With the success of games that combine multiple game-play styles such as the Deus Ex and Bioshock, it's surprising that more developers haven't taken notes and applied them to their own titles. The crew at Arkane Studios has been taking notes and are releasing a game that encourages gamers to be more creative in the way they assassinate targets.
Dishonored is being labeled as a first person action game, but it is a hard game to categorize seeing that it contains a mixture of different gameplay elements. It is essentially up to the player to decide how they want to play the game. The player can choose if they want to be silent and kill their enemies with stealth, be loud and kill their enemies with a bang, or show off their sorcery skills by blasting their foes with different magical abilities.
Gamers will be put in control of Corvo. Corvo is a magically gifted assassin that has been framed for murdering the Empress that he was once in charge of protecting. Corvo is visited in prison by an individual called the Outsider. The Outsider imprints Corvo with its mark, allowing Corvo to obtain and use magical abilities. Corvo then escapes prison and proceeds to take on assassination missions.
 |
| Guards on mechanical stilts show elements of fantasy in a somewhat realistic environment |
The city of Dunwall has both elements of realism and fantasy. On the realistic side, there is much political tension in the city of Dunwall as well as a plague that is infecting many its inhabitants. It is a fishing town that is powered on oil and players will be able to see boats drifting across the water as they capture large sea creatures.
The supernatural elements of the game create a juxtaposition between realism and fantasy. You see this when Corvo uses his magical abilities to teleport from the streets to rooftops, take possession of wild animals, or sick a gang of plague ridden rats on one of his foes. An interesting ability called blink will aid you in stealth as its purpose is to make Corvo quickly teleport from one shadow to another, unseen by any enemies.
Sound will be an important element in stealth gameplay. Noise can be made by walking too fast, shutting doors, dropping from high distances, and even rustling with doorknobs. Make too much sound and your enemies will come rushing to the position where they heard the sound come from. Of course this can be an advantage to some players that want to set a trap for guards by making noise and the poucing on them once they have them where they want them.
 |
| Execution animations are astonishingly realistic |
Arkane isn't paying too much attention to story or cut-scenes. They say that it feels like they are taking control away from the gamer by adding too many cut-scenes, so they have decided to put environmental story clues that you can read as you progress through the game.
Dishonored has reached the top of my radar for upcoming games being released in the next few months and I am excited for the day when I get a chance to get my hands on it. It is scheduled to be released on October 9, 2012 for the PC, Xbox 360 and PS3.
