Dishonored impressions

Gaxkang

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Just finished this after about 18h (read every book, explore every nook etc). Compared to 95% of stuff this year, it's great. Compared to Deus Ex HR, I think it comes off as being weaker ultimately.

Firstly, forget RPG-ness. This thing has no XP, slightly more inventory than a shooter, no hub, no side quests. Essentially two endings - depending on how many mooks you kill along the way.

The art direction which I really liked - is offset by a weak story and lore. The devs bottled out of giving the narrative a message. Like DX:HR makes you think about transhumanism, climate change, journalism etc - Dishonored missed a chance to go into it's 'whale oil', 'outsider' or plague themes.

The 'multiple path' level design I personally think was mixed in execution - the guards are too quick to spot you, and so there is very little time to plan how you'll use your skills to tackle a level before you're frantically teleporting to non-existant safe spots trying to escape guard mobs of 5 or 6. There are almost no safe bolt-holes like in DX:HR. All the hype about stopping time and taking possession of a guard's body so he walks into his own bullet is too mana expensive to be a valid gameplay style and is just a gimmick.

Teleport takes a couple of seconds to position (even on a 24' screen) so in the heat of battle you often end up teleporting yourself next to a parapet (yes, high up into thin air) as opposed to onto it. When guards you knocked out are woken, they magically sense where you are and you can see them running like mad across three rooms, down some stairs straight to where you are (hidden from normal guards).

Fun game and I'd recommend it if Alpha Protocol and Deus Ex are your thing, but I doubt a second playthrough will reveal new secrets, open up new builds, or end differently.
 
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^Exactly my feeling.
 
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Sounds like one I might save for a dramatic price reduction sale.

Thanks for the summary.
 
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Not to dwell too much on the negatives (for positives read the mainstream reviews, much of the praise is actually deserved), but I forgot to add that there is almost no dialog or problem solving. There was one quest where you had to assassinate one of three people with the same surname and the game threw one or two clues about which is the correct one, so it sounded promising - but then the quest marker popped up and displayed who the target was... If you'd turned off quest maker, talking to each wrong suspect gives no dialog option. With the 'correct' target the line 'I'm here to kill you' is the first thing you have the option of saying.
 
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I'm a few more hours in (probably 7-8 in all) - and I still think it's excellent. But it's really hurt by the super poor textures and relatively dreary setting. I expect it to change up, but after the first few missions - you kinda get enough of that steampipe stuff. Well, I do - anyway.

The gameplay remains excellent, though. I play on Very Hard with a minimum of UI aids. I find this kind of game plays best with the stealth aspects maximised - because they tend to be way too easy otherwise.

I love all the secrets and how you benefit from exploring and being creative about how you approach the various challenges. I do feel your power arsenal is slightly underwhelming - and I kinda expected more from all the talk in previews. But it's quite sufficient to feel very powerful - and your gadget toolset is satisfying.

There's a good balance of notes, audiographs, and little puzzles. I don't think the game needs much dialogue. It's more like Thief/Bioshock in how it wants to deliver exposition through the environment and steady discovery. You do get quite a lot of NPC interaction between missions - though you don't actually choose what to say, at least not so far.

That said, I still think they need to make the books/clues less obvious in these games. Level designers have become SO desperate that people will miss something, that they place the necessary clues way too generously. It's hard to feel smart when figuring stuff out - because it's shoved down your throat. That's not really on Dishonored - but on the genre in general. It would be nice if they trusted the exploration-minded players to do their job (as we love it) - and the non-explorer types wouldn't really care.

As for comparing it to Deus Ex HR - I agree that DE is the better game, so far. Primarily because of the atmosphere/environments and stuff like the hacking minigame. Then again, I was (and still am) a huge fan of DE:HR and I think it compares very favorably to the original - all things considered.

But Dishonored isn't far behind.
 
Thanks for sharing your impressions, guys, it's very helpful!
 
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Also, there most definitely IS a hub and a ton of sidequests. I don't know if that changes - but I don't see why it should.
 
I usually only play RPGs or strategies, but thought that Dishonored is one of those games everyone should try. The mechanics and combat are interesting and fun and I'm sure you will enjoy testing yourself in different ways against mobs. "Force" throw your enemies, slow down time, choose excellent melee, use a fast shooting crossbow, pistol and, without exaggeration, come up with much more strategies.

As mentioned, the game could be better, but I think you will greatly enjoy it regardless. For one, it's pure fun but also Dishonored has elements from several genres(action, adventure, stealth, RPG, FPS) and as a devoted fan of RPGs, I was satisfied. Dishonored is also one of those easy to play games that you can periodically play between sessions of serious RPGs that have flawed combat and mechanics.

One huge plus about it, and I have to admit it applies to all Bethesda games I've played, is that Dishonored is not demanding system was and runs very smoothly. Loading and saving, launching or quitting is very quick, no lag, no extensive list of graphics options (I think there's only several), and in general an extremely stable and fast game. This, combined with a short learning curve and great gameplay, makes Dishonored a pure pleasure to play.
 
