Tag Archives: Dragon Age

Dashboard and Apps, News, Xbox One

Dragon Age: Inquisition In the EA Access Vault now

EA promised it and sure enough it has arrived, Dragon Age: Inquisition is in the EA Access Vault right now for you to download.

The third outing for the Bioware RPG was widely praised for its visuals, combat and story, and whilst The Witcher 3 might be top dog at the moment, Dragon Age fans are in for a treat if they haven’t already dived on in. In fact our very own Kris Winfield-Bennett said the following about the title in his review:

“Dragon Age: Inquisition may have had a lot to put right for Bioware fans, but Bioware didn’t shy away from the challenge. The final result is a fantastic title.”

So what are you waiting for? EA Access members, get downloading!

News

Dragon Age: Inquisition tavern songs available for free until 9th Feb, get ’em quick!

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Dragon age Inqisition

If you’re a fan of the lovely songs that are played whenever you visit a tavern in Dragon Age: Inquisition, you’ll be glad to hear that you can now grab all ten of them for free right now, legally.

The official Dragon Age blog has them available for download now however you only have until 9th February 2015 to grab them, as after that they’re heading to a variety of different digital distribution platforms and you’ll need to pay to get them.

You can grab them right here in a handy 27.4MB zip folder.

And if you’re one of the lucky talented folk who can play an instrument, they even have the sheet music available for download too!

 

Xbox One

Everstar in development by Ex BioWare Team

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What happens when you combine developers with resumes which include Command and Conquer, Dragon Age, Elder Scrolls, World of Warcraft, Mass Effect, Star Wars, EA Sports, and the Sims, a fully 3D, party-based action-RPG featuring a fully co-op campaign and an $850,000 KickStarter campaign? The answer is Everstar.

MorningstarAcademus

Unlike many Kickstarter projects, Everstar has fully developed gameplay to show to inspire confidence in the final product.

Everstar is a game about a class of teenage gladiators who will charm and surprise you, follow you into danger, face their worst nightmares, and eventually tear down the world and stand atop the rubble in victory.

  • Everstar is a cutting edge realtime 3D RPG for Xbox One &  other Next-Gen machines.
  • You control a party of up to 6 characters at once
  • Each character’s gameplay is deeply customizable with job and kit swap systems
  • The full campaign can be played with online co-op – invite up to 5 friends or go it alone – your choice
  • Be a battlefield general in Tactics mode, or get your hands dirty on the front lines in Action mode. Both styles of play support either a keyboard/mouse (PC only) or gamepad (all platforms)
  • Everstar will support (at least) the Spanish, French, German, Polish, and Portuguese languages

You can think of Everstar as: Harry Potter with teenage gladiators or Dragon Age with improved gameplay and the deep NPC relationships from Persona 4.

The team includes  Jeremy Townsend (Director), Anwar Bey-Taylor (Lead Character Artist), Jeremy Hentschel (Writer), Eric Marks (Audio Director), Anthony Maurice (Engineer) and Alan Stone (Engineer).

For more information on both Everstar and how you can get involved in supporting the project, head on over to their KickStarter page.

Media

Casey Hudson’s Departure from BioWare/EA

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With the build up to GamesCom, it could have been easy to miss this massive announcement. What follows is the post from blog.bioware.com

 

After nearly 16 years of game development at BioWare, Executive Producer Casey Hudson has made the decision to move on from BioWare and enter a new stage of his career. We thank Casey for his hard work and dedication as we look back on his time with BioWare.

Starting as a Technical Artist on Neverwinter Nights and MDK2, Casey moved into the Project Director role with 2003’s Game of the Year Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. He then led the team in the development of the Mass Effect trilogy, an award-winning series that I and many others consider to be one of the most important science-fiction universes of our generation. Casey’s focus on production quality, digital acting technology, and emotionally engaging narrative has made a substantial impact on BioWare and the video game industry as a whole.

Casey shared his thoughts with his colleagues in a letter earlier today:

“After what already feels like a lifetime of extraordinary experiences, I have decided to hit the reset button and move on from BioWare. I’ll take a much needed break, get perspective on what I really want to do with the next phase of my life, and eventually, take on a new set of challenges.

Though there’s never an easy time to make a change like this, I believe this is the best time for it. The foundation of our new IP in Edmonton is complete, and the team is ready to move forward into pre-production on a title that I think will redefine interactive entertainment. Development for the next Mass Effect game is well underway, with stunning assets and playable builds that prove the team is ready to deliver the best Mass Effect experience to date. And the Dragon Age: Inquisition team is putting the final touches on a truly ambitious title with some of the most beautiful visuals I’ve seen in a game.

But while I feel that the time has come, this is without a doubt the most difficult decision of my career. BioWare is as magical a place today as it was when I started. The projects we are working on are some of the most exciting and prestigious in the world. The talent in our teams is second to none. And the people here are some of my closest friends. I’ve spent more time with many of you than my own family, and I have enjoyed every day of it.”

Casey also had a message of appreciation for BioWare fans:

“Long before I worked in games, I was fascinated by their ability to transport me to places where amazing and memorable experiences awaited. When I made my very first asset that I knew would actually make it into a game (the laser bolt in MDK2!) I couldn’t believe how fortunate I was to contribute in some small way to the process of creating interactive entertainment.

Now, having led the development of four major titles, I’m profoundly appreciative of the role I’ve been able to play in creating these games. The very idea that so many of you have enjoyed spending time in the worlds we’ve created is the defining achievement of my career, and it’s your support over the years that made it all possible.

Thank you.

I know that I leave our projects in great hands, and I join you in looking forward to playing them.”

