When it comes to the final quarter of the year, we are met by a great multitude of sequels, and the likes of sequels, from the much larger franchises. This year we were met up with the much anticipated Assassins Creed III game, the highly anticipated new trilogy start with Halo 4, and the always expected return of the Call of Duty franchise in the form of Black Ops 2. But I am happy to admit that I am glad to have waited on getting those sequels for a rather new and unexpected entry amongst all those others. One that definitely proves that a new beginning can ALWAYS be welcomed into the crowd.
Story
The story of Dishonored is a simplistic one. It is also one that sadly lacks a bit of the shocking moments that games nowadays are expected to have, but perhaps that is a good thing. We will always have a need to be surprised in many games if it involves something like an unexpected character death or a major cliffhanger of the sort. But when it comes to a game like Dishonored, it is nice to bring back a game with a classic feeling of a basic story that gives you all the information you need to know or care about straight off the bat. Much like a Mario game, where you know you need to save the princess and that's that, Dishonored is somewhat behind similar lines despite being a bit more detailed.
The story revolves around the character Corvo Attano, who lives within the city of Dunwall as the legendary bodyguard of the Empress. But when the Empress is murdered, Corvo gets falsely accused for it and thrown into prison. He soon gets the help of escaping by a rag tag team called the loyalists and becomes one of their most trusted allies. Now Corvo must disguise himself behind a mask and hunt down all who were responsible for his imprisonment and assassinate them.
While the story does seem like it would be sprinkled with major shockers and revealing twists, there really isn't any. Sure there is one surprising moment and one certain twist, but it's really not enough to surprise you all too much, especially for those who have played the likes of Bioshock or Batman Arkham City. And other than what was mentioned, there is really no other thing to say that wouldn't be considered a spoiler.
Gameplay
Here is where the game DEFINITELY wins the prize! But one must also understand that this game is pretty much the first legit title to come from Arkane studios, a studio whom only made two actual other games (Arx Fatalis (2002), Dark Messiah of Might and Magic (2006), and they technically helped a bit with Bioshock 2 (2010) on the animation and art, but never really got the clear credit they deserved). I'm glad to say that Arkane can finally get well deserved credit though, well I guess Bethesda gets some credit too.
Being a newly inspired game, it still does take on ideas from a great multitude of other excellent games, but Dishonored manages to blend it all in nicely. The gameplay is visibly similar and plays similar to that of Bioshock due to double wielding capabilities ad using a variety of magic powers as well. It also has an Assassins Creed inspiration obviously due to the fact that you play as an assassin, but also because of the ability to be super stealthy which can also be reminiscent to the likes of Splinter Cell and perhaps a Hitman game for the excellent multiple possibilities for assassinating. What do I mean by that? There is an earlier moment in the game (without spoiling the reasonings behind it) where you can either a. poison the targets drink, b. poison the targets and the targets guests drink, c. don't poison the drink and attack the target when entering the room, or d. sneak behind him and silent kill when he is alone. As you can tell, the replay value to try out all the other ways of killing targets is quite impressive. The game also has loot that is very similar to the Elder Scrolls games, preferably Skyrim to be best example, and many others also relate it to Borderlands even though the loot is very limited.
The game has many ways for you to go at it, you are able to beat the game in just six hours if you are one to attack everything at will with no mercy, or you can go for a more stealthier route which introduces another aspect of the game that makes it literally feel like a fresh new game with no feeling of repetition. Going a stealthier route will also make the game 20-40 hours long (when I finished it I played for 68 hours!). You can also play throughout the entire thing without any one noticing you ever! There is even a ghost mode that requires you to not even have anyone sense your presence whatsoever, which is really cool. Attacking targets and getting bodies noticed will actually bring in more security and tougher enemies if you are not careful. Best example would be the Tall Boys, soldiers with tall mechanical legs that shoot explosive arrows and are protected by shield arms. However you go at the game, in the end, will affect which ending you get, and apparently there are at least three endings I know of and proabably more.
Graphics and Presentation
I'll admit the cinematic trailer kind of threw me off of what to expect from the actual game. It showed realistic looking characters while the game goes for a more realism-mix cartoonish look for the characters that are, again, similar to that of Bioshock but not ridiculous like that of the rocker dudes in Guitar Hero that look like primates. But after playing the game the character style really does fit.The casting is really good too, which has a many talented voice artists as well as the provided voice talents of Carrie Fisher and Gregg Berger.
The graphics and art style fits and and works for such a title. Some review sites have complained about some muddy looking graphics here and there but what do they expect? The game is suppose to look dirty and abstract. It takes place in a steam punk style universe! And it involves the Rat Plague! It's not suppose to be as shiny and detailed as Uncharted or Heavy Rain. It's also suppose to have inventions and machinery that looks like clunky prototypes because that's what they were going for. Take Corvo's mask for example, it looks like a skull while also looking like a pile of random bits and pieces put together. (p.s. the game is also surprisingly really gory and bloody with graphic results, you can decapitate people and slice them into many pieces!)
The Score
The music is important to point out, it is both beautifully presented and rather creepy. The theme for this game is a child singing Drunken Whaler with eerie background music that is as terrifying as the music for Michael Myers in Halloween, very Creepy! It also has a very cool song written and presented by Daniel Licht called Honor for All that they use for the end credits of the game. For anyone who doesn't know, Daniel Licht is the same guy who scored the seasons for the TV show Dexter and is the new composer for the upcoming releases of Silent Hill games, replacing Akira Yamaoka.
Verdict and Final Thoughts
Are you overwhelmed and sick of all the sequels from the same long running franchises, and in need of something that is new and actually a good new? Well the search is over! Dishonored is by far the most compelling and well presented title this year, especially amongst all the sequels from much bigger companies. The replay value is high and multiple options and possibilities that the game gives you is something to be desired for ages to come. While the story doesn't have those wow and holy crap moments, it is well presented and beautifully told from a studio that is finally getting the attention it deserves.
I don't really like giving scores cause sometimes I think they're dumb and pointless numbers, but if I had to I would definitely give this game a 9 out of 10! Actually perhaps even a 9.5 out of 10 cause of it's enjoyable replay value (I'm currently replaying it again as we speak!)
