Video Game Review #9

Dishonored

A game set in a steampunk 1800s city with magic... alright!

Are you getting sick of playing games that don’t actually let you play? You know the ones I mean: they funnel you down a narrow path, don’t give you much freedom in what you can do, and rely on cinematic set pieces to drive the spectacle. I am, and that’s why Dishonored is such a refreshing experience. It picks up where games like Deus Ex and BioShock left off, and puts choice back in the hands of the player.

So you take control of the royal protector - Corvo Attano - the body guard to the Empress; all taking place in Dunwall - a grimy port city whose population is being decimated by a rat-born plague. It’s an industrial setting; a fishing town grown rich off the back of the whale oil that powers the city’s circuits. It’s also a hive of corruption, political machinations and power grabbing, and this all comes to the fore when the Empress is assassinated, and Corvo sets out to avenge her death.

The entire point of vengeance can take a form to your liking. So you're not a mass murderer, killing everything that moves from the beginning. You can actually beat the game without killing a single person, but to do so requires stealth and patience. Of course, you can make a bloody path, murdering all your targets with any weapons you have, but if you're like me, you'll take your time. Exploring different paths, alternate roots, secrets and treasures, and plenty more. The game isn't so much about the destination, but the journey. Yes! The game is split into 9 different levels, each offering a variety of different choices on how you approach it. Most of the time at least. Dunwall is huge, so there's different rooms to explore, multiple choices to make and how you'll end it all. You always have a target, and they can either be killed or taken down non-lethally. That's what adds excitement to Dishonored. There are so many ways to approach the game, you'll probably play over it a few times.

You also have a sweet stash of powers, and are obtained by a mysterious figure known as the Outsider. With these powers, you can stop time, possess people and animals, blast wind, summon rats, see through walls and teleport. You also have passive powers such as less fall damage or a longer health bar. With the awesome powers you possess and the different gadgets and weapons, there are tons of ways to kill people. There's even side quests to do which change the story, the world and the dialogue. The point is: Dishonored's gameplay is near flawless, and it even beats Bioshock in creativity.

Sadly, that's the best part about Dishonored. While gameplay is a huge chunk of how good a game actually is, every other element like: graphics, story, sound, replay value, are all decent or mediocre, and it doesn't live up to what Dishonored could have been.

This game doesn't look great at all. Sure, the design is amazing. I loved the different workings of Dunwall and how the place looked - but everything else was bad. The lighting of the sun was the only good lighting, with everything else coming out flat; there were frequent pop-ins and muddy textures. The character animations were also of an early 2007 game. The point is, the game doesn't give your eye balls a nice view, and even while the art direction is great, the visuals just sink with today's standards.

The story was meh at the most. No real characters were memorable; they all sounded like robots with no emotion in their voice. And while the concept about taking revenge on everyone is cool, what the game gives you is boring. The plot is stale and never makes you care. Corvo could have been a great character, but his lack of talk really hurts any emotion this game had. Instead of caring what's going on, you're more interested in the gameplay and what to do next.

The lasting-appeal wasn't that great. I beat this game in 8 hours, and played a few more times - trying different approaches - and while it all was fun, Dishonored lasted me at the most a week. The world is dense, but too small to be a 100 hour RPG; so it's sad to see Dunwall be so limited. There's so many things that can happen in the game, but you never care about the characters, with only Emily and the Empress having cool characters. But everything else is stale and flat.

The game does have a perk and upgrading system, but it's terrible. You can never really fully upgrade Corvo, or buy all the powers and weapons. Bone-Charms are quite useless, and never provide a different way to play. I beat the game with barely upgrading anything - on hard mode - and it all felt too easy. While Dishonored has great gameplay and amazing potential at story and characters, it sadly misses that mark.

I payed $60 plus tax for this game, and I honestly regret it. This is a game you should rent for a few days and nothing more. Buying it will just be burning cash. Overall, Dishonored is fun with an awesome world, but bad story, graphics, characters and lasting-appeal.

Pros
-Incredibly imaginative gameplay
-Dense world
-Different ways to play
-Awesome stealth
-Sweet powers
Cons
-Mediocre graphics
-Boring characters
-Uninteresting plot
-Game pay-off

7/10

Comments

[CanterlotGuardian]

No real characters were memorable; they all sounded like robots with no emotion in their voice.

So basically the voice acting in every single Elder Scrolls game ever.

[Psitally]

Haha I looked into this game after reading your cross-fic about this game. Looks awesome!