Dishonored - PlayStation 3

Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Bloody

Joe Juba — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 04:01:00 GMT

Revenge stories are an old and well-established form, but that doesn’t make them any less gratifying. From The Count of Monte Cristo to Sweeney Todd to RoboCop, the thrill of watching a wronged hero deliver justice is one of my favorite kinds of entertainment. Dishonored falls in step with those notable examples as Corvo Attano hunts those who betrayed him, and the array of choices at players’ fingertips makes it a pleasure to be the architect of his retribution.

Dishonored blends aspects of acclaimed games like Deus Ex, Thief, and BioShock to create a world where players are free to decide how to complete their objectives. Games have made this promise for years, but Dishonored comes closer to keeping it than anything else I’ve seen. You aren’t just presented with different paths geared toward specific character builds; each level is a web of connected encounters that allow you to mix your magic abilities, fighting prowess, and stealth in clever ways.

For example, getting past a security checkpoint might involve open combat, rewiring the security system, using Stop Time to sneak past, or a combination of those and other options. However, getting past the security checkpoint is just one step toward your goal, so you also need to be mindful of where your choices lead. Killing six guards might seem like you blew it at the time, but when the streets there were patrolling are empty, it doesn’t look so bad. Seeing this snowball effect as you work your way through your missions is one of Dishonored’s major payoffs.

The level design accommodates the various options well, and makes each new area feel like a puzzle that needs solving. Unfortunately, success is rarely as simple as conceiving of your solution and devising it. Enemies’ ability to detect you is wildly inconsistent, leading to fuzzy stealth mechanics that aren’t predictable enough to be reliable (even with a cool power that shows enemy vision cones and silhouettes behind walls). This presents problems in any situation, but is especially galling if you’re stealth-focused, since you’re less prepared to deal with the onslaught of guards that swarm you upon detection. As I tried to finish a level with no kills, I would often attempt a particular strategy three or four times before it worked as intended. If you want to take a pure stealth approach, you should save your progress often and expect to reload frequently.

If you don’t care about racking up a body count, mixing aggression with deadly stealth is by far the most entertaining way to play Dishonored. Corvo’s powers and equipment can be combined to great effect. Effective strategies include freezing time and placing a springrazor trap in the midst of a group of guards, rewiring an arc pylon (basically a weaponized Tesla coil) so it vaporizes nearby foes, and stabbing guards in the neck only to watch their bodies dissolve into ash before they hit the ground. If nothing else, you can just use your gun and sword to mow through foes in cool straight-up fights. Experimenting with your arsenal isn’t always about finding your way around a problem; sometimes it’s just pure fun to mess with bad guys and see what happens.

Murdering guards and assassinating targets raises the level of chaos in the plague-stricken city of Dunwall, while finding nonlethal solutions decreases chaos. Chaos only has two values – low and high – but managing it is never adequately explained. How many people can you kill before chaos rises? If you stab a wolfhound, does that count as a kill? What about deaths resulting from rewired traps? You have to wait until the post-mission stats to find out what effect your actions had, which makes it difficult to extract answers.

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This mechanic is problematic because your cumulative chaos value determines which of the two endings you receive. For all of Dishonored’s attempts to avoid the traditional morality found in choice-driven gameplay, you’re still making a binary choice: Will you kill people, or not kill people? The latter option leads to the satisfying ending, while the former results in a punitive conclusion. This divide establishes a right and wrong way to play; high chaos makes the game harder, adding more plague rats, infected citizens, patrols, and even a more difficult alternate version of the final level. However, playing this “wrong way” is the mix of sneaking and assassination that makes Dishonored shine. If you want to see the good ending (and avoid being punished for playing the game at its best), you must forsake the multitude of cool death-dealing contraptions and upgrades in favor of the comparatively sparse offering of nonlethal alternatives – which doesn't help endorse low-chaos stealth as a valid style of play.

Maybe I wouldn’t care so much about getting the bad ending if I didn’t love Dunwall so much. Corvo may be the protagonist, but the city steals the show as a grimy, industrial backdrop for the action – and I didn’t want to see it devastated at the end. The steampunk-inspired technology is fascinating, and the art direction superbly establishes a distinct visual style to accompany the dark and disturbing lore lurking behind the city. I hope this isn’t the last time I play a game set in Dunwall.

Though I was frustrated by the chaos system and how it steers your actions, the heart of Dishonored is about being inventive, adaptable, and ruthless. The team at Arkane Studios has injected an array of cool possibilities into the simulated city of Dunwall, and discovering them all is a blast. When you come face-to-face with the people who wronged you, your only dilemma is deciding which poetic method of elimination will produce coolest result.

The Edge

The console versions of Dishonored have more graphical hiccups like framerate issues and screen tearing (especially on PS3). The textures look a little muddy no matter how you play, but go for PC if you have the option.

