Dishonored
Reviewed By Tristan Tancredi
Intrigue is what first took a hold when learning of Bethesdas latest adventure, Dishonored. A game with the challenge of completion without ever encountering an enemy face-to-face. Challenge Accepted.
Well, to assume that "creeping in the shadows" is all this title has to offer, is a ridiculous assumption and one that is way off the mark. Right from the get-go, the player has the choice: Play it smart and sneak your way around or Play the "Rambo-esque" hero and confront your enemies face-to-face. It's not classified as a First Person Stealth, Action/Adventure game for nothing!
Both aspects of game play instilled within Dishonored are well-structured and down-right fun. Yet both offer differing challenges and are terribly tricky at times. So is Dishonored the complete package or is all the hype surrounding it a little over the top?
With the recent success of another Bethesda Blockbuster, Skyrim (which we loved) it was with more than just hope of a brilliant game when we slid the disk inside the PS3. We knew that Bethesda has the capabilities to produce amazing environments and sensational game play. They did it all with Skyrim so why can't they do it all again.
Dishonored tells the story of Corvo Attano, the personal bodyguard of the Empress of Dunwall. Framed for the murder of the Empress, Corvo is sent to prison to be executed, yet as fate would have it, Corvo escapes from prison with the help of a group of Loyalists, a group fighting to reclaim the Empire for the rightful heir. The story twists and turns more then an episode of Lost, so that basic outline will have to do for now.
The town of Dunwall is an industrial hub infected with the plague and on the brink of utter ruin. Read between the lines: A S%^thole. Not somewhere you would want to raise a family, let alone have a 10 year old girl reign supreme. Yes, the rightful heir is the Empress' young daughter, who as it turns out is kidnapped by the enemy and must be rescued by none other than Corvo.
With the backbone of the story set, it's about time we get stuck into how to play the game. As mentioned before there are two ways: Stealth or Action.
Stealth is for the more careful, patient gamers out there. We attempted the feat of completing the game without once being spotted and we got about 10 minutes in before we were recognised. Patient gamers we are not. Patience isn't the only measuring stick. A whole lot of skill is required to master the shadows.
Action is for the gamers that don't give a damn about how much blood they spill or how much noise they make, so long as they reach their objective. Let me give you the hot tip: The combat in Dishonored is far from easy. When one guard spots you, another 5 or 6 will show up immediately, leaving the gamer with no choice but to sneak back into the shadows.
Most gamers, like ourselves, will find themselves alternating between Stealth and Bravado (Action) throughout missions on their first play through. Once familiar with the lie of the land, secret tunnels and rooftops and how and when to activate acquired powers, gamers can branch out into either pure Stealth or pure Action campaigns.
Special Powers or Magical Abilities are acquired from a mythical man who appears sporadically throughout the game. The man known as "The Outsider" is neither good, nor evil and we still don't know exactly who or what he was. Nonetheless, through the collection of Runes, Corvo can acquire super-cool special powers such as Rat Possession (posses rats and scamper past enemies undetected) and Devouring Swarm (Summons rats the gnaw your enemies to death).
These abilities are pretty handy yet none are as vital to Sleuthness as Blink, Dark Vision and Bend Time. Blink enables you to zoom to different locations (rooftops, etc) in a blink of an eye, Dark Vision enables you to spot enemies through walls and their line of sight and Bend Time enables you to slow down time. Extremely useful when trying to pickpocket a key. Combining these powers with a strategic path to an objective is the basic crux of Dishonored.
So, the story is rock solid and the game play stacks up as unique, interactive and tactical. Now, how does the game look?
The environments are immensely detailed and are a treat for the eyes. Whilst not as open-world as say an Assassins Creed game, there are a number of locations that have an open-world feel to them, however overall the settings are quite linear. Sure there are numerous ways one can reach an objective, but you rarely need to steer away from these paths.
Some of the locations one will traverse include a brothel called the "The Golden Cat", a pub / central hub called "The Hounds Pit Pub", the streets, rooftops and sewers of Dunwall and a great level at a Masquerade Ball (Luckily you're already wearing a mask).
If there are any negatives they don't impact the game significantly. For instance, having to frequently save the game manually can become tiresome and a bit of a nuisance. Would be beneficial if they implemented the "Mass Effect 3" system where you can save simply by pressing "Select" (or another game pad button) during game play. Another minor negative is the characters can look a little bit "rough around the edges" during cut-scenes and game play.
Regardless, the heap of praise thrown toward Dishonored is for good reason. It is a game with excellent game play mechanics, an engaging, twisting storyline, likeable characters and highly detailed surroundings. A game well-deserved of the hype surrounding it.
Game: Dishonored
System: PS3
Developer/Co-Developer: Arkane Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
