Dishonored

Dishonored Definitive Edition – Review

Posted on by Sean Cleaver

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I am one of those people. The ones who didn’t play Dishonored the first time around. I know I’m a terrible person but you’ve got to appreciate that whilst I was studying at one of those fancy rich educational establishments (a concrete block of a North London university) I was busy playing Halo 4, and practically nothing else. I had things to do, essays to write and some neon glowing digitising necromancer to completely obliterate. Although TheGameJar did review it and you can check out what we wrote about it three years ago here.

So when I get a remaster of Dishonored appear on my Xbox One dashboard, I couldn’t be happier. Not only did I now have the time and the excuse to correct my glaring lack of steampunk-stealth, but I could do it in an uprated resolution! Bonus. It actually surprises me that this has been released now, if I’m honest. It’s quite the busy time for games and this is one of those critically acclaimed games that, from when I’ve spoken to people anyway, seems to be the one most people missed. You’d have hoped with the second instalment having been announced but not dated, it would have been released at a time to give it the best exposure.

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Normally I don’t talk about business errors and such because I’m a games critic, not a financial aficionado. But I mention it because it is a game that is really deserving of the applause and plaudits it got and definitely needs to be enjoyed by everyone for two reasons.

Firstly, this game is a bloody visual treat. From the outset the mix of dystopia, that reeks of the Michael Radford 1984 movie, is a wonderfully dark world jarring against where you start, that palatial and almost Olympus-like godly seat of power in Dunwall. The divide between the ruling oligarchy and the plague ridden masses owes a lot to the industrial era feel and there are several nods to this in the items and throwable objects in the game, things like Whale Oil (which was the preferred combusting fuel before petroleum was found).

But you know this because you’ve probably seen it/played it already/have heard others wax lyrical about it. What we do have to say is that the updated resolution both champions this and also lets it down in a few places. The characters and the sights are wonderfully detailed in their slightly Gerald Scarfe-esque way. The areas are also deliciously detailed in that Victorian London way. But only in places. Whilst the game’s uprated textures are wonderful, you can see where the original design had to be scaled back to work on the last generation consoles and sadly some of them aren’t updated. It’s inevitable that some low res and copy-and-paste textures appear in games and one of the sad side effects of improving the game for this edition is that it’s highlighted it.

It highlights it in other ways too with occasional frame skips and screen tears. I’m not one to bang on about such things as you know, I’m pretty much in the “enjoy the fucking game you stupid bastards” camp. But I have to mention it because there are times where it is very noticeable. Again this isn’t laziness or anything like that, it’s just the usual sort of problems that occur when you force an old engine to do things quicker. Lots of remasters have fallen to this issue and Dishonored hasn’t escaped it but it is by far one of the best looking and stable of the bunch.

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Which again probably goes to show how good it was in the first place and that is something that’s reflected in the gameplay, the second reason to champion this game. The “play-how-you-want” dynamic is something that we’re probably quite used to now with the release of so many open-world games, but none of them really have the same dynamic choice as Dishonored, even now. Yes you can go super stealthy or super attacking but all interwoven with the steampunk is the magical fantasy that has the powers such as the Blink ability that can teleport you anywhere within close reach, regardless of height. It definitely adds a new dimension and can meet any player at and difficulty challenge that they wish.

So thankfully this is all still really good, although slightly overpowered. The plot of Corvo trying to reinstate the rightful heir with the help of separatists, whilst also avoiding the plague that is befalling Dunwall also still holds up rather well. And that soundtrack, well it is lovely. In fact, you can listen to it hear for free and I implore you to do so. This edition also brings you several DLC packs included in the game, which include two story add ons. So there’s more Corvo for your concern.

It is a great game, and I’ve enjoyed visiting it for the first time in this semi-updated guise. Although I do have to admit that I wish I hadn’t approached it from a critical eye because the faults I’ve found are all ones of age and engine capability rather than the game. It does make me annoyed that it’s taken me this long to get in to it. I’m not a lover particularly of stealth games, but the way that this game gives you various options to go about your tasks, regardless of if it ends up as a chaotic mess, still hasn’t been bettered in this type of game, at least not in one that I’ve played.

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Well, this is exactly what it says it is really, a definitive edition of 2012’s Dishonored. The uprated graphics, rather than breath new life, do a great job of showcasing how good it was to begin with and make a great case for you to play it if you haven’t before. Sadly the graphical limitations appear thanks to the game engine’s age which can’t be helped. But enjoyable and great value with all the DLC included.

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[tab title=”Good Points”]

  • Uprated textures highlight great character design
  • Still a great game with a very dynamic approach
  • Doesn’t feel like a remaster for the sake of a cash-in

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[tab title=”Bad Points”]

  • Some textures not improved in scenery
  • Occasional frame skip and screen tear
  • Probably not good for those who already brought the game

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[tab title=”Why an 8?”]

Well, to be honest nothing has changed. That’s not to it’s detriment, but the improved graphics and frame rates are nice, the package is nice and the option to revisit or even start off an adventure in Dunwall is very welcome. But it is essentially exactly the same game, and so exactly the same score. Which is good really because the limitations involved make it hard to be better without changing the game dramatically and the porting across to the current generation hasn’t made it worse. So it’s quite the success really.

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E3 2015: Bethesda Recap

Posted on by Sean Cleaver

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As far as debut’s go, this is probably one that will live long in the memory for all of the right reasons. Bethesda took a giant leap to the stage at E3 (at the Dolby Theatre which hosts the Oscars, no less) with an already impressive level of hype.