The Final Episode Of Dishonored's The Tales Of Dunwall: In The Mind Of Madness

Matthew Kato — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 14:21:00 GMT

This last webisode for Dishonored's The Tales of Dunwall features Piero, a man who is a key figure in main character Corvo's story.

This episode, "In the Mind of Madness," takes place after the assassination of the Empress, and therefore during the game's storyline. Inventor Piero is driven to create the mask that Corvo wears.

Also check out the first and second episodes.

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Dishonored's The Tales From Dunwall - Ep. 2: The Hand That Feeds

Matthew Kato — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 14:41:55 GMT

Bethesda, Arkane Studios, and Psyop have created a three-part animated web series exploring Dishonored's city, and the second episode is a cautionary tale.

The second of three episodes tells the story of a pitiful boy who gains power through The Outsider. In the game, The Outsider is the one who bestows main character Corvo with his abilities.

Be sure to also check out the first episode.

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Dishonored comes out for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 on October 9.

Learn More About Dunwall's Cast In First Of Three Webisodes

Jeff Cork — Tue, 25 Sep 2012 14:49:00 GMT

By now, you should already have a pretty good idea of what to expect from Arkane Studios' upcoming Dishonored. The stealth/action game is filled with multiple ways to approach navigation, missions, and combat. It's also filled with a few interesting characters, as the first of three new webisodes hopes to show.

In this animated video, we learn more about disgraced scientist Esmond Roseburrow. After his career was essentially deleted, Roseburrow took it as a challenge to follow a new path. He eventually discovered the fuel source that powered Dunwall's industrial revolution. You can see the whole story embedded below. It's also narrated by Kick Ass' Chloe Grace Moretz, if you're in the mood for feeling starstruck.

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Look for Dishonored on the PS3, Xbox 360, and PC on October 9. As always, you can take a look at our special hub for the game here, and see a ton of exclusive videos and features.

Dishonored's End Game

Matthew Kato — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 14:34:51 GMT

Bethesda and developer Arkane Studios have just released the final developer diary for the game, and it talks about how the team brought everything together for the final product.

"We go from being directors early on, to being testers," says the game's co-creative director Harvey Smith.

Dishonored comes out for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 on October 9.

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Here are the other dev diaries:

Inspirations

The World and its Characters

Flexibility

Dishonored Devs Talk About Flexibility In New Dev Diary

Jeff Cork — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 15:25:46 GMT

As Arkane puts it, Dishonored could very well be the first game starring an assassin who doesn't have to assassinate anyone. Take a look at how the game rewards all play styles in this new developer diary.

The team discusses how they work to anticipate what players will want to do, and make sure their simulation can handle it. For instance, a prominent ledge should be something players can climb. That doesn't mean everything's been planned. The clip gives plenty of examples of how players have surprised the team in tests by doing crazy (and effective) things with weapons and psychic powers.

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Also check out the game's previous developer diary detailing the world and its characters.

Exploring The World Of Dishonored

Matthew Kato — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 14:32:12 GMT

The latest developer diary from Dishonored developer talks about how the creative team came up with the fictional city of Dunwall and its characters.

The game's enticing style has many inspirations, and you can hear about them from the developers in this latest video.

Dishonored comes out for the PC, Xbox 360, and PS3 on October 9. You can also take a look at our earlier preview, as well as click the Hub banner below.

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Arkane Studios Digs Into Dishonored's Inspirations, More In New Video

Jeff Cork — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 15:21:53 GMT

Arkane Studios and Bethesda have released a new developer diary for Dishonored, which shows off how the game was conceived. The clip reveals early concept art and explains what the team was shooting for when they first came up with the initial concepts.

In addition to providing insight into the game's development, it's also a great place to start if you haven't been following any previous coverage. As co-creative director Harvey Smith says, it's the first first-person game focused on a supernatural assassin (in a steampunk-inspired world). It's probably a good time to do your homework.

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Get Another Dose Of Stealth In New Dishonored Video

Jeff Cork — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 14:00:00 GMT

Arkane Studios and Bethesda have released another trailer for Dishonored, and it's sure to make all the sneaks out there exceptionally happy.

Shadows! Crouching! Peeking through keyholes! It's all here, along with plenty of other skullduggery. It may not be as deep a dive as an earlier stealth walkthrough, but it doesn't require as much of a time investment. At least, that's the glass is half-full way to look at it.

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Dishonored is due out October 9. For more info on the game, visit our Dishonored hub.

New Dishonored Screens Excite

Matthew Kato — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 15:51:00 GMT

Today Bethesda and developer Arkane Studios released a fresh batch of screens for the very intriguing Dishonored.

Not only do these shots show a Tallboy and plague-infected Weepers, but they also highlight the care Arkane has taken in fleshing out the world. Case in point – the creepy masks of the masquerade ball in the game.

Dishonored comes out October 9 for the PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

Also be sure to check out this Creative Kills trailer.

