spot of timed exclusivity afoot. In the add-on you'll find new weapons, armor, foes, and a new hub area. I talked to BioWare about its DLC plan pre-launch, and this lines up with what it stated in regards to buildin?g bigger, meatier sandbox experiences.

Dragon Age: Inqusition Jaws of Hakkon [Xbox.com]

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Starring the rock

Liam Robertson dropped us an email today letting us know about a hidden Dragon Age: Inquisition quest that can be found by jumping on a tiny stone house 50 times. No really. I? know it sounds like a rumor you'd hear in grade school about pushing a truck to get a Mew, but this one seems legit. Liam says a dev??eloper dropped hints about the quest which led to its discovery.

Oddly enough when I streamed the game near launch someon??e watching said they had a developer tell them there was a hidden quest that started by jumping on a rock. At the time I shrugged it off as someone trolling, but looks like they were telling the truth.

There is more to the quest as they were told a chest would spawn near some stairs which is rather vague. The suppos??ed chest has yet to be found, which is where you come in. The first person to prove they have finished the quest and found the chest gets their video posted. Ready...go!

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I'll just be weeping in the other room

If you're having trouble with something in a game, never ?check the forums. It will just rub salt in the woun?ds.

I picked up Dragon Age: Inquisition over the holidays and have been logging some time in the game's multiplayer mode. As a veteran of Mass Effect 3's weird cooperative horde mode, I thought I was prepared for whatever dungeon crawling shenanigans Inquisition would throw at me. I was wrong. I've spent more?? time cleaning the floor of the ?dungeon with my face than I have fighting the forces of evil.

Wondering what I could do to better my chances, I checked out the Bioware forums, only to find out there are people like user Mr-_-Zero who can solo the entire map on the hardest difficulty setting. While I'm str??uggling to even get a ??few licks in on the final boss before he flattens me on the lowly Routine difficulty, this guy is just manhandling entire elite spawns on Perilous himself

The worst part? The dude's not even max level.

If anyone needs me, I'll b??e trying to unlock a??n Arcane Warrior to copy his build with. If that doesn't work, I suppose there's always suicide.  

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Yay free

Most of the people I know who bought Dragon Age: Inquisition are still playing it. Proof positive that the lengthy single-player experience isn't dead, and not every game needs to be multiplayer. Wait a minute, Inquisition has multiplayer too. Uh, this is awkward.

So anyways, if you're still playing that mode, BioWare has added a free update to the game that mixes up the map a bit. Now you can randomly find wildlife roaming around each?? arena, which will help you and attack you at will. Also, you?'ll find new paths to locate.

?Finally, a $10 digital upgrade is available if you didn't grab the Deluxe Edition, and includes extra weapons, Inquisitor armor, a mount, an??d a few other items.

New mult??iplayer pack & digit?al upgrade offer now available [Dragon Age]

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How does Varric's chest hair look on PC?

The third installment in the Dragon Age franchise is finally here. If you're like me, you are cautiously optimistic with this one after playing Dragon Age II. I'm more of a tactical player, and felt that I was left in the dust last time around. I don't mind the action-oriented combat, but as a famous lit??tle girl once said, why not both?

As Chris mentions in his review, Dragon Age: Inquisition&??nbsp;does a decent job mushing the two toget?her. They certainly aren't blended together seamlessly, but both options are certainly present. Personally I think the game favors the controller layout, but the tactical among us are not forgotten!

[Note: With the exception of the header image, all screenshots were taken by me.]

Tested on: Intel i7-4770k 3.50 GHz, 8GB of RAM, GeForce GTX 560 Ti GPU (yes I know my GFX card is a chokepoint!)

For the big Dragon Age: Origins fans out there, there is likely one big question on your mind: how does the game control with a mouse and keyboard? Dragon Age II was very much an action game with a pause button, while Origins&nb??sp;felt more strategic, especially on higher diff?iculties which were brutal to those that couldn't pause and queue up orders.

Dragon Age: Inquisition feels like a controller-focused compromise between the two. Pressing the T key (by default) or zooming all the way out will put the game into Tactical View, where players can issue orders from a top-down perspective. This view is very clunky, however, and feels tacked on to appease those who wanted a more Origins feel to the game. Moving the camera around can only be done with keyboard keys, as there is no option to turn on mouse edge panning. In addition, the default camera keys are unintuitive, so change them ASA??P.

