AnarchistReview: Dishonored

About
Name: Dishonored
Developer(s): Arkane Studios
Publisher: Bethesda
Genre: First person stealth action/adventure
Players: 1
Online?: No
Platforms: PC, Playstation 3, Xbox 360
Platform used: Playstation 3

Review

I will be honest I have been cautiously optimistic about Dishonored, the lack of hype until fairly close to release which is more than I can say for some games that get presented as the second coming months if not years before it hits the shelves.

With a playing style style that puts me in mind of the Thief and Hitman series (it is hard to see the parallels throughout the game but that is no shame) you control a mystically powered bodyguard turned assassin bent on revenge against his murdered empress and to rescue her adorable daughter and to bring her to power.  At the beginning of each level you are presented with a target, often some sub missions and multiple paths to achieve your aims. Do you run in all swords and guns slaughtering anyone who gets in your way? Summon swarms of flesh eating rats to devour your enemies as you stride through like a dark vengeful God? Use your powers to hijack body after body as you possess yourself to your goal? Simply sneak from cover to cover or any combination of the above. All the permutations are pointless to go into but I'm sure you get the idea.

Don't be fooled by this into thinking this is a Bethesda free roaming open world do what you like affair, that really isn't the aim with this game, you aren't getting a sandbox game. You are placed into fixed levels with a clear "kill your target or do something to remove them non-fatally from the political game." This does give some nice variation but ultimately you are restricted to one of two options, killing is bad, stealth and dishonouring of your targets is good. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing, you are presented with multiple paths through the levels and ways of dispatching your targets depending on your preferred style of gameplay. However there is a certain pull towards the "right way" or doing this. As with most games with a moral component going by the more fun dark path is ultimately less rewarding than the painstaking light one, much like life. There are plenty of books, audio logs and upgrades peppered around the level to keep you interested too.

The design of the game feels unique yet strangely familiar, this might be due to my years of playing Thief (for those who don't know a first person steam punk series where you could approach your target openly except your protagonist Garret couldn't defend himself if a haemophiliac toddler tried to  take him down) my recent play through of The Darkness 2 (where the character and art design feels very similar) and the fact that steam punk is so ubiquitous as the clever and unique setting it's long past being old hat.

The controls are mostly very responsive, the lack of zoom aim is refreshing as is the bobbing  crosshair that doesn't make you feel queasy. My only gripe with those is the holding down the peek from cover button feels too much like left is separate from right, the transition between the two being slightly awkward. The menus respond nice and quickly as does the quick select wheel, even if a few times I found the wrong item selected and instead of possessing I fired a sleeping dart. The AI is pretty good, the NPCs interact well, often sharing a handy tip or complaining about their day, however I couldn't quite understand how they don't spot half your torso poking out being a pillar, especially given the terrifying skull mask you have on.

The autosave feature kicks in at the completion of quest markers or passing into a new area so if you are anal about achieving a high score it may be worth saving and reloading often.

Ultimately this game grabbed me and I loved it, accepting it's minor faults I got fully lost in the experience. This is a truly last gen game in the best possible term, what you buy is what there is, a complete game, it relies on a strong single player experience of compelling story and solid mechanics. As much as I enjoyed it and will play it through again I hope there is no sequel, or if there is one it follow in the footsteps of Fable and makes a sequel which takes the key mechanics and world but creates a new story. Hopefully unlike Fable, if it does go this route, it won't ruin the entire premise of the game in the process.

Summary

• Engaging storyline
• Solid single player experience
• Creative and distinct universe (hardly unique but enough varied sources for inspiration create a unique amalgam)
• Lots of gameplay choice to match your style even if it is largely tailored to a binary ending
• Distinctly not an FPS (if you want a steam punk COD the shooting mechanics will leave you cold)
• A must for any fans of Hitman, Thief, Deus Ex et al
• No multiplayer (if you need deathmatches, co-op or leader boards for your experience look elsewhere)
• Solid comic style graphics (really brings shades of The Darkness 2 to mind)
• Any AI flaws or minor control clunkiness is easily forgiven
• Good enough not to drive me mad at the non-British spelling of dishonoured