| Platform: X360/PS3/PC | Publisher: Bethesda Softworks | Developer: Arkane Studios |
| Reviewer: JayWood2010 | Genre: Action/Adventure/Stealth | Rating: Mature |
When you talk about some of the more supreme developers and publishers it seems that Bethesda makes the list almost every time and because of this Bethesda’s new game Dishonored from 2012 immediately hit many gamers radar. But does it hit that prestigious mark that we have seen from Bethesda this generation like Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Skyrim?
Dishonored is about a man name Corvo Attono who has been framed of an assassination of the empress. After the assassination of Empress Jessamine Kaldwin Corvo is sentenced to death to finding himself escape prison with a little help by The Outsider who is a supernatural being. The outsider gives Corvo supernatural powers to help him assassinate many leaders who has tried to overturn the kingdom. The game is set in a futuristic world of what “The Plague” in London would be like. And to jouney through different mansions and buildings to assassinate each and every character was an absolute thrill. However the story it’s self was very lacking. The story never really got me interested in any of the characters. At one point in the game there was a bit of a twist which at least made the story somewhat interesting but in the end I could really care less about the characters or the story. The story is interesting as we can take this alternate setting of “The Plague” and while the intro set the game up very nicely, after that the story was almost absent. Now while the story was not necessarily superb it is far from the reason on why this game is good.
The gameplay is where this game truly shines. The freedom you have in this FPS stealth espionage is truly remarkable. There is many ways you can decide to kill or spare a humans life. That is right, you can go through the entire game without killing people. You also don’t even have to assassinate your targets but find another way to neutralize the problem. I found myself poisoning some victims with drinks, luring a woman to a cellar so I could kill her in cold blood, and completely sabotaging another by stealing an audio tape from his safe. And the supernatural powers only pushes this even further. You can slow time down, instantly transmit to one location to the next, possess rats and fish, or even shoot wind out of your hand. Using these powers is beyond rewarding as there is no one way to do a mission. There is countless ways. If you want to go in guns blazing then you can. If you want to be completely silent, maybe instant transmit to high locations. What if guards are in the way? Well posess a fish and swim through the drains to enter the mansion. There is so many ways of killing or fleeing your enemies. There is also numerous different enemies including guards, dogs, people with the plague, rats, and walking mech like soldiers. This will add many elements to the enemy sides and allows your cunning self to feel even more rewarded as you outsmart them. With all that said I did find myself getting annoyed at times with the instant transmission (Blink) power. It was a little annoying that sometimes you would not end up where you wanted to be and it would cause you an unnecessary death. This game fun, refreshing, and rewarding.
The graphics to Dishonored is a steampunk world that is unique but not necessarily satisfying to everybody who looks at it. I know some people really like these stylized games but in the end I found it to be rather ugly. I think the art style is good but at the same time kind of ugly. This is also not mentioning the bad shading effects and low resolution textures in some places. This does not mean that is is a bad game with art style or graphics though. It just means that I don’t believe everybody will be drawn to this art style
Overall the game has it’s ups and downs. While the story is rather mediocre at best with no real main draw the gameplay saves it in every aspect. The artstyle is nothing that I would brag about but in the end it is also something that is unique and sets it apart from the rest just like the gameplay. If you are into Stealth Espionage games I would highly recommend this game from the phenominal Bethesda Softworks.
| Story | 7 |
| Gameplay | 9 |
| Artstyle | 8 |
| Action/Adventure/Stealth | 9 |
| Overall | 8.3 |
