Dishonored - Xbox 360

Description

Dishonored is an immersive first-person action game that casts you as a supernatural assassin driven by revenge.  Creatively eliminate your targets as you combine the supernatural abilities, weapons and unusual gadgets at your disposal. Pursue your enemies under the cover of darkness or ruthlessly attack them head on with weapons drawn. The outcome of each mission plays out based on the choices you make. PUBLISHER: Bethesda Softworks
DEVELOPER: Arkane Studios
RELEASE DATE: 2012
PLATFORMS: Xbox 360™ / PLAYSTATION®3 /
Games for Windows
GENRE: First-Person Action
Story:
Dishonored is set in Dunwall, an industrial whaling city where strange steampunk- inspired technology and otherworldly forces coexist in the shadows. You are the once-trusted bodyguard of the beloved Empress. Framed for her murder, you become an infamous assassin, known only by the disturbing mask that has become your calling card. The truth behind your betrayal is as murky as the waters surrounding the city, and the life you once had is gone forever. KEY FEATURES:
Improvise and Innovate
Approach each assassination with your own style of play. Action with Meaning
The world of Dishonored reacts to how you play and the outcomes will change as a result. Supernatural Abilities
Combine your suite of supernatural abilities and weapons opens up even more ways to overcome obstacles and eliminate targets.  A City Unlike Any Other
Enter an original world envisioned by Half-Life 2 art director Viktor Antonov where industry and the supernatural collide, creating an atmosphere thick with intrigue.  images and screenshots © 2012 ZeniMax Media Inc. All Rights Reserved. © 2012 ZeniMax Media Inc. Developed in association with Arkane Studios. Dishonored, Revenge Solves Everything, Arkane, Bethesda, Bethesda Softworks, ZeniMax and related logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of ZeniMax Media Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. All Rights Reserved. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners.

Features

• Improvise and Innovate: Approach each assassination with your own style of play
• Use shadow and sound to your advantage to make your way silently through levels unseen by foes, or attack enemies head-on as they respond to your aggressiveness.
• Action with Meaning: The world of Dishonored reacts to how you play. Move like a ghost and resist corruption, or show no mercy and leave a path of destruction in your wake. Decide your approach for each mission, and the outcomes will change as a result.
• Supernatural Abilities: Combining your suite of supernatural abilities and weapons opens up even more ways to overcome obstacles and eliminate targets. The game's upgrade system allows for the mastery of deadly new abilities and devious gadgets.
• A City Unlike Any Other: Enter an original world envisioned by Half-Life 2 art director Viktor Antonov. Arkane and Bethesda bring you a world where industry and mysticism collide, creating an atmosphere thick with intrigue. The world is yours to discover.

Customer Reviews

What a gem!
mossd

I'm getting close to 40, am not a gamer and I'm loving this game. A lot of love went into this one, oil painting-esque graphics (whole game is like an oil painting) and it seems more geared towards an older audience - rather than 14 year olds. This one is up there with Half Life and Bioshock.Thank you Bethesda for NOT screwing the single player experience by diverting resources away from the single player to focus on a very unneeded multiplayer.

