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First Impressions: Dishonored


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Wow. Just WOW.

I have only played into the second area of Dishonored and I don't remember the last time I anticipated a game. I'll just give a quick over-view and come back for more detailed edits later.

This game plays like a PC game on consoles.. think Deus Ex Human Revolution, but just the First Person Portion. This game never goes into third person view. Even stealthing behind barriers or walls doesn't provide you with an over the edge view.. you literally lean around corners to see.

The graphics aren't as great as you'd expect from this generation, but they are still pretty good. They remind me heavily of book illustrations.

The soundtrack and voices are great as well. The developers put out the budget for some of the more experienced actors like Cersei from the Game of Thrones tv series.

Power List I've used first hand:

Blink: Hold L1 to aim and blink forward, up or down to ledges, across gaps, into secret areas, or out of danger. This power is great for exploration but it removes your pistol in combat... which you can easily switch to in the radial menu. Blink rank 2.. most increases in distant skills is marginal at best. Not blink 2. There is a noticeable increase in distance that is ridiculously helpful in stealth.

Dark Vision: Selected, it replaces Blink or the Gun/Crossbow. Dark Vision is very useful as it allows you to see enemies through walls and such. It doesn't defeat the need to lean around corners and even shows you the enemies field of view. Dark Vision Rank 2 shows you panels for traps and items through walls.. including sokolov paintings (the collectibles). You can see how this would be useful when you're low of mana or health.

Forgot the true name: Ashes?: Killing an enemy, before they are aware, causes them to turn into ash. Proper timing will have that enemy gone before they are spotted by other hostiles.. this defeats the need to hide the body and makes you a much more effective stealther. I have not mastered the timing, but this ability is really cool and well-animated. Killing unaware enemies with range attacks makes the ash effect slow.. so you need to judge timing there. Killing an unaware enemy close range has an instant ash effect.. they are gone before they hit the ground. This leaves their loot behind, by the way. - Adding that the ash effect is highly effective when you're killing at range.. because it eliminates threats in advance.

Bend Time: This is an ability that does exactly as you'd expect.. it slows down time. This makes it vastly simpler to take on multiple enemies at once.. or exploit a small opening in which to pass an area with a stealthy approach. - Bend Time rank 2 pauses time completely.. it costs a hefty price in mana, so ensuring that is actually needed is key to its use. However, it is awesome to pause time to take out 10 guys and then unpause it so they all turn to ash or fall at once.

Whirlwind: You create a gust of wind that pushes enemies back. Useful for seperating yourself from melee or interrupting someone with a gun. When you upgrade this ability to rank 2.. you can push people with enough force the they will fall off ledges or die upon contact with a wall.

Possession: This ability is my least favorite.. because when you possess someone you get into areas and find new pathways but you sacrifice your offensive abilities. If your host dies, you die.. so don't get any funny ideas. When the possession ends, animals explode but humans just throw up and you're behind them. - I retract my previous statements of not liking this ability. If you possess a human, you can move through traps and such. If you possess a rat, you can use rat holes. If you possess a hagfish, you can swim into grates. This skill provides a whole bunch of new approaches to several situations.

Other cool happens:

Rats.. when the game introduces you to the rats as a threat to your own health, it does so in the most captivating way possible - By witnessing the damage first hand. This also clues you in to the fact that rats can be used to hide bodies.

Over-heard conversations: I've always been impressed when this is implemented correctly. In this game, short conversations can provide valuable information.. such as exploits ahead or dangerous traps. You could, however, miss your information if you're too far to hear the conversation or get spotted, causing alarm.

The environment is highly variable and pretty much every surface can hide a treasure and be explored. The use of blink within the first area has given me access to special, but well hidden, upgrades to my player.

Multiple entrances and routes: Some games declare this, Dishonored is drenched in it. Even something as simple as a security gate has four ways to get around it. Need a key? As long as the specific key is not tied directly to the assassination, there will be multiple copies. I obtained 5 copies of one key that allowed me into a loot room while I was just checking around.

Bone rune: Most games give you rings or accessories to increase your abilities. In this game, they're called bone runes and they provide small but useful bonuses to climbing, adrenaline, mana count, and many others I've yet to discover.

Runes: Different than blood runes, they operate as the skill points in this game. Here's the thing though.. you have to find them, you don't level up to get them. Now before you fret, the game has a device that allows you to see any in the area and how far away they are. The game even warns you to equip your heart if you're almost on top of one. Needless to say, it's cool feeling stronger just for having explored that back alley.

Non Quest-related loot: I've come across two safes in the game so far and I'm only on the second area. There safes are combo locked and require deduction to unlock. Most games have you check an e-mail or a post that says something like "Hey Bill, I just happened to change the combo to the safe to 123ABCyayLOOT - Ted" This game DOES have messages along similar lines, but instead of telling you the combo outright, they just tell you where to start looking.