The camera is also limited by the environmental roofs. This means that in caves or any building with a low ceiling, the Tactical View is downright useless, since the camera can only go as high as the ceiling. Additionally, when paused, selecting a character to assign orders to centers ??the camera on that target, which is a huge nuisance. This makes it much more difficult to tell everyone to att?ack one target since the camera will constantly be going back and forth (Note: the "Auto-Center Camera" option does not pertain to this). Again, it's clear that the game was not designed around the Tactical View, but hey, at least it's there and it actually serves a purpose. 

Otherwise, the game controls just fine with a mouse and keyboard. No action game has ever felt "good" on a mouse and keyboard setup, and Inquisition is no ??different. Horse controls are a little awkward, since occasionally the horse wi?ll stop running, despite my finger never leaving the run key. Turning a slow horse with the mouse is also a pain in the butt, but so is turning a horse in real life, so there's that.

There is a slider included for Mouse Smoothing as well as Sensitivity to help alleviate things and make you feel right at home. Pinpoint accuracy isn't a huge deal in Inquisition, so the default settings never really bothered me. They keys are completely ??remappable and a quick-save option is included.

The in-game cutscenes are all capped at 30 frames per second (tested with FRAPS). Even when the game was running at 60 FPS, the cutscenes wer??e always capped. The framerate varied for my rig depending on the environment, since some of the environments are very vast and include a lot to take care of. The recommended settings gave me around 30-40 FPS, but after tinkering around with the multitude of settings available, I managed to run at 60 FPS pretty consistently. There is an occa?sional strange stutter while entering a new area where the game just stops for about 1-2 seconds.

And thank the Maker, there is a B??orderless Fullscreen option!

For players who would prefer to use a controller, make sure you have the controller connected before launching the game. Connecting a controller while the game ?is already running won't do anything. In addition, players have to switch the control scheme to Gamepad using the mouse and keyboard. Once the control scheme is switched over, the mouse and keyboard no longer do anything at all. It is a very black-and-white scenario, there's no mixing of the two control schemes. All of this was tested with Wireless Xbox 360 controllers. 

Multiplayer runs relatively lag-free, though there will be occasional stutters while playing. There is no Tactical View in multiplayer, and it plays a lot like user-created maps in the MMORPG Neverwinter. The online system shares a lot in common with Mass Effect 3; players will earn gold from playing, or can spend real money on Platinum to buy loot chests of various sizes that contain random items and one-time use potions. It didn't feel like I was?? forced to ever spend money, as you gain a decent amount of gold just from playing. A large loot chest costs 1, 200 gold or 250 Platinum. To get 1,200 gold, players will have to play around 4-5 online matches of varying success, which will take a decent amount of time. Alternatively, players can spend $9.99 of their hard-earned cash to get 1000 Platinum, enough for 4 large loot chests. 

The? loot is completely random, so there is not necessarily a distinct advantage to those who pay money. However characters are unlocked by crafting armor, which needs supplies from salvaging items. So I suppose players who pay more money to get more loot would have more things to salvage, leading to characters being unlocked faster. Also, there is no push-to-talk button. If you have a microphone plugged in, it is transmitting what it picks up. FOR THE LOVE OF GOD PLEASE REMEMBER THIS.

Overall, the game runs well on PC. The controls are obviously action-oriented and desi??gned for a controller, the but the m?ediocre Tactical View does help alleviate some of it. There are plenty of graphic options to tinker with in order to get the game running smoothly on your PC, and I was able to get the game running at a solid 50-60 FPS.

I'll leave you with a few images. Options screen 1. Options screen 2. Low graphics 1. Ultra graphics 1. Low graphics 2. Ultra graphics 2.

The post PC Port Report: Dragon Age: Inquisition appeared first on Destructoid.

Thank the Maker, it's better than Dragon Age II

Dragon Age II felt like a great action game that was outsourced to a lesser developer. It lacked the polish BioWare typically puts into its titles, and almost the entire affair felt like a gigantic step back from everything Origins had established. What was once a promising franchise that reminded me of the glory days of RPGs such as Baldur's Gate&nbs?p;became a shadow of its forme??r self, with lazily re-used assets and no sense of scale.

