Dishonoured

[Sly Reflex]

http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/games/868719-fallout-and-elder-scrolls-publisher-announces-dishonoured

Dishonored isn't being developed by Bethesda itself but by French developer Arkane Studios, best known for PC-orientated first person role-players such as Arx Fatalis and Dark Messiah Of Might & Magic.

Arkane are very well regarded in PC circles and according to Bethesda it's only a lack of publisher support that has stopped their game becoming bigger hits in the past. Also on the team making the game is Deus Ex co-creator Harvey Smith and Viktor Antonov, who designed City 17 in Half-Life 2.

There's less information on what Dishonored actually is, compared to who's making it, but that's because U.S. mag Game Informer is currently drip-feeding information about it, ahead of the release of its next issue.

All we've really got to go on at the moment is the above magazine cover and a brief description of the game that begins with the insistence that it is 'the antithesis of a edge-of-your-seat roller-coaster ride'.

'It's a game about assassination where you don't have to kill anyone. It's a game about infiltration where you can set up traps and slaughter the entire garrison of an aristocrat's mansion rather than sneak in. It's a game about brutal violence where you can slip in and out of a fortified barracks with nobody ever knowing you were there. It's a game about morality and player choice where the world you create is based on your actions, not navigating conversation trees.'

So a cross between Deus Ex and Hitman?

There's no information on the story or setting yet but if you study the magazine cover you'll see it seems to imply some sort of futuristic dystopia, not unlike City 17 itself.

Dishonored will be out on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC in 2012 and hopefully we'll get to see it in action later in the year.

I like the idea behind this. Hopefully it wont turn out to be the car crash Brink turned out for Bethesda.

[Sly Reflex]

http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/games/869054-first-dishonored-screenshot-appears-online

Dishonored was announced last week, as a new game from Arx Fatalis and Dark Messiah Of Might & Magic developer Arkane Studios. The whole unveiling is an exclusive for U.S. mag Game Informer and they're the ones with these new details.

The original description sounded like a cross between Deus Ex and Hitman, and that still seems like a fairly good comparison. The setting of the game has an unexpectedly retro side to it though, with you acting as a bodyguard to an Empress - in a world where everyone has started fighting with swords again and dressing up like they're in Tsarist Russia.

As the game begins, though, you're framed for the murder of the Empress, as someone called Lord Regent organises a coup. Handily your character, named Corvo, has both supernatural powers and a range of James Bond style gadgets - both of which he's able to use to try and avenge his mistress.

Apart from being the same basic plot as The Witcher 2, it all sounds quite promising and nothing like the grey sci-fi universe the original cover art implied.

The real hook though is the gameplay and the way the special powers work. Apparently they're not just single use abilities and you have to combine them in order to get any kind of useful effect. Stopping time to knock over a table as a distraction, as you move off in the other direction, is one example.

Summoning a swarm of rats to attack a guard and then possessing one of them to escape is another. Again, where not sure where the robot head and dystopian future implied by the original artwork comes into it, but finding a new game doesn't fit any preconceived notions is definitely a good thing.

The game also features a morality system of sorts, which takes note of how much collateral damage you cause and subtlety changes the game world as a result.

Dishonored is due out on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC in 2012 next spring.

It's only one shot, and in all fairness it looks a bit bland. Picture is in the link if you are interested.

[Sly Reflex]

'Call Of Duty makes gamers dumb' says Dishonored developer

The French developer of new first person adventure Dishonored has hit out against the Call Of Duty franchise, claiming that it makes players 'stupid' and unable to play non-action orientated games.

http://www.metro.co.uk/tech/games/870600-call-of-duty-makes-gamers-dumb-says-dishonored-developer

Dishonored was announced a few weeks ago as the latest game from Arx Fatalis and Dark Messiah Of Might & Magic developer Arkane Studios, and is to be published by Fallout and Elder Scrolls publisher Bethesda. Relatively little is known about it at the moment, except that it's not a straight action game.

That means it has relatively little in common with something like Call Of Duty, but it hasn't stopped lead designer Raphael Colantonio attacking it anyway, saying: 'If you make gamers stupid with Call Of Duty and out of nowhere you come with a game like Dishonored ...'