Easily a GOTY Contender 94%
Private Quentin Tarantino Fan

Visuals=95/100 (Terrific Art Style; technically sound well enough)Narative=86/100 (Very Inconsistent Overall Narrative makes up for dense world and endearing characters)Sound=94/100 (Great voice acting and terrific sound design drive the game)Game Play=100/100 (Truly emergent game play and player choice allows for so many ways to play)Replay Value=93/100 (Multiple play styles provide for an endless amount of ways to play. Game can take around 15-20 hours if you want to)You remember Looking Glass Studios, right? The famous company who revolutionized PC games in the 90's? In general, LGS was one of the best studios ever, spawning some of the most innnovative game play ideas, which in turn has a lasting impact on games today. They are one of the most important video game studios to ever exist, a truly maverick studio that gave way to game innovation that still has a lasting impact. Why, do you ask, does this concern Dishonored? Well, I'm happy to state that Dishonored is the latest game to truly take inspiration from the Looking Glass legacy. Dishonored is easily one of the best games of the year, and it's one of those games that truly doesn't fall into any neat genre. An Immersive simulation* is the best genre Dishonored falls into, and it's the best game in this all-too-small genre since Deus Ex: Human Revolution.There is much to talk about concerning Dishonored. Let's start with it's fiction. Dishonored's fiction, for the most part, succeeds. It's a brand new IP that truly feels fresh, and it's both distinct and memorable. You are Corvo Attano, a former legendary body guard, now a rogue assassin as the result of being framed by the corrupt leadership of Dunwall. Straightforward enough, right? Well, the somewhat straightforward story doesn't at all reflect the fact that Dishonored's insane world is anything but straightforward. Its personal revenge driven story isn't all that exciting by itself, but it truly falls upon a unique setting that manages to transcend its general plot, and makes for something extremely memorable. Dishonored's characters are interesting, its art style is an oasis in the horrendously vapid desert of "realistic" visual styles, and Dunwall is a stunning, engrossing location. It all adds up to make one of the most unique gaming experiences of the year.Dishonored has quite possibly one of the best settings in a video game since Fallout 3's Capital Wasteland. Dunwall serves as a backdrop for the plot, and it's an extremely imaginative location with tons of absolutely enticing political and social over tones. Whale oil, political corruption (always a staple!), class division, population purification, rats, assassins, giant machinated monstrosities, and industrialization are all embedded within Dishonored's awesome world. Oh, and disease. Lot's and lot's of disease. It's all set in a stunning amalgam of late 18th century/early 19th century Europe and the futuristic tendencies of Half-Life 2 (particularity the Combine structures). It is a killer set up in a vibrant environment, and it's simulation game play model falls upon some memorable locales, interesting characters, and all end up making Dishonored a great experience. Along the way, a unique cast of characters rounds out the story, from assassins to natural philosophers, corrupt political leaders and horrifying zombies who weep blood. Dishonored as a new IP shines, and it's truly excellent.Unfortunately, the story of Dishonored isn't perfect. Dishonored is well written, features interesting characters, and has a beautifully realized world but it's narrative structure is somewhat inconsistent. Its ending is a tad abrupt, and it sags with its narrative thrust at times. Most importantly, the game really didn't capitalize on the Outsider, which was a shame given how interesting the character was. You feel it doesn't dig as deep into the character as you wanted it to, and since the character is so intriguing it ultimately feels like a lost opportunity. HOWEVER, it's not a deal breaker, though. Even though the story doesn't reach its full narrative potential the whole way, its amazing art design, interesting characters, amazing setting, and player driven story telling don't let some story shortcomings suck up the whole experience. You shouldn't be worried about the plot overall, because Dishonored is ultimately a memorable experience.The technical side came out unscathed, and while they probably aren't the most technically impressive around, Dishonored proves art direction wipes the floor with blistering tech. Having said that, it was the sound that almost even more impressive. The Sound design is outstanding. It's carefully crafted to the point of a sound scape. At the risk of sounding pretentious, it really does work for the game like prose does for a novel. The voice acting is just as good, with some huge names on the roster. Susan Sarandon (Dead Man Walking), Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs), Carrie Fisher (Star Wars), Brad Douriff (One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest), John Slattery (Mad Men), and Chloe Grace-Moertz all lend their voice talents to Dishonored. We all know that having big talent on board makes sure the characters get the voices they deserve, and Dishonored succeeds with its characters.Oh, and as a side note, no asinine morality systems! I won't spoil anything, but for those who are sick of game developer's obvious failures to implement interesting moral choice will be pleased at Dishonored's Chaos System. Basically, your actions and how many enemies you kill affect the rest of the game in permutations and numerous incremental changes within the world, not through binary, A-B-C type changes. It's