Hey everyone-

In case you missed it the first time- here is our first look at Dishonored, a slightly frustrating experience for those seeking to earn the allusive GHOST achievement.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS
Check it out Here: http://www.puresophistry.com/2012/10/08/dishonored-review-blink-and-then-reload-save-file/

And expect full stealth walkthroughs for every mission

Cheers

wow, that was a very condesending review.... I hope I enjoy the game, but this writer obviously hated every aspect of the game. I really don't know how he could be so critical of the art... the whole steam-punk direction is really cool.

*sigh* No advertising...

So far your site's review is the most negative, which isn't bad necessarily except for some things that seem like grasping at an errant string on a sweater to pull and unravel. I would put a spoiler warning in the title of this thread and your opening post. Irrespective of how I feel about the opinions presented, the conclusion should be arrived at ideally without spoiling something. Next best thing is to let the prospective reader know beforehand.

What do you see as a spoiler? If I may ask?

Definitely looks interesting. The way you can experiment with your tools and the environments can inspire massive creativity. (I'm thinking Razor mine + Sparta kick )



+ But let's face it, the game lacks real variety. I know you can pretty much freely move around your environments and try out things; but that's it. It would be nice to have a lot more interaction with the environment, like destructible environment to a certain degree (roofs and walls that can be destroyed). This would add a lot more to the ability to experiment with the environment and also as open the door to the madman in everyone of us who just want to see the world burns (or exploded, bleed, skewered, etc...)


And interactions with the environments, like throwing stuff around, and environmental kills (head meets window frame, fence impalement...), more objects to be manipulated with...

The maps seem to be big, but it's really just a big map filled with not too much stuff and all you do is use your abilities to kill people. While I would like to have a complete open world; same size maps but deeper and more details and things to try out and experiment with would be alright, too.



+The AIs remind me of Skyrim AIs whom try to as quickly as possible to headbutt you the moment they spot you; and if they didn't find you then to them, you've never exist. This can dumb down the experience to just killing a bunch of flesh and bones simpletons. I would love to see improve AIs that feel and react (like showing fear, retreat and call for back up if they feel threatened, etc...).

In Skyrim, I think I was able to recreate what Dishonored would be (or vice versa, what Skyrim's stealth should have been), by simply invest in Illusion and Conjuration. Lots of experimentation with the even limited environment and AIs; but this environment is the size of Texas, and filled with dumb-asses.

An idea is to include enemies that are assassins themselves, who can do things like you do. This would create a much more satisfying confrontations where you are trying to beat these badass assassins at their own games.



+And the stealth. I like that how the stealth is reasonably smooth, and if you get caught you can always react on the fly. But stealth is way too familiar to Skyrim; which is good AND bad. It doesn't feel like true stealth, but it's probably due to the AIs


+Also, the upgrades are usually just simple Damage Increase, Accuracy increase; for powers its Duration Increase, Power Increase... Like I said; lack real variety... I would love to see some special enhancements to weapons, tools and abilities, such as



+Overall, this game would give you the somewhat freedom as much as Bioshock or Skyrim does... But I can see MASSIVELY HUMONGOUSLY GIGANTIC potential in a franchise. Add open world (huge plus), more complex enemies AIs, environment interactions and variety, power and tools variety, destructible environments (another huge plus)... Oh man... then we would have a heavyweight contender for a unique and kick-ass franchise.



I WILL get this game new and full price at least the end of the year (mostly due to having Borderlands 2 right now, and Hitman Absolution awaiting by the end of this months; and 6 midterms and 3 finals ) mostly because I want to support the developers so they will go ahead and push for a Dishonored 2.



+I'm seeing this game like deja vu with the first Borderlands, whom started out quite nicely (with the buying point that are the guns), then it evolved into a game with a massive amount of variety and a clear improvements from the first; while retaining what made it Borderlands in the first place.

