Dishonored
Tags: sci-fi

Plot synopsis:
=== Setting ===
Dishonored takes place in the industrial city of Dunwall, where technology and otherworldly forces coexist. The city's design is modeled on London and Edinburgh between the late 1800s and the early 1900s. The capital of the Empire of the Isles, Dunwall, is ruled by an oppressive regime that came to power following the assassination of the Empress and the kidnapping of her daughter. The city is a center for fishing and whaling; whale oil is a valuable resource which is needed to power the city. After a philosopher discovered that whale oil—known in the city as trans—can be used as a fuel, the government used it to develop powerful weaponry, which in turn bred government corruption. The city is stricken with a plague spread by rats, which is killing the poor and isolating the rich. The infected, known as "weepers", cry blood and can become violent. The government uses the plague as an excuse to take or purge citizens as they wish. Order is maintained by the Tallboys, heavily armored officers on tall, mechanical legs, and districts are separated by barriers known as "Walls of Light", which are made of energy and disintegrate unauthorized people who try to cross them. A covert group of activists, the Loyalists, plots to overthrow the government and install the Empress' daughter as the new Empress.
=== Characters ===
The main character of Dishonored, whom the player controls, is Corvo Attano, the former bodyguard to Dunwall's Empress Jessamine Kaldwin (April Stewart). Corvo becomes an infamous assassin after he is framed for the empress' murder. He is skilled in stealth and combat, is armed with unusual gadgets, and possesses great supernatural powers. The game designers chose Corvo to remain silent so that players could project themselves onto the character. Corvo is aided by the Loyalists, led by Admiral Havelock (John Slattery), and members: Piero Joplin (Brad Dourif)—an inventor who builds Corvo's mask and supplies him with gadgets; Treavor Pendleton (Derek Phillips)—a member of parliament; Samuel (Ryan Cutrona)—a commoner who ferries Corvo to and from his missions; Overseer Teague Martin (Joel Johnstone); and Callista Curnow (Lena Headey)—the caretaker for the Empress' daughter Young Lady Emily (Chloë Grace Moretz). Other characters include Granny Rags (Susan Sarandon)—a former aristocrat now blind and deranged after years of living on the streets; Daud (Michael Madsen)—leader of a group of assassins known as "the Whalers"; and Slackjaw (Al Rodrigo)—a gang leader. Carrie Fisher and Gregg Berger provide the voices of the loudspeakers found throughout the city relaying government propaganda.
The Outsider (Billy Lush) offers to help Corvo in his quest. Described as a mixture of God and the Devil, The Outsider imprints his mark on Corvo, imbuing him with magical abilities, and provides him with a mechanically altered human heart (April Stewart) that tells Corvo secrets. The Outsider also grants his mark, and special abilities, to other characters. Smith described the character as an amoral figure who grants abilities, but leaves the choice of how to use them up to the recipient.
Corvo's targets include the Lord Regent Hiram Burrows (Kristoffer Tabori)—the Empress' former spymaster who masterminded her death and framed Corvo, and now controls Dunwall; Burrows' lover Lady Boyle (Anna Graves)—an aristocrat funding the military; Lords Custis and Morgan known as the Pendleton Twins (Zach Hanks)—members of parliament; High Overseer Campbell (Daniel Hagen)—leader of the city's religious order; and Anton Sokolov (Roger Jackson)—a genius inventor responsible for the creation of many advanced technologies including the Wall of Light.
=== Plot ===
After returning from a foreign voyage to seek aid with the deadly plague ravaging the city, Corvo Attano travels to the tower of Dunwall and meets with the Empress. After delivering a message, they are attacked by teleporting assassins led by Daud; they magically restrain Corvo, kill the Empress and kidnap her daughter Emily. The Empress' Spymaster arrives and has Corvo imprisoned for her murder and Emily's abduction. Six months later, the Spymaster has seized control of Dunwall as Lord Regent. Interrogating Corvo, the Lord Regent confesses that he masterminded the assassination and framed Corvo. The following day, Corvo is due to be executed. In his cell, a letter from Empire Loyalists is smuggled to Corvo, and he is given the means to escape. After escaping, Samuel ferries Corvo to the Hound Pits pub to meet the Loyalists, led by Admiral Havelock.