As we say a fond farewell, I know I speak on behalf of the entire studio when I say that we will be forever grateful for Casey’s hard work, passion, and everything he has taught us over the years – a methodical dedication to quality, a spirit of teamwork and camaraderie, and putting fans above everything else. But most of all, Casey has challenged every one of us in the studio to be better tomorrow than we were today. It is in that spirit that as we finish Dragon Age: Inquisition, we will continue working on the next Mass Effect game and our new IP project, confident in our goals and progress.

Thank you Casey. This is not an ending, but a new beginning.

Trailers, Xbox One

Dragon Age: Inquisition – Leaked Gameplay

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Leaked gameplay footage has emerged from a “behind closed doors” session of EA’s upcoming RPG Dragon Age: Inquisition. The newest title in the franchise is already looking a highly polished next-gen masterpiece and will be released on Xbox One and Xbox 360 this October.

The video above shows the game still in alpha form, so you can only imagine the finesse on the Xbox One and PC versions at launch. The game has been in development since 2010 and was first shown at E3 in 2012 with an anticipated release for 2013 (initially) on last-gen platforms.

The Dragon Age franchise over the years since it was first released in 2009 has received over 80 awards from critics around the world, and has sold in excess of over 8 million copies to date. Created by BioWare, the property has spawned many novels, an animated film, comic books, collectibles and more.

Media, Xbox 360, Xbox One

Win “Dragon Age: The Masked Empire” – UK Competition [CLOSED]

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THIS COMPETITION HAS ENDED AND THE WINNERS WHO WILL RECEIVE THEIR BOOK VIA POST ARE: JADE, JOHN & TRACEY. EMAILS HAVE BEEN SENT OUT REQUESTING AN ADDRESS FOR POSTAGE.

Dragon Age: The Masked Empire, is the latest novel from Patrick Weekes published by TitanBooks. Released on April 8th 2014 and available to buy online. ThisisXbox have very kindly been given three copies of the novel to give out to BioWare fans in the UK (this is for speedy postage reasons) – all you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this page stating why you are a Bioware fan and why you’d like to win!

Three winners will be picked at random and must be UK based, and be willing to provide an email with a postage address only after the selection process. Winners will be announced on this page Wednesday 30th April 2014 before 6pm. The novels will be posted out on Thursday if you reply promptly.

A synopsis of the novel is given below – and good luck to those entering:

Empress Celene of Orlais rose to the throne of the most powerful nation in Thedas through wisdom, wit, and ruthless manipulation. Now, the empire she has guided into an age of enlightenment is threatened from within by imminent war between the templars and the mages, even as rebellion stirs among the downtrodden elves. To save Orlais, Celene must keep her hold on the throne by any means necessary.

Fighting with the legendary skill of the Orlesian Chevaliers, Grand Duke Gaspard has won countless battles for the empire and the empress. But has he fought in vain? As the Circle fails and chaos looms, Gaspard begins to doubt that Celene’s diplomatic approach to the mage problem or the elven uprisings will keep the empire safe. Perhaps it is time for a new leader, one who lives by the tenets of the Chevalier’s Code, to make Orlais strong again.

Briala has been Celene’s handmaid since the two of them were children, subtly using her position to help improve the lives of elves across Orlais. She is Celene’s confidante, spymaster, and lover, but when politics force the empress to choose between the rights of Briala’s people and the Orlesian throne, Briala must in turn decide where her true loyalties lie.

Alliances are forged and promises broken as Celene and Gaspard battle for the throne of Orlais. But in the end, the elves who hide in the forests or starve in the alienages may decide the fate of the masked empire.

Trailers, Xbox 360

Dragon Age: Inquisition Gameplay Trailer – The Inquisitor

Dragon Age Inquisition
For those Dragon Age fans amongst you, I have some good news. Not only of course do we now know that Dragon Age: Inquisition will be available in North America on October 7th (in store and digital download) and Europe on October 10th, but also we have news on pre-order bonus content.

Head on over to http://www.dragonage.com/#!/en_GB/ preorder and you’ll see the “Digital Deluxe Edition” listed with the below list included. On the official twitter thread they have mentioned an upcoming “Collectors Edition” and today’s press release refers to an upcoming “Inquisitors Edition”. One can only assume both will be made up of some of the following as listed on dragonage.com

  • Skyhold Throne – Every ruler should sit in a place of high honor, but as the Inquisitor you will have the greatest of all, fashioned from an ancient dragon skull.
  • Red Hart Halla – Traverse the perilous, living world atop this great-horned beast.
  • Bog Unicorn – Once belonging to an evil marauder, this unique mount has returned to inspire fear into those who would oppose you.
  • Bring the world of Thedas wherever you go with the Dragon Age: Inquisition digital soundtrack
  • Bonus digital content – to be announced
  • Multi-class Weapons: Smite your enemies with the Flames of the Inquisition weapons arsenal. Whether staff or daggers, greatsword or war hammer, these weapons will make short work of your foes.
  • Inquisitor Armor: Protect yourself against the onslaught of enemy attacks by suiting up in the Flames of the Inquisition Armor.
  • Armored Mount: Flames of the Inquisition gear also includes a valiant steed, complete with its own set of Inquisition Armor forged from the flames of battle.

Our goal with Dragon Age: Inquisition is to usher in the next-generation of role playing games. Players will experience the rich storylines and characters that they’ve come to expect from BioWare, in an expansive world with large open environments just begging to be explored.

said Aaryn Flynn, General Manager of BioWare Edmonton and Montreal.

And to finally round everything off and ensure you are as hyped as us, here is a gameplay trailer; The Inquisitor. Remember to let us know your thoughts in the comments box below.