It appears that the ‘First Person’ playing theme has taken root in another genre: Action-Adventure.
Most notably seen in the game Bioshock, we witnessed how the First Person view could be used effectively in more than just in shooting games. Implementing new engines to further immerse the player in the experience was part of the reason why Bioshock was such a successful game franchise. While Bioshock was a great success, we haven’t seen many more games that push the First-Person view to its true potential. That was, at least, until we saw the first trailers for Dishonored. Made by Bethesda Stuio, along with Arkane Studios, the same group that created Bioshock 2, this game pushes the bill for First Person Adventure gaming.
The fictional nation known as the Isles is choking in chaos. With the Empress dead, and a plague running rampant, martial law has come into effect. Accused of murdering of the Empress, decorated soldier, Corporal Corvo Atano is given a chance to avenge the people of this land, and his Empress -who suffered from the injustice and evil actions of other nobles, particularly the Lord Regent-, when a stranger enters his cell and grants him supernatural powers. Branded by the mark of the Outsider, Atano begins his quest for revenge.
Trailers that show game play styles: Gamerant Article with game play trailers
Now while much of this sounds similar to Bioshock, there are a few things that differentiate the game from its Studio’s predecessor.
“You could probably say that dishonored is what you would get if Thief and Bioshock had a steampunk lovechild in Victorian England while J.C Denton and Gordan Freeman watch” – IGN reporter during trailer for Dishonored.
1. There is no set path in this game. While it is not a sandbox game, players still have the options to play to their preferences. While there is a linear series of missions, each mission is a sandbox within itself. Players can run in guns blazing, or crawl in the shadows.
2. The steampunk theme allows for a unique weapon set; rather than having simple guns, players are given intriguing weapons such as a mini-crossbow, and razor wire bombs. Along with these weapons, Dishonored has unique supernatural powers- doing away with simple fire, ice and heal magic, players have the ability to ‘blink’ (short range teleport), summon rats, and possess people and animals. These powers and weapons work together in a symbiotic way that allows for cool combined attacks as well as one of a kind game play strategy.
3. While this game has a similar paint-like visual art style to Bioshock, the environment itself is far more unique. Coupling desolate slums with breath taking wealthy areas, all tweaked with a touch of steam punk, the world easy on the eyes and appealing to gamers.
4. Complementing the ‘No set path’ game play system, an interesting acrobatics system has been put in place, allowing players to leap from roof to roof, as well as scale walls. While these stunts are not as easy on the eyes as those of Assassin’s Creed, they still add an interesting element to the game.
With these unique characteristics, I believe that Dishonored has the potential of being a mega hit in the video game industry. The combination of a intriguing story, a visually appealing world, and a unique game play model allows for it to be a one of a kind game. Be sure to look out for Dishonored in October of this year.
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