While resting at the pub, Corvo is taken to a dream world where he meets the Outsider, who brands Corvo with his mark. Corvo is sent by the Loyalists to eliminate the conspirators behind the Lord Regent's plot, and the player is given the option to kill or otherwise neutralize Corvo's targets, the first of which is High Overseer Campbell. During the mission, Corvo meets Granny Rags and Slackjaw. Corvo removes the High Overseer and discovers that Emily is being held in a brothel called the Golden Cat under the supervision of twins Custis and Morgan Pendleton. Corvo rescues Emily and eliminates the brothers. After returning to the pub, Emily is taken into the care of Callista to prepare her for becoming Empress, while Corvo is sent to abduct the genius scientist Sokolov, who is responsible for the Lord Regent's powerful technologies. Sokolov is taken to the pub for interrogation, under which he divulges the identity of the Lord Regent's financier, Lady Boyle. Corvo infiltrates Boyle's masquerade ball, deduces which of the three sisters is the Lord Regent's mistress, and disposes of her.
After returning to the pub, Havelock confirms they have done enough damage to move on the Lord Regent. Corvo infiltrates the tower of Dunwall and removes the Lord Regent from power and, in the process, learns that the Lord Regent intentionally imported the plague to decimate the lower classes of society, though things quickly got out of hand. Corvo returns to the Hound Pits pub where the Loyalists celebrate their success. After sharing a drink, Corvo goes to his room and collapses. Upon waking he learns that his drink was poisoned by Samuel at the behest of Havelock and his Loyalist allies Treavor Pendleton and Teague Martin to prevent him interfering in their plan to install Emily as Empress and rule through her. Samuel remains loyal to Corvo and had given him a non-lethal dose of poison. Samuel sets Corvo adrift on the river and flees. When Corvo wakes, he is a prisoner of the assassin Daud and his men, who killed the Empress and intend to claim the bounty placed on Corvo's head by the now Lord Regent Havelock.
Corvo defeats Daud and his assassins before traveling through Daud's territory and into the sewers where he finds Granny Rags attempting to cook Slackjaw. Corvo can eliminate either Slackjaw or Granny Rags, who is revealed to be a witch called Vera Moray. Corvo returns to the pub to find it overrun with guards and that Havelock has killed many of the Loyalists. He discovers where Havelock has taken Emily, and can save Piero, Sokolov and Calista. Corvo signals to Samuel, who ferries him to the former Lord Regent's lighthouse. He infiltrates the lighthouse and either subdues Pendleton and Martin or finds that Havelock, to ensure the Loyalists' actions are never known, has already killed them. Once finished with Havelock, Corvo may or may not rescue Emily. Havelock's journal reveals that the Lord Regent suspects that Emily is Corvo's daughter.
The ending varies depending upon the level of chaos the player has caused throughout the game. If Corvo saves Emily, she ascends the throne as Empress with Corvo at her side. If only a small amount of chaos has been caused, a golden age dawns and the plague is finally overcome. After many decades, Corvo dies of natural causes and Empress Emily Kaldwin I the Wise buries him beside Empress Jessamine. If much chaos is caused, the city remains in turmoil and is overrun with the plague. If Corvo fails to save Emily, Dunwall crumbles and Corvo flees the city by ship.

Review: It had been a long time since I'd played a good story-driven FPS.
Framed for the Empress' murder, a rage-impelled Corvo is propelled through a plethora of brilliantly designed levels for getting revenge armed with both mordacious arsenal of guns/arrows/grenades & supernatural powers.
"Set in the fictional industrial city of Dunwall, modeled after Victorian London, Dishonored follows Corvo Attano, a legendary bodyguard to the Empress who is framed for her murder and forced to become an assassin to seek revenge on those who conspired against him.
Attano is aided in his quest by the Outsider, a powerful being who imbues him with magical abilities." – WikipediaOn another note, I don't understand why all FPS games are going the RPG way these days.
I do understand nobody prefers just run-n-gun FPS games now and even I, myself wasn't so thrilled playing Serious Sam 3!