refreshing to see developers finally understanding how to really tackle "morality": leave it all up the player and let them decide for themselves, and instead stress consequence for their actions.As nice as this all is, Dishonored's game play is easily the shining star. Dishonored is the newest game in the "immersive simulation" genre, where numerous genres and storytelling collide into one experience. Dishonored is a true spiritual successor to the Looking Glass pedigree, and those who long for the days of Thief and Deus Ex (two of the game's main influence) will be excited once they get their hands on this one. Don't fret though. This isn't a "lite" version of anything that came before it. You are going to get a new game experience; this is not a carbon copy of either game series. Instead, Dishonored keeps LGS's spirit deep within their design philosophies, and they created something unique and fresh. It's a game that refuses to be lassoed by genre conventions and spits in the face of the focus-group and play testers, offering a truly amazing mix of stealth, first person action, sword play, complemented with a sick arsenal of (mixable!) magic and gadgets.As expected, the best part is how Dishonored focuses on emergent game play. As a result of the terrific game design, the game truly rewards replay and gives you the amazing thing we call player freedom. The levels themselves only make this even better. Dishonored is not open-world, as each level is a mission, with a hub level in between each mission (think something like Monster Hunter). However, like Crysis, each level is essentially a sandbox; and how! Aside from the baffling amount of combat freedom, the levels themselves are extremely sprawling and open ended, carefully suited to match and reward every play style any gamer chooses to do so. The combat here is extremely deep, and you can take your own approach in any way you seem fit, from sneaky stealth to all out action (and yes, you can play through the whole game without killing a SINGLE person!), as well as mix between the two. Basically, if you think you can do it, you probably can. In fact, players have done things the game makers themselves didn't know was previous possible! That's just awesome. Just wait and see what happens when the creative players get their hands on this one and experiment with the game play.Each of the nine missions constantly reward exploration like no other game I've seen. There are so many ways to accomplish your objective, and in addition to the huge, extremely well made levels, the numerous side missions alongside the regular mission will provide even more playtime. The huge levels surely provide for some truly open ended game play, and you will want to do just that. Plus, no other game will want you to explore everything the levels have to offer, and doing so yields plenty of great rewards. It's the only way to get ruins and find the bone charms in order to alter your play style as you see fit.To accomplish this, Dishonored's power and weapon system had to be extremely varied and flexible. Dishonored doesn't let you down. By collecting runes, bone charms, and money throughout the game, your play style is truly customizable in a vast amount of ways. Want to upgrade your crossbow so it sets your enemies on fire? You can do that. Want to choke an enemy out at the speed of light and be a general stealth machine? You can do that too! What's more, you can upgrade the numerous powers in order to help you specialize the play style you want to go for. Stealth players will be able to upgrade their level of vision, while those who prefer summoning rats will be able to do that to. Plus, being able to equip numerous powers in order to, say, improve your swimming speed, or being able to improve the effects of your elixirs. Dishonored's RPG level customization ensures you that, even with a game that will take you around twenty hours (and you should take that long), you will want to play it again and again, just to see what else you can do. It's a big layer of player freedom of an already player driven game, and that is all the more refreshing in a world of hand-holding, linearity, and restrictive game play. Dishonored's game play really has the joy of discovery within it, and it's up to you to discover all that can be done with the game play system.With the various NPC's around, you'll need all the tools you can get. Their AI, when they become your potential enemy, is some of the best I've ever come across. The game's ability really does hinge on the NPC AI, and thankfully, Dishonored's AI is intelligent enough to support this (although you should play on the highest difficulty level to support this). Dishonored's advanced AI system allows for some truly unique AI, a dynamic system that controls the enemies through numerous factors. Sight, sound, perception, state of alertness, and every change to the world around you effects what happens in the mission. Playing carefully and being aware of everything you do is crucial to surviving the story, and it ensures that the encounters you come across in the game will make you think.Dishonored is really one of those games that we don't see too often. Enjoy it. For me, this is easily the best game of 2012. Unless something ends up surprising me this year, I don't see Dishonored losing out the GOTY crown. It is games like this that make me believe that video games still have a pulse. The legacy of Looking Glass Studios still radiates through the game industry, and games like Dishonored prove it. So get off the fence and get it. You won't regret it!PS: If you're interested in what I mean be immersive simulation, check out the comment box for an article describing the genre, by Steve Gaynor of Indie Game fame. Read more ›