Doom, whilst teased last year to select convention attendees and an extra three second clip last month, was very obviously going to be on the agenda. Fallout 4 was also going to be hotly anticipated and late on Saturday some leaks began to appear for Dishonoured 2 thanks to some tech-testing fluffs. But we had no idea (which is actually quite a thing in this day and age) of what was going to happen.

Doom was first out of the blocks and it did not disappoint at all. iD Software have been incredibly quiet since RAGE and lost their lead guru John Cormack to another reality. But that doesn’t seem to have dampened the original core concept of Doom or its successors – over the top, gory violence. It’s a simple concept really, to just kill all the things in a outlandish manner with big guns, but it’s very rarely executed well (pun intended).

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We saw some excellent melee attacks including a guy having his face smashed in by his own, still attached, broken leg. We saw some fantastically smooth gunplay and weapon selection and some fast and fluid movement. The things that made games like this and Quake excellent is the fast frenetic pace of the games that heighten the excitement, the fear and the adrenalin of the game, and Doom looks to have it in abundance. We were treated to a very well lit and molten factory level set on Mars which seems to have channeled all the tropes of horror science fiction with the cinematographic flair of more recent times, including a good Red Dwarf-esque mobile hand passkey that got a good laugh. We were then treated to Hell with demons coming at us from all sides and the final shot of a BFG volley cutting to black.

The most interesting thing in this is what looks like the first Next Generation console level editor. A simple tool to snap rooms and place objects to create your own levels and game types for multiplayer. Think of Halo’s Forge but with much easier room placement. This is Doom Snapmap and it looks excellent for the creative people and modders that have always been key to the franchise’s extended success. It’s something that will certainly breathe a lot of life in to multiplayer and is a great way to get people to stay involved. Especially on the console market as the game will be coming on PC, Xbox One and PS4 in Spring 2016.

Keeping with the online focus, Battlecry announced an upcoming beta. The online team based combat strategy game looks like a crazy cross between Team Fortress and a non-fantasy MOBA. It’ll be interesting to see but we’ll have to wait until the beta’s have come before we get more of an idea on the game.

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Next up was the team from Arkane Studios, who’s Dishonored completely took the critics and gamers by surprise a few years ago. Now it’s most definitely back with you being put in to the position of Corvo once again… Or you can play as the daughter of the Empress, Emily Kaldwin. This is what we were shown and it’s great to have a new female protagonist to play with. The steam punk setting is well and truly alive with some focus on the high flying speed running and magical abilities, in a totalitarian world of death and decay.

If you’re worried about playing Dishonored 2 because you missed the boat, never fear. Arkane are releasing a collected edition of Dishonored this winter with some new textures and all the DLC. This Definitive Edition is coming for PC, Xbox One and PS4… I’ll be honest, I’m very excited for it and of all the ideas I had for a remaster (if you can call it that) Dishonored was not the one I was expecting to hear from at this conference.

Another game I wasn’t expecting to hear anything about was the recently released Elder Scrolls Online, but we got a nice little video of some new areas coming to Tamriel Unlimited on both PC and Console and we’ve also been treated to a new card game call Elder Scrolls Legends (Presumably “Scrolls” was taken by someone else?), although we’ve seen nothing of it. I was also hoping to see or at least hear some news of the other Bethesda franchises like Quake and The Evil Within, but we just got their logos at the end. At least they’re still there and more may come in future.

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Speaking of the future, ready your Pip Boys. I could talk to you a lot about Fallout 4 but you should just watch the conference from 1 hour and 5 minutes in. Returning to the Wasteland, you will walk the area of Boston with your companion Dog and do as you’ve always done – explore, fight and customise. You’ll start your story pre-bombs which give a little tongue in cheek look at the psuedo-1950s lifestyle and create your character. This looks incredibly as the old style of sliders and templates have disappeared. Instead you just select the part of the face you want and just play away, regardless of gender (hurray!). You’ll wake up 200 years later as the sole survivor and are set free to explore. No spoilers.

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The customisation is incredible though, from very specific parts of guns to your heavy armour set, clothing and even building your own settlement, Fallout 4 looks to be far and away the best open world role-playing game in terms of player individuality. Creating a world to you, the player that you have affected seems to be one of the things that Fallout 4 is bringing out, which is something the other hinted to. But the technology is now here to make it happen.

Speaking of technology, the Pip Boy is updated to be more than just a static menu (as the developers know you’ll spend a lot of time there) and has become a lot more dynamic. You’ll also be able to interchange memory tapes for audio and even games. We’ve seen a good version of both Donkey Kong and Missile Command in the demo (the latter is increidbly appropriate) and there’s a lot more to come. Especially if you’ve got your eyes on the collectors edition that includes a working Pip Boy… Well sort of. This soon to be gold dust peripheral is a wearable phone dock that allows you (with a free app) to use the whole thing as a second screen and be your Pip Boy access. The app is coming anyway so anyone can do it, but having your own Pip Boy as you play? Well that’s just swell. We also have the Sims/XCom/Tiny Tower-esque Fallout Shelter. A fun little distracting building game where you become the overseer of your own vault, released for free last night on iOS.

Bethesda didn’t show a lot but truthfully they didn’t need to. It was a lesson in how a company can show a minimal amount of products but with a huge amount of quality. All of it coming for next generation consoles and PC. All of it absolutely captivating. Sometimes you just need to do a good job and in their debut to E3’s conference schedule, Bethesda certainly nailed it.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KApp699WdE

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