It's a boon to games like Dishonored and I promise I'll get back to that, but I miss those story-oriented linear games of the yesteryear, ala 'Return to Castle Wolfenstein'.I have to say the graphics is stellar, courtesy of a modified Unreal Engine.
It almost feels like a living painting: the sunbeams, the water, the caricaturistic character models, everything seem to just liven the Dishonored world beyond anything.
It is not a sandbox game and hence the invisible walls but consider Dishonored a playground where you can play according to your choice.
The sheer number of alternative routes to complete a mission in this game will boggle your mind and here Dishonored shines.
The game encourages you to play without killing a single NPC/Enemy.
Yes, it seems it's possible to complete the game without any fatalities but it was tough for me to use those immensely satisfying powers and weapons.
At its core Dishonored is still an FPS/RPG, just like Bioshock.
Instead of Adam and Plasmids you have Runes and Bone Charms and yes it changes the way you play the game drastically.The music and ambiance added plentiful to the already gratifying experience.
Dishonored promises great and varied level design as well enemies, an interesting plot, good gameplay innovations and gorgeous set-piece moments.
Still I think everything was done right from the intro to the ending because this just one of those games I would say gets you more interested into whatever is going on in their world rather than interactive gameplay, which definitely complements the whole revenge thing because revenge definitely needs a solid story.It wasn't too long and not too short, because the game is pretty straight forward in what you have to do, and has a few RPG elements in it.
This game is a testament to the faith of hardcore gamers waiting for a game that will never disappoint.Dishonored tells the story of Corvo, the Lord Protector of the Empress of a huge plague ridden empire and her daughter.
Now he must fight, with the help of his new found allies, against the very men who framed him and with deadly stealth, prevent them from taking over the empire.So everything in this game was great although I think it would have been better if it was a third person game like Assassin's Creed or Prince of Persia.
Story: After being framed for the murder of the Empress and the disappearance of Emily, you and and group of loyalist set out after the people who framed you.Sound: Music fits perfectly.
Great sound.Graphics: Adds a unique feel to the game.
Water effects look great.Gameplay: You can kill people with either a sword, a gun, or a crossbow.
It gets to be white noise learning about the horrors of life here in the city of Dunwall, with its mix of steampunk and Victorian era, leading to many cool designs and visuals.
This game was amazing because it's style was unique, the game that you feel like your choices mattered in the end, it had really good game mechanics and immersive narrative.
Great stealth game elevated by a fantastic setting..
I've never really liked the concept of stealth games.
I loved studying the brilliantly designed levels from stealth- watching patrolling guards and scanning for alternate routes to your objective.
I started out intending to be a ruthless assassin, but after murdering the high overseer and Pendleton's brothers- and being rewarded with extremely satisfying slow-motion kill animations- I found myself gravitating toward the non-lethal options.This is probably a reflection of how invested I was becoming in the city of Dunwall.
And let me make it clear that this is the game's biggest strength in my view- the setting.
This is great world building it may not have quite the depth of the first Bioshock or Mass Effect, but visually, it is unforgettable.My only real complaint is that the characters themselves were less than memorable, and the game's twist was a bit weak.
But this isn't an RPG, and I'm glad it didn't try to be one.All in all, Dishonored offers great stealth-based gameplay, elevated by one of the most memorable settings I've experienced in recent years..
Pros: Variety in methods of infiltration and assassination.Nice controls and good gameplay.Great story.Fairly good graphics.
Might seem cartoony, but they're fine.Good missions.Fun tools and weapons to work with.Gruesome kills and gore.
I don't like Corvo's in game design.
He looks better on the cover.The fact that I generally don't get all of my powers upgraded by the end of a session; and I don't have enough runes or bone charms.
Short Summary:This is a wonderful game that has a lot of variety, tools, methods of assassination and infiltration and take downs.
Even though I have personal dislikes such as the save slots, limited non lethal tactics and weapons, difficulty to get your magic set fully finished and upgraded and inability to take down Tallboys non lethally.
In all, this is a great Victorian era like distopian setting with a lot of variety, a great atmosphere and awesome ways of dealing with your enemies..
As a stealth game, I think this is probably one of the standard ones in terms of story but it makes up for it in it's art style and it's gameplay.
