21st Century Gaming: Dishonored (part 5)

In my previous post, I stated that I desired revenge against those that poisoned me. The final parts of the game did not disappoint. I had begun this undertaking to find those responsible for killing the Empress and kidnapping her daughter. I had completed this task, and had been struck down by those that had assisted me. Perhaps they desired power and wanted me out of the way, or perhaps they were scared for the monster I had become.

Spying on the assassins

 Either way, they were beyond my sword at this point, and I had to get through the assassins territory. Daud the assassin was the tool by which my enemies had killed the Empress, and it seemed fitting that I dealt with him while I was in the neighbourhood. Either way, I had to go through his headquarters to find my way back to the Hound Pits and discover where my former colleagues were hiding.

21st Century Gaming: Dishonored (part 4)

So I think I'm at least half-way through the game, perhaps even two-thirds. So I feel like it's a good time to write a little bit while I have everything running clearly through my head.

The Boldest Measures Are The Safest

I've already mentioned the early game, with it's obvious betrayal and cliché plot setup. What follows is a trip through Coldridge prison and the sewers. It's where the game really feels like it's started, where you can begin to make your choices between stealth and death. Choose to kill and you raise the "chaos" level, or you can choose to avoid all combat (and for added difficulty, try not to be noticed at all for the "ghost" playthrough). The level of chaos (high or low) is supposed to change certain parts of the game, although I haven't noticed much yet. It's quite possible that my murderous ways have made things more difficult, but I won't know exactly until the ending. It says something for the quality of the game that I'm actually considering a second play-through (non-violent) before I even finish it the first time.

Bioshock: A Series Of Opinions

So I've decided to make a series of posts about certain blockbuster and highly influential games and essentially it's going to be a bit of a rant (hence the title), so bear with me but I hope to actually say something worthwhile at the same time. This time: BIOSHOCK.

All screenshots are from the demo, for reasons

I'm discussing the first Bioshock game here, I haven't played the second one or the new Skyoshock: Infinite, so I can't speak for anything they do. I might get around to playing them at some point in the nebulous future, but given that I have so many games to play and so much to write about, I can't see that happening any time soon.

"No encounter plays the same way twice. No two gamers will ever play the same way."

21st Century Gaming: Dishonored (part 3)

The tools of the trade vary greatly between different games. While most first-person games tend to have a limited selection (generally a list of firearms of increasing power), the likes of Thief and Deus Ex provided weaponry, tools and more to the player. With Dishonored, the arsenal is comprised of three parts: Weaponry, Magical abilities and special tools.

The weapons of Dishonored are the least interesting of the three. Your first acquisition is a sword, for lethal takedowns and melee combat. Next up is a wheel-lock pistol, and finally a small crossbow. The pistol is noisy and inaccurate, and not really something you would recommend using. The crossbow has a wider variety of uses, with different darts for different uses (normal, sleep, incendiary). At various points you can buy upgrades for all of these (and for other equipment too), which makes them more useful to use.

21st Century Gaming: Dishonored (part 2)

I mentioned last time that the game draws from a variety of other games in terms of it's general aesthetic and mechanics. But which games?

Metal walls enclose areas

Oddly enough, it wasn't Thief that I thought of first, it was Half Life. The opening boat ride is vaguely reminiscent of the tram ride in the first game, and the initial exploration and exposition is similar to the initial areas of the second game. Dishonored is a game that wants you to look around, and see the effort they've put into the world. Upon entering the Hound Pits, the pub that is your base of operations, you also get time to look around at your leisure.

The Wall of Light, futuristic security in an industrial era

21st Century Gaming: Dishonored (Part 1)

Generally, this blog is about old games, as I revisit classic games from my past or play through ones that I missed the first time around. However, I'm not just interested in old games! There are amazing new games being made all the time, and so I'm going to devote a little time to the ones that I've been playing. First up: Dishonored.

Dishonoured

Dishonored is a first-person game, with a focus somewhere between exploration, stealth and combat. From what little I had read about it before purchasing, it seemed to be heavily influenced by the Thief series. After a few hours of play, I find it's influences are far more broad than that. But first: what is the game actually all about?

The boat ride, showing off the art department's handiwork

X-COM: Mars Attacked

So this is Mars, the red planet. The alien base is surrounded by an atmospheric bubble, and with no noticeable defences we landed without incident. Odd, considering how well armed my bases are, and with retro-fitted alien technology to boot! I guess they underestimated our ability to attack them here.

Always a risk, keeping soldiers this close together

The battle on the surface of Mars is just  the prelude, and involves a scattered selection of Sectoids. They've never been the most fearsome of aliens, and now that I've got a squad of my strongest Psychic soldiers they pose even less of a threat. Since I have no need for their technology at this stage, I decide to use a few Blaster bombs, and level a few of the pyramid buildings.

A bit more spread out here, searching through these pyramid structures