The Creative Kills Of Dishonored

Jim Reilly — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 16:18:00 GMT

An enemy shoots at you. You stop time, possess the enemy, position him in front of his own bullet, then watch him die. This is Dishonored. Bethesda released a new video showcasing some of the best ways to kill your foes. Which is your favorite?

The game is out October 9 in North America.

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Bethesda Releases New Batch Of Dishonored Screens

Jeff Cork — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 15:59:54 GMT

Bethesda has released a new series of screens from Arkane Studios' Dishonored, showing a mission at a masquerade ball.

The shots show Corvo infiltrating the Boyle Mansion, where he has to eliminate a target. We've got a hands-on preview of the mission and much more in the September issue of Game Informer.

For more info on Dishonored, check out our hub page.

Dishonored's 'Daring Escapes' Video Earns Its Name

Jeff Cork — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 14:00:00 GMT

As we've shown before, Corvo has a lot of tools at his disposal in Arkane's upcoming game, Dishonored. Bethesda has released a new trailer for the game, which shows just three scenarios in which the bodyguard-turned-assassin can use his special abilities in combat. If you're a guard sympathizer, you should probably stay away from this one.

In the clip below, Corvo uses his Blink, Bend Time, and Possession abilities to take out guards (or avoid detection). In a particularly humiliating touch, one of the guards is poisoned with a crossbow bolt and then tossed into a nearby dumpster. That guy could have had a family!

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Dishonored is coming October 1 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.

New Dishonored Videos Showcase Stealth Vs. Violence

Matthew Kato — Thu, 28 Jun 2012 15:33:00 GMT

There are different ways to exact revenge in Dishonored, and this pair of new videos shows different approaches to achieving one goal.

The two videos below show a pair of ways to approach a mission called "The Golden Cat." Naturally, one is stealthy and the other is violent. Your job in this task is to eliminate the Pendleton Brothers, who are two corrupt aristocrats.

Dishonored comes out for PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 on October 9.

For more, check out Adam's hands-on impressions of a demo from E3.

STEALTH

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VIOLENCE

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Hands-On With Dishonored

Adam Biessener — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 20:46:00 GMT

Bethesda and Arkane finally let us get our hands on their upcoming stealth/action title, and it’s coming together nicely.

I’m dropped into a mission midway through the game with a single objective: kidnap a Dr. Sokholov. Arkane doesn’t want to spoil any plot details, so the story exposition is so light as to be nonexistent, but the threats and my enormous toolbox of powers and gadgets are real. Over the course of half an hour of hands-on time with the game, the many different approaches I attempted were each viable and presented their own challenges and rewards.

The top level goal is to get in, knock Sokholov unconscious, and lug his limp body to a friend waiting with a boat in a nearby canal. Sokholov is protected by dozens of guards and tons of weird neo-Victorian technology, though, and so I’ve got to get much more creative than the blunt-force dagger-and-pistol approach.

My first attempt ends almost before it’s begun. I use a powerful double-jump ability to climb a wall near where the level begins, and crawl across the rooftops until my route dead-ends and I drop into a dark alleyway to continue along ground level. Unfortunately, my landing zone was between three enemies who quickly become alerted to my presence. Though an experienced player likely could have survived the fight -- especially with the powered-up hero ginned up for this E3 demonstration -- I’m cut down within ten seconds of furious swordplay and booming pistols.

The fact that three normal enemies destroyed me in such a short timeframe on normal difficulty should tell you something about what kind of game Arkane is making here.

I eventually make it through the whole demo level by choking out maids, possessing guards, shooting bad guys in the face, and using the game-changing blink power to skip across entire sections of the level by effortlessly flitting between rooftops and streets. Several more deaths (and mission failures for getting my intended kidnappee killed) impede my progress, but the checkpoint system makes restarting relatively painless. Each time I reloaded, I took an entirely different route past the current obstacle: luring guards into deadly traps, avoiding them with help from magic powers, freezing them in time and murdering them all, and more. Not only are there many ways to handle a roomful of guards, but physical routes through the level vary dramatically. Getting into the mansion variously involved crashing in through the front door, riding a watermill into the sewer outlet below, and blinking across alleyways to enter from a fourth-story catwalk.

The demo is a fantastic validation of Arkane’s early promise to make each level a sandbox that sets players free to use their huge set of powers to devise and implement creative solutions on the fly. There was some weirdness, particularly with trying to see what I could jump up to and mantle onto, but overall the gameplay feels great. My biggest concern is hardly even applicable to the final game -- trying to wrap my head around eight each powers and gadgets, especially ones that fly far from genre conventions like the rat summoning ability, is incredibly difficult in the demo’s short timeframe.

Dishonored has several more sides to show us yet -- how the chaos generated by killing people instead of stealthily accomplishing your goals affects the development of the story, and for that matter pretty much everything to do with the plot itself -- but this hands-on E3 demo showed me just about everything it could in this setting. My earlier enthusiasm for the game appears to be justified on all fronts.

Dishonored comes out for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and PC this fall.

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