BioWare went back to the drawing board with Inquisition, the third Dragon Age outing, and the game is all the better for it. It feels like a culmination of its predecesso?rs'?? strengths, with all of the bells and whistles that come with current-gen hardware.

Dragon Age: Inquisition (PC, PS3, PS4 [reviewed], Xbox 360, Xbox One)
Developer: BioWare
Publisher: Electronic Arts
Release:  November 18, 2014
MSRP: $59.99

Almost immediately it's easy to see that Inquisition takes to heart everything BioWare has learned throughout the development cycle of the first two Dragon Age games. Combat has vastly improved since Origins, but now rather than feeling too twitchy like Dragon Age II, it's a mixture of the two design philosophies and feels just right. Attacks have weight to them, but you can't just go flying through the air like a ninja and launch a thousand attacks a minute -- a style that cheapened any sense of strategy the second game may have had. That tactical feel of Origins is back, and married with the action concepts from DA II.

Said compromise also spills into the core story, which is no longer a small-scale tale of one human's struggles in a fortress town. While the initial creation process isn't as detailed as Origins -- it doesn't go all the way down to your socioeconomic status, for instance -- it's a huge upgrade from the previous game. You can choose from a pool of human, elf, dwarf, or Qunari races and pick your class from the start, whether it be a dual-wielding or ranged rogue, one- or two-handed warrior, or a mage. I would have liked more race and backgro??und options.

The tactical camera is back on all platforms (thank goodness!), and you'll need to get used to it during some of the tougher encounters. Boss fights and even a lot of world-map encounters are legitimately difficult, and you can't just slice your way through everything. Skill building isn't as robust as Origins but there are a?t least four trees to choose from, all of which have their own set of useful abilities; nothing feels tacked on and everything has a point to it. Customized armor is also back, and again, feels like a mix of the two philosophies. It's streamlined, but allows you to fundamentally change the look of your party and adds a sense of importance to loot and item progression.

If you're completely lost at this point in the story or you're jumping ship to a new platform, Dragon Age Keep has you covered. By logging in to the online tool with an EA account, you can select just about every single detail you wish from the first two games, and apply it to your Inquisition save file. It's insanely detailed, and an innovative way to span multiple platforms and jump thr?ough technical hoops. It takes roughly ??30 minutes to get everything settled, and bam! -- you're all caught up.

Inquisition begins with a bam, too. Within five minutes, you're thrown into a situation involving the zealous Chantry and a worldwide inquisition to stop an encroaching demon threat. Through mysterious? circumstances you've been give?n the power to banish rifts and send demons packing, so naturally you're recruited into the fray and instantly gain some semblance of authority -- seeing as you're the world's last hope and all.

Of course, much of your power will have to be earned, and you'll need to grow the inquisition from the ground up. Not everyone, including the infamous Mage and Templar factions, actually respects your authority. You'll have to prove your worth over the course of the game. It's a different feel from the Grey Warden-driven narrative of Origins, as there's an inherent sense of helplessness and confusion that drives your rise to power, which is especially complicated if you p??lay a race that many fear, like the Qunari.

The story itself is by-the-books fantasy and less nuanced than Origins, which can get boring at times if you aren't keen on going on more exploration treks, but it does the trick. The writing at times can slip depending on the character (Varric and Dorian are always great), and the first few hours in particular can be painful in terms of deliveries and a weak script. But overall it does a great job of world building, and it's fairly easy to follow throughout. You'll also get to learn a lot more about the world of Dragon Age in general, a?s you can roam about both Orlais and Ferelde??n regions with more freedom than ever before.

What Inquisition nails is that big-picture feel Origins pulled off so well. This isn't a small-time story you're playing out; the stakes feel real, and you'll meet a wide variety of accompanying characters that make the world worth exploring. It helps that Inquisition is a beautiful game, with an impressive engine that boasts long draw distances and a smooth framerate. You can now see the imperfections of certain people, adding more character to them without a word of dialog. The new codex card and lore art style is also mesmerizing, and draws you into reading more about the world of Dragon Age.