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It is a fun little game , i played up to mission 2 but then lost interest because stealth is too freaking hard and just killing everybody is too easy also i hate the whole "whale" thing .

Well, the Heart mentions that the whale flesh is "enchanted", so it might be different than just fat. It also glows.

On my first playthrough right now and I had so much fun in killing indiscriminately that I continue in this way. Characters have different reactions to this and, though I'm not certain, there might be more significant consequences. If you're murdering people left and right, the reaction of the child princess is particularly sad :(. It's also thought provoking, since in your unconcerned use of power corrupts the princess, who would soon reign as the empress.

There will be more choices after the 2nd mission that you will need to make. Though you do not have the opportunity of shaping your character through dialog skills, you can do some through your actions. The Outside said that the whole city watched in hunger and envy while the rich where having the masquerade party. He wondered if you'd end the party in bloodbath. It's tempting to do so and, unlike in many other RPGs, you can act this way with appropriate reactions from NPCs.
 
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Also, there most definitely IS a hub and a ton of sidequests. I don't know if that changes - but I don't see why it should.

I think we may be working on different definitions of 'hub'? IMHO just returning to the same place after a mission is not really a hub, even though there is a fixed merchant there. As for a 'ton' of sidequests .... the only one I can think of that is not simply a minor variation on the way to finish a mission (or something inane like 'enter the art dealer's house'), is Granny and her distillery idea.

Again - not trying to diminish the game - it is great fun, and I would recommend it without being in the proverbial $5 bargain bin.
 
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I think we may be working on different definitions of 'hub'? IMHO just returning to the same place after a mission is not really a hub, even though there is a fixed merchant there. As for a 'ton' of sidequests …. the only one I can think of that is not simply a minor variation on the way to finish a mission (or something inane like 'enter the art dealer's house'), is Granny and her distillery idea.

Again - not trying to diminish the game - it is great fun, and I would recommend it without being in the proverbial $5 bargain bin.

I don't know what a hub is - if it's not where you travel and "do business" between levels. That's certainly what it usually is in games of this nature.

As for sidequests - I'm talking about all the optional quests you can do for characters, including the Granny quest you mention. It's specifically listed under sidequests - and I assume the game keeps serving you that kind of mission?

Anyway, it's hardly too important. We're both recommending it all the same.
 
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It was a blast, but then I wasn't expecting a hard core RPG, there fore wasn't trying to pigeonhole it to everything RPG. Seems to be doing rather well, which I'm glad Arkane deserves a hit. Dishonored The low negative scores seem to be from trolls, one gave it a 0.

It does most defiantly has choice and consequences, based on your playstyle. There seemed to always be 2 side quests on each mission. I never play evil so, can't speak for the psychopath style play though.

It's Half-Life, Steampunk, Bioshock, Thief and Dark Messiah. After playing two games I went back to try DXHR had to stop playing it. The game play is just so much smoother in Dishonored. It took me much longer than 18 hours, probably closer to 40. I played Non Lethal and Ghosted, but I still like to take all enemies down. Especially for the sake of completion, without being seen or detected. There were a couple of missions with non hostiles I left conscious.

It's certainly not perfect and if your expecting Arx Fatalis 2, don't bother. I've seen others criticize the graphics and looks before too, but I don't get it. How dare there be faded textures in Steampunk?

I just love the art style and some of the paintings of the women are just knockout gorgeous. Arkane should open a Steampuck themed costume club in Austin. :party2:
 
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In most instances, that's exactly what a hub is.

You may well be right strictly speaking. In my mind though, a 'proper hub' is a place where I can go on walkabouts and find side quests, go back freely when I want to turn in quests, buy/sell stuff or get rid of a status effect. Not just a place all missions happen to end up in.
 
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After playing two games I went back to try DXHR had to stop playing it. The game play is just so much smoother in Dishonored.

In Deus Ex you had a 'safe area' where you could plan your approach to the level. In Dishonored the guards can be right in the area transition point, or the patrol can go there if you don't teleport out quickly before thinking about what you're going to do with the level. +1 to DX:HR

In Deus Ex the guards followed set patterns. In Dishonored, many move randomly, which just leads to pointless, frustrating, luck-based reloads when they turn around after 1 second as opposed to the 4 seconds you observed on the last few patrols. +1 to DX:HR where the patrols are set, and the skill is in properly planning your moves, rather than relying on lady luck and F9.

In Deus Ex if you one-shot a guard with a quiet ranged weapon and are in cover, the other guards didn't know where to go. In Dishonored, a shot will result in you being charged by the entire batallion unless you multi-blink the hell out. +1 to DX:HR

In Dishonored non-lethal you have to carry your unconscious bodies for miles otherwise they will be found (or will die from falling etc). In DX:HR there are clearly rooms that are 'off limits' to the guards, so the game doesn't make you feel like an undertaker. +1 DX:HR

These are all minor nit-picks but they're why I wrote that DX:HR was a little better for me (and that's before you count the deeper themes, non-lethal being merely an option, and beefier RPG elements).
 
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