Choices, Consequences: I've not learned the consequences of my actions yet, but I've considered them. Without spoilers, I've made it far enough in the game to get the opportunity to assassinate someone important. While I was making my way to this person, I found out that I didn't have to kill them to reach my goal. I had an option and though it was harder than "one and done", I made it happen. I can't wait to see how this effects the game world.

Killing and it's effects: Just a quick note.. you can kill as many guards and enemies as you want.. but their are consequences. Killing too many people in a zone with increase the amount of rats in the area.. and speed along the death of the plague victims. I have yet to see if chaos caused will be reflected in a meaningful way, but it's definitely painful to lure rats to my location.

The difference between Low and High Chaos: Amount of enemies, rats, and weepers. It also effects how your allies react to you, dramatically effects the last level, and chaos is directly represented by the behavior of the princess. What you don't know, without playing through more than once, is that there are several differences that are both big and small. DO NOT select mission select when going between playthroughs as low/high chaos is not shown properly in mission select.. and you don't get to keep all your bonuses.

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I will come back later with more impressions as I continue on.

Edit one: Elaborating on ashes, adding to cool happenings.

Edit two: Abilities added.

Edit three: several additions to abilities and a mini extension on cool happenings.

Edited by Aeirou
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Just beat the game. It is incredible, not since the first Bioshock have I been this excited for a game. Good thing to, because realistically, it is gonna take at least 2 full playthroughs (plus some clean up) in order to get platinum. Without spoiling too much, your choices DO have an outcome on the game (secret trophy wise too). Especially on the final level. All I can say is, if you find the way to 'get rid of' your target w/o killing them, you are always rewarded (good stuff too). I am lovin it so far though, there are SO many different ways for each level. I would reccomend doing a "violent" playthrough on hard first (thats what I did) and do as much exploring as possible. There will be some face palm moments when you find some of the different paths you can take and how much easier they would have been then what you did. Great stuff, just makes me more excited for Infinite...

Edited by ReconChaznat
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I've chosen the non-lethal options for dealing with my targets but have yet to see the difference in consequences.

What I mean is, I don't know how deep the consequences drift between choices without witnessing both.

Edited by Aeirou
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wow already done your first playthrough ... o_O

Do you have a life lol ... How many hours did it take?

It's still under wraps in my collection (been x-com that came out at the same time ...)

He said he choose to kill everyone, so that it A LOT quicker than stealth. He choose to explore, but the game is only 12+ hours long. It's short but has a lot of depth. Perfectly do-able in a short amount of time.

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Lol. No i didnt have a life for the past two days. Had a bunch of vacation hours saved up from work that nedded to be used. And ya, it took me about 15 hours to complete, and killing people is a lot faster. Taking a stealthier approach I imagine will bump the play time up a little, but also, you will know the level layout and what to expect. Some of the trophies might be a little difficult (dont know if I should open up a new thread or not, I am new to this site), so if anyone has any tips on some of them ( Travel 30m in a sec, kill 5 enimies at once, throw back a grenade) let me know. Consequences wont be noticed until the latter levels 7-9. (you will notice more Weepers, darker surroundings etc, the endings are different as well)

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interestink....i been watching this but didnt have the money to pre-order, but it sounds like i should have turned to prostitution for the money.....how is the story though, pretty decent? and also the gameplay, ive read that the swordplay is pretty good because Corvo is supposed to be excellent with a sword, but id like to know just how good

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Story is good, its the overall gameplay that seals the deal for me. Not many games give you that oh so coveted 'choice' ability, and this one gives it to you in spades. The only question to ask yourself is, Did you enjoy Bioshock (in terms of theme, setting, and gameplay)? If the answer is yes, then this is a must buy.

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I'm sooo 50/50 on this game, do you recommend to buy?

Would definitely recommend the buy.

If you like Fallout or Bioshock then this is right up your alley as well. Granted the game is not as vast, but there is plenty to do and find.

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Story is good, its the overall gameplay that seals the deal for me. Not many games give you that oh so coveted 'choice' ability, and this one gives it to you in spades. The only question to ask yourself is, Did you enjoy Bioshock (in terms of theme, setting, and gameplay)? If the answer is yes, then this is a must buy.

Yup, from just the first few hours this game seems basically like an above ground Bioshock with a ton of player choice. This is a good thing.

Edited by Cthulu26
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  • 4 weeks later...

I loved this game, something nice and refreshing and just really well made! Sat down and got the Platinum in just under 23 hours, I didn't move from my damn chair once, I was so proud of my time being the fastest acheiver... but of course I don't hold that title now because someone 100% legit got the Platinum in under 2 hours...

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