But the best part of all is the vast strides BioWare has made in the exploration aspect of the series. Topping even Origins, the new hubs are gigantic, and take hours to completely clear. Progress in the campaign works by gaining "power" points through essentially any action in these hubs, which lets you take on new story missions. It doesn't feel like a gate considering how open Inquisition is in giving out those points. You can also randomly discover optional dungeons, random world events, and special world bosses. That feeling I get from taking a random party into unknown territory is perfected in Inquisition.

It cannot be overstated how much Inquisition has to offer in terms of side content. It feels like every five minutes you're stumbling across a new optional quest, along with fresh landmarks to find, camps to set up, shards to locate (that unlock a completely new optional hub zone), animals to poach, resources to gather, puzzles to solve, and more. Better yet, everything contributes to the overall war effort, so you ??never feel like you're wasting your time. BioWare claims that you need over 100 hours to complete everything, and based on my experience, that number is accurate.

Multiplayer (yes, multiplayer) is the cherry on top, because nothing in the campaign feels like it was compromised for its addition. In essence, it's a modified horde mode that operates similar to Uncharted 3's co-op sections. Four players will ??be able to select from a host of classes, each with their own skills and abilities, and play through a miniature dungeon together.

It has that horde feel in terms of fighting wave after wave of enemies, but each stage is an adventure complete with m?ultiple paths, loot to gather, and special doors that can only be opened by certain classes. In that sense, it's not your typical boring "kill kill kill" mode. You'll have a chance to level up each class, earn new gear, and in turn unlock completely new classes down the line. Mechanics like the specialized doors and the simple fact that different roles will grant different advantages will encourage you to experiment outside of your comfort zone.

There are three difficulty levels in tow, and if you're up to the challenge you can play with less than four people per run or even go at it solo, but to my knowledge it doesn't scale, so it'll just end up being more difficult. For those of you who are worried, multiplayer does not affect the campaign in any way. There's no silly "play multiplayer to help the galactic front!" nonsense like in Mass Effect 3 -- they are completely separate entities, and you can enjoy one without even touching the other. There is a microtransaction system, but much like Mass Effect 3 I? didn't feel compelled? to use it. None of this spills over into the campaign, either.

Dragon Age: Inquisition not only feels like a fully fledged role-playing adventure, but it's also packed with fun things to do that will keep you busy for weeks. Having played well over 100 hours, I'm still finding things to do, working on my multiplayer characters, and plotting another playthrough to handle things a bit differently. Inquisition&nbs?p;is a triumph and proves that despite some missteps along the way, BioWare hasn't lost its touch.

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Some jumping through Origin hoops, naturally

Dragon Age: The Last Court is meant to bridge the gap between Dragon Age II and the upcoming Dragon Age: Inquisition. The story-driven, text-based RPG is playable now provided you log in with an Or??igin ID. 

Of course, this is EA, so a bit of throwaway lore and background that only the biggest Dragon Age fans would car?e about comes with microtransactions.

"You have a bank of twenty actions, and regain one every twenty minutes. If you want to play more quickly you can pu?rchase Dawn to refresh your actions. You can also spend Dawn for a second chance if you fail, or to quicken your access to lucrative Market Day cards."

Of course, "it is not necessary to buy Dawn to complete the game a??nd you wo?n't miss out on any content if you don’t purchase any." Things'll be just a little more annoying. 

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These specs look pretty modest

Everyone's itching to get back to Ferelden and save the world from itself in Dragon Age: Inquisition. There's a civil war to end, and dragons ju?st keep destroying everything. But, PC players need to make sure their hardware is up to snuff before trying their hand at fantasy peacemaker.

