Dishonored Review (PC)
Dishonored is the latest Bethesda Softworks game to hit shelves. Classified as a first-person stealth action-adventure videogame, Dishonored takes place in the fictional city of Dunwall, which highly resembles England during the Victorian Era, but with steam power being at the forefront of the world's technology. To those who are unfamiliar, the previous sentence almost perfectly describes the typical "Steampunk" setting (think Arcanum). We can see during the introduction sequence to the game that the developers want to emphasize the Steampunk setting to the player and get them acclimated to that type of environment and lore.
The story itself is about the legacy of a man named Corvo Attano, who is the bodyguard to the Empress of Dunwall, and it is during the aforementioned intro sequence we are informed of the PC's identity, as well as the identity of many important supporting characters such as the Empress's daughter, Emily. At the end of the intro sequence, the Empress is murdered by assassins (not really a spoiler, don't worry - it's the premise of the game), and her daughter is kidnapped. Soon after the guards arrive and they believe that you are the murderer. It is Corvo's goal throughout the game to clear his name, rescue Emily and ensure her coronation as the new Empress, and get revenge on all those who crossed him. The story, for me, is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game, as I was hooked on it as soon as I started playing.
The graphics are decent, but not the best that I've seen in a Bethesda game, especially considering Skyrim was out before that. However, the graphics are still good, and thus we have a result in which one does not need a particularly high-end computer to play it. Indeed, the graphics are good enough that all the messy execution moves and environmental effects are not only thoroughly enjoyable but somewhat realistic looking as well.
As for the gameplay, it seemed pretty fluid and incredibly user-friendly to me. The PC has an assortment of weapons and abilities to use to dispatch or bypass enemies, but are just there for ease of use and fun factor, as the run/jump/stealth controls are perfectly capable of getting you from A to B by themselves. That is, whether you want to summon rats to devour your enemies or just hug the shadows and avoid being seen at all, the game gives you the choice - either are viable options. Given the intensely broken nature of the powers (fully upgraded for the most part, but some even at stage one), one would be foolish not to take advantage of them - for example, there is a move called "blink" that allows the PC to teleport a short distance, which, when upgraded to longer distances, can essentially ensure that one can bypass a lot of enemies and even the entire map in a short period of time. Another, "stop time" is self-explanatory, and I think one can see why that has the potential to be overpowered. That is not to say there aren't areas that require great skill to pass unseen regardless of powers, or that the AI aren't inquisitive to suspicious activity (they act fairly intelligent when alerted to a noise, sighting, etc.), but being able to either skip large segments of hostile areas with little consequence or rely on the powerful weapons and abilities which essentially make the PC become an unstoppable juggernaut of death, can make people skeptical as to the overall value of the game.
However, the developers were very cunning in their creation of this product, and they have challenges/achievements for those that can play through the game without being seen, killing anyone, using any powers, etc., which is a brilliant tactic to entice completionists like me, in my opinion. Yes, if one wants to get through the game using a full arsenal at their disposal it's certainly not difficult, but if you have all that power and yet aren't allowed to use it for fear of voiding the challenges... well I for one think that's more of a resolve test than anything, but it proves that the game can be extremely challenging depending on how you play it.
Another byproduct of making challenges for stealth versus heavy combat/assassination is that not only can it make the game easier or harder, but the story changes subtly depending on how many people you kill - or don't kill - with the result of a good/evil ending (with other variations depending on who is left alive). The most interesting way to see the consequences of one's actions throughout the game is through Emily. Her drawings will be normal or become dark and violent, as she looks up to Corvo and will emulate his behavior/outlook. It is definitely nice to see a non-linear implementation in a fairly linear game.
This game seems to borrow from a variety of different games that I can think of, such as Thief, Bioshock, and Might & Magic: Dark Messiah. Now, that being said, I don't fault them too much for that as some of these games had a profound effect on the gaming community in terms of what would be the norm for game genres of a similar vein. Thief is a landmark stealth game and has seemingly paved the way for many other games since then that rely on noise, light/darkness, and disturbance to the environment as a means of stealth/detection against the enemy AI. However, Dishonored has changed it up by having the screen turn black and white whilst in stealth, instead of a crystal that lights up. Being noticed by an enemy is an improvement in Dishonored as well, with a grey ring of lightning appearing above an enemy's head if they're suspicious, and that ring turning red if spotted/engaged by an enemy. This is really a minor similarity, as this system has become mainstream, but the similarities to Bioshock are much more evident. Bioshock's graphics, gameplay, morality system, weapons system, and power/abilities system are extremely similar to Dishonored - so much in fact that I would've thought Dishonored to be a spiritual successor of sorts. I don't want to get into too much detail about the similarities, but look up Bioshock if you are unfamiliar and I'd like to hear if you get a sense of déjà vu as well. Another game with similarities to Dishonored is Might & Magic: Dark Messiah, in terms of the animations/combat system in terms of both melee weapons and spells/abilities, but the reason it stands out so much to me is the similarity of Corvo to the thief specialization in the game. Sneaking, maneuvering, and stealth kills are very similar in their animations. Now, if Dishonored had just borrowed from one game, I think it would be profoundly less successful, but because they managed to take specific things from other games and combine them to make it their own spin on the first-person stealth action genre, I think it's more of an improvement than it is being unoriginal.
