Dishonored Hot

I'll not beat about the bush: Dishonored is hands-down the most important game released this year, and you should go and buy it. If by some chance you're still reading, then I'll assume it's because you need further convincing. So allow me to explain why. Dishonored is proof of what can be accomplished when you give a relatively unproven studio the chance to really prove what they can do. It's a risk; a big-budget title from the developers of the underrated Dark Messiah of Might & Magic, a brand new IP, and a complex, multi-layered sandbox stealth / action game that's quite prepared to try something new. More importantly, it succeeds in doing so. You're cast as Corvo, former bodyguard of the Empress, who's been framed for her murder then hunted down by the conspirators that take control of the city-state of Dunwall. Naturally, Corvo signs up with a ragtag resistance, and sets about avenging the Empress' murder and his own loss of, well, honour. Corvo himself is pretty much a blank state, but he's joined by a band of characterful companions; there's the dry, reliable boatman Samuel who ferries Corvo around the city, dissenting aristocrat Lord Pendleton, wacky inventor Pierro, and strategist Admiral Havelock. They're a likable bunch, and the down-time between adventures can be spent conversing with them in the boarded-up tavern they use as a base, but the strongest character in the game is by far the city itself. Dunwall was crafted by Viktor Antonov, best known amongst gamers for his work on Half Half 2's City 17. His influence is readily apparent; Dunwall is a medley of Victorian London and Edinburgh, spliced with rusting steel and steampunk elements. It's a city where Whale Oil powers impressive technology, but afflicted by a plague that has decimated the population, particularly in the poorer districts. Sign's of the city's decay are everywhere; districts and buildings whose inhabitants are even suspected of being infected are blocked off, left to die, whilst the wealthy enjoy lavish parties in sumptuous manors. Havelock and co have picked out a number of key targets who, if eliminated, would destabilise the rule of the self-appointed Lord Regent behind the Empress' assassination. The game is separated into a series of sandbox missions, spread out across the city, where Corvo has a simple objective: Eliminate the target, in any way possible. Corvo has a number of tricks up his sleeve in order to help him do this. As a former bodyguard, he's a skilled swordsman, but he's far better served by stealth in his new life; he moves quickly whilst sneaking, and effective use of cover and lighting are naturally the best ways to avoid the guards that patrol the city. He also has some supernatural abilitiers to help him out, bestowed by a mysterious entity called the Outsider and unlockable through the use of Runes hidden about the levels. The most basic ability - Blink - gives Corvo the power to teleport short distances; handy for quickly scaling the myriad buildings that make up Dunwall's skyline, certainly, but equally handy for teleporting behind guards and objects, allowing Corvo to pass unseen to to take out a guard with ease. Other powers include infrared vision that lets Corvo spy enemies- and the direction's they are looking in - through walls, the ability to possess animals and, eventually, people, a power that hurls a gust of wind forwards, blasting enemies and objects out of the way, a power that can slow or even freeze time, and a somewhat disturbing ability that lets him summon a horde of ravenous rats to devour enemies. He also has some technology at his disposal; a basic crossbow can fire normal, incendiary or sleeping bolts, and Corvo can throw grenades, set spike traps, and even shoot his enemies with a pistol. What makers Dishonored so enjoyable to play is that you're free to use as many - or as few- of these abilities and items as you like. You can rampage through the levels, slaying everything that gets in your way with all manner of  powers; freezing time to set a spike trap in the midst of a group of enemies or perhaps relying on ranged attacks, using Blink for fast repositioning to confuse foes. Alternatively, you might chose to ghost your way through the levels, never allowing yourself to be seen and using only nonlethal methods to disable your foes, meticulously avoiding patrols and hiding the unconscious bodies of those you can't avoid. You don't even have to kill the target's you're supposed to be taking out - for each target, there is at least one nonlethal means of incapacitating them. Both methods are enjoyable, and you'll most likely find yourself using a mixture of both styles - stealth while you can, then fighting when things inevitably go wrong. In all honesty, the game does feel more at home when you're being stealthy. That's not to say that the action isn't fun - far from it, in fact - but the game is far more rewarding when played slyly, and it's feasible that action fatigue could set in if you were to play the game through with chaos in mind. Your actions are tracked by the game as well, and elements like the number of people killed, the amount of times you're spotted, and the means in which you take out your targets (as well as any additional activities you get up to in the levels - and there are many of them) all affect your 'chaos' rating. High Chaos results in more plague victims in later levels, as well as guards with better armour and equipment, so the game adapts to suit your play style fairly well, and there are two endings, with multiple variations depending on your lesser actions determining which characters live or die in the end. Either way, though, the ending provides a solid conclusion to Corvo's story, though leaves enough unanswered questions about the world for a potential sequel - albeit one probably featuring a different character, or set in one of the other cities that make up the setting. There's actually very little to criticise Dishonored for, though the game is occasionally let down by somewhat flaky AI, and the lack of a New Game + might disappoint some players - whilst you can replay individual missions in the game, you do so only with the powers you had unlocked at the time, and if you want to see the other ending(s) you'll need to pretty much replay the game from the beginning. At around 12 hours, it's not overly long, but there's enough inherent replayability in the levels - thanks to dozens of available paths and optional elements - to make replaying the game a joy, rather than a chore. Strong artistic direction gives the game a very distinctive look, with what appear to be hand-painted textures giving the game the feeling of some kind of interactive oil painting. The console versions do suffer from some poor textures - a problem partially alleviated by the well-implemented PC version - and the PC version of the game also benefits from a considerably better framerate, even when played on a moderate system. A minimalist but evocative soundtrack compliments the striking visual design, and Dishonored is further bolstered by an excellent voice cast which includes the talents of John Slattery, Brad Douriff and Lena Heady amongst others. There are many elements that combine to make Dishonored so special. Part of it is the fact that you actually care about Dunwall and it's inhabitants; your allies and your enemies are personable and believable  and Arkane deserves special recognition for making the Empress' daughter, young Emily, such an innately likeable character. It's special because it's so open, allowing the player to tackle it's well-designed levels in whatever manner they see fit, in making every action you can think of not only possible, but intuitive, and because it rewards the player for whatever course they take. It's special because it's something a little different, something new, and it embraces it's ideas fully. But most of all, Dishonored is special because it's proof that some risks are definitely worth taking.