EA's posted the recommended and minimum specs for Inquisition on its Origin site. They honestly don't look as bloated as a lot of recent titles. For an ideal experience, BioW?are recommends:

OS: Windows 7 or 8.1 64-bit
CPU: AMD six core CPU @ 3.2 GHz,? Intel quad core CPU @ 3.0 GHz
System RAM: 8 GB
Graphics Card: AMD Radeon HD?? 7870 or R9 270, NVIDIA GeFor?ce GTX 660
Graphics Memory: 3 GB
Hard Drive: 26 GB
DirectX 11

Everything's dialed back a bit for minimum requirements in case you're playing on a "slightly older setup," as EA del?icately put it:

OS: Windows 7 or 8.1 64-bit
CPU: AMD quad core CPU @ 2.5 GHz, Intel quad core CPU @ 2.0 GHz
System RAM: 4 GB
Graphics CARD: AMD Radeon HD 4870, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT
Graphics Memory: 512 MB
Hard Drive: 26 GB
DirectX 10

First Dragon Ag??e: Inquisition PC screenshots, system req??uirements and hands-on! [Origin]

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Can you make your character look like Brad Pitt?

I know a lot of people that are really into creation options in games. Dragon Age Origins was partial to this ideology, as the entire point was to craft a character that you had complete control of. This new video by BioWare shows off basically every potential nuance in Inquisition, for those of you who are into that.

Every time I see a character creation video I always think of my friend who trie??s to make all of his heroes look ?like Brad Pitt. Sometimes he'll spend two hours on it and completely scrap his creation if it doesn't look perfect. That's dedication!

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They learned quite a bit from the second iteration

When I entered BioWare's offices and had a chance to speak to the game's Executive Producer and Studio GM, I had one goal in mind -- to find out how Dragon Age: Inquisition was going to be more like Origins, and less like Dragon Age II.

You'd expect a lot of Molyneuxian backpedaling when confronted with the idea that the last game was a letdown in many eyes, but the responses I received were genuine, with a real concern for learning from past mistakes, and a confident assurance of the game Inquisition could really become.

Speaking to BioWare's Mark Darrah (Executive Producer, Inquisition), and Aaryn Flynn (BioWare Edmonton General Manager), I immediately led with the question "what did you guys learn from Dragon Age II that didn't go over as well as you had hoped?" Darrah fielded this by stating that "we did a lot of experimentation in Dragon Age II. The hero is a reactive hero, as opposed to a hero that causes reactions like the Warden from Origins. I think that lac?k of clarity made the story more convoluted. It's a story of people as opposed to a story of events, and I think that was a problem for many people."

Darrah continued, speaking on the issues with combat in Dragon Age II. "I think that's what got us in trouble with Dragon Age II -- the new story method, and that it was faster and easier gameplay wise. It feels like you're just swinging this sword around and it doesn't weigh anything, whereas combat was more deliberate in Origins. We're fixing that in Inquisition. Combat will have a lot more weight to it than both prior games. We're balancing it towards a more difficulty middle-ground, so that you have to use some of the tools you're given. Maybe you don't have to master the tactical camera, but you'll have to master some aspect of the game and use them together to really master Inquisition."

Flynn sounded off as well, stating, "I think we misjudged there with Dragon Age II. People wanted something that they could really master over time. We didn't do ?that with the sequel."

To me, that's good news in terms of where Inquisition is headed. A middle-ground of fun, engaging combat that's maybe a little less clunky than Origins but deeper than Dragon Age II is a great compromise. Another thing that bothered me though about DA II though was the lack of customization of party members and? characters, so I pushed on that point.

Darrah commented on how they are addressing that in Inquisition, stating, "in the sequel, we removed the ability to equip armor to your followers. That was intended as a way to really make the characters stand out, but we realized that people wanted that element in the game. So in Inquisition we added it back, but still kept that feel of individuality. We didn't want people putting plate mail on every character and having four walking trash cans. In Inquisition if you? put armor on Cassandra for instance, she s?till looks like Cassandra."

Flynn shed some light on the developmental process of both existing games as well. "Origins was a six-year project. There was a big desire to experiment on Dragon Age II after that long development time. A lot of people thought that their ideas weren't heard for the original, so we incorporated some into the sequel. I do think we experimented too much in Dragon Age II. Some of it was too big of a price to pay."

Following up, I asked if there was a certain group of people that reacted well to the game. Darrah responded, "yeah, I think what a lot of people had a problem with was that it felt like a different series. Most of the people who loved Dragon Age II didn't play Origins. If you go to the sequel after playing tons of Origins you'll probably wonder h?ow the series could progress that way. That was its biggest sin. It was too many new things."