As with this game, experimentation and steampunk, dark story seems to be its buying points. Make these elements as the franchise's "special things" and improve upon them



PS: With all of these abilities, it would be cool if we aren't tied down by a story. I would hope to be a free-lance killer in Dishonored 2, who can choose to become something like the Joker, whom inspires fear, chaos and destruction on the world as things blew up sky high around him.

And sorry for the fragmented grammar; not thinking straight at 1 o'clock in the morning.

Sorry for bailing before telling you but I started up a separate thread to try and point to non-spoiler reviews (not trying to rub it in). I'll re-read and let you know presently.

The last paragraph. I understand that you need examples to demonstrate the surprising depth to encounters both direct and indirectly when observing, but that was one I didn't really know (to be precise I believe Harvey gave a cryptic hint about this, but that might be regarding something else). Otherwise, your writing style is very casual and easy to absorb.

Tag it as spoiler-ish and please add on the more negative side of things-

Cheers

Definitely looks interesting. The way you can experiment with your tools and the environments can inspire massive creativity. (I'm thinking Razor mine + Sparta kick ) &--#60;Snip&--#62;

Sounds like you know little to nothing about Dishonored. And making a review is pointless unless you actually played through the whole game.

"It would be nice to have a lot more interaction with the environment, like destructible environment to a certain degree (roofs and walls that can be destroyed)."
This a stealth oriented game. Yes you can take the action approach but it is meant to be played with stealth, this is not some crazy shoot 'em up game. And it has been shown that you can in fact break parts of the environment. As to how far that extents I am not sure.

"The AIs remind me of Skyrims AIs"
Honestly for sneaking Skyrim's AI where mentally [censored], and part of that is owed to the sneaking skill that you can level. From what I've seen and read Dishonoreds' AI is more intelligent than just "My friends are dead and I've been lit on fire recently, time to sit down for a sweetroll."

"An idea is to include enemies that are assassins themselves"

Spoiler

There are other assassins some have similar powers others have unique powers.

"Also, the upgrades are usually just simple"
Only game I can think of that had "unique" upgrades is RAGE and that game was all kinds of wrong. What are you expecting? Time bend lvl 2: Confetti rains down and explodes on contact? Games try to be realistic within the boundaries they set for themselves. Being overly creative breaks immersion.

Well, having read three times the amount of reviews I had after reading yours the negative comment is an unfair one. I am ravenously pro-Dishonored and I also have not had the honor of playing yet so there was a little green-eye monster in me. In trying to find the Goldilocks review that imparts information and preserves the newness of discovering, it's an impossible task. So really I only have one other piece of advice I think you might want to heed. Unfortunately, that would mean editing what you've written already and that could be against your principles as an aspiring journalist. The sentence regarding "the world is 9000 years old..." (this is not a Dishonored detail, for anyone reading this) is very prickly, and I don't think it'll serve you well. Two things I will usually opt out of talking about: religion and politics. You kicked the door down on the first one. I'm an agnostic so my attitude usually is in keeping with the word, "I am without knowledge," of a spiritual experience. Others who take it seriously could tune out then and there. Unless you're catering to a specific audience, don't make your job harder by narrowing it down out of the gate.

Easy fix: "the world is geocentric". You can keep the suspiciously pious since it'll only offend ecumenical authorities in the late 1500s to early 1600s. If that happens, your problems are much worse since they involve offended zombie popes and cardinals (how did I let myself slide into blasphemy while suggesting you don't...). I know it's not as punchy but you can weigh the pros and cons.

I'll pop your link in, but I don't think many people are bothering to check back anymore and I'd have to recommend against as I've pretty much done with all of them, which is making the non-spoiler thread an increasingly questionable endeavor. Besides the odd spelling and capital letters occasionally, you really don't have problems besides the near opening sentence.

Good luck!

This is very much what both he and I were expecting. I would've prefered that Shadow Kill Level 2 turns enemies to miniature versions of themselves who are then treated like rats by the AI. Or a tactical nuke, or something. Poor show, Arkane. Poor show indeed.

Ow, man, OP, what was that? Have you heard of something called "page layout", or "spacing", or "punctuation". Was that even English? That article is very sloppy.

1/10.