Interesting, but has its flaws
H. Blair

I just finished a stealth playthrough of the game. To me, it was a somewhat frustrating experience, but still fun. I wanted the good ending, so I killed as few people as possible, but I did resort to direct combat at times.Attacking people directly is not only quicker, but there is also a more satisfying array of options. The game gives you many lethal weapons, such as guns, traps and the ability to reprogram any enemy technology to target bad guys instead. There are also powers that allow you to summon rats that devour your enemies and whirlwinds that slam them into walls.In stealth mode, there aren't very many ways to incapacitate the guards. There are crossbow bolts that put people to sleep, and you can sneak up behind people and knock them out, but that's about it. The option to knock people out does not always work as planned, either, and, even if the prompt comes up on screen, Corvo will sometimes raise his knife to block instead, usually right before the guard turns and sees you creepily standing behind him, which understandably freaks him out.In a nutshell, if you're still deciding which way to play, stealth offers the good ending, and violence offers gameplay fluidity.One decision I thought was strange was that the game always had Corvo carry a knife in his right hand, even if you are doing a nonviolent playthrough and even when you are only attempting to use a stealth skill such as blink. I never used the knife, but it was always there, in a space that could have been occupied by more useful abilities or equipment.The area levels are relatively open, compared to some of the more linear games that are out nowadays, but it's difficult to fully appreciate your surroundings in a stealth playthrough. At some points, I just wanted to walk around and look at the city, which had a watercolor aesthetic I really liked, but guards are everywhere, and you have to get rid of all of them before you can explore openly.I did not let that keep me from doing sidequests, though. I am very much a completionist, so I tried to explore all the areas fully before I left. There are many sidequests that don't even show up in your journal until you find a specific area, like saving a woman who's surrounded by rats or protecting an accused witch from overzealous guards, which helps with replayability. It was also fun to find the runes that upgrade your abilities and listen to the Outsider's (the guy who gives you your powers) take on in-game events.Though I tried to be as thorough as possible, and though I played stealth mode, which is inherently time-consuming, I finished the game in about eight hours. The story was a little formulaic, and the only characters who were really interesting were Granny Rags and the Outsider. I did like the audiographs, though, which important characters used to record their private thoughts (Sometimes too private, actually. If I was feeling guilty about murdering someone, I probably wouldn't record myself saying so.)Another thing that offers insight into the world is the heart the Outsider gives you, which can tell you more about characters and places in the game. The heart has a really cool voice and sometimes says interesting things about important NPC's. I was especially shocked at what it said about Piero, the scientist who upgrades your equipment at the Hound Pits Pub. Unfortunately, minor NPCs with similar backgrounds all have the same descriptions, like 'she hides her hands, which are red and raw from work,' will be a description for all women who aren't nobles or major NPCs.The tall boys, which were featured heavily in advertisements, show up very late in the game, and, as far as I could tell, there's no way to incapacitate them without killing them, which was annoying. There was an interesting tidbit in one of the books at Lady Boyle's party, though, which made them way more interesting and sympathetic.Despite my negativity in this review, I did like the game enough to give it three stars. I enjoyed playing a new IP, and I actually do like stealth games most of the time. Dishonored offers a lot of unique ways to get around without being seen, like possessing animals and stopping time, and it was fun to play with all the different options. The more destructive powers look promising too. Usually I can't stand to play the darker path, but for this game I'll try to give it a go so I can try out all the abilities.I pre-ordered this game months ago, and I think it was worth it. It was exciting to play something so new and different, even if there were a few flaws. Dishonored is hard to fit in one category, so I'm not sure how to recommend it to others, but hopefully this review will help anyone on the fence about buying the game. Read more ›

This game is a sleeper for sure
George M. Tsatsis

When I first saw the trailer of this game I knew I was in for a ride. this GAME IS AMAZING. I play it on my xbox and I have nothing bad to say about this. The game is smooth with such a style of game play that almost leaves you holding your very breath, This is a must have for anyone who enjoys games like bioshock or any assassins creed games. I got my copy at game stop but what really matters is how awesome the game plays. The creepy mixed with the vivid make it a game that you can play over and over again. I enjoy playing it without killing anyone. I beat the game, and now I am doing going to kill everyone and see what happens. It's just so amazing the way the games course changes and I knew when I pre-ordered it I was in for a sweet ride in the rat infested city with all the cool new steam punk theme mixed with a Satanic vibe. fps/AC feel to it makes for a game I will never get rid of. If you enjoy creepy games mixed with a lot of thinking this is the one. The gore is cranked up to 11 on this Rats that you can summon and just awesome kills in the most creative ways possible.I told all my friends about this while they are all playing borderlands 2, as am I cause that game is awesome as well. If you enjoy hide and seek style combat along with the chance to kill everything via supernatural and man made methods this is the game. The fact that you can get into places by possession of a rat or fish or human stop time in order to kill people with a razor wire trap, means this list of ways to kill is ridiculousness. I have never played a game like this before really nothing can you for it and the play through I have seen are not the whole game. If you play it you will understand. Gamestop has the 7 days to play or you can get rid of it for something else. No game can compare to this. I hope this helps you all and enjoy. It is something You will never forget.If you are sick of the run and Gun games this will have you on the edge of your seat.