Another big thing that disappointed me in DA II was player choice -- or the lack thereof. I described the scenario in Origins where you've given at least five choices as to what to do with a possessed child. In the sequel there's nothing comparable, and choices are usually limited to two major options. I continued on down that path, asking how BioWare was going to improve on player choice in Inquisition, and got some pretty good answers.

Darrah responded, saying, "Yeah the tone icons caused some confusion in Dragon Age II. We meant well with them, but we're backing away from them in the third game. We're using them now sparingly, just to warn players ??that they're being sarcastic, for instance, or le??tting them know that they're about to jump in bed with someone. It's not so much to spoil the surprise, but prevent players from reloading the game after accidentally kicking a party member out of the group."

The duo also went on to cite Mass Effect's Saren as a great way to ground moral choices in games. On the topic of anchoring morality, Flynn stated, "I think that the lack of clarity in Dragon Age II hurt things a bit. With Origins you had a clear evil, and you could play off that. It's what made Saren such a tragic figure -- you could really see his evil side as well as his clear good side, and that made him more complex. But there was some grey there, just not all grey. That's something we are looking to bring to Inquisition."

So how about gameplay? Darrah was on point with the improvements in Inquisition. "You can dye items, and Inquisition will feature the most advanced crafting system we've ever had. The tactical camera is also even better than it was in Origins. Before, you could just pause, give orders, and unpause. Now you can move the camera around a lot better in more advanced ways. The creature inspector tool will give you more informati?on now. There are still synergies and now you can see how to combine them better. Weapons will have hilts and blades. Runes will be more customizable to give you the weapon you want."

The romance system is some?thing I always felt that was lacking in either game, and Darrah was excited to tell us how they're changing it. "The affection system was always very gamey, in a bad way. We made it a bit more organic. All your party members can approve or disapprove of your choices. You can't just give them 30 wet loaves of bread to make them fall in love with you. You really have to talk to your companions to romance them r??ather than game them. There are no meters anymore, you have to have a real conversation."

Of course, I had to bring up DLC at some point. People are rightfully wary of EA's influence, and Darrah noted that they are going to mostly going to listen to fan demand to shape post-game support. Although he wasn't able to confirm anything, DLC will likely be comprised of sandboxes -- large new areas that players can wander around and complete a main quest in, but also find sidequests for. There isn't going to be another expansion like Awakening though, sadly. Darrah said that it was "fa?r too much wo??rk, and very expensive, as everything has to interact with the original game."

Well there you have it. Whether you enjoy Origins or Dragon Age II more, it seems as if elements of both will make their way into Inquisition. From what I've played that's a very good t??hing, but time will tell if it all pays off when the actual game launches on November 18.

The post BioWare is working to specifically differentiate D??ragon Ag??e: Inquisition from Dragon Age II appeared first on Destructoid.

Free DLC and microtransactions are a part of that

During my time with Dragon Age: Inquisition's multiplayer, I had a chance to chat with the team who was responsible, specifically regarding their plans for the future. A BioWare representative confirmed that they would "support [Dragon Age: Inquisition's] multiplayer far beyond Mass Effect 3," adding that "they have a lot of content planned for Dragon Age for months on end."

Right off the bat, the game will have a "chest" system that's very similar to Mass Effect 3's currency based loot. It's possible to earn more through normal play (and microtransactions), which will unlock new characters and items, but that's not the only focus. BioWare intends on ad?ding more levels ?and updates by way of free DLC, which could also include more character classes.

As I stated in my preview I actually enjoyed the multiplayer aspect of the game a lot more than I initially thought I would, and I'd love to see more classes with unique dialog and traits make their way into the game -- an aspect that I think highly differentiates Inquisition from its competition.

The post BioWare: ‘We will support Dragon Age: Inquisition’s multiplayer far beyond Mass Effect 3’ appeared first on Destructoid.

A welcome return for the essential feature

I had a lot of problems with Dragon Age II, but one of my chief complaints was the lack of a tactical camera, which really took a lot of strategy out of major encounters. So when I sat down with the team from Dragon Age: Inquisition this week for a hands-on, I had plenty of time to test out its glorious return, and thankfully it's even better than it was in Origins.