I'll describe the gameplay in detail later but if it sounds like your thing then this is a very fun game.
However, if you're like me then you'll see how close the story came to being good but fails.The plot is that Corvo, the Empress of Dunwall's bodyguard is searching for a cure to the plague.
However you are also given supernatural powers of your choosing, this can be used to determine the way you play the game.The gameplay can be best described as taking the level design of a Hit-man game, adding in bits of Assassin's Creed and on top of that something like Bioshock or The Elder Scrolls.
The supernatural powers are fun to use, I used possession and teleporting all the time and I did like some of the weapons as well, this game does offer plenty of variety in how to play it, maybe sparking interest in replaying the game.
Either way, the swordplay is excellent, probably the best I've seen in a while and the powers alone are worth replaying by mixing around.Okay, what didn't I like?
I could guess that the people I was helping were going to betray Corvo by the end, partly because I honestly didn't think it made sense to take him on board otherwise and even still, the game is about 4 or 5 levels long without the betrayal.
If they built on Corvo's relationship with Emily, if they conveyed his determination without gameplay, if they explained why he is getting the supernatural powers above all others, then this probably could have been a solid 10, give or take.
But as is, the story is not very good.I'd say if what you're looking for is a game that has variety and could easily replay missions and come out with something different then I would recommend this game, it's story has an extreme drag factor to it but I'd say if you want a stealth game with variety, then while this doesn't deliver on the same level as, let's say - Hit-man Blood Money, I'd say it is worth a look..
The plot of this game sees you imprisoned for killing the Empress – the woman you were employed at the highest level to protect.
How you proceed is up to you – you can kill everyone you meet by stealth, incapacitate them and hide their unconscious bodies or slip by everyone without being seen and complete the story with foes removed but no actual blood on your hands.The game plays very well in this regard because you can approach missions in different ways.
I tended to go for stealth and non-violent removal of guards just to make life easier (I never had to worried about being spotted by those behind me if I left nobody behind me!) and it was only when things got dicey when I resorted to killing.
The mix of styles allows for several playthroughs and I found it quite satisfying to play it how with a natural approach and then also try to do it as a complete ghost and then as a total killing machine – each approach has its own challenges and this I enjoyed.
I could have done with some more meat on the bone though, in particular because the game has elements of open-world gaming to it and could have done with more.What I mean by this is that there are collectibles that help you develop your character (which is very much a sandbox thing) but yet the game works in levels and has a clear end point.
There are side missions (again open world) but they mostly fit in with the main story to the point where they do not feel like distractions – they don't add much time to the game because in most cases they involve a slight change of route to do them.
I would have liked more of this because the game is pretty short; I don't game for long periods but even playing for no more than a few hours a night, I was able to sneak my way through the game even doing the side missions – it would have nice to have had more in the way of random encounters and more meat to those that did exist (the safes are a good example – but their reward is hardly worth it).
The lack of these distractions does tend to mean that route 1 is the clearest way to go, meaning a shorter game.It is still well designed though and I liked the various ways of getting through areas, the gameplay was varied and for those that seek achievements, the spread of them is such to force you to play with or without magic, with or without killing anyone etc.
It still looks good and the key thing is it plays smoothly, but the delivery never quite lives up to the concept.Overall though, this is an enjoyable stealth game with opinions in how you want to approach it, which adds life to the game.
I was finished within a few weeks though (on limited playing time) and I am glad that I did not pay for the game.
Probably one for a rental unless you are an achievement chaser and a stealth game fan, in which case there is probably more life from it.
Dishonored is a first-person, stealth-based action game.
In the end, it just might be trying to be too much.The game is set in a steampunk-ish, Victorian universe.
Like that chap in that video used to say: consequences will never be the same - depending on how you act, people, the city and the story will shift one way or the other.The general setting of the game is absolutely brilliant.
The world this story takes place in is beautiful, credible and the atmosphere throughout the game is memorable.
Reminiscent of Team Fortress, Borderlands or the Fable series, the art this game employs is gonna be a love or hate thing for a lot of people.
Segmented in missions and levels, objectives can be completed in a number of different ways.
The important thing is that how to complete each mission is up to you and different choices lead to different results.Dishonored does a good job at making every choice, every path viable and somewhat distinct.