He said this to Belgian games mag Chief so we're not sure how he finished the sentence, but we think you get the gist of it. In fact we doubt you'll need Google to translate the original headline of 'Call Of Duty maakt gamers dom'.

Colantonio goes on to say that, 'I'm not very impressed with Call of Duty.' Before claiming that other first person games such as BioShock and Dues Ex are better 'training' for Arkane's games and other more puzzle and role-playing orientated titles.

Whether he said all this just to get some free publicity or because he likes perpetuating national stereotypes about the French being rude we're not sure, but he's probably just ensured a significant percentage of Call Of Duty fans are not going to buy his game whatever happens.

Why would a CoD fan give a fuck about this? *shrugs*

[Sambob]

Its and odd one. Bit like saying, here's my new game, people who like <insert big name franchise here> won't like it. Coooo eeeeeee did I mention my new game, hey got a new game out.

Its like on twitter where you get porn accounts just mentioning the top ten talked about things to get publicity, next will be that people who enjoy money and tits won't like his new game.

Shame because it seems like a good premise for a game, and I liked city 17 an half life, they already had me interested.

[TopGunKnacker]

yeah, bit of a dick move really. OT: all you racing game fans wont like my new strategy game. ITS NOT STUPID DRIVING

[HandsomeDead]

The problem is, when you have a game with as massive as an install base as CoD has you're probably alienating a lot of people who could be really into your game. CoD players aren't like the Borg, a collective mass of identical people; they're a collection of people with different personalties and interests.

The people who I know personally that play CoD are nothing like the stereotype that has been created by game websites.

The game sounds interesting enough on paper but I think I want to see something before I get excited.

[Craymen Edge]

October 12th release date announced.

I like the look of this.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/04/26/dishonored-preview-3/

Linear – the devil word. Scourge of freedom, the antithesis of PC gaming, the ancient enemy of anyone who’s ever roamed the Zone or steered a Dragonborn across the mountains. Or so the purist spirit often believes. Is, the question hangs so very heavily, Dishonored a linear game?

Yes. At least in the sense that it is not an open world. It is a series of missions in a linear order, most if not all of which require you to eliminate a specific target or targets. That’s okay, though, because my understanding of the game – having seen it in action – has morphed from something like ‘steampunk Deus Ex’ to ‘magic Hitman’. In what I’ve just been shown of the game, the same mission is tackled in two very different ways, with yet more described. And yes, I thought it looked amazing.

[Hendo]

There's quite a few games I can see referenced in those two videos - Hitman, Assassin's Creed, Half-Life, Bioshock, Deus Ex - I like the style though, a parallel universe kind of old London.

[radiofloyd]

Reviews:

1up - A+

CVG - 9.5

IGN - 9.2

Nowgamer (PS3) - 9.2

Gamespot - 9.0

GameInformer - 8.75

Nowgamer (360) - 8.6

Eurogamer - 8

Some have criticised the game for being short, others have praised it for cutting out all the shit and delivering a focused experience. Obviously i haven't played it but i'd be inclined to side with the latter!

[wholehole]

Glad to see the reviews are all positive. Played this at Eurogamer and it really didn't demo very well at all.

Being dropped into a level mid-way through the game with no context and a bunch of powers doesn't make for a very enjoyable experience. Shame really as I know I'm going to enjoy it but I only managed to play about 10 mins before I had to walk away from it.

[spatular]

Great scores there, I'm really looking forward to this. Also happy to have a shorter game with a lot of filler removed. I played it briefly at eurogamer too, and agree it doesn't really work in that sort of situation, not counting that against it at all though, it's the sort of game you need more time with.

[spatular]

Oh man this arrived today, don't think I've ever had a game arrive this early before, but steam won't let me play it, stupid steam

[DANGERMAN]

you could just use a program called Spotflux to change your ip while you play, that's what I did for Borderlands (and might do for this tonight)

[spatular]

Cheers DANGERMAN. I'll probably just leave it though, had I bought it from steam or via a code I knew that would happen but I have the disk which makes it annoying because I thought I'd be able to play it, oh well.

[AndyKurosaki]

Judging from the high review scores, and with my copy arriving Friday, I've picked a great time for a week off work after Friday :-)