For starters, more info is given outright in tactical view, including full hit-point counts, who is targeting it, what the current armor value of the target is,? and the status of the target (frozen, for instance). The camera itself is a lot smoother, allowing you to easily zoom in and out without it feeling cumbersome -- plus, you can hold down a button to "play" the action bit by bit, and release to stop gameplay again instantly. From what I've played, I can confirm that it's possible to almost play the entire game in tactical view.

The best news of all is that BioWare ?promises full tactical camera parity with all versions of the game -- including previous-gen consoles, which will ??mark the first time the feature has appeared on those platforms.

Stay tuned for my full-hands on with Dragon Age: Inquisition next week, as well as an interview with the team regarding a glorious return to Origins while they move away from many concepts from Dragon Age II.

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The longer I stare at this guy's flesh, the grosser it looks

Battlefield Hardline, and now Dragon Age: Inquisition -- it's delay day at Electronic Arts.

BioWare has moved Inquisition from October 7 to November 18 (Nov. 21 in Europe). Considering how stupidly packed with high-profile releases the month of October is, that's one less game to?? think about -- and it'll be better off for it, according to executive producer Mark?? Darrah:

"This last bit of time is about polishing the experience we want you to see. Ensuring that our open spaces are as engaging as possible. Strengthening the emotion??al impact of the Hero's choices. And ensuring the experience you get is the best it can be in the platform you choose to play on."

I would've been just fine with "polish."

Dragon Age: Inquisition Update [Dragon Age]

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Snap some necks with thighs of steel

The first part of this walkthrough with creative director Mike Laidlaw managed to get me excited for Inquisition despite not touching previous Dragon Age ??;games. This one, too, looks pretty darn cool, even without bears to freeze.

Plus, Dorian's sweet mustache. 

The post Dragon Age: Inquisition is just as pret?ty indoors?? as out appeared first on Destructoid.

Lemme ride them big lizards

I've liked just about everything I've seen from Dragon Age: Inquisition, which is weird, because historically I've basically avoided the series. Here is literally everything I knew about the previous Dragon Age games going into my Inquisition hands-on:

• They are fantasy RPGs developed by BioWare
• The first game was called "Origins," which is so redundant it's actually confusing. I spent a year or two thinking it was a prequel to another game.
• The second game reused a bunch of dungeons.
• You can do totally horny sex stuff. Er, I mean, there are "romance scenes."
• An early episode of The Destructoid Show with "Dragon Age Blowjobs" in the video title is the single highest viewed video on our channel.
• There's a character named Morrigan, who seems a lot less fun than the other Morrigan.

The post Here are five reasons I’m curious about Dragon Age: Inquisition appeared first on Destructoid.

What part is unknown

According to Bioware's official Dragon Age site, Leliana will be returning for Inqusition. Not a whole lot is known in terms of whether or not she will be playab??le, or just influencing the story, but they are building her up ?as a formidable force within the confines of the game.

I never really got what the big deal was with Leliana. She was a good enough party member in Origins, but Bioware has been building her up to b??e this big puzzle piece and it never really panned out for me.

Leliana [Dragon Age] 

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That mustache

Dorian, the next character BioWare has revealed for Dragon Age: Inquisition, sounds like a welcome addition to the cast. First off, he's not Cole, which is a huge plus. Secondly, this p??arty member, a mage from the Tevinter Imperium, happens to be gay -- a first for the studio.

Writer David Gaider says Dorian is "the first fully gay character I've had the opportun??ity to write. It added an interesting dimension to his back story, considering he comes from a place where 'perfection' is the face that every mage puts on and anything that smacks of deviancy is shameful and meant to be hidden. Dorian's refusal to play along with that façade is seen as stubborn and pointless by his family, which has contributed to his status as a pariah."

Gaider went on to say that writing Dorian was "a very personal experience for me, and I'm hopeful that will make him seem like a fully realized character to fans in the end." And really, that's what we want: well-written, inte??resting, believable characters.

Character Profile: Dorian [Dragon Age via Eurogamer]

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Dumb hair? Dumb hair

I've never actually listened to CKY. However, I knew two angsty teens that did. Both were white and had dirty blonde hair over their eyes just like Dragon Age: Inquisition's Cole.