However, this is offset by the fact that, through obtainable character upgrades, you are pushed to explore every level as much as you can, so you actually end up experiencing every possible path anyway, making the "choosing" kind of pointless.The game also incorporates some climbing, a "blink" type of skill and a wide assortment of weapons and magic spells.
Some of them are pretty cool, like being able to stop time or possess a person or animal, but it feels like they are there for the "wow" factor instead of really adding to the uniqueness of the gameplay.
Combat abilities suffer from a similar fault in that they feel taken from other games as opposite to organic to this one.There's nothing inherently wrong with Dishonored, but it tries too hard to be good at too much and it ends up not being great at anything.
Not quite a pure stealth game either, since the mechanics, AI and abilities don't really point towards that direction.
Probably not: weapons, moves and combat skills are also shallow.It's been a long time since I wanted to like a game so much and wasn't able to.
I feel it's a real shame, because the setting and style behind Dishonored alone are so finger-licking good.Sadly, the entire thing is spoiled by how weak it is in every other department.
Maybe it would've been better if it wasn't a first-person game.
Perhaps if it committed to a more definite aspect, like adding more stealth mechanics, instead of trying to go for the character upgrades, the collectibles, the exploration, the choice and consequence system, the side-missions and so forth.
The fact that the game is segmented in separate missions doesn't help, either: open-world was definitely the way to go here.
The list goes on.In a misinterpretation of the "less is more" mantra, this game tried to cram a bunch of features together, while at the same time managed to keep them all extremely under-developed and superficial.In closing, Dishonored is a commendable attempt at creating an action game with a very unique setting that, sadly, falls short due to how much it tries to be at once..
A decent stealth/action game, with design quality close to Half Life 2..
One of the better games in the stealth/action genre.
Compared to Metro Last light, this has better gameplay mechanics, especially when stealth is considered.
All the textures are based on watercolor art instead of photos - it looks lovely.This game is good, but some things prevent it from being great: The gameplay is solid, but we have seen it all before - it is very mainstream and not "realistic" - guards are as dumb as usual, and if I had to sneak past one, there was always a perfectly placed cover object etc, and I would roll my eyes.
Setting: You are Corvo Attano, former royal protector of the empress, and wrongfully framed for her murder for which you find yourself in jail.
Set in an alternate, plague-ridden industrial revolution, this game is visually staggering, and the atmosphere constantly foreboding.
But even if you consider yourself a purist, whether for role playing games, first person shooters, or any other category: if you open yourself up to the experience, take your time to explore the environment and familiarize with the characters, you will realize that this game is much greater than the sum of its parts, and allows for a truly immersive experience.
However, if you focus or expect too much of any one aspect of this game, like gameplay, plot, combat, characters, or weapons, you will miss out.
While this necessarily isn't a bad game, however, due to its trial and error game play, uninteresting narrative, and short length, I can only recommend this as a rental game, and not a buy.The story is, you're an assassin, who is assigned to meet with the empress of a steam punk and gloomy city.
The characters are honestly very bland and mundane, even though normally the voice acting is convincing and reasonably well done.The game play also isn't really much better.
You receive a lot of remarkably imaginative super natural abilities like the power to leap around areas( which, is at first, is effective for evading and avoiding present enemies) but, as the game goes on, the levels become more dreary and dull looking and it becomes increasingly taxing to move through.Graphically the game is quite stunning, and initially the world looks across between Half life and bioshock, but this game has almost none of the immersion or the complexity of those two games.
For a game of this size, its practically criminal that that it doesn't have any extra side missions or quests to tend to, and there is the option to actually not harm anyone in the game or neutralize any of your targets( but seriously, what is the point of that when the sole reason you bought this game to begin with was to kill people?) but, the game at least doesn't penalize you or punish you as much as Deus ex did for doing so, but, it drastically affects the ending you receive if you do ever take down anyone.I'm positive, deep down, Dishonored could have been a wonderful video game, it could have been so much better, if more effort went into its storytelling and its game play, but, as it stands, its merely a mediocre game with interesting concepts.
Had it been executed in role playing game style, this could have possessed more appeal.