The bottom line: Despite the similarity it has to some older games, Dishonored comes off as new and fresh, putting a very entertaining spin on a popular videogame genre.
Verdict: 8/10
The story itself is about the legacy of a man named Corvo Attano, who is the bodyguard to the Empress of Dunwall, and it is during the aforementioned intro sequence we are informed of the PC's identity, as well as the identity of many important supporting characters such as the Empress's daughter, Emily. At the end of the intro sequence, the Empress is murdered by assassins (not really a spoiler, don't worry - it's the premise of the game), and her daughter is kidnapped. Soon after the guards arrive and they believe that you are the murderer. It is Corvo's goal throughout the game to clear his name, rescue Emily and ensure her coronation as the new Empress, and get revenge on all those who crossed him. The story, for me, is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the game, as I was hooked on it as soon as I started playing.
The graphics are decent, but not the best that I've seen in a Bethesda game, especially considering Skyrim was out before that. However, the graphics are still good, and thus we have a result in which one does not need a particularly high-end computer to play it. Indeed, the graphics are good enough that all the messy execution moves and environmental effects are not only thoroughly enjoyable but somewhat realistic looking as well.
As for the gameplay, it seemed pretty fluid and incredibly user-friendly to me. The PC has an assortment of weapons and abilities to use to dispatch or bypass enemies, but are just there for ease of use and fun factor, as the run/jump/stealth controls are perfectly capable of getting you from A to B by themselves. That is, whether you want to summon rats to devour your enemies or just hug the shadows and avoid being seen at all, the game gives you the choice - either are viable options. Given the intensely broken nature of the powers (fully upgraded for the most part, but some even at stage one), one would be foolish not to take advantage of them - for example, there is a move called "blink" that allows the PC to teleport a short distance, which, when upgraded to longer distances, can essentially ensure that one can bypass a lot of enemies and even the entire map in a short period of time. Another, "stop time" is self-explanatory, and I think one can see why that has the potential to be overpowered. That is not to say there aren't areas that require great skill to pass unseen regardless of powers, or that the AI aren't inquisitive to suspicious activity (they act fairly intelligent when alerted to a noise, sighting, etc.), but being able to either skip large segments of hostile areas with little consequence or rely on the powerful weapons and abilities which essentially make the PC become an unstoppable juggernaut of death, can make people skeptical as to the overall value of the game.
However, the developers were very cunning in their creation of this product, and they have challenges/achievements for those that can play through the game without being seen, killing anyone, using any powers, etc., which is a brilliant tactic to entice completionists like me, in my opinion. Yes, if one wants to get through the game using a full arsenal at their disposal it's certainly not difficult, but if you have all that power and yet aren't allowed to use it for fear of voiding the challenges... well I for one think that's more of a resolve test than anything, but it proves that the game can be extremely challenging depending on how you play it.
Another byproduct of making challenges for stealth versus heavy combat/assassination is that not only can it make the game easier or harder, but the story changes subtly depending on how many people you kill - or don't kill - with the result of a good/evil ending (with other variations depending on who is left alive). The most interesting way to see the consequences of one's actions throughout the game is through Emily. Her drawings will be normal or become dark and violent, as she looks up to Corvo and will emulate his behavior/outlook. It is definitely nice to see a non-linear implementation in a fairly linear game.
This game seems to borrow from a variety of different games that I can think of, such as Thief, Bioshock, and Might & Magic: Dark Messiah. Now, that being said, I don't fault them too much for that as some of these games had a profound effect on the gaming community in terms of what would be the norm for game genres of a similar vein. Thief is a landmark stealth game and has seemingly paved the way for many other games since then that rely on noise, light/darkness, and disturbance to the environment as a means of stealth/detection against the enemy AI. However, Dishonored has changed it up by having the screen turn black and white whilst in stealth, instead of a crystal that lights up. Being noticed by an enemy is an improvement in Dishonored as well, with a grey ring of lightning appearing above an enemy's head if they're suspicious, and that ring turning red if spotted/engaged by an enemy. This is really a minor similarity, as this system has become mainstream, but the similarities to Bioshock are much more evident. Bioshock's graphics, gameplay, morality system, weapons system, and power/abilities system are extremely similar to Dishonored - so much in fact that I would've thought Dishonored to be a spiritual successor of sorts. I don't want to get into too much detail about the similarities, but look up Bioshock if you are unfamiliar and I'd like to hear if you get a sense of déjà vu as well. Another game with similarities to Dishonored is Might & Magic: Dark Messiah, in terms of the animations/combat system in terms of both melee weapons and spells/abilities, but the reason it stands out so much to me is the similarity of Corvo to the thief specialization in the game. Sneaking, maneuvering, and stealth kills are very similar in their animations. Now, if Dishonored had just borrowed from one game, I think it would be profoundly less successful, but because they managed to take specific things from other games and combine them to make it their own spin on the first-person stealth action genre, I think it's more of an improvement than it is being unoriginal.
The bottom line: Despite the similarity it has to some older games, Dishonored comes off as new and fresh, putting a very entertaining spin on a popular videogame genre.
Verdict: 8/10
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