"All Cole knows for certain is that the world is full of pain and he must find his place within it." He also knows that mom is on her sixth glass of wine, waiting patiently for dad to show some sign of life from the couch where he? sits stone faced watching golf. Just a stir. A cough. Her dinner sits coldly near, plate ready to be shattered at the wall. 

No, you're not a "ghost in the shadows, walking unnoticed through crowds," Cole. Your parents just don't give a hoot about? you. 

Get a haircut, you hippie. 

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The rest of the game looked damn fine, too

Fantasy games have some of my favorite settings in all of videogames. Forests, mountains, chasms, rivers -- they all have a serenity and majesty about them that wonderfully adds to the sense of scale. It shouldn't surprise me that Dragon Age: Inquisition is poised to be incredibly huge and make nice use of the locations. At the beginning of a 30-minute presentation, I couldn't help but be amazed any??way.

The first thing I noticed in the hands-off demo was simply how big everything was. The open area that we started in seemed to stretch on forever -- mountains book-ending the sides, with a ton of detail in between, thanks to the use of the Frostbite 3 engine. Inquisition's executive producer made sure to make ??a point that everything we could see could be traveled to.

I wasn't out of my mind for thinking that it looked big. That area alone was larger than the entire play space of Dragon Age: Origins. Inquisition will be the biggest Dragon Age game to date. But, all that area isn't going to waste. Every location in Inquisition is part of a larger story.

Dragon Age: Inquisition centers around the on-going war between the mages and templars. The presenter emphatically stated several times throughout the demo that this was our goal. That might be what's on BioWare's mind, but honestly, it seems like the more important objective in Inquisition is simply k??eeping the world from tearing itself ap??art.

All across the land are breaches that need to be repaired, which is the protagonist's duty as the Inquisitor leading the Inquisition. There's plenty of room for customization here as four races and nine specializations (as well as choice of gender) are offered. If Inquisition's going to ask the player to make decisions to affect the outcome of the ga??me, it's a good thing that the option to play several different?? ways is represented.

Not that the Inquisitor would attempt this on his/her own, however. Inquisition has many playable characters that are leaders in their own right, effectively making the player a leader of leaders. These characters react based on choices made throughout the game. For instance, in the demo, we?? sent one to Redcliffe Castle wher?e she was captured and tortured. We eventually freed her, but the presenter remarked that it'll have a long-term effect on our relationship moving forward.

It's probably for the best that relationships be tended to as carefully as possible, because you'll anyone and everyone on your side in the thick of battle. The combat system has been sort of reworked for Inquisition to compromise between Origins' and Dragon Age 2's. Now, the player is able to pause time entirely to take an o??verhe??ad tactical approach, or get into the fray themselves while switching characters on-the-fly.

This was displayed flawlessly in a battle against a ferocious Fereldan Frostback dragon. With different reticules aiming for specific parts of the dragon, the team chipped away. This is where Focus was shown off -- a shared resource that slows down time for everyone but our party. After inflicting some major damage, the dragon was wounded enough that we could move in and deliver the coup de grâce.

By the time the 30-minute presentation was up, I realized that we had barely even scratched the surface of what Dragon Age: Inquisition will have to offer. With a massive play space that changes based on in-game decisions and actions, dynamic RPG offerings, and an entire story to tell, Inquisition needs several hours to expr??ess what it's all about -- not just a thirty minutes. That being said, a half hour was sufficient time to ??impress; I can't imagine more time wouldn't just build on that.

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Get up, stand up

Honestly, I'm a little lukewarm on Dragon Age: Inquisition. The footage out of E3 2014 failed to impress, and I find myself joining The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt's camp instead. But this trailer piqued my interest in a strange way. I was one of the few people who actually enjoyed Dragon Age II, where I wasn't as heavily invested in the original game. ?B?ut this one makes me yearn to jump back into the universe. I just can't quite pin it down. 

Are you looking forward to Dragon Age: Inquisition, or are you firmly team Witcher? In all honesty, I'll end up grabbing bot??h to pad my ever-growing, hundred-game strong backlog and sate my hunger for all things Western fantasy. Oh, videogames. I love thee. 

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