This year at E3 I had a chance to check out a demo of Bethesda’s “Dishonored” game. Running a little late for my appointment, I was a little frazzled and a tad miffed I wasn’t able to grab a seat in the mini-theatre at the Bethesda booth where the demo was on display. This being said, once the live demo started to roll all my complaints were but a distant memory as Arkane studio’s “Dishonored” has quickly turned into a game that will very much be on my radar come this October when the game hits the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC.
In Dishonored, you take control of Corvo Atano who was once a bodyguard for an Empress but he was later framed for her assassination. As a result, he was imprisoned and now seeks vengeance on the person who framed him. Using his supernatural powers, marksmanship, stealth abilities and glut of weapons, Corvo sets off on journey for vengeance. That is the basic premise of the game. Obviously there is much more to it than that but that is all I took in before the demo launched.
From what I can tell Dishonored is set in an open world setting featuring many missions and an intricate upgrade system. In the demo, we had a chance to take in one of the games missions where Corvo was tasked with taking down a couple of crooked politicians who also just happen to be brothers. Both also seem to prefer ‘women of the night’ as every time Corvo came close to the politicians, scantily clad women were pandering to the brothers every need. Yes folks this game is rated mature for reasons other than just the brutal violence.
The Dishonored demo was played in the first-person and will inevitable draw many comparisons to Bioshock as the seamless weapon selection system is very much like Bioshock’s weapon selection. The games combat also looked somewhat similar to the Bioshock franchise. This is not a bad thing as Bioshock features terrific combat. Despite this Dishonored is very different. Dishonored has a heavy emphasis on stealth gameplay and during much of the demo we had a chance to watch many of the stealth combat mechanics at work. The gameplay is also varied as you can brutalize your enemy with some of the most vicious deaths you will ever see. For the less aggressive type, you can also take down your enemy in a non-lethal fashion. The first part of the demo featured sequences where you are able to teleport short distances from one place to the next selecting a manner in which you want to take down an enemy. In the demo Corvo uses his quick teleport powers to reach certain areas undetected as he subsequently puts the sleeper hold on an enemy. He then uses his teleporting abilities to hide the enemy just behind an awning-like structure so none of the remaining enemies can detect the body.
In terms of weaponry, Corvo has access to daggers, guns, daggers and muskets. His supernatural powers includes temporarily freezing players, summoning plague infested rats that ravage the enemies to pieces and possessing humans, animals and even fish. What does the possessing entail? Well in one sequence we watched Corvo possess a fish. The fish then swam through a draining pipe which lead Corvo to the “Golden Cat” which was the main area Corvo needed to infiltrate so he could dispose of the politicians. This was a neat little gameplay mechanic and was executed flawlessly. Why Corvo has these mysterious powers I am not so sure; however, it appears it has something to do with the world and is perhaps linked to his time imprisoned.
Possessing fish, teleporting and choke holds were not the only stealth combat sequences we observed. Corvo was also seen in the game pick-pocketing the enemies, and using his “dark vision” to see in other rooms. After we watched the stealth gameplay mechanics at work, the development team went back and replayed the mission with “guns a blazing” and with reckless abandon. The second replay of the mission featured brutal and vicious deaths. In one instance a pack of rats ravaged the enemy to death. In another instance Corvo used his windblast powers to launch the enemies over a balcony. The end result was pretty cool and as I looked around the theater people were grinning from ear to ear.
The live demo of the game takes place in a very unique and picturesque setting. I was in awe with the overall look of the game demo. It almost looks and feels very much like an Assassins Creed-like historical environment. From my perspective this is certainly a compliment to the development team as Assassins Creed remains one of the best looking franchises on current consoles to date.
Just when we thought we were all done, the demo took us to a flooded district where were greeted by “Tall Boys”. No these were not large beer cans but rather they were police on large robotic stilts. The district has become flooded with plague so the police need the stilts to keep them high off the ground. Taking down the Tall Boys was difficult but using Corvo’s arsenal of combat tools the Tall Boys are eventually taken down.
Overall, Bethesda’s Dishonored is looking like a must own game when it is released later this fall. Wonderful visuals and varied combat alone makes this game one that gamers will want to seriously consider pre-ordering sooner than later.
